A Cool Sports Car; Montana Hiking; Big Fork – Fashions and Cinnamon Rolls; A Bicycle Fence in Rollins; Idaho Falls Temple; A Fallen Hero; Rising Fuel Prices; Dental Hygiene

Our summer 2021 tour continues…. We spent almost a month in the beautiful state of Montana. While there, we looked around at a few houses just for fun… and in the garage of one found something almost as desirable as the house itself – a beautiful, gorgeous, mint condition McLaren sports car, model MP4-12C. I fell in lust with this car, but it didn’t come with the house, so the heck with that! At least I got to go home with the gal standing by the car!

We enjoyed 10 days in Missoula; one of the attractions there is the plethora of great hiking destinations close to town. This is a shot of Kootenai Creek, south of nearby Lolo, Montana. The creek and trail alongside it are in the Bitterroot National Forest. This is rugged country, with lots of rocky sections, but worth every calorie expended during our hike. Lots of small pools and rapids made for a perfect hike.

Another photo a couple of miles upstream… “almost Heaven”!

Back at the bus, My Lovely Bride is modeling a new vest that she had gotten in Big Fork, Montana, at one of her favorite boutiques. It even matches the paint on our bus! (She was especially pleased that she had gotten it on sale, but saddened to find out that the boutique would be closing permanently because their lease was ending.)

While in Big Fork, we took advantage of a local trail and hiked along the Swan River. This trail was much easier than the Kootenai Creek trail, but it was very pleasant and only 2 minutes from town. 

(Full disclosure: we had stopped at a local bakery, Lake Baked, for a cinnamon roll and had to work it off on the Swan River trail!)

While enjoying our tasty cinnamon roll, we observed this beautiful butterfly collecting pollen from a giant sunflower…

At a campground in Rollins, MT, we admired the fence made of old bicycles that the owners had put up; what a unique display!

On the way south, we stopped again in Idaho Falls. I went for a walk while Suzanne gave a reading. My turn-around point was the impressive Idaho Falls Temple, the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints temple built in Idaho.

My walk to the Temple took me along the Snake River, where in a small park I found this memorial to a young US Coast Guardsman, Boatswain’s Mate Third Class Travis Raymond Obendorf, who died from injuries received during a daring and successful search and rescue of the crew of the fishing boat Alaska Mist in the Bering Sea, off Alaska. It reminded me how much every American owes to the young men and women of our armed services, police and firefighters who risk their lives unselfishly so that we can enjoy the freedoms and liberties that we have come to expect as our birthrights. The recent loss of thirteen service men and women in Afghanistan is yet another reminder of their sacrifices.

I am sure that everyone who shops for food or goes to a gas station has noticed that inflation is roaring back… this photo shows what gas prices are like out west. Diesel is about the same, mostly over $4.00 per gallon on the Interstate, and the fuel tank on our bus is 230 gallons. We’re hoping that they aren’t as bad back on the east coast when we get back home, but as the saying goes, “Hope is not a strategy.”

Finally, a canine dental post to brighten your day – we all know how important it is to brush our teeth regularly. But our four legged furry friends also need their teeth cleaned daily, and it isn’t part of Puppy School training. We have been brushing our Dachshunds’ teeth for ages, and our second generation puppies, Nellie and Rusty, are used to Suzanne making sure their teeth are brushed before bedtime. Rusty, however, likes it so much that after Suzanne finishes, he grabs the toothbrush between his paws and works on it for another few minutes! Well done, Rusty!