John and I headed out to Glacier again. Judy and Mike had some things to do so we went without them. I was able to get reservations for today so we did not have to wait until 3:00 to enter. We didn’t get as early of a start as we had hoped but we arrived about 8:30 this morning. Our main goal today was to hike Avalanche Lake trail. By the time we arrived all the parking lots were filled including some that were a mile away. So we decided to head to St Mary’s Lake and take a hike to Baring Falls.

We stopped at Logan’s Pass Visitor Center to use the facilities and as soon as we got out of the car we saw Big horn Sheep in the parking lot. The bladder can wait!!

There were 3 of them and they just sat and posed for everyone. What more can you ask for? Maybe a Grizzly or two or three or four? Well that is exactly what we got just after we left the parking lot. We started from way across the valley and then we drove to the other side to get ahead of them.

The top left is when I was on the other side of this ridge. The others were after we drove to the other side. I know these are not great shots, but they wouldn’t look up. John made me get back in the truck because he said I was too close. I had a really long lens on my camera–I wasn’t that close.

We finally got to St. Mary’s Lake and hiked to the falls. The lake is beautiful, the hike would have been better if it wasn’t so wet and cold.

After leaving St. Mary’s we headed back toward Avalanche Lake to see if we could get a parking spot. We circled around a few times and found someone backing out. Yay! We set off for what was to be the highlight of our day. (Actually the bear did it for me). We got about .5 mile in and it started to rain. We decided to keep going. It rained, it stopped, it rained and then it poured. We were about 1/2 way there. John thought it best we turn around because there was already a stream running down the trail. I am sure he was more concerned that I would fall. Anyway, we turned around and suddenly we heard thunder and knew we made the right decision. Though we were disappointed and cold and wet, we had a great time.

Tomorrow we set out to cross the border. It might be a while before I post. Not sure what internet service we will have.

We spent 3 days in McCullough Peaks. The view from our camper was incredible and the silence was like something you can never experience in a city or even a small town. There is something about sitting there enjoying the view and just hearing birds sing and the wind blow. We arrived ahead of schedule because I did not look at the calendar and just thought the 27th was Wednesday. So we rushed to make sure we arrived when our camping buddies were due to arrive. Needless to say they arrived a day later.

While we waited we searched for the wild mustangs that roam this land. McCullough Peaks is made up of 25,000+ acres of BLM land. We had spent a couple days out here last year when we went to Yellowstone. So we were pros now. We headed out to the “usual” spots that we saw horses but, funny how that works. You go one time and think you know it all. It took a while but we finally found some. First we found 3 horses hanging out not far from our camp. We are assuming those are the ones that visited us the night before. Then we roamed all over the property and we saw about 7 in the very far distance. While trying to figure out how to get to those horses, we discovered more than 30 horses much closer to us. We found our way to them and I had a ball.

Driving around McCullough Peaks is really hard work. The roads are rough–I had to purchase a sports bra- there are all kind of ruts and steep hills and scary slopes. But it is still fun. You have to stay on the paths that are there so it makes it difficult to get where you have to go.

Judy an Mike finally arrived about 9:00 PM Thursday night. They had had a long three or four days of traveling. They were hungry and tired. We threw some hot dogs in a pan (because it is so windy you can’t keep the grill going), while Mike and Judy set up their camp. After their quick dinner we toasted with some “blush” sparkling juice. (Apple and cherry which was really delicious)

The next morning we set out to find some horses. . .

I won’t bore you with the 400+ pictures I took. There were some times they were just too close to get pictures. At one point Judy and I wandered up the road to get a better angle and we took some shots and started talking when we heard John screaming to move. Three horses were coming right at us. I never moved so fast–ok that’s a lie. I moved much faster in my younger days. When I run now, I don’t move faster I just seem to put a bounce in my steps. John can always tell when I am running because my boobs bounce. That’s the only difference between my walk and run. Anyway, I didn’t even watch for cactus–luckily I didn’t step on any. I wish John had a picture of that. Later that night we went back to see if we could get some more pictures and that large group totally disappeared. We couldn’t find them anywhere. It’s amazing how fast they can disappear.

It was a great time–just love this place–but we are headed out. Next stop Glacier National Park.

Before I even start I have to go backwards a bit. While we were in Wall we found a quilt store. It has to be the tiniest quilt store in the world.

This is half the store. Sorry, I thought I got a picture of the entire store but it was just next to the sign. In this tiny store–which was probably about 20×16–she had a longarm machine. She had one or two shelves with fabric and some fat quarters and panels. The lady was super nice–will stop again if I am ever in the area.

We left the Badlands and headed to McCullough Peaks where we will be until the 29th. John and I had two gps’ going–because we like to see the different routes. His was taking us from I90 to HWY 14 whereas mine was taking us I90 to HWY 16. My route was shorter so we opted for that. In addition there were several large billboards making note that HWY 14 to Yellowstone is less steep and more scenic. This was a no brainer. That is until we went to make our turn and there was a sign stating there was road damage and it advises you take another route. Though it was really scenic–it ended up taking us about 2 hours longer. We did stop along the way at a scenic overlook to have lunch and enjoy the view.

We arrived at McCullough Peaks and there was a truck blocking the entrance so we went up ahead to another location. Though the other location was quite beautiful, it was going to be a pain every time we went out. That location did not have any roads that led deeper into the area–it just led to a great campsite. We waited until the truck moved and went back to the main entrance. We found the site we used last year and dropped the trailer, then headed off to look for some wild mustangs. Naturally we went to all the areas we searched last year–where we saw them–but there were no signs. I know John loves driving around on these dirt roads but let me tell you ladies, wear a sports bra. I had to hold these puppies down, they were bouncing so hard I was afraid I would get a couple of black eyes.

After our off road adventure, John wanted to go into Cody to get some Huckleberry ice cream so we took a drive into town. Cody is only about 30 minutes from here.

We went to the Bigg Chill downtown and John got his White Chocolate Huckleberry ice cream and I got the Bourbon Maple Pecan. Not that I needed it-but it was worth it.

We came back to camp about 10:00 and I was ready for bed. It had been a long day. I know my kids are laughing at this–me going to bed at 10:00 but, I hardly fell asleep on the drive here so, I was exhausted. John went outside and I could hear him calling me but more at a whisper. The horses were right next to the campground. I could hardly see them but, John was like a little kid–he was so excited. And he is snapping away with his phone.

If you zoom you can kind of see them. Hopefully we will get some great shots today.