Rendezvous Revisited... A Great Montana Adventure!

Julie, thank you so much for taking the time to post all these pictures. It's not exactly like being there, but I feel a little less deprived. I'm glad you all had such a great trip.

I've seen quite a few pictures with Persicaria bistorta in gardening books and haven't ever heard about a tendency to flop. The Persicaria I gave you will flop as a plant (that's how it reproduces mostly, I think), but the blossoms still stay upright in rain. I'm so torn about this plant - I love it, but I don't want to have to fight it or risk invading the wetland.

It's good to know that timed soakers can work. I just need to get off my b*** and get mine on a system. I enjoy hand watering, but there's just not enough time for me to do that when things heat up.

The end of our tour was spent fawning over their lovely rock gardens. Karen wetted them down for us so we could see them at their most beautiful, and WOW is all I can say. The coolest part is that when you point out a rock, they both can tell you where it came from. There is some fantastic stuff, and it has been collected throughout their travels....

Look at all of the colors and textures..........

And more........

The baby roses that Karen had planted among the rocks added the perfect touch.....

Unfortunately, all good things must come to and end. It was time to say goodbye to our wonderful host and hostess and their furries.....

Oops... wrong photo. I suppose if that was the only one that I messed up in this tale, I am still doing ok......

Unfortunately, all good things must come to and end. It was time to say goodbye to our wonderful host and hostess and their furries...

One last group photo (sans Lynn.... someone had to take it :( ) and it was time to hit the road home.........

BUT WAIT................. the tale doesn't end there..........

Steve sent us home a different and more scenic route. He pointed out areas where we could look for mountain sheep, elk, and collect some rocks.

We stoped at a pulloff on the side of the highway to see if we could spot any critters on this hillside........

We didn't find any critters, but we found something even better...........

ROCKS!!!!!

We are all rock hounds anyway, and combining that with the inspiration from Karen's lovely rock gardens we were in seventh heaven at the bottom of this hillside!

In the area that Steve had told us to be looking, these slag piles absolutely cried out to us........

As did the top of LOLO pass............

Oh yeah.... there was some nice scenery too.........

We were pretty worn out, so another stop in EWA was definitely in order........

When we got there, we were all ready to crash......

The next morning, we were thrilled to see what our tomato blossoms had done over the weekend that we were gone....

It was a wonderful socialization trip for Henri. We even took time to play with the new puppy next door in EWA before we went home....

Despite the sun and the flowers, it was finally time to go home for real.........

We couldn't resist one more stop for rocks though. We have a favorite dog walking area on the west side of the pass that has some really nice stuff.

Lynn found plenty...... check out the pockets!!!!!

It was definitely a wonderful adventure!! Good friends, good fun, good food, beautiful scenery.... life just doesn't get any better than that!

Buckets full of heartfelt thanks again to both Steve and Karen for EVERYTHING! We really hope that we do have the opportunity to return the favor when you both have a chance to travel to the wet side.

This picture story has been a group effort as far as photos go... I used my own pictures as well as pictures from Sharon and Lynn. It was a perfect way to share as much of the trip with you all as we could. Thank you for traveling virtually with us!

Thank you all for your contributions to that wonderful trip. Makes my teeth hurt to look at it all.
Ruth is here and I showed her some of the pictures. She said her and Dean have used those rainbow rocks from Montana in some of their landscaping projects.

That photo of Lynn with the rocks in her pockets is priceless. It needs to be framed!

I want to hear about the new route you took home. Was it longer? Which way did you go?

Here is a little planter I came across in Bigfork while I was walking around while the boys played soccer. I loved the colors and the use of the (what I assume to be) corn.

While many were outside Saturday night, I have to flea the mosquitoes and come inside. Several of us had a good time on Karen's massage chair. (Btw, we really need to get Karen on DG!) In fact, we had such a good time, we almost needed to clear the room of males and minors.

Pretty planter, Gwen. We came home with gazinia envy as well as delphinium envy, rock envy etc.

Gwen, That planting is really stunning! I wonder if the corn is just decorative or if it will have something to harvest?

I think that Steve said that the route we took back is about 45 miles shorter than coming I90 to 382. We turned on to 28 right after Hot Springs and then North on 200 at Plains. Then we made a left on what as far as I can tell is Montana 471 at Thompson falls, turned left at Prichard Idaho and reconnected with I90 at Kingston Idaho. Our map didn't have road numbers on it, just turns at towns. I don't believe it was any faster as it was a two lane road that wound through the mountains, but it was beautiful and I swear that unless we were in one of the towns proper, we only saw a handfull of cars on the entire stretch. I would definitely go that way again unless I was in a huge hurry. Apparently the road is closed during winter months though.....

It may be the kind of road that's shorter but takes as long or longer due to windy, etc.

The road we came in on was also one lane each direction, altho not at all windy. Major construction on some parts, so we were driving on gravel for a couple miles. Only one rock cracked the windshield, I guess that was lucky.

I am absolutely in love with Idaho and would move there in a second. Love love love Coeur d'Laine or however it's spelled.

I was wondering if the corn was ornamental as well. It may be a variety of indian corn or something or red corn. It didn't really have the space to get real tall in that little corner, so maybe it's one of the shorter indian corn ones.

Wonderful tour. Rock envy here, also.

Lynn and rocks............priceless!

I want to go to Montana with a BIG truck and load it up with rocks. :D

What a wonderful tour- Steve, your garden is amazing, and your house is gorgeous. And the lakes/streams/mountains/everything.... wow.

Thanks for all the pictures- I wish I could have been there, but this was the next best thing! :)

Steve and Karen,
What is the brand/model of your fantastic massage chair? We NEED one!!

How was your bike trip to Alaska? Joe is on vacation now, he is bummed he didn't get to go riding with you.

I have arrived in AK after 1st day sun and the next 4 were cold rain. I think my body is tired of 1300 miles in 3 days.
I would like to thank our visitors for such gratitude. We did not deserve as much. Karen so enjoyed you all. I too wish she would get on the Internet but I doubt she will.
That special way takes me less time but I suppose the couer D River is so beautiful it seems shorter. I also enjoy the resting areas along the road. Each one is filled with surprises. When I first went that way it was mostly gravel over Thompson pass. There is a short hike at the summit to a beautiful lake I enjoy to break up the trip. After all I take that drive home after getting out of Bellevue at 6pm.

Julie second plant with green rounded leaves is Ligularia dentata.

Lynn I don't remember the chair name. I bought it off EBay. Maybe Karen will get it for you if she reads this. Hi honey if you are looking.

Sure looks like that ligularia, but it is described as a bog plant on DG. Steve does that seem right to you? Does it gets lots of water there?

My SIL grows ligularia under a cedar tree. It gets adequate moisture from watering only during the hottest months. I think it's a shade plant that loves moisture, but can be used in a variety of settings in the PNW once it's established. I have some in part shade that has had no problem surviving the last two winters and wet springs with no protection. Last summer I'm not even sure I gave it water . . .

Sofer, Glad you arrived safely. That's a grueling trip on a bike in good weather, but with rain I can imagine it seemed extra long! You guys do deserve every bit of gratitude plus. Not only did you open your home to us and our furries, but you spoiled us rotten! Your special way back could very well take less time, but we were enjoying the scenery and stopping regularly so we couldn't tell for sure. Alas, even with your excellent advice as to where to look, our wildlife viewing in Montana was limited to the handful of squirrels and chipmunks, and the bunny that Mom saw at Glacier. We did see a herd of white farm goats at one point, and decided that as we were in the mountains and they were goats, then we had seen mountain goats...... One of the very best things about the way you sent us was the lack of traffic and the ability to slow down whenever we wanted to get a good look at things without someone behind us.

Thistle, thanks for the ID. We were all very much enamored by it, and it sounds like it should do well in our area too...

My Lingularia does best in heavy shade and in heavy clay that has wet feet all the time. Though I have the "Rocket" in the sun with little moisture. The Dentata likes shade and morning sun.
I am keeping the bike up here for the summer and maybe take it home in Sept and will take a week to get home via the Al-Can.

Please don't wait until it snows. My brother is thinking of moving down here and will be hauling all his stuff down that road also. Glad you had a safe trip up there.
Your get-together looks like fabulous fun. Your home is just beautiful.

I love the rock gardens, the woodpecker tree, and the special gardens for sweet doggies and gathering with friends by the fire, though I am sure they are far more spectacular in person.

The photos of you guys collecting rocks are hilarious. What fun!! I have a box of rocks that I gathered on a trip west for the purpose of teaching about geology. Now I am having other ideas of what to do with it. After all, the rocks could easily be on display outside while they are not in use being specimens on a science observation table.

I too enjoyed the rock hunt photos. We recently went on a side trip up 'Starvation Mountain' (must be a story behind that) on Loup-Loup Pass. While my brother-in-law was spotting strange twisty wood amongst a recent burn, I was oohing over the massive rock chunks, trying to figure out how to load those into the rig.