Day 7: Montana, the Last Best Place

There is a reason we take these trips, and that reason is Montana. We definitely try to enjoy ourselves on the way out, but the finish line is Angie’s family’s cabin on Lake Inez, and that is the Destination.

This is where we wait all year to be. We’ll settle in here for a few weeks before we pack up to, sadly, head back east. Now is the time for swimming, fishing, hiking, canoeing, board games, card games, exploration, and adventure.

For now, and for too many days to count, we will be enjoying all of the treasures of the Treasure State.

Once we decided to cut the road trip a day short and turn from Greybull, Wyoming toward the Cabin, the vibe changed. Suddenly, every mile was a drag and no one could wait to get here. We switched drivers a lot and ran through rest stops as quickly as we could. We pushed the speed limit and didn’t slow down, even on mountain passes.

When driving from the eastern part of Montana to the western part, the terrain changes from flat ranch and farmland to the greatest mountains you’ve ever seen, all under the umbrella of a sky that easily earns the title of Big Sky Country.

Once on I-90 in Montana, it is a race to Bonner, than Highway 200 to my second favorite highway in the world, Montana 83, and then the turn onto the dirt road of Beargrass Lane.

We didn’t have much to report from the road — we went as quickly as we could, grabbed some fast food for lunch and ate in the car, and got to the Cabin by dinner time.

A fishing line immediately went into the water, soon followed by all of our bodies. The air temp was in the 90s and the lake temp was in the upper 70s low 80s, so the fishing was terrible but the swimming was amazing. All of us will gladly accept that trade-off except for maybe Boyo, but he will have to deal.

Whatever you have heard about Montana, it is an understatement.

There is no place on earth like this place.

If Angie and I end up living here, after the kids are grown and flown and before we die, it will only be a surprise to those we know who weren’t paying attention.