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Please click here for – Part One
Friends!
It was Sunday, we’d been out for a week, and the Lady wanted to do laundry. Into Challis we went. Our first stop was the site of the bison jump where Native Americans drove bison off a cliff to fall to their death below.
Next up was finding the small laundromat we’ve made use of on trips over the years. Challis is small, not a lot of search area, but we were having no luck. The small museum was open. Connie was behind the counter. Her friend, a transplant from California, greeted us. “I haven’t had my coffee yet. I’m not in a good mood.”
We turned to Connie. “Do you know where the laundromat is?” the Lady asked. “We can’t find it this morning.”
They both pointed toward the west.
“It’s on…….” Connie turned to her friend. “What’s the name of that street?”
“I haven’t had my coffee,” came the reply.
Connie continued. “Oh, the dickens. What is that street? It’s down by our Catholic Church. Oh, you should see our Catholic Church, St. Louise. It’s one of the oldest in the state.”
“Can you see the laundromat from there?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know for sure, if you can see it, but it’s close.”
“And the Catholic Church is down that way?” The Lady pointed west.
“Yes, just down this street here,” Connie continued. “You can’t miss it. It’s such a pretty church. Now, about the laundromat. You want to use the dryers that are high up on the right side. They’ll dry your clothes quick but put them on medium. Never use the high setting. It’s too hot. It’ll burn your clothes. Now you two must sign our guest book.”
The Lady dutifully signed us in.
“Now where are you two from?” the woman needing coffee asked.
“We’re from near Lake Tahoe,” I answered.
“I’m from close to there. I’m from Mammoth.”
“Mammoth is very nice. Where are you going to get your coffee at?
“Oh, over at my place. I really need to do that. I’m not in a good mood until I get my coffee.
“Well,” the Lady announced, “We’ll go try and find the laundromat and walk back here while our clothes are in the washer.”
“Oh, please do!” Connie said. “We’ve got a lot of nice stuff in here.”
“Will you still be here?” I asked the other woman.
“No. I gotta get my coffee and get my mood better.”
We easily found the Catholic Church but still circled around twice trying to find the laundromat. Finally, we turned west down a narrow street. “There it is!” we said in unison. “That’s it!”
We pulled up in front. As I got out of the truck, I noticed a man working on the side of the block building.
“You’re working on a Sunday. You do know that, right?” I called over.
The man grinned from ear to ear. “Yes, I am!”
I walked over. “Well, what are you up to then? Working on a Sunday?
“I’m putting ‘LAUNDROMAT’ on the side of the building.” He held up a stack of cutout cardboard letters for me to see.
“That would probably be very helpful. And they’re going on this side so folks driving on the highway can see the sign?”
“That’s right!” he exclaimed.
“Do you own this place?” I asked.
“No, I don’t. I do handyman work for the lady who owns it.”
We got our clothes in the washers and walked down to the museum. Connie was busy showing off the place to a family group. Her friend was absent, most likely getting her coffee. It is a very nice small museum.
As we returned to the laundromat, we checked on the handyman. “How you doing? I asked. “Is it okay that we check on your progress? Watching a washing machine gets old real quick.”
He grinned. He was using double sided tape to adhere the letters to the wall.
The Lady was curious. “How are you going to do this?” she asked. “Are you going to spray paint the wall a different color and then pull off the letters?”
The fellow backed up and looked at the wall. “I could do it that way,” he said, deep in thought. He recovered. “No, I can’t do it that way. I wouldn’t get it done today doing that. I outline around the letters, pull them off, and then paint the letter on the wall. But I have to go get some paint to match the wall because I outlined those letters in black.” He pointed. “And then saw I misspelled laundromat. I need to fix that. But that’s okay. I screw up most my projects at the beginning but then I always get ‘em done right!”
It was time to get our clothes in the dryer - on medium.
With a load of clean clothes, we headed north on highway 93. The day turned hot. We had planned to check out campgrounds and dispersed camping opportunities along this corridor for future knowledge, but the heat cut away at our enthusiasm. We climbed to the top of Lost Trail Pass. It was a divinely pleasant 73°. “Let’s stay close to here,” the Lady stated. Just down the road the very nice, small, Indian Trees Campground was only about a third full. We found a great campsite.
The Lady attempted to open the passenger door of the truck the next morning. The exterior handle broke in her hand.
“I broke the door handle,” she said with dismay.
“It would be more correct to say, ‘The handle broke,’” I added. “That door handle is 22 years old and given us lots of service. When we fix it, we ought to replace both sides.”
I was enjoying our drive down the Bitterroot River. The Lady discovered she had cell service and was looking at her smartphone. “There’s a Ford dealership in Hamilton. Let’s stop and see about getting the new handles.”
Our stop in downtown Hamilton at the Bell–McCall Company was a treat. It was old school. They would have the parts for us the next day. I should add that all of downtown Hamilton is a real treat. I did not think I’d ever get the Lady out of the bookstore across the street from Bell–McCall.
We arrived at the Dutchoven Farm outside Stevensville early afternoon.
Our friends bought this spread several years back and have truly made it a home. We met Muir Trek and Outdoor Woman many years ago when we all were instructors for the Becoming an Outdoor Woman Program. These two are among the finest people you could ever meet. We love them. I need to add a note about the welcome sign. “Lady” is a new member of the family since our last visit. She’s an Anatolian Shepherd with a great disposition. She is a sweetheart.
Dawn, the hardest working woman in Montana leases 11 acres of the farm for agricultural production. This year she put in a “resting crop” of barley after many years of hay. Dawn started on the first cut of barley as we arrived.
We had to stay ahead of her and pulled the “hand lines” sprinklers off the back field.
These two taught outdoor cooking for the Becoming an Outdoor Woman Program and Outdoor Woman has this hanging in her kitchen.
This is clear evidence that we do not go hungry when we stay here. The food, hospitality, and friendship are 5-Star all around.
We do our best to earn our keep and we come up to work. Tuesday we spent working clearing downed branches from the cottonwood lined stream channel along the property line. We used the Kubota tractor and log chain to drag rafts of material and stack in a burn pile.
Tuesday night was BINGO! at the Three Mile Community Center. Outdoor Woman is the BINGO caller. No winnings for us, except for a good time. Wednesday morning was coffee down at the Community Center for an hour. Muir Trek had briefed me that folks bring in obscure tools for the group to examine and try to figure out. Could I bring something? Something that could stump them?
The evening before Muir Trek shared with me a tool (pair) that had stumped the group.
I was stumped too.
At coffee Wednesday morning I introduced myself and the tool was passed around the table. People had excellent questions; this is a talented and well-educated group. They came close but not close enough.
I’m sure you all have experienced this. When people learn you have a unique talent, they share with you all they know, and also, people they know in similar fields of work or interests. It’s human nature. We can all be prone to do this. There was one such fellow at coffee this morning. After my short presentation, he pulled me aside, produced his phone. After stories, photos, name dropping, he got to YouTube.
“I can send you this video!” he said.
“Send it to me? How?”
“To your phone.”
“I’m sorry. You can’t.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“You can’t send it to my phone. I don’t have one.”
“What?”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want one.”
He was truly baffled.
After coffee, the Lady and I made the drive to Hamilton and picked up our new door handles. In Hamilton we got quite a surprise. We saw a very familiar vehicle parked in the Albertson’s lot – a Tiger Adventure Vehicle. It was our friend Donna! There were hugs all around. She was off on an adventure but her main objective now was to find someplace cooler. She was looking for a campsite in higher country where she could stay put for a few days. We told her to keep us posted and we’d try and find her and spend Friday night with her.
Muir Trek allowed me use of his tools and we got the passenger door handle installed. The only issue was that large rivets were used to secure the handle to the door sheet metal. These needed to be drilled out and I replaced them with stainless steel bolts. We replaced the driver’s side after we returned home.
The Millers Peak Fire in the Sapphire Mountains was active to the northeast of the farm. Every afternoon it blew up. Smoke from the fire settled into the Bitterroot Valley overnight.
The first European settlement in the Bitterroot Valley was the establishment of the Catholic St. Mary’s Mission in 1841. A trading post, Fort Owen, followed. In 1864 the growing settlement took on the name of Stevensville. Rising above in the Bitterroot Range to the west is St. Mary’s Peak. We needed to stretch our legs and Thursday was the day for the Lady and me to pop up to the summit.
It’s a 7-mile round trip hike to the summit at 9321 feet. We were delighted to find Bear-grass (Xerophyllum tenax) in bloom along the trail.
We entered the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
After a “Hop, skip, and a hump,” as the Lady says, the fire lookout came into view. We had passed the two other groups on the trail, so we were alone up here. The lookout was open – shutters were up - but unoccupied.
Although tinged with smoke. The panorama to the west was incredible.
The view to the south was impacted by smoke coming in from Idaho.
And the view to the northeast – the direction of the Dutchoven Farm – was smoky from the Miller Peak Fire.
We and our friend, Muir Trek, were up to something. With cell service up here, the Lady sent a text, “What’s your compass bearing to the top of St. Mary’s?”
The answer came back, “240°.”
I adjusted my Silva Ranger compass to 240° and did a back bearing. I put the white end of the needle into the red end of the orienting box as I held the compass in the proper position and rotated my body to “box the needle.” I was now looking precisely in the direction of the Farm.
What were we up to? We were curious if Muir Trek could see a mirror flash from us from the top, a straight-line distance of 13.75 miles. The smoky conditions would not help.
“Got it!” A text message came back. Success!
Using a small mirror as an emergency signaling device is a valuable skill to learn and practice. I keep the mirror right below my eyes and then capture the mirror’s reflection in my outstretched left hand. I move my left hand – and the reflection – over my target and move my hand out of the way.
The summit benchmark is on the highpoint just west of the lookout.
The family group that we passed made it to the top and we exchanged taking summit group photos. They soon headed down. We took in more of the views.
As we started down, we were passed by a USFS mule pack string coming up to supply the lookout.
Our little Buddy, Barking Spider, spent a career in the
Forest Service, had two mules for work in Desolation Wilderness, and, now retired, he
and his mule buddies spend the summer doing volunteer trailwork. Of course, that includes Barking's wonder
mule - Famous Amos.
We had to go back up, talk with these young people, and take some photos of the USFS doing real work in the backcountry.
We had a grand time visiting with them.
Erica told me she was riding Joe, a mustang from Nevada (the horse). Smoky was carrying the little giant ladder. As it was removed, I heard the packer say, “This ladder is spending the rest of its life up here.”
I got to thinking when I saw the brand on the mules.
Since our Little Buddy was USFS through and through, I wonder if he has a “US” on his butt? I’m not going to check.
Our trip to the top of St. Marys was an excellent adventure.
Dawn, the hardest working woman in Montana, was busy during our absence. The barley was in large round bales.
We said farewell to our friends and left the Dutchoven Farm Friday morning. A big thank you to Outdoor Woman and Muir Trek for your hospitality and friendship!
We traveled south to Hamilton and had another special highlight of our trip. We met the Taku’s, also owners of an All Terrain Camper, avid outdoor people, and new friends! It was wonderful to meet you and thanks for your hospitality!
Resupplied with groceries for our continuing trip, we had one more thing to do before leaving Montana, find Donna!
She had found a nice campsite in the tiny Crazy Creek Campground. Her spot was just above Crazy Creek and a beaver dam. She had found her cool place to hang out at for a few days.
It was great to find her, share a campsite, and see her wonderful smile again.
The campground is also a trailhead so we enjoyed wandering up the trail in the evening.
The girls, ahead, stopped at a flower, pulled out their phones, and tapped on the Seek app. I beat them to it and said, “That’s Lewis’ Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii). Lewis and Clark passed through here on their journey to the Pacific. I wonder where they first came upon this plant and named it.” The girls continued with their phones to confirm the identification. Good for them. I could be wrong.
We parted ways with Donna in the morning with hugs all around. She was heading north to return to Idaho. We were heading south to return to Idaho.
Our adventure continues. Please click here for - Part Three.
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