It's day 443, July 22, 2020, and we're in the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area in Montana!

It's day 443, July 22, 2020, and we're in the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area in Montana!

Today, we covered around 150 miles, traveling from Clark Canyon Reservoir to our campsite here in the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area.

And a real highlight of the journey... was a visit to Bannack State Park. Now...kinda sucky that Due to COVID-19 restrictions, full visits weren't available, but discovering this gem was still a treat. The park is open year-round with available campgrounds. However, the real treasure is the meticulously maintained ghost town of Bannack, Montana.

Founded in 1864 after gold was discovered in Grasshopper Creek, Bannack rapidly grew and was named the first territorial capital of Montana. But the title soon shift....82 miles to the northeast as mining activity shifted to Virginia City.

As Bannack dwindled into the 1950s, Montana declared it a state park and has since maintained over 60 structures. Studying these well-preserved buildings up close gives you a glimpse of life nearly 160 years ago. It's definitely worth a longer visit in the future.

A word to the wise: if you visit in mid-summer, like we did, bring mosquito repellent. With Grasshopper Creek winding through the area, there's no shortage of those pesky little guys...

Interstate 15 North may be rural, but it's still an interstate. Encountering six cars per hour is considered heavy traffic in these Montana hills....none the less...our perfect opportunity to leave the highway's hustle and bustle came in the form of a place called... Wolf Creek. We fueled up at the only gas station for miles.....and spent a couple hours havin lunch....and nosing around a boarded up old motel right next door....before heading on down a two-lane back road toward the Missouri River, aiming for Craig, Montana—or so we thought.

Having passed through here last year, obligations on the west coast meant we couldn't give the area the time it deserved. This year, we aimed to rectify that. But as usual....were easily distracted...and didn't make it to Craig last night.

For anyone out there studying a map, you already know that Craig was just nine miles ahead, but that stretch held plenty of diversions as the Missouri River came into view....and turn off's popped up everywhere....both asphalt and dirt.

Our first detour was a right turn just before a bridge, marked as Holter Dam Recreation Area. It's a fly fisherman's paradise with RV parking and boat launches galore. After snapping a few photos, we backtracked to the bridge and turned right again, this time exploring Holter Lake and what looks like....some of the best outdoor recreation Montana has to offer.

And from the looks of the log homes perched around the lake, it's also a good spot to invest in a summer home if you're into majestic scenery, wildlife in every form...and have deep pockets.

Pretty awesome drive up around the lake.....and around 4 miles or so past the last RV park and marina.....it got even better. Holter Lake narrows back into the Missouri River, the private property signs and fences vanish,....and the road transitions to dirt....Montana opening up before us...again

Passing the sign welcoming us to the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area...we encountered a wilderness as real as it gets... complete with those "Bear Aware" signs....now...we'd seen those before....what we hadn't seen....is a check in spot. The site was unmanned.....but loaded with details around camping opportunities....and cautions to take. Raises the awareness a bit when asked to complete a registration card for the drop box....It made sure to gather all emergency contact information...as well as intended dates of stay. Montana watchin out after folks....just keepin track I spose.

Even with our cell signal...long since behind us.....following the dirt road passed potential camp sites....became pretty clear....that in our 32 foot...fully self contained RV....we were living it up out this way....encountered...and waived....at 5 fellow campers.....3...in tents......the other two....small travel trailers....pick ups unhooked and gone....looked like those folks were planning on being here for a bit....and I can see why...looked like nature....wilderness...at it's finest...Montana style.

We found the perfect spot....well shaded from a pretty warm afternoon...and right alongside a creek. We were set up within minutes....windows open....enjoying the afternoon breeze...thinking through the fact that we didn't have the bear spray recommended at the check in spot....so I'd already decided that there would be no exploring outside for Billie....and Dougie....he just have to deal with the dad leash....and his exploring would stay near the motor home..... It was about then when a care taker rolled up in a side by side.

Super nice guy....he had our registration card and asked if he could take a couple photo's of our rig to attach to the info I'd left on the card.....it was pretty cool I thought....how seriously folks are lookin out for us....I also thought....wow....this must really be....Wilderness.....and that thought was driven home even further when the caretaker pointed at Dougie and said....keep him close....he explained that "we just lost a puppy yesterday morning to a mountain lion...seems some campers let him out unattended and ..... well....things didn't end well for the little guy"....He also shared how he had encountered a grizzly just this morning....just up the hill in front of us....He shared that typically...encounters with Mountain Lions and Bears in the area were pretty rare....but the last couple of days had proven....it can happen. Yea.....we'll definitely be careful...I assured him....

And it wasn't all about the potentially scary stuff....we had a good talk....he told me a ton about the area....and his job....the cool stuff he got to see and do .... on this 36 thousand acres of Montana. He told us about the 1990 wildfire that devastated the area...we'd read about that on a marker on the way in.... and the subsequent efforts to allow it to recover. He shared that the area had been mainly private ranch land....until the Montana Fish and Wildlife department purchased it in 1970....and established the Wildlife Managment area.

As he was off to finish his check ins for the day....we spent the afternoon...and evening....gazing into those mountains...listening to the creek....and wondering what types of critters might be slithering around in the tall green grasses that lined it....Also thinking how odds might be pretty good....that those mountain lions....and bears.....and all those deer and elk....they are probably enjoying that creek as well....probably .... not even that far from us.

And studying that tent campsite just up the creek from us....and how different their experience would be here then ours....in our vintage....nearly 40-year-old Vacilando....how they's probably enjoy coffee over a morning campfire after brushin their teeth along side the creek...while we...well...we had a bathroom.

We spent as much time inside....as out....but made good use of the windows....each time a few deer grazed passed....wondered how many mountain lions might be watchin em....just like we were.

And another evening falling asleep in Montana, listening to a creek just below our window, and waking before sunrise to startle those deer....and sending them bounding over the mountain as we stepped out for our first walk of the day......and over that first cup of coffee....staring at the storm-threatening skies.....pondering how so different they looked than when I fell asleep the night before.

I also wondered....how much better it could this get...

I had no idea at that moment.....how very soon....I'd find out...