Northward Ho; Day 7; June 16, 2011
It was mostly sunny when woke up. When we hit Interstate 90 westbound shortly after 8:00 am it was 52 degrees. Our route today was I-90 west, to exit 278 to visit the Missouri Headwaters State Park, Hwys 287 and 12 north to Helena, Hwy 12 west, Hwy 141 north, Hwy 200 west, and Hwy 83 north to just north of Seeley Lake, MT.
Not too far west of Columbus on I-90 we started to climb in elevation. A rain storm also blew in. We exited, donned our rain gearand continued westbound. Somewhere in the area of Livingston, MT the temperature dropped to 37 and it was raining and snowing at the same time. Fortunately it was too warm for snow accumulation.
Portions of I-90 paralleled the Yellowstone River which was out of its banks in many places.
After a stop in Bozeman for gas we continued westbound to the area of Three Forks, MT. We drove to the Missouri Headwaters State Park to find that it was closed due to flooding.This is where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers meet to form the Missouri River. Despite the flooding we were able to walk into the park and take some pictures.
We had lunch in Three Forks, MT at the Iron Horse Café, checked out the Sacajawea sculpture, and continued on to Helena.
At a gas stop in East Helena Carl told us his front end (motorcycle) was feeling squirrelly. We checked his front time and found that his front wheel valve stem was cracked at the base. This is the exact same problem I had earlier this year. Fortunately a Honda dealer was less than a mile down the road and we were back on the road in less than an hour.
We then continued on to our destination for the day, the Whitetail Cabins just north of Seeley Lake, MT. It was a beautiful ride but cold (in the 40’s and low 50’s) with some rain.
Mel located these cabins online while Carl was having his motorcycle fixed. They were great. We will try to make Mel our official purveyor of lodging.
For more pictures on todays ride click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/NorthwardHoDay7061611?feat=directlink
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