Micro adventures of the NW rockies

[MT6bt]

Well, I'm officially halfway into a week long adventure. My family decided to come out and visit me, and rather than seeing the same thing I usually do, I have taken a couple hard glances at the US, and said,"why not check out Washington again?"
So, I piled up my parents, my two dogs, and yours truly into my all-too-small club cab dodge and headed west as the sun sets!

My abilities to appropriately document this adventure has been hindered somewhat, as I am finding myself in not only the driver's seat, but also the navigator, trip and route coordinator, food planner, chef, etc. Etc....needless to say, my day never stops. But that's okay, I'm glad to have the ability to do so, and to show my parents some beautiful country in the meantime!

Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk

 

[MT6bt]

Night one landed us just outside of lolo hotsprings. We ended up getting a late start this day, so we ended up not traveling too far. I found a nice camp spot off the beaten path by about 10 miles up a country road. I was hoping to find some smoky quartz in this area, as it is prevalent in these mountains....to no avail.
The following morning, we made a unanimous decision to get off the interstate ASAP and hit the back roads to our next destination: Curlew lake.

Yet again, no pictures, folks! Sorry! I am happy to report that the drive was beautiful. Lots of heavily wooded, dense woods.

Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk

 

[Foy]

Quartz crystal digging at Crystal Park, MT

There is a fine place for crystal digging right on the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway, atop the broad divide between the Grasshopper Creek and Wise River drainages, around halfway between the Byway's southern end near Polaris, MT and its northern end at Wise River, MT. Plus you can gaze upon Comet Mountain from there and decide if you want to tackle a shelf road reaching 9,600' starting from the Crystal Park area.

Foy

 

[MT6bt]

There is a fine place for crystal digging right on the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway, atop the broad divide between the Grasshopper Creek and Wise River drainages, around halfway between the Byway's southern end near Polaris, MT and its northern end at Wise River, MT. Plus you can gaze upon Comet Mountain from there and decide if you want to tackle a shelf road reaching 9,600' starting from the Crystal Park area.

Foy

I visited crystal park last year, actually. Not so much a fan of playing "dig, dug" when it comes to rockhounding. I'm much more of a stalk and hunt kinda guy. haha, I guess I feel more successful when hunting this way, and firmly believe this to be fact for the areas I hunt. A spectacular piece of agatized wood that I found:

A nice chunk of what I assume to be a very large limb cast that I found in the river a few weeks ago:

But I digress...

The next night, we made our way to north cascades national park. The drive proved to be equally as beautiful. There is something to be appreciated within only a few miles off of I-90. Time seems to slow down, people aren't caught up in the whirlwind that that artery of commerce seems to impose on all that surrounds it. The views from the top of this pass in particular was incredible!

Shortly after, we passed alongside of Ross lake. The turquoise blue waters reminiscent of many alpine lakes I've visited-both on foot and vehicle.

mazanita?
Eventually, after several stops to see the sights...and a couple spoonfuls of Nutella, (purely to retain the energy required to white knuckle it through several mountain passes with the abhorrently loose steering that is ubiquitous to the dodge ram of this era)
We made it to our campground in newhalem.

The dogs are very pleased to be out of the camper for a nice stroll alongside an amazing river.

 

[longhorn1]

MT,

Just read your entire post.
The picture is from Natural Bridge during mountain run-off. Boulder River usually goes below ground the end of May, early June. My cousin has a cabin on the main Boulder and the river is 10 feet from their porch. Headed that way the end of September. My cousins have sheep and cattle ranches around Big Timber. Thanks for posting. jd

 

[MT6bt]

MT,

Just read your entire post. View attachment 357533
The picture is from Natural Bridge during mountain run-off. Boulder River usually goes below ground the end of May, early June. My cousin has a cabin on the main Boulder and the river is 10 feet from their porch. Headed that way the end of September. My cousins have sheep and cattle ranches around Big Timber. Thanks for posting. jd

Well, I probably drove past it two weeks ago when I brought my other set of parents and grandmother up to independence in a fancy UTV! It was an amazing trip and the UTV made traveling up to it a breeze.

Saw a very curious female deer that wasn't afraid of us in the least.

Also spotted a pintzgauer (?) doing what it does best! This is a pretty rough trail. Last year I went up it with my dodge (pretty sure I documented this on this thread) and the last 7 miles took me about 6 hours. With the UTV? 2! It definitely had some clearance issues, as the 4 seater has a very long wheelbase. But the 14" of travel made for some very fun traveling through pot holed roads that would force most vehicles to 10mph.

Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk

 

[MT6bt]

The second evening proved to have much more beautiful surroundings. A leisurely stroll down to the river had me awed by the lushness(probably not a word) of the forest.

For some reason I had an itch that needed to be curtailed by several beers, and succeeded to cure it with unfortunate consequences in the morning!
Fortunately, a quick stroll around "trail of the cedars" miraculously cured my ails of nights past.

I have an explanation for the above photo: I wasn't caught red handed in the middle of a foray into dendrophilia! I have a good friend that has his profile picture of himself hugging a tree. I felt it my duty as a good friend to mock him a little bit by one-upping him with a bigger tree, an a more ridiculous expression. That, plus I didn't really take many pictures of myself on this excursion, and pictures of me...hugging trees with three appendages is the best I have.

My mom rocking out the best Midwestern mom apparel ever! Phanny pack, camo, and crocs, YEAH!

Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk

 

[MT6bt]

I managed to find an orchid while walking around in the woods!
The next day, we continued westward and stumbled upon the biggest patch of blackberries I've ever seen. My mom, being the canning addict that she is, was in seventh heaven.

These berries cost $4.50/6 oz. in montana! We picked several lbs in under an hour.

It wasn't without consequences, however!

My freezer was packed with berries for the remainder of the trip.
We headed to Snohomish to meet up with some long lost relatives, good beer on tap, and...of course the blueberry bush that's been like an heirloom to our family. It was completely loaded with the most delicious blueberries I've ever had!

More berries?!?
My second cousin's husband's mancave:

On the outside, it looks like a dog kennel...but the inside tells another story! Is that a kegerator? Yep!


Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk

 

[shortbus4x4]

Nice job on the berries. I am good at picking them but for some reason hardly any ever make it home to the freezer.

 

[Rot Box]

Looks like good times. Love the updates thanks for sharing

 

[MT6bt]

Thanks ! I was thinking about restarting this thread.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Yes please.

 

[Canyon Eagle]

Sounds good to me, please do!

 

[justBill]

Thanks ! I was thinking about restarting this thread.

We would appreciate that!