Monday 10-5-26 Three Frog Campground, Motorcycle Ride, Walking Around & More

 

Camping at Three Frog Campground

We spent three super nights at Charles Waters  Campground in Bitterroot National Forest. Today we moved onto another campground in Bitterroot National Forest called Three Frog Campground. 

The morning temperature was a cool 38 degrees in Florence Montana close to Charles Waters Campground. The high temperature was 80 in Darby close to Three Frog Campground.

I woke up at 7:30 and got dressed. We weren't in any hurry because our next destination was only 40 miles away. I made apple cinnamon pancakes and shared a shake for breakfast. Then we put things away and secured. We were on the road by 9:00. 

The drive was very nice. It was a four lane highway through, Stevensville, Hamilton and Darby. While driving we saw a flock of wild turkeys on the side of the highway. It was a peaceful drive. As we were driving the mountains were a little hazy because there's a forest fire nearby. We have been lucky because it hasn't effected our hiking.

Our destination was Lake Como Campground but the gate was closed. We drove by the day area and Lake Como. It was very low and they're waiting for the winter snow melt. Montana hasn't gotten any rain for awhile. They had a sign for another campground called Three Frog so we went there. It's a beautiful campground with 21 sites (8 of them are tent sites). We found a site, which was #15 and backed in. It is super, it had a lot of sun and we can get solar. There was no internet so Larry had to setup Starlink. It lined up perfect. Now we have solar power and internet. I still have to conserve power. 

After setting up the Minnie we went to the bathroom, they are vault toilets. The water was shut off but there is garbage service. Then we went back to the Minnie and had lunch.

After lunch we started walking toward the host site to ask about the campground. A lady was getting ready to leave and we stopped to talk. She said she lived about 25 miles from here and loved it. But she had to leave because she still works part-time. She told us about the hiking here, the hosts are still there but they're off duty and the day area has a dumpster open for garbage. She also said that the camping was free. We thanked her for the information. We didn't have to see the host after all. We went back to the Minnie.

In the afternoon we went for a short motorcycle ride. Larry thought we could go all the way around Lake Como. We had gone about three miles when the road turned to gravel. He turned around because it was really dusty and it is difficult controlling the motorcycle with two people on it on gravel. When we got back we had gone six miles.

We setup our chairs outside so we could relax with a book. While Larry read I did a little housework and got the garbage ready to go to the dumpster this evening.

After doing the housework I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the Daily Event, which was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Klondike and 3 Spider). It took me 17 minutes and 7 seconds to complete, which put me in 19th place in my group.

Then I went outside and read with Larry.

For dinner we barbecued seasoned pork. After dinner we did our evening walk, we went to the beach area to get rid of our garbage. As we were walking a camp host came by and told us the dumpsters in the campground were open. He said all of them are open. He offered to take our trash, we thanked him and said we needed the walk. He was very nice. He was correct, there was one dumpster that didn't have a lock on it to keep the bar from moving. But you could open the dumpster part to get rid of your trash. Lake Como was very low but I guess they're use to it being low because they use the lake for their ranches and farms. By the time we got back to the Minnie we had walked 1.25 miles. It was a very pleasant walk.

Lake Como

Lake Como was named by Father Anthony Ravalli, a beloved Jesuit priest who walked the scenic quiet Bitterroot trails from 1845 to 1884. It is believed to be named after a remembrance of Lake Como in his native Italy. 

Here a sign more about Lake Como

 

When we got back we sat on our chairs and enjoyed the campground. It was starting to cool off. About 7:00 we went back into the Minnie and relaxed with a book. Larry finished the book he started yesterday and started another one. I finished reading The Unseen World by Liz Moore. Then I asked Larry to choose me another book.

Reading is fun

By the end of the day I had done 7,000 steps, which is 2.85 miles.

  

Sunday 10-4-26 Camping, Hiking & More

 

View from the Fire Ecology Trail

Another beautiful day at Bitterroot National Forest.

The morning temperature was a chilly 33 degrees and the high was 79 degrees. We had a lot of sun.

I woke up at 7:15 and got dressed. Then I made strawberry cheese cake muffins for breakfast. When we finished breakfast we got ready to go on a hike.

Today we hiked for 4.25 miles for 2.5 hours. We hiked on two different trails, which were Larry Creek Ecology (blue) and Fire Ecology (red). We started the hike at 8:00 from the Minnie. We walked a dirt road for 1.5 miles. It took us through a green gate. We continued walking the road until we picked up the blue trail. We had hiked this blue trail the other day going the other way to this same road. Today when we got to the blue trail we went left on the trail. The trail took us through the forest of Ponderosa pines and Douglas firs. The trail easy to moderate. We had to be careful because we have to share the trail with horses. We hiked the blue trail until it Yd off to the red trail (Fire Ecology). It's suppose to be foot traffic only but it wasn't. This trail took us through the forest, where they had a fire at one time. It was mainly in the open. As we hiked this section of the hike we saw two guys hiking the opposite way. The red trail took us up 356' feet. When you got to the top you got beautiful views of the valley and mountains. There was a bench at the top so we decided to sat and rest. After our rest we continued our hike. We picked the blue trail back up. The blue trail took us back to the campground. We had a super hike.

   

View of the valley from the hiking trail

The hiking trails

When we got back to the Minnie we put out the solar panels. Then we relaxed until lunch. We shared a salad. 

After lunch Larry went outside and read. He finished the book he started yesterday and started another one. He also chased the sun to get solar.

While Larry read I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of  Solitaire and Mahjong. I also played the Mahjong challenge from yesterday. I did the Daily Event, which was Event: The Hard Road of 16 games. It took me 1 hour, 57 minutes and 27 seconds to complete, which put me in 12th place in my group.

After playing games I continued reading The Unseen World by Liz Moore. It is very good book. It's about a young girl, Ada, who was raised by her father David a brilliant, eccentric, socially inept single parent. When David's mind starts to falter Ada goes on a journey to discover David's mysterious history. 

Reading is fun

In the evening we walked around the campground for a mile. Then we put the solar panels away, bagged the chairs and put the grill away. Then I continued my walk for 1.6 miles, which was two laps around the campground. 

For the rest of the evening we read. For dessert we finished the carrot cake we got from Walmart. By the end of the day I had done 17,000 steps, which is 7.58 miles.  

 

 

Saturday 10-3-26 Bitterroot National Forest, Hiking & More

 

Camping at Charles Waters Campground

We had a gorgeous day. We had a lot of sunshine, which meant a lot of solar for the panels. I could play games and keep the batteries charged.

In the morning the temperature was 35 degrees. The high temperature was 72 degrees.

When Larry woke up it was 57 degrees in the Minnie so he turned on the Wave3 to get the chill out of the air. I woke up at 7:15 and turned the oven on to make cinnamon rolls. The oven helped warm up the Minnie.

After having breakfast we got ready for a morning hike. The morning hike for 3 miles and it took us 1.5 hours. We hiked from Charles Waters Campground to the trailhead, which was a half mile. The trail we took was at the check-in station for hunters. In this area the hunters hunt Ruffled Grouse and Gray Partridge. The Sharp-tail Grouse is located in the area but they can't hunt them. In 2021 the sharp-tail grouse were reintroduced in the Blackfoot, Bitterroot and Drummond Valleys as a part of an ongoing reintroduction effort and additional releases planned through 2026. Below are pictures of the three birds and the map of the area the reintroduction is. We followed the trail through the forest and up 300 feet in elevation to where there was a two mile loop. We crossed over the creek a few times. We had to hike on the neighbor's land for about .2 of a mile. Larry opened a man gate so we could get to the trail. It was made by the national forest. Once we were through the gate Larry closed it. We didn't hike too far on the property before it became national forest again. When we got to the loop we had hiked 1.5 from the campground. So we decided to turn around and go back to the Minnie. The loop was another two miles. The hike was very easy and beautiful.

The creek we crossed a few times

An old rock formation we saw during the hike

When we got back from the hike Larry setup the solar panels to charge the batteries. Larry spent a couple of hours outside reading and chasing the sun for the panels. He finished one book and started a new one. 

Relax with a good book

I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the Daily Event, which was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 29 minutes and 24 seconds to complete, which put me in 12th place in my group.

For lunch we had chili. About 1:00 we went for an afternoon walk for a total of 1.75 miles. We walked around the campground and the Nature Trail, which was .5 miles. It was a great walk through the forest.

In the evening I walked around the campground for 40 minutes for a total of 1.6 miles, which was walking the campground two times.

Walking to get some steps

By the end of the day I had done 16,000 steps, which is 7.12 miles.  

Friday 10-2-26 Bitterroot National Forest, Hiking & Having Fun

 

Foggy Morning in Drummond

We had a super day. 

We woke up to a brisk 35 degrees and fog at Drummond Town Park. Our high temperature was 77 degrees in Florence Montana at 6:00 pm.

I woke up about 7:30 and got dressed. Larry was bundled up under the unicorn blanket on the couch. The heater was on high it was 65 degrees in the Minnie. When I went to bed it was 64 degrees. I had set the thermostat at 64 because we like to sleep when it's a little cool. We started to put things away and secured. Once this was done we had a quick breakfast, which was a couple of Little Debbie's apple pies. I heated them up. We're going to be without power for awhile.

After breakfast I took the trash out because we weren't sure if we're going to have trash service at our next destination Then we backed the Minnie into a site where there was water. We topped off the water tank because a lot of places in Montana turn off the water at the first of October. We were on the road at 8:00. By the time we left Drummond the fog had lifted.

Clark Fork River in Drummond

Old train track in Drummond

Our next destination was Charles Waters Campground in Bitterroot National Forest. It was 80 miles from Drummond. We took I90 four lane interstate to Missoula Montana (50 miles). The drive was very pretty, we saw a couple of mountain ranges and ranches with cattle and horses. We also saw a few deer. As we drove the mountain passes, we saw beautiful red colors on the maple trees and other fall colors.  When we got to Missoula Larry had to drive through it. Last night Larry located a Walmart in Missoula. We were going to drive right by so we stopped. We bought a few things we were getting low on because we weren't sure when the next time we would be at a Walmart.

Fall colors in Montana (red are maple trees)

After putting the items away we were back on the road. We drove another 30 miles. The campground is first-come-first-serve and it was Friday so we wanted to arrive early in the day. We didn't have any problems. We decided on site #5. Then we walked down to get an envelope to pay. We had a pleasant surprise, as of September 27th it was free to all campers. There was no garbage service so you have to take your garbage out with you. The toilets are vault toilets and the water is turned off. We were glad we got rid of the trash at Drummond Town Park.

Charles Waters Campground

We thought this sign was cute for the dogs to read

By the time we were all set up it was time for lunch. We shared a salad from Walmart. After lunch we decided to check out the hiking trails. We went on a 4 mile hike for a couple of hours. We started from the Minnie and walked to the trailhead, which was at the fee station. Larry had the trail maps on his phone. We picked up the nature trail, it actually had signs about the different firs and trees in the area. The pine trees are Ponderosa. We hiked the trail for a half mile to where it Ys off. Then we took the blue trail Larry Creek. We shared the Larry Creek Trail with horses. The trail was very nice and weaved us through the forest of Ponderosa pines, different ferns and other trees. We noticed that the forest was thinned out and looked great. We crossed over the creek multiple times via bridges or planks made from fallen trees. There were a few areas that were muddy but you can get around the area. We saw a lady riding a horse and she had two dogs. We saw a few other people walking their dogs. We hiked the trail until we got to a dirt road. Then we took the road back to the campground, which was 1.5 miles. We stopped and sat on a fallen tree to rest. As we were resting a couple of dogs came down the road to say hi. A lady was walking her three dogs. One of the dogs was 11 years old and couldn't keep up with the other two. They didn't get too far when they turned around and went back to their car. After our rest we continued down the road. We walked until we got to a cattle guard and fence, where we saw the lady and her three dogs and a couple more ladies and dogs. We were glad there was a gate for hikers and dogs to weave through instead of the cattle guard. We had a great hike.

The creek we crossed

One of the bridges we crossed the creek with

Horse trailers in a parking lot

 View of the ranches and mountains from the hiking trail

When we got back we relaxed in the Minnie. Larry read and I played games. I may not do a lot of my games because we don't have power and I have to conserve power. Today I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and the Daily Event. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 15 minutes and 59 seconds to complete, which put me in 8th place in my group.

For dinner we barbecued pork sausage burgers. After dinner I walked around the campground for 30 minutes and did 2 miles. By the end of the day I had done 17,000 steps.

The rest of the night we relaxed with a book. 

Enjoying a good book

       

Thursday 10-1-26 Hello October, Grant-Kohrs Ranch, New Campground & More

 

Hello October

Good-bye September, Hello October. I can't believe it's already October. 

In Montana we have been having morning temperatures in the 40s and the highs in the 70s. We're still in Montana and we'll be here for awhile. The morning temperature was 45 degrees and had a little breeze in Helena. The high temperature was a cool 69 degrees in Drummond, which is 65 miles from Helena. 

I woke up at 7:30 and got dressed. We put things away and secured. Then we had a quick breakfast, which was a Little Debbie's apple pie and we shared a shake. We were on the road by 7:50. We didn't have too far to go. 

Larry drove a total of 85 miles. We didn't go directly to Drummond we made a stop in Deer Lodge. We wanted to visit Grant-Kohrs Ranch. We had been there years ago and wanted to see it again. It was 55 miles from the fairgrounds. 

 As we were getting ready to go we saw a deer walk in front of the Minnie. When we were leaving we saw a few deer in the neighbor's field. 

The drive there was very beautiful we drove through a couple of mountain passes. We drove two lane highways and an interstate. We drove by a lot of ranches with cattle and horses. One ranch had llamas, another had sheep. 

Grant-Kohrs Ranch is a National Historic Site. It was given to the National Parks Service in 1972. It has signs around the area explaining the ranch and the cattle industry from the 1850s. It was established by Johnny Grant, who was a Canadian fur trader in 1862. Later on it was expanded by a German cattle baron, Conrad Kohrs (1886-1920). In 1960 the 1,618 acres ranch was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Now it's maintained as a working ranch by the National Park Service. 

The ranch is a self-guided tour. As you walk around the site you learn about the history of the ranch and the surrounding ranches in 1820s. You learn about Johnny Grant, Conrad Kohrs and the ranch hands and how they lived on the ranch. We took the guided tour of the Ranch House (1862, 1890), where we learned about Johnny Grant and his family and the ranch. They kept all the furniture from when Johnny Grant and his family lived there. They only replaced the main carpet but they matched it close to the original. The ranger had only been working at the ranch for five months and she loves it. She's from New York and they warned her about the below 0 temperatures in the winter. She did an outstanding job with the tour. One fun fact was when the Grant family lived in the house. They hired a cook, who was short so they made her a chair, that flips into a step stool so she could reach things. I couldn't take any pictures of the inside of the house. The self-guided tour has 16 different buildings to look at and read about. They were 1) Ranch House 1862, 1890, 2) Bunkhouse Row 1884, 1907, 1930s, where the ranch hands slept and lived, 3) Ice House/ Tack Room 18802, 1930s, where the ice was cut from the ponds and stored there, 4) Garage/ Repair Shop 1935, 5) Thoroughbred Barn 1883, where Kohrs had his thoroughbreds and show cattle. Today it stores horse-drawn vehicles and equipment, 6) Leeds Lion Barn 1885 for their stallions and draft horse, 7) Feed Lot and Shed 1930s, 8) Chicken Coop 1930s, 9) Buggy Shed 1883, where the buggies are stored, 10) Granary 1935, where the gains (oats and corn) are ground and store for the cattle, 11) Draft Horse Barn 1870, where the Draft Horses are kept, 12) Dairy 1932, 13) Oxen Barn 1870, when the draft horses replaced the oxen other livestock was kept there but they kept the name, 14) Bielenberg Barn 1880, where the young cows having their first calves were kept, 15) Warren House 1950s, where the Warrens lived and was given to them as a wedding gift from Augusta Kohrs an, 16) Warren Barn 1950s, where the hay was stored and where Warren's prize Herefords were kept. There were other buildings such as the blacksmith shop and other demonstration buildings. There were other things to see on the ranch: nature trail, beaver slide hay stacker, chuckwagon, livestock (cattle and four draft horses) and more. The draft horses were very friendly they let you pet them. The ranch had a couple of gardens. One was in the back of the Grants house and the other was by the blacksmith shop, where we saw a lady working in it. During the on season they do demonstrations such as blacksmithing, stories at the chuck wagon with cowboy coffee, cowboys talk, roping lessons, branding demonstrations, evening campfire programs and mid-summer they do haying demonstration using draft horses beaverslide haystacking. We had a great time walking around Grant-Kohrs Ranch. It's free but they do except donations. 

Grant-Kohrs Ranch visitor center

Fifth Wheel Wagon

 

Beaverslide Haystacker

Ranch House 1862, 1890 Johnny Grant's house

Dining Room for the ranch hands

Sleeping Room for ranch hands

Coal Shed

Equipment for the horses

Hi, What's you doing?

Petting one of the draft horses on the ranch

Garage for buggies

Chuck Wagon

Foaling Area

McCormick-Deering Grain Binder

After the tour we went back to the Minnie. We were walking and touring the ranch for an hour and a half. Larry plugged in our next destination, which was Drummond Montana. We had to back track a few miles to get to Drummond. Drummond is 30 miles from Deer Lodge, where Grant-Kohrs Ranch is located. The drive was the interstate. We arrived at Drummond at 11:30.

Drummond is a small town but it has a town park where you can stay. It's not fancy but it's a good place to stay a night. It has three powered sites for $25 a night, maximum of 3 nights. You can stay for $10 with no power. If you need water they have spickets for you to use. The water is on. The restrooms are pot-a-johns. Next to the park they have a small fairground. You can't walk around it because the gates are locked. They have a small playground and a baseball diamond, that's used for football. They have horseshoe pits. 

We decided to get a power site. We had no problem, there was no one here. We plugged in and paid for the site one night. They only take cash. After setting the Minnie up for the night I had lunch, which was a sandwich and chips. 

 

The J.H. Mellen Memorial Park

Camping at Drummond Town Park

After lunch Larry read and I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Pyramid). It took me 1 hour, 39 minutes and 1 second to complete, which put me in 13th place in my group.

While we were relaxing about 3:45 the football team showed up for practice. They practiced until 5:30. They parents showed up to take them home. While their brothers and sisters were waiting they played in the playground. It was great to see the children playing in the playground.

The fairgrounds

The playground

 

The horseshoe pits

After the football team practice was over and everyone was gone we walked around the park. We walked for a half mile to the river and old railroad bridge. It was a short walk but it got us moving. 

When we got back we read until we went to bed. Larry finished a book today. I started a new book called The Unseen World by Liz Moore. By the end of the day I had done 5,000 steps. 

We had a great day. 

   

Wednesday 9-30-26 Playing Pinball, Riding a Carousel & Having Fun

 

Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds Duck Pond

We had an outstanding day of having fun. 

We had overcast skies. The morning temperature was 54 degrees and the high of 67 degrees. In the late afternoon we had a cool wind out of the west.

I woke up at 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made mini waffles for breakfast and we shared a shake. 

After breakfast we relaxed in the Minnie. Larry started a book last night and finished it this evening. He said this one was a good book. I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Free Cell). It took me 36 minutes and 56 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group.

About 11:15 we took the motorcycle off the carrier. There were a couple things we wanted to do in town. 

First was Lewis & Clark Brewing Company to play pinball. Lewis & Clark Brewing Company has a huge tap room that features live music, an outdoor patio, a game room, and an art gallery. The hours are 11:30am to 10:00pm on Sunday-Wednesday and 11:30am to 11:00pm Thursday-Saturday. It serves selections of draft beers on tap (flagship, Prickly Pear Pale Ale and Back Country Scottish Ale) and light food option like pizza and bratwurst. The brewery distributes products in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and western North Dakota. It was a big facility with huge distillers. The lady, who was working was nice and showed us where to go. The game room is a separate from the tap room. It has 12  pinball machines,  a few slot machines, pool table and a shuffle board table. The pinball games were PokeMon, Cactus Canyon, Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Jaws, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led-Zeppelin, Dungeon & Dragons, Guns & Roses and Big Buck Hunter Pro. Most of the games cost one game for $1 or three games for $2, which is very good. Cactus Canyon game option was one game $1 and Big Buck Hunter Pro was one game $.75. We played pinball for an hour and a half and played a game of pool for a half hour. The game of pool cost $.75, which is very reasonable. The games were in very good condition and you had free game matches. We got a match on Godzilla and Jaws so instead of three games of $2 we got four games. I played all the games except for Guns & Roses. Larry played it and said it didn't work too good. There's not a lot of parking.  We had a great time.

Lewis & Clark Brewing Company

PokeMon (first time we played the game)

Big Buck Hunter Pro

Iron Maiden

Jaws

Jurassic Park

Metallica (black and white version I didn't like)

The second placed we went was the Great Northern Carousel, which was very close to Lewis & Clark Brewing Company. The two girls, who served us were very nice and friendly. The cost was 1 ride for $3 and 12 rides for $30. I did one ride. It was a great looking carousel and very well maintained. The carousel has 37 hand-carved animals. The animals were carved by a renowned Disney carver and the animals had a stained  glass round boards. You go to the counter and get a token to take a ride. I had fun riding on a goat. Larry took pictures. After my ride we shared two scoops of ice cream, which were maple walnut and black cherry. The ice cream was very good. It wasn't that busy. Maybe because it was 2:00 in the afternoon. 

   

Great Northern Carousel entrance

The part of the building the carousel is in

Great Northern Carousel

Having fun riding on the carousel

Maple Walnut and Black Cherry ice cream

After eating the ice cream we loaded back on the motorcycle and went back to the fairgrounds. By the time we got back to the Minnie it was 3:00. We had a fun afternoon.

After dinner we went for a walk around the fairgrounds. We walked for 1.70 miles for a half hour. As we walked around we went by the duck pond. What's cool about the duck pond is, that it's also a children fishing pond, you must be 14 or younger to fish there. We had a great walk. I ended up doing 5,500 steps. 

We spent the rest of the night reading. I finished reading When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart. It was a great book and the ending was very good. Larry chose me another book called The Unseen World by Liz Moore.

  

Relaxing with a good book

We had a super day.