day 78 Swan Lake, MT 72 miles

After a great breakfast of elk steak burritos, Anne made us 3 more to go plus tomatoes, cukes, cherries and the last of the plum torte to make our panniers bulge at the seams! Bud gave us a ride back to our route in Milltown, where we picked up a mail drop which included our grandson's first piece of artwork (very abstract).

We rode along the Blackfoot River, the inspiration for Norman Maclean's "A River Runs through It", and made a stop in Seeley Lake at the historical society's exhibit on his summers spent at the family cabin in Seeley Lake (his decendents still use it to this day).

As we rode north along the Clearwater River later in the afternoon, we were flanked on the left by the Mission mt., and on the right by the Swan Mts. and the Bob Marshall Wilderness (yes, the Bob Marshall of adirondack fame). A very picturesque ride! After Summit Lake, we entered into the Swan River watershed, a beautiful chain of lakes that reminded us of the Adirondacks. We pulled into the Swan Lake Trading Post, a great full-service Mom and Pop campground run by Joe & Jocelyn. I had the pleasure of getting to sample a free piece of experimental huckleberry-upside-down cake: five stars!

About 9 miles down the road this morning we happened upon the mother-lode of huckleberry bushes, so we left a message on Bud and Anne's answering machine giving the exact coordinates. It's too top secret to be left on the internet!