Mazzochi Adventures: August 2020

Fort Peck Dam- 5 miles long, the longest land dam ever built!

Ken fraternizing with the neighbors...

7/19-7/20/20 Stayed 2 nights at 2 different free sites along the Fort Peck Reservoir

Loved this sign! There was no road...

7/21/20- Malta MT

7/23/20- Crossing the Continental Divide

7/24/20- Avalanche Lake Trail, Glacier National Park

The east side of the park is on reservation land and was closed- so we had to go to the west side. Our RV is over 21' so we could not drive up to Logan Pass, the shuttles are not running, and they wanted $160/day to rent a car! All the campgrounds were closed except fish creek- which is booked for the rest of the season.

The park and this trail were very busy. Got to the trailhead by 9am and the parking area was already full- we had to park 1 mile away and ride our bikes to the trailhead- but it was totally worth it...

We hiked 1/2 way around the lake to find this beautiful lunch spot that was not so crowded. 1 1/2 hour lunch- it was so beautiful we didn't want to leave.

The Trail of Cedars connects to Avalanche Lake Trail

7/25/20- Lake Macdonald, Glacier National Park

7/25-7/26/20- Hungry Horse Reservoir: overflow lot across from Doris Creek Campground (or reject lot as our pilot friend called it who is out traveling with his family since planes are not flying). The reject lot was the best- with a communal fire pit in the middle where we could meet the neighbors. I roasted bananas to share, and our professor friend brought out huckleberry ice cream to put on top!

Went kayaking on Hungry Horse Reservoir- excellent place to kayak with beautiful views!

7/27/20- Lion Mountain Trail, Whitefish, MT

Really nice trail with a beautiful overlook!

Marty's- our Boondocker Welcome parking spot for the night. We parked between 2 bird hotels- and awoke to a beautiful chorus in the morning.

Ok, this looked like another nice biking trail near Whitefish... took the green dot trail, supposedly the novice trail, yeah right! Biked all the way up the mountain on the narrow, not so easy single track.

Tried the moderate otter pop trail down- which was a scary grade to even walk my bike down! When we got to the platforms with a several foot drop off, I decided this was too difficult for me- we found a bailout trail back to the supposedly 'easy' trail. (Forgot to take pics of the moderate trail- I was a little overwhelmed) I was thinking... if this is moderate, what do the difficult or advanced trails look like??

Ok, I may have walked a bit of the novice jumps as well.

7/29/20- view from our Boondocker Welcome at Flathead Lake

7/31/20 Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge

There are over 500 of these Wildlife Refuges in the US- great places to take a stroll

and view wildlife. Much quieter and less travelled than the National Parks.

Bitteroot River, Stevensville Montana

Quail

St Mary's Mission- founded in 1841 by Father Pierre Desmet for the Salish people.

This was the first settlement in Montana.

8/2/20- Kayaking the Clearwater River

Saw a beautiful river otter, but did not get a picture...

Hiked up over this ridge at Roger's Pass- nice views!

8/2/20- sunset at Lowry Bridge- our BLM campsite near Simms Montana

8/3/20 Biked the Rivers Edge Trail along the Missouri River, Great Falls Montana

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

The explorers used a hollowed out cottonwood tree canoe to haul their supplies.

Giant Springs State Park- 56 degree cold springs in a pool that spilled over into the smallest river in the US- running into the Missouri River- the longest river in the US.