Where the buffalo roam

This morning we drove south on the east side of Flathead Lake and saw wild turkeys along the way. 

The lakeshore is lined with orchards and the trees were in full bloom, much further along than the fruit trees in Michigan

The scenery today was nonstop beautiful, and we were in sight of snow capped mountains the entire day

A detour south took us to The National Bison Range.  From their website:

"President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Bison Range on May 23, 1908 when he signed legislation authorizing funds to purchase suitable land for the conservation of bison. It was the first time that Congress appropriated tax dollars to buy land specifically to conserve wildlife. The overall mission of the National Bison Range is to maintain a representative herd of bison, under reasonably natural conditions, to ensure the preservation of the species for continued public enjoyment."

The 19 mile road thru the Refuge takes 2 hours to drive and is well worth it.  We saw antelope, deer, and of course bison.

The wildflowers were in full bloom too.

I was very proud of Vanna for climbing to the top of the mountain on a steep gravel road without breaking down

 

We continued on to another detour, Hot Springs, Montana, out in the middle of nowhere  There are three hot springs in town, all small, and we found two of them, but we didn't go in them.  This is the largest one:

Then north back to hwy 2 via Bull River, another spectacularly scenic byway

We came thru Sandpoint, Idaho around 7:00 this evening and crossed the Washington State line to Newport where we will be spending the night in the worst motel yet.  But white lilacs outside our room are in full bloom, and they smell wonderful.