White Sulphur Springs, Montana: Dave and I were at the Gates of the Mountain boat dock around 11a for our two-hour trip on the Missouri River - on the same route Lewis and Clark took on the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Let's face it. At this time, we are referring to the duo as Lou and Merr. Like our best friends and traveling companions. On this stretch of the Missouri, the water passes through huge limestone cliffs - like an opening in the mountains beyond and Merr called this opening the GATES OF THE MOUNTAIN in his journal and it has been called this since.
The tour operator offers three trips a day and they have three boats to accommodate however many seats they sell. The trip is about two hours and the price is $20 for adults and only $15 for seniors. This is a super good deal! We snagged seats on the back of the boat - without a cover - and slathered ourselves in sunscreen.
Our guide said there are over 10,000 bats in the gorge - with four species represented. In the fall, you can book a night time "bat tour" with this company. The boats sell-out in one day!
I could only decipher a sheep (?) on the far right.
Though it is common to see otter and sheep, the only critters we saw today were eagles - but we saw so many!
After our two hour tour, we drove a few minutes up the road and had lunch in our RV. Then we headed east on Highway 12, stopping for provisions, an ATM, and fuel. We drove for about 90 minutes on 12, through grain fields, cattle fields, over a 6000+ foot pass in burned forest, then down into a lush valley filled with grass fields and Pronghorn Sheep. We saw so many pronghorn, but the beautiful creatures were too far off for photography.
We stopped - at a very late for us 6p - for the night in White Sulphur Springs, Montana where I made a spaghetti & chicken meatball dinner, we watched most of the Dodger game and sat through a good old rain storm. It only lasted 45 minutes, but it was a fabulous sensation, lowering the outside temperature by a good 20 degrees. We still are having a bit of wind, but never saw/heard thunder or lightning.
Meanwhile, at summer camp, our grandchildren are living their best life:
Until my next update, I remain, your gated correspondent
Campground Information: Conestoga Campground
Seventh photo from the top. Way up on the top of photo is that an arch? Looks like an opening with blue sky beyond.