Seeing North America

So today is the 4^th of July and we want to get a good night’s sleep and be far from any fireworks. It’s Thursday and we only have a couple of days of driving to arrive at Red Lodge on Sunday. We stop early in the afternoon at a National Forest Service campground and relax for the afternoon and evening. Only one other campsite was occupied. It was a very quiet night.

The next day we drove to Three Forks, Montana and grabbed a Montana State Park, Missouri Headwaters SP. We stayed two nights and found plenty to do. Time to mention a book, “Road Food.” Marsha brings it with us on all our RV adventures. The book talks about unusual out of the way eateries in all 50 states. There’s a place, Willow Grove Café, in the book about 8 miles out of Three Forks where reservations were highly recommended. It was in a hamlet where there were no other businesses and had maybe 200 residents. We called and got a reservation for 5 PM. I know, not a high demand time, but heck we often hit the hay early while on the road. We arrived and the place was empty other than the staff and us. Hmmm, did it change ownership or something else change about it? We had no clue. Of course, we showed the book to the waitstaff who showed it to the chef. Turns out the owner knew about being in the book, but never told anybody who worked there. The chef was very happy to see the entry. According to the book ribs are the thing to order. Marsha orders a half rack then the server announced that was the last of the ribs. Well, we’re in Montana, so I ordered a ribeye. It came with a side of corn chowder. The chowder was the best I have ever had and the steak ranked up there pretty high as well. Marsha loved her ribs. It was an outstanding meal. A few additional things to mention. Not long after we ordered the entire place filled up with customers. Reservations were absolutely necessary. The other thing is when presented with the check we were informed that Marsha’s ribs were on the house so it was only my meal we paid for. We made sure to leave a very good tip to cover the outstanding food, service, and ambiance.

Three Forks is at the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson Rivers forming the Missouri Headwaters. We explored the area first on bicycles then in the afternoon by truck. There is a series of bike paths in the area and along one we came upon a large horse pasture next to the bike trail. On each post for a few hundred yards were elaborate and decorative bird houses. Each with a different theme. At the entrance to the farm at the driveway opening there were flowers with a bicycle theme. Along with all that at one point there was a small grove of trees and shade on the farm property that had a bench and landscaping. It was an invitation to sit and rest for a moment. All in all it was the most welcoming bike path / private property integration I’ve ever seen.

A Warm Welcome along the Bike Trail

That afternoon we explored more state park land along the Madison River. Along a 20 mile gravel road we observed Osprey, Turkey Vultures, Western Meadowlarks, Ferruginous Hawks, and Peregrine Falcons. It was a good birding day.