Day 58 - Bozeman, MT to Polson, MT

Mike Mladenoff
May 29, 2016
2 min read

Still progressing north, we passed through Helena, the capital city and decided it was time for lunch. Generally, we stayed away from restaurants, but Great Ape Crepes was advertised as a good gluten free option so we gave it a try. We ate our main meal in the restaurant and then ordered dessert crepes to go.

Climbing steadily in elevation and near MacDonald Pass in the Rocky Mountains, we decided to pull the RV over for a rest. We got out of the RV to stretch our legs and noticed there was a guy filling several large containers with water and then loading them into the back of his car. We were obviously curious of this scene and tried talking to the guy to get an explanation, but he was very short on words. A short time later, another guy in a small pick up truck swerved over to the water stop area and we struck up a conversation with him and he explained that this is mountain spring water. Apparently, this was one of several locations where the tap just runs 24/7. We all took a taste and luckily we had a large empty jug, so we were able to take a sample for the road. Before loading up, we continued our conversation with this guy and he proceeded to give us a heads up about the Montana culture. Namely that the wide open spaces of Montana lend itself to being a prime area to produce and consume meth. Since he works in a field that comes across some of these individuals he cautioned us that as we headed north to make sure that we were "packing." This was the second time we heard this warning in as many days.

We made a stop at Walmart to load up on groceries and then drove a short distance to Flathead Lake KOA.

We set up for a quick dinner of taco salad.

Afterwards, we checked out the camp store where they sold all kinds of goodies including many blueberry themed items. We all got a little something and I walked away with a can of blueberry coffee and a couple bars of Duke Cannon soap. Later on towards sunset, I walked with the boys to check out this more exclusive area of the campground. Technically, it was a different campground, but owned by the same people as the KOA. This place had the most luxurious camp sites. Actually, it's a disservice to call them camp sites. They were more like individual luxury backyards with stamped concrete drives and walkways, waterfalls, fountains, pergolas, full outdoor kitchens, fire pits, etc. Of course, we also did a little window shopping and checked out several of the luxury RV's that occupied some of these yards.