Day Seven - Missoula MT to Bozeman MT

Once again I dropped Victoria off in the morning for six more hours of lectures.

It was then my job to pack up our stuff and check out of the hotel by 1:00 pm.

While I was temporarily homeless I stopped by a park area near downtown Missoula and shot the following short video clip.



On my way to pick up Victoria at 3:00 pm I found a surprise Mother's Day deal for her. After picking her up I took her for a free hot fudge sundae from DQ. Yum! Of course I paid for one for Dad too :-)

After polishing off our hot fudge sundaes we headed east on I-90 for the first leg of our journey back home. We're not sure we would like it here in the winter, but Montana in the spring…we're a bit sad to leave it.

Next is our Yellowstone adventure...

Day Six - Missoula MT

Saturday began by dropping Victoria off for class at The University of Montana around 7:30 am. She had a full day of lectures and group work from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.



My mission for the day was to make it into Idaho and knock that state off my list of states visited.

I left Missoula mid-morning and followed Highway 12, which is essentially the historical Lolo Trail, through Lolo Pass into Idaho.



Mission accomplished!



There is a very convenient Visitor Center on the Idaho side of the Montana / Idaho state line. And yes, there is still snow at that elevation.



My whole round trip from Missoula into Idaho and back to Missoula only took a couple of hours so I was back at the hotel for lunch. I spent a leisurely Saturday afternoon watching a movie and doing some trip planning for our return to Ohio.

After picking Victoria up, and having a light dinner, we accomplished the mundane task of getting our laundry done.

Victoria said one of her favorite memories of the day was the smell of all the Lilac and Jasmine bushes blooming.

We're now halfway through our trip and will be generally eastbound for the remainder of it.

Day Five - Billings MT to Missoula MT

Good morning beautiful blue Montana morning sky!

Energized by a hearty breakfast, we started the last leg of our l-o-n-g drive to Missoula.

Victoria says she may have found her beautiful Montana ranch she's been pining for. What a spot!



Captain William Clark apparently thought so many years ago. He and his group, Sacagawea among them, set up camp here.



The beauty of the distant snow peaked mountains, the spring-green high plains, the winding Yellowstone and Clark Fork Rivers made the five-hour drive rom Billings to Missoula go by rather quickly.

Once we arrived in Missoula, we decided to hike the "M" on Sentinel Mountain, a University of Montana tradition. We made it up and down safe and sound.



Another soak in the hot tub and then lights out early since Victoria has a full day of class Saturday. That is the "real" reason for this trip after all.