Thinking outside dog.
We hit the library in Missoula and grabbed five books all claiming to be the essential guide to camping in Montana. All of them but one were crap. With no where to camp we decided to get the hell out of Missoula and go visit my mom in Willow Creek. We stopped on the way to explore The Valley of the Moon hike, which isn’t so much of a hike as a loop of “informative kiosks” on a paved 1/4 mile path.
THE HIKE: Just East of Clinton, MT on I-90 take the Rock Creek Rd exit and head south. Two miles in watch for Valley of the Moon Rd on your right (West). Take Valley of the Moon Rd and park at the trail head.
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We learned about the essential nature of riparian areas by jogging from kiosk to kiosk while the dog swam about in the little pools the beavers had made of the stream. Thanks to all those bridges, kiosks, and paved foot paths I’ve never felt more a part of nature! We saw pictures of beavers, moose, and deer, oh the wonders! Thank you USFS!
We ditched the official trail and trekked up into the hills west of the parking area. The snow was that perfect spring consistency where you can walk right on top for a few hundred feet before you hit that one patch of soft snow and put a leg through. At the tree line the snow cleared and we made our way up an old road for a while and then ran back to the van trying to knock each-other over while the dog attacked our feet.
On the way out we saw some actual wildlife crossing the road.
We stopped in Butte to see how my brother’s old coffee shop was fairing. He’d started up a place called the Blue Venus, ran it for several year, but then a few months after he sold it it burned down. A couple of years ago the new owners got it up and running again, under the new lamer name of Venus Rising. But despite the name the place is still the best place to get coffee between Chicago and Oregon (I’m calling Mad Matilda’s a tie). It’s the only coffee shop I’ve been in outside of New York that throws on the noisier albums of The Velvet Underground (something that chased out most of the geriatric crowd enjoying tea). And they also let you draw your hand on the wall by the bathroom! A little hokey but hey, better than the Natzistic no graffiti stance of most of your yuppie style coffee shops.
Took highway 2 over the pass outside of Butte which is a much nicer drive than the interstate. Seriously, just get off the interstate there people. At Whitehall Sarah pointed out that the sign welcoming you in had changed. The slogan now is “our children aren’t angels, please leave them that way,” which makes me think if The Big Ugly ever dies (may she live on forever) I may have to move to Whitehall.
We got to the property just before sunset. Mom had made dinner. A roast. Potatoes. Salad. Pretty much the best meal I’ve had in months. And we had the spare cabin to ourselves. A bed, a warm warm bed. Awesome free food. It’s going to be hard to leave.
