Part 2 of our vacation in 2019!

One of the cool things about Montana is that all along the road you will see these signs that give you information about historical happenings. This particular one talks about Trapper’s Peak! I would love to do the hike that leads to Trapper’s Peak one day it’s pretty incredible, but also super challenging (8.1 miles). We were able to drive up to a lookout and those roads up there aren’t something to mess with most of them are old logging/ forest service roads (they aren’t super maintained) Make sure you have 4×4 you do not want to take a low riding car up there, it’s bumpy, rocky, close to edges, it’ll make ya white knuckle it a bit ( haha)!

 

 

What view from the top! It was worth the sketchy drive! Peep Trapper’s Peak in the background! Can you imagine hiking up the peak?!

Another day fishing on the Bitterroot River!

Another early morning we are heading to The Big Hole River today, and we made it to the Idaho border before heading East towards, Wisdom, MT. Wondering what the big orange pole is? It’s a snow pole after it snows, there can be several feet of snow on the roadway, completely covering  the road. The poles serve to mark the edge of the roadway so snow removal equipment knows just where to plow.

This is heaven! I wish I could link some video for you and show you a 360 degree view. In my life I have never seen so many cattle in one spot all the way around 360 degrees there are miles of black dots in these fields! There are more cattle than people in the Big Hole Valley, now that’s my kind of place. The sounds of cattle bellowing & coyotes yipping filled the vast valley. Coyotes hide in these shrubs, a bit eerie. It’s a pretty remote spot & the town doesn’t have so much as a stop light! (Also known as the valley of 10,000 haystacks) look it up!

Big Hole fishing! This river is difficult to fish this time of year, due to how low the river level gets, trout need cold deep water. Somehow Seth still managed to bag one and we had a few nibbles. This isn’t called one of the most beautiful places to fish for no reason. Just look at that beautiful scenery.

Still working on my husband’s photography skills 😉

“Something to think about- if you fish the wrong fly, long & hard enough it will sooner or later become the right fly”- John Gierach

Hello Beautiful!

Look at that cast!

“Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it’s not fishing they are after”- Henry David Thoreau

” A real woman will not make you choose between her or fishing a real woman will make you take her & proceed to catch the biggest fish”

Truer words have never been spoken we do tend to get competitive!

This valley is filled with wildlife!

Another one of my favorite towns is Phillipsburg! We had amazing BBQ here & we visited one of the largest candy stores I have ever been in, it was super cool & delicious!

My favorite barn!

We headed to Rock Creek after lunch to do some more fishing! I’ve said it before, but the way the landscapes change in Montana is phenomenal! Finally laid our eyes on some Big Horn Sheep!

We thought we would take the most direct route back to Hamilton, the Skalkalo Pass, this is another white knuckler! This road is closed most of the season you can see why, dirt road, rough, high altitude and close to the edge & narrow. All I can say is there are parts of this road that you do NOT want to meet another car or a logging truck. Thankfully we didn’t but it was a long ride back to town! Yikes! I don’t think these photos do it justice, just another adventure for us.

Sorry for cruddy phone pic, but I gotta to hang out with this badass lady at the ranch & take some photos. It was so much fun! Can’t wait to see her soon!

Another river photo while fishing on the Bitterroot!

Finally got out to drive around & explore! Found some amazing barns and scenery!

Just look at those beautiful mountains & low hanging clouds! I could get used to this view!

The Sapphire mountains are a bit different then the Bitterroots, more sagebrush & tundra looking!

Our favorite spot to eat at in Darby! We ate there several times and it’s another cool town!

These sunrise & sunset views from our cabin were stunning, woke up to deer night & day!

The river was literally out our back door, it was so nice to grab our gear and walk down to the river! We so enjoyed our time here, it felt like home it was bit different pace than our other vacations we stayed in one spot, did A LOT of fishing! We still went sight seeing and what not & still stayed very busy, but there was something different about it, we really grew to love this area and had planned to come back this summer. I know that we will make it in 2021 & will make it EVEN BETTER than we had planned for this year! I’m going to leave you with a few of my favorite quotes!

 

” When I saw the mountains the weight lifted and my restless spirit calmed. I knew this was where I belonged”

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks”- John Muir

 

“It doesn’t matter where you’re going, it’s who you have beside you”

 

Thanks for following along & I hope you enjoyed Seth & I’s adventures!

-T