After a pleasant night in Columbus, I packed up and got back on the road west. It was another easy drive down I-90, then hopping off the interstate and onto smaller highways where the speed limit was only 70. (I still only do 65 max while towing.) The terrain got more mountainous and rugged as I went along. I even started seeing snow on top of some of the taller mountains, which seems crazy after dealing with temperatures over 100ºF just a few days ago. The heat wave has certainly broken at this point, though. I only saw temperatures in the 80s today.
I found myself passing through Helena National Forest. I was definitely in the mountains now. I spotted a large pull-off early enough to stop and have some lunch, as well as give Lister a chance to roam a little. There was no catching up on the internet on my phone, however. I barely had any signal, and couldn’t risk even touching Google Maps for fear it would lose my route to my new camp, which I’d neglected to look up in Sygic for its offline maps.
Immediately upon leaving Helena National Forest, the wind picked up, strong. This is the type of wind I would normally refuse to drive in, it was so bad. But I was closer to my destination than any alternative, so I had no choice but to slow way down and press on. Even at 40 in a 70 I was getting blown all over the place, but I was going slow enough to keep it in my lane. Finally I turned off pavement, drove a couple of slow miles on a washboarded dirt road, and found what could be the best campsite I’ve ever had. (I know I said that about the Badlands, but this one is even better.
The campsites here are enormous, enough to fit several vans into one. Seriously, a Class A RV could easily park on the other side of my campsite from me. On one side, I have a beautiful view of the mountains. On the other, it’s only a few steps down to the lake. If I had a kayak, I could launch directly from my campsite. Finally, I’m surrounded on three sides by trees, which cut down the wind quite a bit. While it was blowing strong through the valley, it was fairly calm in this little corner of the world. There’s a pit toilet around the corner, so I don’t have to soil my onboard facilities. Best of all, it’s free to camp here for up to 14 days. It’s the perfect place to settle down for the next week, until I begin the last leg of my trip to Rocky Mtn Roll.
Since I’m going to be here a while, I made more of an effort to set up a camp than I have been. I set up my awning, and also deployed my cheap curtain bug screen. My fly infestation has gone, but there are mosquitoes here, which is to be expected by the water. Fortunately, they’re not smart enough to figure out how to fly around the curtain.
I haven’t set up much more because thunderstorms rolled through last night, and then again this morning. I’ve left the motorcycle inside the trailer until the storms pass. As much as I’d like to explore the area, I’m not going to do it when it’s wet. I’ll have time for that later. True to the reports on iOverlander, there is decent Verizon cell service here, which means I can get online and work. It’s only one or two bars of signal strength, but it’s such a sparsely populated area that my speed is excellent, including watching videos. (I’ve written about the non-correlation between signal strength and data rate before.)
I was feeling pretty bummed out about losing Starlink and being forced to stay close to I-90 for cell service my whole way across Montana. I wouldn’t have known about or dared venture this far away if a friend hadn’t told me about this place. I’m grateful for her local knowledge, and that she shared one of her “secret” campsites with me. Now I’m getting the full Montana experience I was hoping for. The only way it could be better is if I already had my kayak, because I could launch it directly from my camp. I won’t be saying that for too much longer, though. I’m picking one up when I get to Oregon.
Exactly where is this amazing campsite? I’m not allowed to say. The person who shared it with me did so on the condition that I don’t put it on blast to the world. It’s not super secret. It’s on iOverlander. In fact, one of my Instagram followers private messaged me and correctly identified it, because she’s camped here herself in the past. However, I respect my friend’s wishes, and will not disclose my exact location.
Smokey Da Van 