Backtracking
Thursday 8/24
Today we left Glacier. Our road south took us back past Flathead Lake through the towns we visited on our way North. The lake was, of course, beautiful, the Mission Mountains majestic, the small towns lovely. We had so enjoyed our time here it was difficult to say good-bye.
US 93 from Flathead to Missoula is an excellent road for RVers. There is only one short steep grade to descend and Tom handled it expertly.
With only a two hour drive to Missoula, we were in no hurry and planned to stop if something caught our eye. The first was a coffee shop, where we both savored an excellent brew with our Pepperidge Farm cookies. While there we received a call from David one of our Seminole Friends. I was good to hear from them and catch-up on their summer travels. David and Janet own Kiko the standard poodle.
Saint Ignatius Mission was next. Founded in 1954 by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and Father Adrian Hoecken at the request of the local Indian Tribes. The current church was built about 1890 and the interior murals painted by Brother Joseph Carignano the parish cook. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is stunning.
Further on we came to an overlook area on the highway. We had not expected it but we could see the National Bison Range from this vantage. There was a herd of 60 or 70 Bison enjoying the grass and waterhole. I was a bit taken aback by the sign posted at the trail. Signage also explained the design of the US 93. US, State, and Tribal representative met to create a design that would make the highway safe for both humans and animals. About 40 underpasses and one overpass were included to give animals safe passage across. Fencing was designed to funnel the animals into the underpasses preventing them from being killed by passing cars.
Before long we arrived at our new resting place, Jellystone RV park outside of Missoula.
August 27th, 2016