I had the opportunity to meet some dear friends from New Mexico in Boise, ID this coming weekend. I jumped at the chance and my plan was to split the drive into two or three segments. This past Tuesday evening I drove from Helena to just past Dillon, MT to the Clark Canyon Reservoir.
When I left Helena it was HOT! They had just set a new high temperature record (94 degrees, I believe) and I needed to gain some altitude! The drive past Montana City, Boulder, and Butte is always beautiful and it did not disappoint! The only negative is that it started raining (spotty) past Butte and the wind was really blowing hard. I drove about 55 mph as anything faster just felt unsafe in the wind. The landscape is so beautiful that I most certainly did not mind traveling slowly – it just gave me more time to enjoy the beauty that God created! Excellent workmanship!
Located about twenty miles south of Dillon, MT along I-15 is the Clark Canyon Reservoir and campground(s). The reservoir is the headwaters of the Beaverhead River. There are several campgrounds around the area – most of them free. I pulled into the Beaverhead Campground on the north-east side of the dam, made my loop thru, and picked a spot. There were about ten campers when I arrived. The wind was still blowing pretty hard so I simply dropped the jacks to level the motorhome and left the slides in for the night.
I awoke to a beautiful morning and took the following photos! This isn’t a particularly tree-filled portion of Montana but it is still very pretty. Possibly more importantly, we’re up at about 5500′ which should help reduce the heat that I had been experiencing in Helena.
My plan was to put a full day’s work in on Wednesday and then drive another segment Wednesday night.
Remember how I mentioned that changing plans is inevitable (here)? Well… sure enough.
One of my friend’s grandchildren had a medical situation that required their attention so their trip to Boise was canceled. Without any other reason to go to Boise (except possibly to meet the famous Andrea Lutz – a Montana gal working at Boise KTVB news!!), I canceled my trip as well. Now I’m back to being kinda footloose. I think I’ll hang out here for the rest of the week and hope the weekend campers are too wild. Maybe I’ll even get the yacht… er.. kayak in the water!
Theresa Herrera says
I am requesting permission to use your aerial photos of White Ridge Bike Trail
(formerly White Mesa). The photos will be used for a BLM virtual roadtrip “My
Public Lands Summer Roadtrip.” We will be sure to give you credit.
We would like to use the first three aerial photos that are on the website.
Thank you.
JD says
Hi Theresa, Yes, you have my permission – that sounds like a neat project. Please send me a link to it when finished!