Traveling to Philipsburg, MT

June 17

On a cloudy morning, we reluctantly leave the Southside RV Park and hit the I15 heading for Philipsburg. We will intersect with the I90 westbound to Hwy. 1. Only 108 miles to Philipsburg, so we were there in about 2 ½ hours. The Inn at Philipsburg has the only private campground in town. All 11 full hookup spaces. It is basically a field with stanchions for electrical. There is grass with gravel sites. No trees. They do have a very nice new restroom building with two private bathrooms & what will be a small laundry once they install the washer & dryer. They have one site with 50amp (we didn’t get it). The other ten sites have 30 amp. They have a place for you to hook up to tv cable in the electric box. However, the entire town was left without cable when the operator went broke. So, out comes the satellite. The town looks like a period movie set. Steep hills surround their main drag. Homes & the county courthouse, the jail & some small businesses were built on these rather steep hillsides. Quite charming. They’ve done a good job of disguising the fact that there are many empty storefronts on their main street. And the few stores & restaurants & saloons that are operating are fun to check out. There is live theatre here! Opening night is June 23 & we made sure we got tickets to the vaudeville production being presented. They made the top 10 list in the mid-2000’s for America’s Prettiest Painted Towns. Away from the pretty downtown, there is a couple of places to buy gas and a pretty nice market. Our altimeter is telling us we are at 5500 ft. The official altitude is 5270 for the 930 folks who live here. One thing about it, aside being unable to breathe after a brisk walk of, oh, say 50 ft., we sleep deeply.


	Once again, the heavy clouds will be with us as we leave Dillon for Philipsburg.


	As we approached the freeway, this toy hauler’s bumper sign caught our eye. ‘What lies behind this door is a disease for which there is no cure!!’ Back in our off-road bike riding days, we would have agreed.


	The clouds have backed off & the sunshine just shows off the rich green grasses & trees as we travel north on I15. I think it’s north. I am so turned around that I can no longer tell what direction we’re going.


	The Big Hole River is a great fishing experience. Unfortunately, as I have already said a hundred times, the river is out of it banks & too muddy to fish. Next time!


	The clouds come & go as we continue north (or whatever direction we’re going). They look ominous as they approach, drop 3 drops on the windshield and scurry away to scare some other travelers.


	Somehow so appealing, a large ranch nestled at the foothills with fields of something growing, dramatic mountains rising behind them. Then there’s all that work to make this look so appealing. I think these folks should be considered American heroes in addition to our great troops.


	We are climbing, climbing to a summit. Quite a dramatic sight-the very dark clouds, the snow still left on the mountain top. It is very dark for midday.


	After cresting that summit, we see the I15 stretch out for miles in front of us. Do you see all that traffic? This really gets ya spoiled!


	Since we don’t understand these things very well, all I can tell you is that is the biggest mountain of asphalt I’ve ever seen (center right) & there is a sign that informs that this is a concrete company. The stack in the center appears to be about 80 ft. tall.



	Surrounded on 3 sides by mountains, Anaconda is located on Hwy 1 from the I90. A pretty little town with 3 golf courses, a business district, restaurants & fishing. It is on the Pintler Scenic Drive, Pintler being the name of one of the mountain ranges around here.





				Seems to be a bit of the Irish here in Anaconda.


	Leaving Anaconda behind, we find ourselves in forest. Still on Hwy.1 and the Pintler Scenic Drive.


	Dive, dive! That’s the downhill grade term I use. Windy, steep & very scenic. However, we are starting to see extreme damage from the pine bark beetles. There are mountainsides where there is barely a live tree. I’m hoping the last two very cold winters will help bring this pest under control. It is supposed to. We’ll see.


		Destination: Philipsburg. A picture postcard of a town. We’re settling into our ‘bare-bones’ campground. It is not a postcard.

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