We are just outside of Helena MT.  Our site is on a bit of a bluff with a great view of Houser Lake and the mountains beyond.  It is mostly a fishing camp so very peaceful.  A neighbor even offered us a fresh caught trout.  We are mostly relaxing and enjoying the wonderful sunny, 70⁰ weather.  Osprey, Bald Eagles, and Terns fish here.  Watching them is always entertaining.

The warm weather tempted us into a little hiking.  Trout Creek Trail follows a creek into a narrow, steep- cliffed canyon.  The challenge, 10 wet-foot creek crossings.  The highlight, canyon views.  3.5 out of 5 stars.  There was essentially no wildlife else, it was a great walk.

We claimed a bit of asphalt at the Butte Wal-Mart.  It came with refer trucks and parking lot lights.  Not the best choice for a peaceful evening but it worked in a pinch.  We got our shopping done too.

Well, the name might overreach just a bit.  The museum is on the site of the Orphan Girl Mine in Butte MT and includes the restored community that housed and served the miners up until the mine closed in 1950.  Scattered across the property is a collection of mining equipment from around the area through the years.  Most impressive to me, in a creepy sort of way, the headframe, hoist and cages that lowered these workers everyday into a shaft 2700+ feet deep.  Oh, I could so not do that.  It made me cringe a bit to stand in one of the cages at ground level.  One hallway was lined with stark black and white photos of miners as they have emerged from their workday.  I have seen similar collections various places.  These smudged faces, especially their eyes speak volumes.

I suppose it was a necessity before power equipment but here is a really disturbing fact; they worked as many as 1000 mules at a time down in the mines.  They went blind in weeks in complete darkness.  A photo sequence shows how they harness, restrain and handle the mules to get them into the cages to lower them into the mines.  As the cage disappears into the shaft, the mule is sitting upright in a canvas jacket and a hood covering its head.  Its legs are bound against its body.

The drive up 287 toward Helena follows the Madison River.  It winds through a wide valley edged with snow capped mountains.  The views are spectacular and the open land a haven for wildlife: elk, big horned sheep (roadside, not dots way off on the mountain peaks), pronghorn and deer.  Mountain tops reflect in the many lakes that line the valley including Earthquake Lake that formed when a mountainside slipped and a depression formed after a quake.   It is a great alternate route to get off the Interstate for a while. Kent even agrees, it is pretty good two-lane.   We stopped at the Virginia City NHL.  We strolled Main Street.   It is lined with restored and some rebuilt 1860s mining era buildings.  There is even a working hotel.  We are a little ahead of season so it wasn’t open yet so we could really check it out but this might be a fun place for a few days in season.

We headed south and east in the park today and soon found ourselves driving through a tunnel of 8 foot drifts alongside the road. Yellowstone Lake is still ice and snow covered.  Snow hangs in the lodgepole pine across the mountainsides and covers surrounding peaks.  The Lamar valley is snow covered too, no wolves today.  It definitely still looks like winter here and temperatures never reached 40 made it feel like it too.  Thankfully it is a bright sunny day so we strolled among the geysers (in our winter coats and gloves).  We had to check out an Old Faithful eruption!

The grizzlies don’t mind the snow.  One is intently munching on a winter kill bison along the river bank.  A second bear is prowling a picnic area waiting for a chance to get past onlookers to share in the riverside repast.  We got a good look at both of them. Very impressive.

Heading back to camp, a marmot peeked out to check on us.  Many sandhill crane pairs seem to like this place.  Fewer buffalo and elk made appearances but we saw a few.

We rerouted just a bit to make a pass through Yellowstone.  It has been a great visit so far.  With the snow just leaving, the mega fauna are out and about noshing on whatever new green has come up.  A mama grizzly led her triplets out for all to see.  Two black bears and a lone grizzly were out munching along the hillside.  Elk are everywhere; sometimes solo and sometimes in herds of at least one hundred.  They are just starting to loose their shaggy winter coats so some look pretty scruffy. Buffalo, brown rocks, dot every open valley.  The calves are red and easy to spot.  They are quite persistent pestering mama to get her to stand up so they can nurse.  We even saw mountain goats.  Tomorrow, the search is on for the wolves and moose.  That’s if we don’t get snowed in or frozen out.  It is dipping to 25 or so tonight.  Oh, goody!

We are heading north on I-15.  It is sort of the high-speed route to Yellowstone through the Snake River valley of eastern Idaho, prime potato growing country. We found some interesting stops.

They raise trout.  LOTs of trout.  It is purely a sportsmans’ hatchery.  They mostly raise sterile, hybrid, usually all female, trout for release into Idaho waters to enhance the angling experience.  They hybridize to increase growth rate and “fight”.  They claim it actually protects native trout species by preventing overfishing.  That might be; but, all that competition for food and prime streambed can’t possible be helping the locals.  Anyway, the guys were moving little fishes and spent some time explaining their efforts.

Did you know?  If you expose fertilized trout eggs to high pressure just as they begin mitosis the resulting fish will all be sterile but otherwise unharmed.  I didn’t think to ask how they figured that out.

Now, this is a bit odd but really fun stop. We even met the owner/curator. He apparently often prowls the place and really is proud of his creation. There are collections of all sorts of cleaning related stuff like vacuum cleaners through the ages and the evolution of soap and cleaners. There is humor everywhere from whimsical creatures to unexpected quips. He’s about a clean mind too, with the philosophy that art and music clean/clear the mind. There are art exhibits too.

There is a lot packed into this historic train station in downtown Blackfoot.  They chronicle the well loved tuber from ancient times to modern agriculture practices and processing.  There is a Mr. Potato head collection.