Around Dillon

June 12

More sun than clouds today. We took a little time to drive through the residential areas adjacent to the older part of town. Many of their old homes are still in use. A number of them have been lovingly restored. Others have been kept up but changed as they were ‘updated’ to include exterior features never intended for them, such as aluminum siding. We were surprised to find so many of them still existed and were quite habitable. These historical homes were built from 1864 to the late 1920’s. We then drove to Clark Canyon Reservoir, named for the Lewis & Clark Expedition that went through here. (Side note: The LC Expedition trail is everywhere we go in Montana & Idaho. With us in our motorhome the miles are not that much of a challenge. But that group traveled many, many miles with boats, their feet & some horses. They were an amazing band of men.) The dam is overfull, but is not overflowing the spillway and they are not releasing any more water than normal. The Beaverhead River flows from the dam and the water is clear & the fishing seems very good. Guess where we’ll find Gary soon. The only fishable river to be found. There is not a river around that isn’t muddy and full & flowing fast.


	A little killdeer races about looking for a bite to eat on the shore of the creek running through the campground. Nice to watch out our front window first thing in the morning.


	Just one of quite a few stately old homes found in Dillon neighborhoods. They are located around the old downtown.


	Peeking through the bushes is this wonder with its rounded porch. The front door is to the right of the stairs. At least we think it’s the front door. The purple-flowered bush to the left is lilac, which are blooming all over town.


	Loved the windows on this one. The parking lot is not for the house. It is a private home with a business next door.

The Orr Mansion was built by William Orr in 1869. An elaborate 2 1/2 story Italianate architectural style with a Tuscan villa shape. The bay windows indicate the building’s late 19th century date. Now that you’ve read about its style, let us tell you this is the only thing that can be seen of the house. The current owner planted all these trees & the views of the house are obliterated. We understand the house is not in good repair & that is a shame. We happened upon the owner who allowed me on the property & guided me to this spot so I could take a picture from the ONLY place you could see the house. Got lucky.


	Left: Check out the tree with the knothole. Right: Momma bird is checking on her young nesting in that knothole. At a busy intersection in old downtown Dillon.


	Built in 1901, this home has been very carefully kept up. Originally there was a wraparound porch that has been removed.


	Just outside the campground is this really, really old garage. Don’t know if it was always a garage, but there it sits.


	A portion of Clark Canyon Lake with an island poking out of the water.


	Another view of the Lake. How about those mountains?


	The sun shade for these picnic tables is getting its feet wet as the Lake is currently a little too full. This is a state campground & a number of the sites cannot be used for obvious reasons.


	The control-flow outlet is operating at a normal release rate and the spillway has not been breached even though the water is above normal at the Lake. This river is the Beaverhead.


	If there’s clear water in Montana, there’s gonna be a fisherman. Especially in the summer when the water is muddy & racing & flooding everywhere but right here.


	Checking out the possibilities, Gary watches a line of fishing fanatics like himself. He’ll be back tomorrow!


	We’re about 2 miles down river from the dam. It’s crowded with guided float boats & waders. Everyone is very courteous & they make it work. There’s no other place to fish!


	These 2 are putting in a lot of effort. Upstream, barely visible, is another angler.


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