Never a Wrong Turn (Ever): Leaving Kalispell 7/12 and 7/13

Seely Lake

Mike in the water.

Working hard

These kids worked for a long time burying this boy. They were so industrious and working so cooperatively that it was fun to watch.

We wrapped up our equipement trading tasks in Kalispell, said goodbye to Brian and Jackie who so graciously let us park by them and use their electricity and left to deliver the motorhome to the buyers in Wolf Creek, Montana. I drove the motorhome while Mike drove the trailer and we drove to Seely Lake where we spent the night. We drove through moutain canyons to the East side of the continential divide and as we did, the terain got dryer and dryer. But even in the dry regions, the grass was still green and flowers were blooming as Montana had a very wet and late Spring this year. I don't have many pictures to post, because I can't drive and take pictures at the same time. I've tired, and I don't want to talk about it!
We camped at Seely Lake which was only about three hours from Kalispell. We talked with the campground hosts who were from South Dakota and have been hosting there for three years. They stay the entire summer. They have also hosted in Arizona, but said that those positions are very hard to come by as many snow birds snap them up for the free camp sites. We told them we were a little jealous, as in Montana, campground hosts get full official looking uniforms while in Washington, we only got green vests and hats. They laughed and said that they couldn't seem to land a place on the coast either.

We went down by the lake to enjoy the sun. A family had a boat pulled up on the sand and were about to take their kids waterskiing. Mike yearned to waterski and worked up his courage to ask if they would take him. Proving that it never hurts to ask, they said yes and took him out. Mike used to waterski well but hadn't skied for many years. He tried and tried, but couldn't get up. It was very windy and he had trouble staying in position and the kind people with the boat didn't keep presure on the rope to help. At least that is one of the possible reasons. Parkinson's disease may have something to do with it too. I am very proud of him for trying so hard!

The next day we left early and drove to Wolf Creek. We went through beautiful ranch country with lots of cows and horses and even saw some antelope grazing on the side of the road. How rude to be there when I was driving and couldn't take pictures! We got to the buyer's home and traded the motorhome for the check she had withdrawn from her 401k. Then we drove 30 minutes into Helena to deposit the check. And the bank wouldn't take the check. I should have known that a third party check in that amount might pose some problems. The sweet buyer immediately hopped in her car and drove to the bank. Again, we have met the nicest people on this journey!

We left, in one vehicle and drove through more gorgeous farm country to Potosi hot springs near Pony, Montana. Many deserted farm houses and barns dot the land leaving me wondering about who lived there, when, how many children did they raise in that small space and why did they leave. One house, though on private property, was open to the public to walk around and did have a plaque explaining some of the history of the house. We ambled and bumped down a dirt road 9 miles from Pony to a small, secluded beautiful campground. It is nestled between mountain ridges in mixed pine, aspen, green grass and many flowers. I love the combinations of blue-green, green and the purples and yellows of the flowers. The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees and sunny. We cooked some chicken on the fire, and played cribbage basking in nature's glory. Tomorrow we will take the trail to the hotspring.