Day Six

Radium Hot Springs, BC to Missoula, MT
May 31st, 2009

High Point of the Day....
Low Point of the Day......
Obviously, the Radium Hot Springs Aquacort
Skipping Whitefish to get on down the road
Miles Traveled Today
Total Miles Traveled
The Bus Playlist
Weather
368
2479
Scissor Sisters, Dean Martin, The Beastie Boys
Sunny with wispy clouds in the big sky
Price of Gas 
(average per gallon)
Wildlife
Night's Lodging
Where this Page was Uploaded
3.09
Horses, Cows, Deer, Squirrels, Mountain Goats
Missoula KOA
Stanley, ID

Daily Didactic
The morning started earlier for Theresa than Brian, who bound out of the bus for a much anticipated run down to Radium Valley and then back up the hill to Red Streak Campground. Apparently it worked because she seemed fatigued when she returned to the bus around 9:00. Having learned that the Radium Hot Springs Aquacort opens at 10:00, we packed up camp at a leisurely pace and headed out at a quarter to ten. Interestingly, we realized that we had stayed in the same campsite as in 2000. We wouldn't have recognized it without the picture from the old web site as after the "big fire of 2003" the park host said they cut down most of the trees in that section of the campground.

We spent a couple of hours lounging in the not nearly as sulphury Radium Hot Springs. Radium is far more civilized than Laird, kind of like a large swimming pool at bathtub temps. The scenery surrounding the pool is awesome and we just can't get enough of the place. After our dip we tried to get lunch at the strangely non-functional Radium Hot Springs Lodge across the road. There is a story here, but it's probably not worth the energy. We'll just suggest you try elsewhere. We did and ended up at the Horse Thief Pub and Saloon, or something to that effect, surrounded by a crowd of older golfers. After a satisfying lunch, we hit the road toward the border.

The road to the border winds through southern British Columbia and is scenic, but sadly pales in comparison to the road a few hundred miles north. We had an uneventful border stop and tooled on into the "Big Sky" country that is northern Montana. It's weird, but the sky really does seem bigger. Probably the power of suggestion. We made a hard decision and skipped one of our favorite old standby stops of Whitefish, because it was relatively early and Missoula placed us in a better spot to get to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho the follow day. We landed in the Missoula KOA mid evening, looking forward to showers, internet access, and electricity.


Daily Pictures (Slide Show)

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Morning in an unfamiliar familiar site at Red Streak He just kept chattering at us
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The Radium Aquacort Piscine Chaude!
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An awfully white Alaskan in an awfully warm pool The view of the Alaskan
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Happy T Okay, it's just a gutter but it seems artsy
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Undermining any kind of morning start to the drive The notch in the road back to Radium
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Do you suppose they tell you or is it a surprise? You know, you really cannot stop her from driving the bus
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With a little assistance, a CV boot Now, there is a look for Brian
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Brians hands down favorite shot, out the window looking left Hoodoos out of Fairmont
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Another favorite shot, the over the shoulder Cows guarding the border
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Our country welcomes us back As does the oddly tobacco free Tobacco Valley
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Big Sky, really Sprinkling


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