30, HOME FREE AND UNEMPLOYED

[4whtundra]

Friday morning we woke up early and headed out of Missoula, near Stevensville we grabbed breakfast at McDonalds and headed to the ranch. I had volunteered myself for the two weekends with no pay, it will be good to get out and do some manual labor, it's been 2 1/2 months since I've worked so I was excited. First thing in the morning is chores, feed all the animals and bucking hay. Once the chores are done we were able to do some other "fun" type of work.

P1010044.jpg P1010041.jpg

P1010046.jpg P1010053.jpg

A couple cottonwoods had fallen in the far end of the ranch so I got a little Stihl time in cutting them up. My brother manned the tractor and we got a big load in the dump truck and drove it out to the dump pile. The scenery around the ranch is gorgeous, the Bitterroot mountains as the backdrop.

P1010063.jpg P1010064.jpg

PB300072.jpg P1010060.jpg

P1010054.jpg P1010055.jpg

The couple that my brother works with have a house on the ranch, they were nice enough to let me stay with them for a few days. Dan shot a duck on Saturday so we had duck that was cooked in a slow cooker for dinner, yum!

[4whtundra]

After the weekend we headed back to Missoula, my bro is finishing his last week and a half of school. I hung around Missoula for a couple of days, walking the dog, doing a couple small hikes and such. Mid week I decided to head out for a couple days to explore and camp a little. My destination was Placid Lake State Park. Heading out of Missoula I took route 90 East and picked up the 200 NE in Bonner (which we like to pronounce Boner ). I took the 200 to the 83 at Clearwater Junction and followed that to Placid lake Road. Placid lake road is a dirt road that splits near the lake, there are camps and cabins lining the lake. After you pass the lake there is a right and a left and a straight you can take, there is endless possibilities in Montana for exploring, that is probably why AEV chose to have an office in Missoula. I took the right road and followed it for an hour or so, funny enough I had cell service the whole way and kept an eye on my GPS. I did a big loop through the park back roads and ended up back on 83. After passing Placid Lake again I setup camp at a little spot called Hidden lake, it was a full on campground off the beaten path and even had a vault!

DSCF5667.JPG DSCF5674.JPG

DSCF5672.JPG DSCF5671.JPG

The following day I was in the mood for more traveling. I continued on the straight road (Jacko Canyon) at the edge of Placid Lake, I knew it went into Arlee which is a small town in the Blackfoot Indian Res. It started snowing like crazy and the snow was getting deeper, I had no cell service nor chains and the roads were very icy. After 15 minutes of white knuckle driving with my rig sliding all around near a cliff above Upper and Lower Jacko Lakes I decided it wasn't worth the risk and turned around. I later found out the town was another 20 miles or more through this terrain, not really worth it in my eyes. I was happy to return to civilization and checked out a rad campground down near Clearwater Junction called Harpers Lake, I didn't stay there that night but it's on my list for next time.

DSCF5692.JPG DSCF5688.JPG

DSCF5685.JPG DSCF5682.JPG

DSCF5679.JPG DSCF5693.JPG

[bobDog]

What a great looking dog! Is she going to keep you? She looks smart.
I'm never w/o a dog. I'm a sucker for Basset Hounds.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

[bronco2guy]

Just read it all. Great pics.

I dream of taking a trip like this someday.

[Syncronicity]

Great trip reporting. Read all 17 pages over the last couple days. Keep the updates coming. Subscribed.

[4whtundra]

Thank you everyone for the support, I sometimes feel I'm talking to myself on here, the small notes mean a lot to me.

After the week in Missoula it was back to the ranch for more work. There had been a little snow out on the ranch from the past week, it was brisk in the morning but hustling around feeding the animals kept the toes warm. Friday was real cold so we milked it a little and painted fences inside with the fire going, it was good to just hang out with my brother and catch up. Saturday was a little more interesting, the night before Dan had told us he was going to prego check cows and we could watch if we wanted. My brother and I both sprung at the chance to see an interesting event, we had been working our tails off building fences so this should be a good show. In the morning more chores, then back to the fences, they were "jack" style and a good workout building them up and nailing them together. Around 11 was the show so we walked over to where the cows were corralled. Step one: get cow in holding cage, step 2: roll up sleeve and put on long plastic glove, step 3: lube up hand and arm, step 4: pull up tail and insert hand into cows butt up to armpit. Man it was an interesting sight, once your "in there" you pat your hand around and try to feel for the calf, it's obvious when they're pregnant. My brother stepped up to the plate, this was his work so he needed to do it at some point, I was laughing but he kept his cool. About the time we were headed back to more fence work Dan asked me if I wanted to give it a try. At first I thought "naa I'm good" but then I thought "when will I ever have the chance to stick my arm up a cows as* again?" I went for it! If you asked me if the cow was pregnant, I have no idea, but I do know one thing the cow was full of. It was a success, no animals got hurt in our studies.

PC010076.jpg PC070091.jpg

PC070092.jpg PC070094.jpg

PC070098.jpg PC070088.jpg

After the festivities it was back to fence building. After work we had back straps from Dan's deer, his girlfriend is an amazing cook. Sunday I took a half day, I was annihilated and needed some rest. After lunch I finished the day off with my brother, we had a surprise when we got home, a new puppy We said goodbye to Dan and Sari, my bro will be back to work at the ranch after the New Year. I was invited back to the ranch for the summer to work, I just might take him up on the offer, we will see.

PC070129.jpg PC070099.jpg

PC090133.jpg

[OLDH1]

Enjoying the ride along with you...keep up the adventure...you are not alone! :-)

[ab1985]

Love this thread. Please keep the updates coming.

[4whtundra]

AB1985,
I'll be staying in Glasgow for a few days, is that anywhere near where you are? Any suggestions on what to see while I'm in your state? Thanks.

[ab1985]

I'm in northern KY. Glasgow is down closer to the KY/TN line. Mammoth Cave National Park is near there, and I would highly recommend visiting if you're not claustrophobic. I haven't camped there, but I know they have a campground that's off limits to RV's and trailers that requires a vehicle ferry - http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisi...hinferrycg.htm. That might be an option. If you go further east you should visit Big South Fork NRRA or Daniel Boone National Forrest. Of course, by that time you might as well head a couple hours south and visit Great Smoky Mountain National Park.