Windrose Ramblings: Three Forks, Montana

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

It was time to turn the wheels north. With just a little hiccup, we finally got on the road again.

On our way. The sun was out. The clouds were gone and we had a beautiful view of the Tetons as we drove up the valley towards the Montana border. Up we went to Island Parks, an interesting area at the top of Idaho just before you cross into Montana: choose to go right to Yellowstone or left to Helena. Island Parks has the longest Main Street as it’s a community stretched out in pockets along the highway for about 35 miles. The first fuel stop, called Last Chance, was fortunately not the last chance as it was closed. Up the road a few miles was another stop – and then another…and we fueled up to continue on.. turning left towards Helena.

First though, time to find a stretch break, coffee shop. We ended up in Ennis which really is worth more than just a drive-through. It's in the beautiful Madison River valley and could easily be a base for exploring the Yellowstone area. I think we've camped there on a previous trip.

fenceboards...

Gravel Bar - great place for lunch

Finally we pulled into Three Forks KOA. It’s a beautiful spot, just minutes from the freeway but the birds sing louder than the traffic. We got sites facing each other again so we could visit together outside. By the time we decided it was supper, the breeze was cooler coming around the corner and we opted to eat inside. After, we went for a walk around to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

HEADWATERS STATE PARK

This is the headwaters of the Missouri River. It’s where the Madison and Jefferson Rivers come together and about a mile down stream, the Gallatin River joins in too. Hence, Three Forks. We walked around a bit at the fork of the first two rivers. You could definitely see the swirl of where they came together. If you start paddling your raft, you'll join the Mississippi River and reach the Gulf of Mexico in about two or three months!

Then we walked along the ridge overlooking the Gallatin River, a braided windy stream. We tried our best Lewis and Clark impressions.

As the sign says, Lewis and Clark were tasked to find the source of the Missouri River. Presumably, that would lead over a range of mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Little did they know that it was still a long arduous journey with several more mountain ranges before they would arrive at the ocean.

THREE FORKS

Somehow we managed to avoid the rain showers as we walked around the park. We headed back into town and now had to duck into some shops to avoid the rain! Three Forks was established as a railway town and now is a lovely little rural community with some interesting shops.