Life being about the unexpected...

About two and a half hours west of Billings and just west of Bozeman, at the town of Three Forks, is what seems to be Ruthie's favorite place on the planet. We've been to Montana twice and have been to Wheat Montana three times now. If she can figure out how to get us by on the way home, it will be four. And I don't blame her. It's a pretty special place. It is a grain elevator, flour mill and bakery. It's the bakery part that brings us back. Cinnamon buns the size of pie plates and delicious. Ruthie got into hers in the car then worried if she put her mask on, it would stick.

I got a BLT on a flaky croissant that melted in my mouth, followed by an equally light and flaky cherry turnover. So the day started really well....THAT we expected.

A bit later, when I got sleepy driving (that, too, was expected), I pulled off at the next exit to trade drivers. There wasn't an immediate on-ramp so we had to drive through the little town of Deer Lodge. What we didn't expect was a wonderful lesson in history. The kids and their dad, and now I by association, are big railfans. Much is made of the completion of the first

transcontinental railroad with the golden spike driven in at Promontory Summit, Utah. Apparently, the last transcontinental railroad was completed in 1909 and the last spike driven in Deer Lodge, a mile and a half east of the golden spike. It was fun finding an article about it online and sending it to Ben.

In addition, Deer Lodge is home to the Montana state prison. An older version of the prison has been turned into a museum. We didn't stop to go

inside, but it looked intriguing. The town was also full of charming old buildings and nice shops. Very worth a stop in a time after pandemic.

The rest of the trip was almost uneventful. Western Montana and Idaho are full of mountain ranges and lovely scenery. We drove through Lolo National Forest just north of where Lewis and Clark (and last year, we) crossed the treacherous Bitterroot Mountains at Lolo Pass. And the Interstate followed the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the interior of the northwest. The Mullan Road was built by US Army troups under the command of Lt. John Mullan. On July 4th in 1861, Mullan and his troups celebrated the nation's birthday on a mountain they named July 4th Summit. I-90 now passes through July 4th Pass, and today, so did we.

We made it to our goal for today--the Doubletree Hotel in Spokane. We're staying at Hilton properties because of their sanitation practices and this was the only one in the area that took pets. It's at a huge convention center and parking is in a garage beneath the complex. We managed to get well into the parking garage before

realizing that the thudding we heard was our rooftop carrier striking the pipes (fortunately flexible, as is the carrier) for the fire system. THAT was totally unexpected. Ruthie flagged down the security guard who helped us navigate to a spot near the exit with no damage to pipes or truck, but we have three left to pass under to get out in the morning. Fingers crossed.

The idea of purchasing this trailer seemed so simple at first. The Escape folks helped me find exactly what I was looking for and at a very fair price. The owners of the trailer are lovely folks who have been very helpful. But this whole process has been fraught with the most ridiculous complications and frustrations. When I got the news that the paperwork was complete, I foolishly presumed we were home free. It appears that the Universe is funning with me still. I will pause, choose to grin, and proceed. We have been blessed to get safely this far and all other obstacles have eventually been resolved. As a friend's bumper sticker reads, "Oh s___, another learning experience"...Stay tuned.