We awoke to rain. First it was the light pitter patter and then a bit more. We had been through this before, but never with a ten person tent. We proceeded to dump some stuff in the car and then went after the tent. Amazingly, with only two poles, we were in the car within minutes.
We headed West and North and followed the Madison River through the Gravelly & Madison Ranges valley towards Ennis. The weather cleared as we went on and stopped in Ennis at the Ennis Lions Park and the Al & Vi Thexton Recreation Area.
It was a great stop on a beautiful morning. It was our time to break the law, as there were no dogs allowed on the ball field, but what are you going to do. The dogs were anxious, the sun had broken out and the area was fenced. No chance of wandering dogs. We just had to wait for the ladies club, which was meeting there for some type of field trip, to leave the area. Tom and I took advantage of the rest room and got ready for some ball play with the dogs.
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| The Road into Ennis |
The weather really was on our side for the rest of the day. We were headed to Helena to see the capital. Tom had never been in Montana before, so it was kinda fun to mark off another state that the TravelingDogs have seen together.
The capital was only a few hours away, and like Boise, pretty easy to locate with signage and the great dome. Today was Tuesday, so I was a bit skeptical about finding parking near the capital. The weather was not too hot and we found a spot under a tree right in front of the Montana State Capital. Doris Day has nothing on us!
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| Montana State Capital |
We walked from one side of the capital to the other. On the far side was a small wheeled train offering tours of the area. A few kids reached out to Luther & BuddyJack as we walked by. We also walked by an art installation titled, "Herd Bull." The description and the piece are below.
We walked behind the capital and let the dogs run along the side of the building, through the grass and over to the trees, which, like all other capitals, I guess, housed a multitude of squirrels. The dogs went sniffing from tree to tree, following the unseen paths of the little critters. It was a good time to stop and rest for a bit for Tom, so he sat under a tree as I headed towards the capital to get a better look and to go inside.
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| Civil War Union General Thomas Francis Meagher |
The flags have been at half mast since our first capital due to the shooting in Aurora, CO. This was our second time while traveling when the flags have been a half mast, the last time during the Columbia tragedy in 2003.
I proceeded to go inside the capital, not by the stairs leading to the front doors, but by the side door under the stairs to the right. As with most capitals I have seen, this building used the natural lighting and the history of the state to accent the interior of the building. It was quite grand with paintings of early inhabitants of Montana including the Native American, the Explorer, the Gold Miner and the Cowboy on the four sides of the rotunda.
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| The Rotunda |
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| "Touched by Glacier" |
We headed out of Helena and headed toward Glacier National Park, our last stop before crossing the border into Canada, planned for the following day. The Continental Divide crossed through the park and it was a bit chilly. The only camping that was available was also over 30 miles back from where we came from, so we decided to head north and find a roadside campsite.
We passed a few, one which was on the water and way windy. A few more miles up, we saw one which had a native sounding name to it. We decided to check it out. It proved to be a good spot and we leashed the dogs and started to unpack.
Luther found a friend and that kept the dogs busy for a while we set up camp. A few items were still damp from the rain in the morning, so the breeze in the late afternoon air helped dry the items out.
We put the dogs back into the car after we set camp and headed towards the small restaurant they had at the campsite. We were both hungry after a full day of driving. We talked to a few people in the restaurant, some of which were playing cribbage. It was quite friendly, food not so great, but nice enough to enjoy the company.
We finished our meal, paid the check and headed back to the car to let the dogs out. We had to shoo off Luther's friend, which took a few shoos too many. Eventually, we were all in the tent, Tom updating the calendar and the dogs passed out.
The following morning, we awoke early, packed up the tent and said goodbye to the states (and Luther's friend). A few miles more and we will be in Canada, part II of this journey to Alaska. BuddyJack would have preferred to stay, but we had a schedule to follow, as seen below in my office away from home.
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