Travels with haRVy

Other than Glacier National Park, I didn’t know much about what Montana has to offer, so I picked up several brochures at the Murray Hotel in Livingston (see previous post) and started doing my homework. I came up with two different types of trail outings that fit our interests.

The first was the Clearwater River Canoe Trail just north of Seeley Lake, Montana.

The dirt road to the put-in provided a few obstacles in the way of low hanging branches that I had to hook with our awning pole and hold aside while Al drove past. We were a bit hesitant when we saw how narrow the river was at the put-in. Then the clouds let loose just as we set off. We quickly donned our foulies and carried on anyway. Luckily the rain did not last very long and we eventually dried out. The river trail provided a pleasant, although not spectacular, setting for a two-hour downstream paddle into the lake.

The second half of the outing was a hike back through the woods to the put-in to retrieve haRVy. Upper body work out in one direction and lower body on return. Can’t beat that!

Our second outing was to peddle the Hiawatha Trail, a 15-mile rail trail that crosses the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. We had to take a bit of a detour from our intended route to do it, but the prospect of riding our bikes through ten tunnels (including one nearly 2 miles long!) and across seven high steel trestles seemed worth the effort.

The entrance to the Taft Tunnel which burrows for 1.7 miles under the state line.
It was pretty spooky in there, plus damp and cold!

Made it through!

We had lunch and enjoyed the view from this picnic-table rock.

Helmets and lights are mandatory on this trail.

It was difficult to get good photos of the trestles, but this one provides an idea of what they are like.

Nice wildflowers around, but just about finished for this season.

Many interpretive panels that share the colorful history of the railroad, the 1910 fire, old mining towns, the early Forest Service and current management practices line the path.

To complete the adventure a harrowing shuttle ride back up a dirt forest road to the parking lot is included. This was definitely one of the most unique bike rides we’ve ever done!

Shortly after leaving Yellowstone National Park via the North Entrance, we came into the town of Livingston, Montana, which we found quite interesting. Everything except eating establishments, a historic hotel, the railroad museum, and one art gallery were closed on the Sunday afternoon of our arrival, but the town pride could still be felt in the restored main street businesses, tidy parks, and well kept homes.

 I can’t resist taking photos of good signs.

Love it when old neon gets repurposed.

The century-old Murray Hotel boasts being an authentic Western Hotel (not sure that applies to the neon) with modern amenities. We toured the beautiful lobby (sorry didn’t take photos) where many historical artifacts are displayed.

Doctor Livingston?
Note how neatly he arranged his things on the coffee table.

Businesses seemed to be doing well – no chain stores on this Main Street.

Our Mi-Fi hooked into an excellent Internet connection in Livingston, which we had been lacking for several days, so we spent the afternoon at beautiful Sacajawea Park getting caught up with email, blog posts, banking and other online business. We felt so comfortable (and found no signs outlawing overnight parking) that we decided to stealthily camp there. It proved to be a good choice, as it was very quiet and nobody bothered us until the 6:30 AM soccer practice the next morning.

Somebody should buy this abandoned Art Deco gem and turn it into a home.