Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Road trip, Day Eight -- we're home!

So the washroom is piled high with laundry, the living room is piled high with luggage and personal effects -- and we have someone coming to look at the house tomorrow. Ah, it's good to be home.

Knowing we only had about five hours of driving ahead of us before we made it home, Older Daughter and I hit the road early. As we gassed up the car, I was able to get a clearer view of the "Our Lady of the Rockies" statue overlooking Butte. Very impressive.



The day was grey and overcast. In fact, the misty clouds added to the scenery.




I saw a huge solitary tower in the distance. "What on earth is that?" I wondered. "Minas Tirith," Older Daughter promptly replied.


Nice barn. Very Montana-ish.


Lots of rocky crags as we headed toward Missoula.


Past Missoula, things got more forested, and infinitely more beautiful.




Older Daughter said the scenery looked like it was from the video game Skyrim.


At one point, seeking a restroom, I pulled off on a lonely pause in the highway. Nope, no bathroom facilities here. In fact, it looked like we were the only people to pull off the highway at this particular spot for a long time.



Ah, this is the sign we were waiting for. Is that a crow perched over the "to"?


Another long ribbon of highway stretching before us, but this one leads to home.


It was good to see the sweet hills of the Palouse.


Nearly there.


Once we hit the dirt road, all is right with the world.


Our homecoming was joyous. Then we had to unpack the car.


But it's nice to see an extra light on in the house.


Thank you for following us on our road trip!

14 comments:

  1. It has been a pleasure following your journey home. Remarkable photos, you are very talented. Enjoy!!

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  2. Well, Dorothy, there’s no place like home. It’s my favorite place to be.

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  3. A blessing for the safe return home. Red

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    1. My thoughts exactly, hope your house sells.

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  4. Ah, scenic Saltese MT ... I recognised that MOTEL sign because I've had to pull through there before as well, hoping for the exact same thing.

    So nice to see that nothing has changed in over a decade and a half, including that sign. :-)

    As cheesy and touristy as it probably sounded while you were passing it, the 50000 Silver Dollar place that's near it was pretty decent for facilities. My rented towing vehicle was burning through a litre of diesel every minute and a half or less through that area, and so they were a very welcome sight.

    I did ask the proprietors if they ever considered taking down a few thousand of those silver dollars so they could buy a bigger patch of land, and the answer to that query was something along the lines of "this was just the first fifty thousand".

    So they're fairly well good to go I suspect. :-)

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  5. Glad to see that you had a good time. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed sharing your trip.---ken

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  6. Patrice, I so enjoyed hearing about you and Older Daughter's trip. So glad you arrived home safe and sound. What are Older Daughter's plans for the future? I would have expected her to take a little down time with you and Don, but the sale of the house could happen at any time leaving you all temporarily without roots.

    Best to all of you.

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  7. 'We're on the dirt'! Yea... Great feeling. Happy reunion.
    Thanks for taking us along.
    Montana Guy

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  8. I always call that place Isengard whenever I pass by!! Glad you all are home safe.
    MV

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  9. Did you notice the elephant face in the rock formations just east of Missoula? It looks like you got a partial picture of it.

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  10. Enjoyed the trip you took us on and yes, there is no place like home. Looking forward to the next chapter in OD's life and Yours and Don's too for that matter. My one question... How the heck did you get all that in the car? Amazing! Glad you're safe.

    Herdog

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  11. I had to look it up the first time I drove by that tower, and it is the Anaconda Smelter Stack.

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  12. Thank you for sharing your road trip. I enjoyed it.

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