Traversing the US (and back)

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

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Views from the top of Bannock Pass.

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And then into Montana.

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We took a pretty circuitous route into Dillon, Montana where we shopped for groceries, filled water and shopped at the local Patagonia outlet store. The wife scored a $5 bathing suit but nothing else. Dillon seemed like a really cool place; we want to go back.
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

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Leaving Dillon we headed east along Sweetwater Creek.

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There were great open views and then we hit the creek where there were lots of large ranches green from irrigation. It's amazing what a little water can do.

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jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

And then we were climbing back up into a new range of mountains.

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You can just make out the road we climbed - a ribbon of white among the green far below in the valley. Amazing country.
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

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On top of this next range of mountains (well known to the ADVrider crew) there are some 60 miles of great gravel roads. There is nothing technical to this section but it is fun to drive and the views are tremendous. I couldn't stop taking photos, though most of these are taken from the saddle moving.

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rushr

New member
Thanks for making the report on this absolutely incredible trip.

I was on my way home from Big Bend National Park and looking for a break from the pavement when I remembered your trip. I spent yesterday going west to east on the Arkansas section. I made it to the Co Rd 407/Co Rd 5099 intersection before I ran out of daylight and had to continue my way home.
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

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I believe that was Black Butte poking it's head above the horizon.

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And this road just kept going on and on. I remember thinking that it had to stop somewhere, that this beauty couldn't remain constant.

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But I was wrong.

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In the winter I think this place might be a popular snowmobiling area. Imagine it snow-covered and smooth and I can see the draw.

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Looking east at the western slope of the Tetons.
 

Foy

Explorer
Shhhhh! Don't tell anybody.............

.........how great southwest Montana is.

Nice view of Tash Peak on the left and the southern end of the Pioneers in the right distance in the first pic leaving Bannock Pass. Believe that is in fact Black Butte you noted.

Dillon is a great little town. It's a college town and the county seat of Beaverhead County, one of the top 50 largest counties (out of +3,500) in the Lower 48 at around 5,600 square miles). A few years back, we met the guy who was Sheriff back in the mid-1960s. He kept a 1950s Dodge Power Wagon with a big Ramsey PTO winch loaded with gear and hitched to a stock trailer at his ranch just up the Blacktail from Dillon so he could respond to emergencies with "everything he had". "Sheriff Dave" normally rides a mule instead of a horse, claiming they're much smarter and are generally fearless. He is today the bowleggedest fellow in the US of A as a result of being on a mount nearly every day for most of his 75 years.

I'd suggest planning a return trip to include the 3rd weekend in July, when "Bannack Days" is held over at Bannack State Park. I expect kids the ages of yours would very much enjoy a real slice of Montana's frontier history.

Lovin' the pics. Be sure to keep it quiet, eh?

Foy
 
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esh

Explorer
Great report! Looking forward to the rest of it. Some of the pics above are eerily similar to what you might have seen on the Steens Mountain loop above the Alvord. Similar elevation as well.

Looks like it's time to plan a little trip to Montana. :D
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Thanks for making the report on this absolutely incredible trip.

I was on my way home from Big Bend National Park and looking for a break from the pavement when I remembered your trip. I spent yesterday going west to east on the Arkansas section. I made it to the Co Rd 407/Co Rd 5099 intersection before I ran out of daylight and had to continue my way home.

Cool! Yeah, that's a pretty area there by the Ozark Highlands Trail. Glad you could use the route. Take any pictures?
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Great report! Looking forward to the rest of it. Some of the pics above are eerily similar to what you might have seen on the Steens Mountain loop above the Alvord. Similar elevation as well.

Looks like it's time to plan a little trip to Montana. :D

Yes, I keep saying that I'd like to do a shorter trip and loop through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. It might have to be a dual sport moto trip though if I want to do it any time soon. I am disappointed I didn't get to see the top of the Steens. Hard to believe it's that similar (green) when everything around it is so dry.
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

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We camped in copse of pines just down the hill from the curve in this photo.

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These are all views of from the campsite.

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Looking down towards Red Rocks Wildlife Refuge and Targhee National Forest.
 

jessejman

Adventurer
Day 50: Sheep Mountain to Montana

There was a great sunset going on the open grazing land around us inspired me to take a few photos of the sunset. I was hoping to spot some wildlife but kids are pretty good deterrent.

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My youngest was not falling asleep and was fussy so I wrapped her up in my jacket and we went on a walk and watched the sun set over southwest Montana. Not a bad day for our first day in Montana.

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It was very windy and pretty cold (9000') so we picked a great campsite (there aren't many up there) tucked back in the trees. It was pretty difficult to get to - we had to cross a mean looking ditch but it proved worth it and we didn't have any bear visits - my wife was very nervous about this. We cooked a short walk away from the car and hung the food a short walk in a different direction. We hadn't done a whole lot of hanging our bear-proof canister yet; there just didn't seem much need. Usually we'd hang it low but accessible to keep away rodents. But through most of Idaho and definitely the next few days we kept up good bear-hanging practice. We also shut the kids in the car below us and left windows cracked. By this point on our trip that truck was rolling bear snack. There was no keeping it's scent squelched.
 

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