June 7 - Panorama

One

more

roundabout

on

the

exterior

balconies

of

the

overnight,

then

back

on

90

West,

out

of

town,

then

the

next

for

supplies --

the

weather

continuing

iffy

but

scenery

varied

and

continuously

engaging,

eventually

the

Front

Ranges

of

the

quite

distant

Rockies

up

to

cloud-

hung

ominous-

precipitous

heights.

Crazy

Mountains,

Big

Timber --

Kelly,

Fryer,

Mendenhall

Ridges --

McAdows

Canyon

on

the

way

to

the

turnoff

for

Yosemite

National

Park

(and Paradise Valley / Pine Creek, one of Richard Brautigan's old haunts),

then

upslope

and

over

the

divide

to

Bozeman

Pass

and

downslope

amongst

heroic

cliffs

and

monoliths,

towards

the

Missouri

River

Headwaters

Basin.

Petrol

and

financial

adventures,

return

to

90

in

company

of

the

Madison

and

Butte

Ranges,

vaulting

the

Three

Forks (Gallatin,

Madison,

and

 Jefferson Rivers).

The

Milligan

and

Cottonwood

Grades --

 up

and

down

to

Boulder

Valley,

then

the

long

pull

surmounting

Pipestem

and

Homestake

Canyons

to

the

Atlantic / Pacific

Continental 

Divide.

Turning

downward

toward

alarming

yet

quaint

Butte,

it's

time

to

take

a

turn

around

town

and

take

in

the

impressive

Visitor's

Center.

Miles

to

go

before

we

sleep,

leaving

Silver

Bow --

Anaconda

and

the

great

curving

intermontane

valley

of

Columbia

River

Clark

Fork

northwest:

Garnet

Range,

Drummond

Ridge

Cliffs,

Tigh

and

Bradman

Canyons,

crossing

and

re-crossing

the

cliff-

lined

course.

Amongst

such

an

abundance

and

array

of

scenic

splendors

we

make

our

way

carefully

downslope

to

another

supply

stop

near

magificent

Missoula.

Ever

and

anon

out

into

the

valley

itself,

then

beyond

into

Montana's

last

county

at

this

latitute:

Granite.

After

a

final

supply

stop

at

Superior,

leave

the

downstream

Clark

Fork

for

upstream

St.

Regis,

and

over

Lookout

Pass

into

Idaho.

After

Fourth

of

July

 

Summit,

it's

down

towards

Lake

Coeur

d'Alene (the named derived from French perception of a Native American tribe having "the heart of an awl" -- i.e. being "sharp-hearted" or "shrewd"),

the like-named

metro area

being

part

of

the

overall

Spokane,

Washington,

area,

a world once again

familiar yet

new.

73rd day of summer, high 84, at our two-days-from -ow destination (ABA of 84-81-84 recently) --

79 and 83 at the beginning and end, respectively, of today's journey...