The Route of the Hiawatha

We've been watching the weather this week to try to assure we spend as little time in the rain as possible. So today's ride is the Route of the Hiawatha. This graveled trail is advertised as 15 miles in one direction, with 10 tunnels and 7 trestles. It's a magnificant trail with glorious scenery. With our e-bikes, we rode in both directions.

Paula and I have done the trail at least 3-4 times, and never get tired of it. The only thing that's tough is cleaning the bikes afterward. You see, the tunnels all have water in them, and it's easy to get rather dirty.

Thanks to Barb, Kim, Ann, and Sandy, we only had to take two cars to the starting point. We fit three bikes in the bed of Kim & Barb's truck and their two bikes on the bike rack. Sandy & Ann had their bikes on their bike rack and had room to carry Diane, Leslie & Paula. What a gang!

It's a slow going trail due to the surface and the views. But check out our photos! It was worth it.

Me at the end of the day, loading bikes. Don't look too closely for dirt!

And Colby and Queso were so glad that we all came back to the campground!

Hamilton, MT to Kingston, ID

 Today we said goodbye to Bonnie and Kathe to drive to Kingston, ID for our exploration of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene and the Route of the Hiawatha.  Paula & I have done both trails many times, but it is so much fun to share them with others.

We stopped in St. Regis which boasts huckleberry shakes. Barb succumed and declared them yummy. 

Tam, Deb, Kim, Barb and we stayed at the Albert's Landing Campground. This is a quiet RV park up the road a bit from the Snake Pit restaurant -- a place friends who have done this trip with us before will recognize.  Sandy and Ann rented a B&B in nearby Pinehurst which worked out perfectly.

Here was our route:

Diane joined us in Kingston, so now we were nine! What fun!

Our first bike ride was the next day. We road from Kingston west on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene through Kellogg to Wallace, Id. This town is reminescent of the silver mining days. They have a sign on one of their monuments that says "If it cannot be grown, it must be mined." It also features 'the center of the universe' as one of the street intersections. We had hoped for huckleberry shakes at the Redlight Garage in town, but alas, it is now closed. We had to settle for a photo of their space ship out front.

We lunched at the City Limits restaurant and brew pub. Afterwards, we checked out the Wallace train depot, and Leslie & Paula got their growler filled at Wallace Brewing. Then it was back to Kingston. 40.8 miles today. Paula & I need to be careful or we'll tire people out too quickly.

Here are a couple more photos:

Tam & Deb split a salad for lunch. Do you like Deb's portion?

Paula & Diane find the best ways to relax after the ride.

Drive to Hamilton, MT to see Bonnie & Kathe

 The sunset last night was spectacular:

And the sunrise in the morning was even better!

Barb, Kim, Tam & Deb tried to stay at a Harvest Host we had stayed at in Billings, but they were full, so stayed at a nearby rest area. Leslie & Paula stayed at a different harvest host that was further off the beaten path, but gorgeous. The Muddy Creek Ranch in Wilsall, MT was quiet with five other RVers and us in a grassy area behind a barn. We chose it because they offered electric, but we figured out we didn’t need it. They had advertised grass-fed beef, but unfortunately we found no way to purchase as we never saw the owners.

Today we drove from Wilsall to Hamilton, MT to visit with Bonnie & Kathe, who we know from the Pueblo in Arizona. They have a lovely spread with views of the mountains, and room for three RVs. Ann & Sandy joined us here. Tomorrow we’ll have a potluck with a few of Kathe & Bonnie’s friends added to the mix.

I have to tell you about our drive. You’ll see on the map below three choices. We took the southern leg because our rig is only 24’ long. Ann and Sandy took the middle route because they were in a car, and Barb, Kim, Tam and Deb took the upper route with their large RVs and tow vehicles. All of us got wonderful scenery. Paula and I left very early (at 6:00AM) and were able to see many deer, prong horn, a black bear, an eagle, plus non-stop mountain vistas.

We arrived at Kathe & Bonnie’s in time to make grill cheese sandwiches (with fig jam) for lunch on homemade Dakota Bread and Rye Bread. Yum…  Across the afternoon the other six arrived. We went out for a lovely dinner at a Mexican place where we were joined by Kathe’s son and his family. They had just returned from Italy, so were a bit jet lagged, but it was grand to meet them. Of course we all needed ice cream afterwards. Chocolate peanut butter was a favorite. Licorice ice cream was also on offer, but we declined.

The next morning we all enjoyed a lovely breakfast, and then eight of us went out on a bike ride. Bonnie was an excellent tour guide.

We had a lovely time visiting Kathe and Bonnie. We hope they'll join us on our next adventure!

We're off to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene next!

Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road Drive

With high winds in the forecast we opted for more scenic drives through Custer State Park. Today it was Needles Highway and the Iron Mountain Road. We traveled through small tunnels, one lane roads, and saw majestic landscapes. We shared the road with a car club whose members were driving fancy (expensive) race cars. We were glad to see the tails of them! Too much hardware to be around!

Check out these photos to see how breath-taking the scenery was!

Lots of wind damage all over the area. Trees broken in the first 4-6 feet of their trunk. So sad.