Lewis and Clark Caverns Spring Trip

When I began thinking about what do and where to go this Memorial Day Weekend I was really hoping to get on some water somewhere..anywhere.  I schemed up this grand plan to go somewhere I can't remember going and where my girls have never gone, Lewis and Clark Caverns along the Jefferson River.  I've never spent time in this part of the state and my only reference was maps, Google Earth, and various websites about the Jefferson River Canoe Trail.  I was excited to get a reservation at the state park and went about trying to figure out how to do our shuttle.  I thought the road to a bridge 9 miles down from the camp area looked remote and totally safe for the girls and I to ride our bikes along to do our shuttle.  Easy, we could just leave Skip at camp and take the boat down to the launch, drive the car to the bridge and ride home.

As the weeks went on and I told people my plan I got some looks, concerned looks, some questions, "Are you sure you can ride that far?"  It wasn't until my Mom gave me the "your going to kill me" look that I conceded that the river part of this trip wasn't going to pan out.  It finally got warm in Montana and the rivers were flowing.  After getting to camp I was sure glad we made the decision to just camp, hike, and bike for the weekend.  Lessons learned.

Our neighbor, Kendall, is like a sister to my two girls.  I was packing up the car and she somehow convinced her mom and I to let her "stow away" on our weekend camp trip.  Three girls, one dog, three bikes, a packed car, we were set.


The campground was a little bit of a disappointment.  We had the only site in the whole place without any shade.  I do recommend using Reserve America for state parks but I don't recommend site P006!  It was hot and horrible setting up our tents.  We left soon after setting up to find a spot to put our feet in the river.  At my "takeout bridge" we got firewood and cooled off in the flooded backwater..again so glad we didn't raft.  Then into Three Forks in search for ice-cream.  We made it back to camp just in time to batten down the hatches, throw together food, and head for our tents.  It was an awesome storm!  After the rain cleared there were some great trails right off the campground for hiking and mountain bike riding.

The next day we hit the L & C Cavern tour. What a great experience for the girls! They even have kennels for no extra cost for the dogs in a shaded place.  It's a two mile hike in total starting with a trek up to the entrance.  Avery and Kendall were glued to the tour guide's side right off the bat, Kyndra and I had to push our way to the front to be with them.  They hung on every word he said, asked great questions, and had a blast.  After the tour we went to the Missouri River Headwaters State Park.  The girls were totally unimpressed but I thought it was pretty awesome seeing the roiling, muddy waters.  The water looks so different than what we see on the Missouri around here.

Before we knew it we were packing up camp.  Kyndra helped roll pads, bags, and tents while the other two played at the campground.  It all goes together pretty easily with exception of putting the bikes on the rack. If anyone knows how to do this without throwing a hissy fit I'd be grateful!  Before heading home we walked/biked along the Headwaters Trail System that runs along the former Milwaukee Railroad bed.

We had a fun weekend hiking, getting some sun, and exploring.  I can't wait to go back and tackle the rivers over in this part of our beautiful state.

Hiawatha Trail and Beyond

I picked up the girls on Friday evening in Idaho and we headed off on another exploration of Montana. This time it began in Wallace, ID where we drove three times through town looking for the road that turned into the forest road which would take us over the rivers and through the woods to the Hiawatha Trail. On the third pass through town I asked a friendly looking couple who just happened to have a Wallace street map. We drove and drove and switched back and forth before I remembered my Montana Road and Recreation Atlas! I found our road!

Lesson #1 for the girls: carry an atlas and know how to read it!

Ummmm...we were almost to Avery, ID when I asked a friendly looking couple on 4-wheelers where I was on the map! They happily pointed us to Loop Creek where we found our first camp spot.

Lesson #2 for the girls: don't be afraid to ask for directions and be sure to say please and thank you.

We were excited to find a primitive camp along Loop Creek that had everything we needed.

Water!

I got to work setting up camp and the kids got to work contributing to the dam. I quickly discovered that my camp stove was...to put it crudely...tits up!

Lesson #3 for the girls: always have a Plan B for food!

Plan B was egg salad sandwiches.

We decided to pack it all up and find a different camp for the second night. We drove along the entire trail route before we got to the East Trailhead. I was unloading the bikes when I realized...we had no tickets!

Lesson #4 for the girls: Read the frigging website! RTFW!

We had to pack it up and go to Lookout Pass to get the passes. Once done, we were set. The first leg of the journey down the Hiawatha trail is a 1.7 mile tunnel. It's dark. It's cold. It has water running down both sides. It's disorienting. It's 1.7 miles long!

We made it with one bike light going out on us. We walked a bit. We cried a bit. We caused a bit of a traffic jam. We made it!

The trail was amazing. There were record numbers of people on the trail due to the 100 year anniversary of a fire that burned over 3 million acres in Idaho and Montana. It was also the 13 year anniversary for the trail. Did I mention record numbers of people? For the first half of the trip we rode nicely along, enjoying the scenery and wildlife.

There were many tunnels.

We could see the trestles coming down the trail.

Then it happened. The Twirl bike showed it true colors as an "in town" bike not built for the trial. Avery's chain started coming off. The first time it took me 20 minutes to get back on...by the 20th time I was pretty darn good at it. One group stopped to help who had a "tool guy" who couldn't fix it. We continued down the trail with the chain jumping off at an increasing rate of frequency.

With only about 2 miles left in the trail I swear it was coming off every three pedals! I don't even have to get off my bike to re-chain a Twirl!

Along came a nice group of bikers with the knowledge and tools to tighten her chain. They asked if I needed help and I'm afraid I might have cried a bit...

Lesson #5 for the girls: let boys help you and ask questions so you can do it yourself next time!

I'm feeling a bit of Boys-Helping-Us-Déjà vu.

Lesson #6 for the girls: carry tools and know how to use them!

Next time I'll carry a wrench and know what to do with it. Did I mention Kyndra's kickstand fell off?

So we made it to the bottom and waited in line...with the record numbers of people...for the shuttle to the top. You are welcome to ride to the top. However, if you are a mom who has re-railed a chain 50 times I recommend the shuttle.

AJ fell asleep and almost missed the moose sighting. Mrs. Moose was just about a mile from where we camped.

I've got to be honest...I was ready to get a hotel with a shower an hot water and coffee for the next day. We pulled into a camp ground on the way down the mountain and decided if there was a good spot we'd stay. We stayed and made Plan B turkey sandwiches for dinner. The next morning I experimented with making pancakes and coffee over coals with limited success.

I finally figured out how to get all three bikes on the rack! Kyndra is doing a happy dance for me.

Since it was raining, we headed to Missoula to hike the "L." I prefer the L over the M because I lived about a block from the trailhead when I went to school there. I am amazed by these girls' strength and willingness to just let me lead them to parts unknown. Maybe it's because they always have each other.

I like to think that they are learning to appreciate their surroundings.

Lesson #7 for my girls: explore...adventure...smell the air...enjoy!

Walk in the woods

I am so thankful the girls enjoy being outside. These are pictures from a hike we took in the Columbia River Gorge. We were camping and hiked down to see if we could see any salmon in Eagle Creek. They are both blurry, but oh well, I love them anyway. They tell a story. The girls were just natural hikers. They didn't trip on rocks or tree roots. They were picking up treasures along the way. They were saying wonderful things like "that sure is a tall tree," and "maybe there are bears in these woods." It was great fun and gave me such a warm feeling inside seeing them have so much fun....outside....getting dirty....without tv....together as a family.