Day 10: Hamilton, Montana to Painted Rocks Lake, Montana

We reluctantly said goodbye to our campsite at Twin Lakes in the morning of our tenth day on the road.  After making our way back down the 15 mile gravel road we found ourselves back on solid pavement once again. 

We planned to continue making our way south through the Bitterroot Mountains, but we made a quick stop in the town of Darby to resupply and refuel first. 

Then, the search was on. We thought we would end up staying at a campsite called Alta, but we checked out other campsites along the way just in case. Fridays and Saturdays are always the toughest days to find sites, so we were trying to find a new spot before people got out of work and headed out for a weekend in nature. 

Everyone we met around here also told us to check out Lake Como, too. So we did. We found both Lake Como and Alta to be too crowded for our liking, so eventually we decided to head back to a campground we stumbled upon a few miles before those locations. 

We ended up choosing a campsite called Slate Creek. Nestled back under pine trees and close to a rushing stream that connected to nearby Painted Rocks Lake, we found a site in a loop that was empty except for us. 

Anxious to stretch our legs after a few hours in the car, we quickly set up camp and took Scout to explore the creek and lake. The water was crisp and clear, and we enjoyed walking through the large culvert to the bigger lake where a few families were paddle boarding and fishing nearby.

After our hike, I spent some time reorganizing the inside of the Scamp while Kevin made dinner. Then, I read by the campfire for awhile while Kevin headed back to the creek to fish for a bit. He managed to catch a nice Brook

Trout before heading back to join me at the campsite where we waited for the stars to make their appearance before calling it a night. 

We haven't had much cell service these past few days, so while it has been a bit unsettling feeling so cut off from the news of the world and the news of Facebook and texting and phone calls, it has also been nice to reorient ourselves and focus just on nature and the experience and good old fashioned maps and face to face communication along the way. 

Last year it rained each day we were in Montana. This year, Montana graced us with perfect temperatures, refreshing breezes, and beautiful sunshine. 

Tomorrow we move on to another state--Idaho. Hopefully it treats us just as well.