The Lakes around Marion, Montana

The new kayaks worked out really well up here.  We were able to use them on several lakes - McGregor Lake, Little McGregor Lake, Middle Thompson and Lower Thompson Lakes, and Little Bitterroot Lake.  McGregor and Little Bitterroot Lakes were the deepest at 250 ft or better at the deepest places!  McGregor is spring fed and the water is cold and clear.  We could see down to about 35 feet!  Next time we come here we should bring

snorkeling gear.

Steve jumps in McGregor Lake for a cool off dip on a hot day.  That's some cool spring fed water! 

It was even hot enough for Gari to get in the water!

Steve got cold and got out of the lake for a warm up on the dock.

There were a few fires in the region while we were here.  One was right across the lake from our RV Park.  We were never in danger, the firefighters were on these fires as soon as they were detected.  We watched for several days as the air assault drenched the fires with lake water.  Below is a view of the fire directly across from the dock.  That is too close for comfort!

We saw a seaplane and a old Huey helicopter working to fight the fires.  The seaplane flew right over the RV Park then cleared the trees on the bank of the lake by no more than 20 feet and dipped down to refill his water tanks, over and over again.

Getting close to the surface all the while watching out for pleasure boats!

Almost touching...

Contact! The pilot powered along like this for 10 or 15 seconds then started his pull up...

...and lumbering away under heavy load from the lake surface, the tanks in the pontoons spilling extra water on the way up.

Today is the helicopter's turn... here the pilot maneuvers the water bucket down to the lake surface.

After finding the target, the pilot releases the water load on the hot spot!

Gari gliding across McGregor Lake one perfect morning.

An early morning put in at Bosiverts Park on McGregor Lake.

Steve saddles up in the 10 foot Yak.

Steve leading the way out on McGregor Lake this morning.

Steve observing the Loons on the lake that morning.

Nice wild Rainbow Trout we caught that morning.  That was one delicious fish!

Little Bitterroot Lake was another very deep lake that was nearby.  We understand that Bitterroot is also over 200 feet deep in places.  We saw very few fishing boats, or boats of any kind for that matter.  The fishing boats that we did see were fishing with deep water down-riggers, but we didn't see anything being caught that particular day.  We understand there are some very large trout and salmon in Bitterroot Lake.  We trolled spoons and spinners that day and didn't get a single hit.  Nevertheless it was a gorgeous day on the lake.  Gari trolls along the west shore.

We paddled our kayaks over 6 miles that day.  We nearly paddled the length of Bitterroot Lake and back.  Steve keeps his socks on under his river shoes to prevent sunburn on top of his feet!

Gari paddles back to our put in site on Bitterroot Lake.  The trip back was a little up hill as you can see in the picture below.

The water in Bitterroot Lake was also crystal clear and cold.  You can see the rocks on the bottom in the picture below, which were in about 25 feet of water.

Little McGregor Lake.  This little lake was walking distance directly behind our campsite.  We walked to this lake many evenings after dinner.

Gari scores the first trout on Little McGregor Lake.  She works magic with the Money Clip spoon bait.

Looking east from the west end of Little McGregor Lake on a very still day.

The cliff wall on the north shore of Little McGregor.  This was a popular fishing spot and beautiful as well.

Kayak perspective looking east along the cliff wall.

There was a Loon pair that we saw most every visit to Little McGregor Lake, as well as heard their lonely calls at night.  This pair had a single chick later into our visit.  They wouldn't let us get close enough to the little one for a decent picture.  These are fairly large birds, their body's are every bit as large as a Canadian Goose.

Gari paddles out on Lower Thompson Lake.  These lakes were a little farther from our campsite, but we still fished here several times during our stay in Marion, MT.

We were told there was a gut that connected Lower Thompson to Middle Thompson Lake.  Of course we had to check this out.

We didn't know what wildlife we might see in the shallow wetland area, so we stayed close going through the gut.

Gari works her Money Clip spoon magic on Lower Thompson Lake.

A day of clouds in our coffee at Lower Thompson Lake.

Steve trolls two lines on Lower Thompson.

Gari catches fish on Lower Thompson.

A nice Cutthroat Trout caught by Gari on an F4 Rapala.  Steve caught a Northern Pike here on Lower Thompson, but didn't bring a picture.  We believe him, sure we do!

The Trip to McGregor Lake

I almost forgot the interesting trip up to McGregor Lake near Marion, Montana...  We had spent a month (last half of May and first half of June) on the east side of Yellowstone National Park in Wapiti, Wyoming very near near Cody.  We departed Wapiti and headed toward Marion, Montana thinking we had two weeks to make a leisurely trip.  We received an automated email from the campground in Marion partway into our move that said we only had two days left until our reservation started.  We think they mixed up our dates at the campground, but that was OK with us so we sped up our move to Marion.  The pictures below capture the scenes as we zoomed by!

First stop Billings Montana.  We parked in a Lowe's lot for two days whilst we visited the local Ram and Ford dealers.  We were able to test drive a new 2017 Ford F550 and a 2017 Ram 5500.  Both are commercial trucks that are delivered in a Cab over Chassis configuration.  Our intent was to compare the turbo exhaust brake effectiveness in each manufacturer's vehicle.  Long story short, we test drove both on the same hill outside of town and the Ram exhaust brake out-performed the Ford configuration hands down.  Night and day difference.  End of story.  We are looking at switching tow vehicle from our 2013 F450 to a 2018 Ram 5500.  Our project has begun....

We left Billings and rolled into Butte for a stop over of two weeks we thought... but were cut short when we received word that we had two days left to get to Marion.  There was still snow on the peaks coming into Butte.  This was late June.

We did stop by Evel Knievel's grave site in Butte. 

Steve reflects on Evel's life full of daring stunts while visiting this daredevil's grave-site.

On our way out of Butte, we stopped in Arlee, MT and attempted to overnight at the Garden of 1000 Buddhas.  Not far from where Gari is standing below we saw the sign that said - No Overnight Parking.  So we took a look and continued on our way.

This little marker was at the front of the central garden.  This appeared just to be a private project of a random Montanan.  We know that Buddha was a man, a Nepalese Prince, who established the Four Noble Truths:  There is Suffering.  Suffering is caused by our Expectations.  If we Eliminate our Expectations suffering shall also be Eliminated.  We can reach Nirvana through the Eight Fold Path to Enlightenment... and that's a entire story in itself.

Many Buddhas, about a 1,000 we reckon.

Steve stands at the center Buddha in the garden.

...and out of Arlee and into Polson on Flathead Lake; we found beautiful snow capped mountains in Polson as well.

This was our Polson real estate for the day and night at the local Walmart with a view of Flathead lake out the rear windows.  We could just catch a glimpse of Bull Island over top of the white Blazer!

Our Polson side yard for the day.  We walked down to Murdock's and did a little shopping there.  We love a good farm store.

Goodbye to Polson, next stop Kalispell at the north end of Flathead Lake, then on to Marion on McGregor Lake.

Assults on McGregor Peak

Directly behind the RV park we stayed in whole in Marion, MT was a wild area that is State land with some of it leased for logging operations.  On that land is Little McGregor Lake and McGregor Peak, which rises above the RV park by about 2,100 ft at a peak altitude of 6,000 ft.  We made several attacks on McGregor Peak, but never stood exactly on the top.  We reckoned by Gari's GPS and our maps that we came within about 1,000 ft in both elevation and linear distance.  It really got steep up there!  A few days we hiked with Ed & Lynn up there.

The panorama below was one of the highest overlooks that we made, but it is not the top of McGregor Peak.  You can see McGregor Lake athe the left and can just catch a glimpse of smaller Little McGregor Lake to the right.

This is the way up on the old logging road.  It is closed to all motorized vehicles.  I suspect that they are concerned about fires starting.

Ed came with us the day we came very close to the top.  Ed and Gari take a short rest below.

A midway overlook showing McGregor Lake and Little McGregor Lake in the foreground.  This was before the fires and is a pretty clear day.

There are bear in them hills!  Only a couple days old there.  This pile wasn't there two or three days ago when we last walked up here.

Steve in his mosquito head net that day.  And that is not bug spray on his belt.

Ed breaks out the chocolate fudge that Lynn sent with us for a surprise.  That was the best rest stop we had by far that day!

 A little smokey this day overlooking McGregor Lake.

Photo-bomber.

Ed and Steve take in the view 

Hiking buddies!

Higher up, Ed & Steve.

Lynn, Ed & Steve on a hike above Little McGregor Lake.

Gari checks the GPS with Lynn and Ed.

Gari and Lynn taking in the view from the Little McGregor Lake bluff.

Up the gang goes to the highest hill behind Little McGregor Lake.

A little purple on the stump overlooking McGregor Lake.

It's hard not to take a picture when the overlook opens up.  Gari gets a shot over Steve's  shoulder.

Steve's view.

Going back up to McGregor Peak with Gari and Ed.

The three Musketeers at the high point near McGregor Peak ~5,100 ft.  Steve, Gari and Ed.

 Panorama near the top of McGregor Peak.

Hiking pals 4-ever!