Two weeks in!

Hi Everyone!
We send our love from Polaris, Montana, a few hundred miles southeast of Missoula. We’ve taken a circuitous way of getting here from Bozeman, sticking to the state highways and continuing to follow the hot spring trail. As I write, Joe is out on the trail exploring the Beaverhead (giggity) National Forest. I hung behind to catch up on my journaling beside the creek in the campground. It was a cold 36 degrees this morning, prompting us to build a stout fire and have our breakfast beside it….
We are totally enjoying Montana, which is similar in many ways to Colorado, but grander and more spacious. We have met many friendly locals who’ve shed light on our maps and guidebooks. One couple implored us to stop in the town of Dillon, home to one of four Patagonia Outlets in the country. Needless to say, we killed a couple hours there…. Besides new wool long underwear, we were given some great information about organic and biodynamic farms in the Bitterroot Valley. We plan on making some calls and hopefully having a visit or two. Neither of us would be sad to spend a growing season here....
Bozeman seemed a bustling place, with a college and its fair share of outdoor enthusiasts. We spent two nights above the city, at the top of Hyalite Canyon on the edge of a reservoir (see photo!), and then got up early, early to drive along the Lewis and Clark Trail through ranchland and over tame mountain passes to Polaris.
Kody (our camper) is beginning to show signs of its Chinese origins, with screws popping loose from the thin composite “wood” walls- the incessant vibration created from being on the road is a powerful force in play in the life of our little home-on-wheels. Despite this challenge, we are very comfortable, cooking fantastic meals and laughing at how surreal it is to sit at the same table in a new location each day.
We plan on camping outside of Missoula two nights from now. We look forward to exploring the town on bikes, and I am tempted to look up the Wild Rockies Field Institute, WRFI, home of the stellar outdoor program that brought me to Montana 9 years ago! We will be in Whitefish by the weekend, visiting our dear friends Amy and Gunnar who migrated that way from Boulder. Celebrations will certainly be in order!
Sending so much love from the road, Zoe