Missoula

We had a short drive from Arlee to Missoula. We got a campsite at Jim and Mary’s RV Park (on recommendation from the Meyers). It’s a very well-kept place!

We dropped off the camper and then decided to head into Missoula to check out the downtown area. We started at Caras Park where we watched surfers and kayakers on Brennan’s Wave.

Then we took a walk down the waterfront and saw the big “M” on the hillside. We then happened upon a cool outdoor store, The Trail Head, that had a great selection of gear and an even better Gear Exchange (used gear/clothing section)!

It was then time for pizza – which we got at Front Street Pizzeria – Missoula’s version of Pizza My Heart in Santa Cruz! It was tasty. Then we picked up some tasty slices of pie for my birthday that we enjoyed back at the campground.

When we got back to where we parked, we hung out at the playground there for a bit. Reece played hard (see his red face in the picture), Claire read her book, and Matt and I talked to a lovely 86 year old gentleman who first came to Missoula as a smokejumper at 19 and then eventually settled in Missoula and has had a tree business here for about 50 years.

The next day was Memorial Day and my foot/leg had been bothering me since our hike in Sandpoint, so I took it easy and R.I.C.E.d my foot/leg all day. And everyone had a very relaxing day.

The next day we packed up and headed out with the camper to the Smokejumper Visitor Center. While on the tour there (we saw jumpers in the air, the new rookie class of 2026, the base, and several planes), Matt found out that he did indeed need to go to Iowa for work sooner than we had originally planned. So after the visitor center we got a new campsite at a campground with a pool and mini golf, and then dropped Matt off at the airport.

Reece and I squeezed in a game of mini golf that afternoon before the thunderstorms, but most of the evening was spent hunkered down in the camper.

The next day we went to the National Museum of Forest Service History. We found out there’s a large concentration of retired Forest Service employees in the Missoula area, which is why the museum is there. The museum has been an old forest service cabin converted to a gift shop with a couple loops of open air exhibits, but they just built a brand new building on the site that will open on July 17! The old cabin is going to get restored to look like it did years ago. There’s a gentleman in Missoula who grew up in that cabin when his dad was the forest ranger there, so he is going to help. It was a neat spot run by friendly people – definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area.

That afternoon we enjoyed swimming in the pool and playing mini golf before the storms rolled in again. The next day was spent in similar fashion – relaxing, swimming, and playing mini-golf before the storms rolled in – it’s summer! (And my foot started to feel better after all the rest.) There were also a number of killdeer in the park and a couple nests with eggs in them (their nests are just in rocky areas on the ground). It was fun to observe.

Friday, Reece played with some boys here at the campground while Claire made no-bake cheesecakes. Then we ran to Target to pick up groceries and necessities before picking Matt up from the airport. Of course more storms rolled through that late afternoon/evening, but then it cleared and the evening was cool and fresh after the rain. There were lots of people out and about since it was the weekend and more people were here. The long days are nice!