While in Polson, we heard about this beautiful mission about an hour's drive away. The St. Ignatius Mission was one of those wonderful surprises that we had not planned on, but are so glad we found! We went first to the 150-year-old cabin that was the missionaries' first building. Then we walked into the mission, and were astounded at what we saw! I know you will enjoy the pictures of this incredibly beautiful and inspiring church. Masses are still held there.
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Last Wednesday we drove to Lewiston ID/Clarkston WA to spend some time with our good friends Dick and Julie. You may remember that they joined us back in early May in Utah--Bryce Canyon and Zion NP. The drive was quite beautiful, despite the endless construction! We saw several warning signs of moose crossings, and suddenly a moose cow came from the side of the highway right towards my window! We were going about 60 mph! I could see how shiny her coat was, and the wild look in her eye as she tried to pass in front of the truck. We really thought we were going to hit her, or she was going to hit us! Fortunately, we made it past her, and Mike looked back and could see her standing in the middle of the highway. When our hearts topped pounding, Mike wanted to know why I didn't get a picture of her!

We spent a wonderful 5 days hanging out with Dick and Julie--had some good walks, good food, and good conversation. Their home is so beautiful--we especially enjoyed the night Dick cooked steaks and we ate outside on their deck, looking out over the Lewiston/Clarkston valley, watching the lights come on below us. We hated to say good-bye to our good friends.

Well, the heat has caught up with us. I realize you all will have no sympathy for us, but today is was 109 in this park on the WA/OR boundary. We turned on the AC when we arrived at 3:00, and it has not shut off yet, and it is almost 8:00pm. We head for a park near Mt. St. Helen's in a couple of days, then to the Oregon coast where the highs are just in the 80's! Yay!

From our beautiful campground just outside the town of West Glacier, we made 2 trips into Glacier NP. (So glad we bought that year-long national park pass way back at Big Bend!) On our first venture, we rode the free shuttle buses up to Logan Pass so that Mike could spend the trip enjoying the views out the window instead of having to watch the narrow road! The picture above was taken at the pass, as are quite a few others on our web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/TxMike3
Although we were glad we took the shuttles, the park was quite crowded, and with the road construction, it took us 2 hours to get from Logan Pass back to where our truck was parked.

The next day we drove to Logan Pass, then on down the other side of the mountain. This eastern route was not as spectacular as the west side, but we did stop and take a hike to beautiful St. Mary Falls. It was a wonderful walk through the woods and along a creek, and we could hear the falls as we hiked.

For most of the trip, when we have left the dogs, we've made sure they've had a good long walk and/or a long run. Then we leave the TV or radio on (not really for their enjoyment, but for the white noise!). We had to buy 2 baby gates and stack them to block the "upstairs" of our fifth wheel to keep one or both of the dogs off our bed! We suspect Gracie is the bad dog, but without a "nanny cam" we'll never know for sure! Well, our first day back from Glacier, we discovered that the dogs had wormed their way under the gates--even big ol' Max. We know that for sure because he was still behind the gates when we got home, looking rather ashamed, and there was Gracie acting innocent! But the next day, when we got back, Gracie was the one trapped! Now we're afraid they'll try to get under the gates and get their heads caught. Today, here in Polson, about 2 hours south of Glacier NP, we went to the cherry festival and didn't put up the gates, just spread an old blanket on the bed, and yes, "someone" got on our bed while we were gone!

Polson is at the south end of huge Flathead Lake, which is about 45 miles long and very green, with tall wooded hills surrounding it. The cherry festival was small and "folksy" with, of course, many cherry-themed items, from aprons to jam to cherry lemonade. (Very good!) Tomorrow Mike is going to watch the hydroplanes on the lake. Too much testosterone for me!

We head west on Tuesday, into Idaho where we'll visit our good friends Dick and Julie.

The National Folk Festival in Butte, MT, was exciting, huge, entertaining, and free! This festival has been going on for over 40 years, but when it came to Butte last year it was the first time it was held in a city west of the Mississippi. It is hosted in the same city for 3 years, then moves to another locale. The National Endowment for the Arts provides some of the funding.

The picture above is the "Original" stage, at the site of "The Original" copper mine in Butte. Friday night we met up with Gwen's friend and co-worker, Barry, and his wife, and saw an incredible blues singer from Chicago. Saturday we saw bluegrass singers, cutting horse demonstrations, and everything in between. There were 6 major stages with a variety of performers and entertainers. We also browsed booths of juried artists, and enjoyed beer and strawberry smoothies.

Unfortunately, there were scattered thunderstorms on Sunday, so we didn't get to see as many entertainers as we had hoped.

Our campground was a really nice one, but was jammed with RV's and tents for the weekend festival. We met some nice couples who were camped nearby, and played Mexican Train dominoes with them one evening. Our dogs got to be friends, too, and had some great play times together!

Cody, WY, is really cowboy country! The Fourth of July parade was as much Western as Independence Day, with many beautiful horses, decorated wagons, men dressed as frontiersmen, two-wheeled carts pulled by ponies, and a noticeable lack of Indians. The marching high school bands were quite small, and there were "Miss Rodeos" from tots to teenagers! At the beginning of the parade, over a speaker system up and down the street, everyone said the Pledge of Allegience, and then sang the national anthem. We went to the Stampede Rodeo on Friday night at an open-air arena that held maybe 5000 people, but it was not full. The announcer sat on his horse out in the arena, joked around with the clowns between events, and they both chatted with the spectators. It was really fun, and we didn't miss the big-name entertainment or the carnival!

Another highlight of our time in Cody was a trip to the surprisingly large Buffalo Bill Historical Center, with 5 museums within it. There was, of course, a museum all about Buffalo Bill Cody, with posters and photographs and memorabilia. But we also really enjoyed the Plains Indians displays and artwork; the museum of Western Art with paintings and sculptures by Remington, Charles Russell and many others; and the wonderfully interesting and beautiful paintings of the Lewis and Clark expedition by an artist named Fritz. Fritz spent years retracing the route and reading journals so that his 100 works would be accurate.

While in Cody we had a little trouble finding a good place to walk the dogs; one spot had a sign warning of rattlesnakes and bears on the trail, so we chose not to follow that trail! We walked around a reservoir a couple of days--not too scenic but not bad. We were right next to a regional airport, and every time a small plane would come in low, Gracie would watch it carefully, either wanting to herd it or making sure it stayed away from her people! Max was especially interested in the occasional dead fish along the path.

We are back in Montana now, (The photo above is so typical of the wide-open country in MT.), in Butte for the National Folk Festival. Tonight is an Indian Pony parade, then we're going to hear a Chicago Jazz group. The Festival lasts through Sunday evening, with all kinds of entertainment: an Irish band, breakdancers, fiddlers, Indian storytellers, demonstrations such as cutting horses and basketweaving, several jazz groups, fiddlers, singers, Indian artists, other artists, etc. And all of it is free! We are looking forward, also, to hooking up with a friend and co-worker of Gwen's, whose wife is from Butte. They are here on vacation to visit family and the Festival, and have offered to show us around.

Well, we've found it--the place we want to spend our summers forever! Red Lodge, MT, is just about the most wonderful place we've ever been. The town is quite small, with some tourist-y shops, but lots of fun and interesting places, too, plus really nice people. The campground we stayed in was just outside of town on roaring Rock Creek, with lots of trees and, unfortunately, lots of mud. The owner was frantically trying to do landscape and grade new sites, but he said it had rained every day in June except maybe 2. We were there 6 days and it rained in the late afternoon of 5 of those days. But we still loved it!

The drives from the town of Red Lodge were just so incredibly spectacular. Charles Kuralt had written that the Beartooth Highway was the most scenic and beautiful in the United States. We haven't seen all of the U.S., but so far, we agree with him! Ellen took lots and lots of pictures, but you just can't imagine how magnificent the views are. We drove it twice, once on a clear sunny day and once with heavy clouds, and I think we could drive it every day for years and not tire of it. The road is a long series of hairpin turns and steep climbs (or descents), with several large pullouts where we could get out and marvel at the scenery. When we reached the pass, at almost 11,000 ft. and above the tree line, we were amazed to see tiny wildflowers growing out of the rocky tundra. Almost as amazing were the skiers we stopped to watch, still enjoying their sport in June!

Another beautiful drive was the Chief Joseph (of the Nez Perce) Scenic Byway, with miles of high rolling hills, and a deep gorge made by the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. We stopped often to take pictures, and to read about the tragic journey of the Nez Perce.

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In addition to enjoying the town and the drives, we discovered terrific places to hike with the dogs. Two different hikes took us along high rushing rivers--Rock Creek, which was the same one that rushed by behind our RV campsite, and Stillwater River, which was certainly not still.

We were really sad to leave Red Lodge, but as always, are looking forward to new adventures. We are in Cody, WY, where there's lots planned for the Fourth, including parades, BBQ (we've missed good BBQ), and a championship rodeo.