Wow, wow, wow is what I thought as we came around a turn this morning. The Helena and Lolo National Parks are so beautiful.
The road to Huckleberry Pass was paved with turquoise and purple rock and it mesmerized me for the four miles of uphill. A few months ago Diana R. with the Ski and Tea group mentioned that turquoise pairs well with purple and here Mother Nature laid it out for us to see. That made me start thinking of thinking of purple mountains and the song America the Beautiful and it was just a pleasant ride to the top.
After 38 miles we landed at the Stray Bullet cafe in Orvando and had an awesome turkey sandwich with gluten free bread and mixed green salad. This was the first restaurant that was fully staffed. Many places have reduced hours or are closed a few days due to staffing shortages. We waited until 7am for the cafe to open this morning so we got a later start than normal. Today we had all three meals at restaurants so we are nourished.
The afternoon temps reached 94 degrees and we had another hill to climb in the sun. The roads were wide and in good shape with very little ATV or truck traffic. Montana drivers are courteous and give us lots of room and slow down to keep the dust cloud at a minimum.
I think this was the prettiest section so far and would recommend it if someone wanted to do just 1-2 days of this route.
Wildlife sighting— lots of deer. No Bear and we are grateful for that.
