Missoula

Is this it?  Is this the place where Sarah and I finally shake off this funk that has clung to us since the middle of the Virginia contract?  Might just be.  Having a hike planned for tomorrow might have something to do with it too. 

But I get ahead of myself. 

We woke up this morning in, where in the hell were we again?  Oh yeah, Columbus, Montana, just outside of Billings.  It was cold and clear.  We knew today was going to be a long one and there would be some more challenging driving. I got out while Sarah was getting things ready inside and checked all the tires (at Sarah's urging) and checked my temporary repair of the wind damage on IRV.  I don't have any pictures of the repairs at the moment.  It is JB weld and gorilla tape.  I am just hoping it is strong enough to finish the trip and I can try to find something a little more permanent. 

The wind blowing from the opposite side shook the aluminum so much it cracked.

There is another crack just beside the steps where it broke around a screw. 

The kids found some way to occupy themselves while keeping out of our hair. 

This pictures is actually from the evening before, but they were doing the same thing this morning. 

Again from last night.  Michael said, "That tree has a gorilla in it."

Then we hit the road.  Today was the second longest of the trip and also the day we crossed the continental divide.  So you know what that means. 

Lots of climbing.  It is so hard to capture how long and steep the grades are.

Especially since, when the driving gets difficult I tend to put the camera down. 

And as always, what goes up...

Must go down.  Miles of 6% down grades.

Still not taking pictures of the more tense parts.  Hands on the wheel people. 

There was some pretty scenery though.

Then we arrived in Missoula.  It is pretty here.  WE went downtown  to get something to eat.  After a long day of driving, we didn't feel like cooking and doing dishes.  We found a nice little Mexican restaurant called La Cazadores which had a famous local beer (Cold Smoke Scotch Ale...excellent) on tap.  There just happened to be a little festival or event of some sort going on with a live band nearby.  We watched for a moment and then saw some other people gathered up on a ledge.  We went to see what they were doing.

Surfing and kayaking the river.  Because, of course they are.

See, just like Houston

So we have a hike planned tomorrow and some more pictures to come from Missoula.