Day 3, April 28, The Bitterroot Valley to the Madison Valley

    

 

 

Friday, Western Montana...

 

Having rolled on down from Lolo Pass in the middle of the night, I put in for the remainder of the night at Lolo Creek Steak House, across from Traveler's Rest State Park...

 

 

Morning at Traveler's Rest... Lolo Creek Steak House...

 

Hiking along Lolo Creek at Traveler's Rest...

 

 

Scouting around Traveler's Rest...

 

       

 

 

Southward down the Bitterroot Valley...

 

 

The log home industry is big in the Bitterroot Valley...

 

       

 

 

 

Along the Bitterroot River... Hamilton, Montana...

 

       

 

 

 

In Hamilton I stopped at Wild West Furnishings...

 

       

 

     

 

 

Espresso shacks still dot the way...

 

 

Proceeding down the Bitterroot Valley and up to Lost Trail Pass...

 

       

 

       

 

     

 

Lost Trail Pass is on the Montana / Idaho border (but I did not cross back into Idaho). On some future journey I will cover the country south of this point and cross Lemhi Pass, but I digress... On this day I remained in Montana, turning to the east to cross Chief Joseph Pass, then on across Big Hole...

 

Eastbound on Montana 43... I stopped and scouted around at this unpaved road, and on some future trip I'd like nothing better than to go the 16 miles to Big Hole Pass, but again, I digress...

 

 

Proceeding on to the Big Hole Battlefield...

 

       

 

 

Big Hole National Battlefield

 

 

Inside the Big Hole museum...

 

       

 

   

 

 

 

Surveying the battlefield...

 

       

 

 

 

On the road to Wisdom... Wisdom, Montana...

 

       

 

     

 

 

Leaving Wisdom behind, I proceeded south to Jackson, Big Hole Pass, and Badger Pass...

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

Near Badger Pass...

 

 

Dillon, Montana...

 

       

 

   

 

 

Beaverhead Rock

 

Ariel view

 

       

 

       

 

Many times over the years I imagined being at this place. Like Three Forks, Lemhi Pass, and Lolo Pass, I found descriptions of Beaverhead Rock in the Lewis & Clark journals to be particularly vivid...

 

 

Proceeding on to Twin Bridges...

 

     

 

 

Looking back to the south, at Beaverhead Rock...

 

 

Robber's Roost...

 

     

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Nevada City, Montana...

 

       

 

       

 

 

 

 

Virginia City, Montana... not to be confused with Virginia City, Nevada...

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

 

 

 

Proceeding on to the Madison Valley...

 

 

Behold! The Madison Valley... certainly some of the finest country that I have ever traipsed over...

 

       

 

   

 

 

 

Ennis, Montana...

 

       

 

     

 

 

 

Southbound on Montana 287, with the Madison Range off to the east...

 

     

 

 

 

Cameron Store & Cabins, at Cameron, Montana... where I put in for the evening... in the midst of a splendid country...

 

     

 

Cameron, Montana