Tank Tops and Snow Storms - Day 5

We woke up this morning in Billings, MT to blue sky and fairly warm weather. Rather than hitting the road immediately, Allyson wanted to see Moss Mansion and get a feel for the town. The mansion was a pleasant stop and once we got our fill, we proceeded onward towards Salmon, ID to visit my grandparents.

We covered a lot of ground and, as usual, stopped several times for some “I cant believe we are really here right now” shots. At this point, both Allyson and I are starting to lose track of what day it is – they all seem to blend together. I’m pretty impressed though with our progress. We started with a very ambitious itinerary, but if we keep this pace up, we just might see everything on our itinerary.

A stop in the old mining town of Butte, MT was a nice reprieve from the road – we walked around the historic district, saw an old Victorian mansion and grabbed a coffee in a former jailhouse that also happens to be haunted (the owner told us some spooky stories). A couple of hours later, we found ourselves in a mountain range between Montana and Idaho that took our breath away. Dense, untouched forrest surrounded us and snow-capped mountains stood proudly in the distance – easy in the top 3 most picturesque drives so far.

Like thirsty sponges, we soaked up every last ounce of the beauty, not wanting to miss a thing. And, just as the irony of having packed mostly tank tops while the temperature outside read 40 degrees (and falling), Mother Nature decided to show us her stuff again. This time…a snowstorm! Probably the last thing either of us expected was to be in the mountains of Idaho, wearing tank tops, taking pictures in the snow – but that’s exactly what happened. When in Rome, right? We lived it up, drove a little slower and made it into Salmon just in time to enjoy a delicious dinner with Grandma, Grandpa and Lynn. Ahhh, life is good.

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