Two Weekends, One Hell of a Ride
With winter coming sooner than we want to admit, Papa Bear and I decided we needed to squeeze in a couple of turn and burns, two weekends in a row out in the mountains. We wanted to enjoy every bit of this cool fall weather and take in all the colors before the trees were bare and the white shit started falling.
So, here we go again… another weekend of escaping reality, breathing in that fresh mountain air, and soaking up every damn minute of it while we still can.
This weekend we were headed back to Boulder so we could meet up with a few friends and tackle the third stretch of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR), from Butte to Lincoln, on the SxS.
I was seriously excited for this one, even knowing we were looking at about 140 miles one way. I knew deep down this was going to be one of those trips we would be talking about for years to come.
We finally made it to camp Thursday evening, just in time to get everything set up before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Once camp was home, we sat around visiting, relaxing, and enjoying that first evening of being away from the real world.
Friday
Friday morning came way too early, as usual.
Before the chickens probably even thought about getting their day started, Bluey and Whitty were already on patrol. We had heard coyotes yipping pretty close to camp, so naturally the girls had to go investigate and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be.
Once their inspection was complete, they had worked up quite the appetite.
I got everyone situated and then finally got to crawl underneath my cozy blanket with my morning coffee. There is just something about sitting at camp with a hot cup of coffee, cool mountain air, and absolutely nothing demanding your attention. Those are the moments I live for.
Of course, that peaceful little moment never lasts forever.
Before we knew it, it was time to get breakfast going and fuel up for whatever Friday was going to bring us.
Our friends, Ronnie, Jodi, Dave and Karen, got loaded up and ready to hit the trails. This time, Papa Bear was our guide through the mountains.
We spent the day exploring, and the fall colors were absolutely showing off. Fall had barely gotten started, but the mountains were already changing into all those beautiful colors that make you want to stop every five minutes just to take another picture.
We explored a couple of old mines and areas we’ve been through before, but somehow they never get old. No matter how many times we go back, we always seem to find something new.
That’s one of my favorite things about the mountains.
You can go to the same place over and over again and somehow it never feels like the same trip.
Eventually, it was time to head back toward camp, which turned out to be a damn good thing because Dave smoked his belt on his SxS. That’s never something you want happening out in the middle of nowhere.
Luckily, we had already made it back before things really went sideways.
Once we got back to camp, it was time to figure out dinner.
Except… apparently our meat had other plans.
Our hamburger had gone bad, or at least had changed into something that was no longer to our liking. I swear, it amazes me how damn quickly hamburger seems to go bad these days.
So, guess who got sent to the local grocery store?
Yep.
Mama Bear.
Because apparently even when we’re escaping reality, reality still occasionally requires a grocery run.
Once everyone was fed, we finally got to sit around the fire, visit, laugh, and enjoy the evening. That lasted until the storm started blowing in and the brisk wind sent all of us running back to our campers to warm up.
Honestly, it worked out perfectly.
We needed to get some rest anyway because Saturday was going to be a big one.
Saturday — The Big Ride
Saturday morning came, and because Papa Bear had his alarm set, apparently that meant it was officially time to get up.
Naturally, that was the exact morning Mama Bear’s body decided we needed to sleep in.
Funny how that works.
Papa Bear kept poking at me trying to get me moving, which at least gave both of us a little quiet time before we had to deal with other humans. We both require that quiet time in the morning before we’re ready to function like civilized people.
Eventually, it was time to get our shit together.
Papa Bear gave me a mission:
Get the MTBDR uploaded onto the tablet.
Sounds simple, right?
Yeah… not so much.
Getting it uploaded onto our Android tablet turned into a whole damn ordeal. But there was no way my determined ass was going to let that thing win.
So, I did what any modern woman would do.
I Googled that shit.
I love the Goog.
In my book, Google knows everything.
Papa Bear had pretty much accepted that we just weren’t going to have the route on the tablet.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t leave it alone.
And after enough searching, clicking, cussing, and probably questioning why I was making this harder than it needed to be…
I cracked the damn code.
I was actually pretty damn proud of myself.
We were finally ready to see what our ride was going to entail.
We came across several areas along the route that I am already itching to go back and explore. There were trails everywhere calling Papa Bear’s name, practically begging him to turn up one of them and see where it went.
But that will have to be another adventure.
We already had a long trek ahead of us.
So we kept moving and I did my best to take in every bit of the scenery along the way.
And there was a LOT to take in.
Eventually, we made it to Lincoln, fueled up the machine, and then went to get Papa Bear a shake and a burger.
Because apparently we’re getting bougie in our old age.
We decided we’d rather eat inside somewhere warm than sit outside in the cold wind trying to eat.
We’re fancy like that now. 😂
After lunch, we met back up with the group and started the long ride back toward camp.
Along the way, we started running into a bunch of SxSs participating in a poker run Lincoln was putting on.
Then came the moment that made my heart jump straight into my throat.
We came across some SxS drivers who apparently hadn’t learned the fine art of driving etiquette on tight mountain roads.
One guy wasn’t moving over, and Dave felt like he needed to go around him.
As they passed, the front tire of Ronnie’s machine caught the soft gravel and pulled them off the road.
For a second, I honestly thought they were going to roll.
My heart stopped.
But his quick reflexes kicked in.
Even with the back tire coming off the ground, he recovered, got the machine back into 4×4, pulled himself back onto the road, and kept going like nothing had happened.
I was in our machine thinking,
“Holy shit… I would’ve been shitting my pants!”
Papa Bear may be quick on his feet when it comes to driving us through the mountains, but he takes his special cargo very seriously.
He knows he’s got Mama Bear and the girls with him, and he does everything he can to make sure we are safe and having a damn good time.
Eventually, we were about halfway back to camp.
And that’s when Mama Bear was officially over it.
We still had more than 40 miles to go.
Those last miles felt like they took forever.
The pups were DONE.
Whitty was so exhausted she couldn’t even keep her eyes open anymore. Eventually, she crawled up into the front seat and curled herself onto my lap.
There she was…
My 50-pound baby, trying her absolute hardest to stay awake while Mama gave her some much needed snuggles.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
She was exhausted, but apparently sleeping wasn’t an option because she had important SxS business to supervise.
By the time we finally made it back to camp, I think every single one of us was thankful to see that camper.
Everyone came flying inside looking for food.
And those girls?
They were absolute troopers.
They rode their little hearts out all damn day.
And when I say it was a long day, I mean a LONG day.
We ended up riding over 200 miles.
That’s something we don’t normally do, not even over two days.
Two hundred-plus miles in one day was a whole different level of riding.
But even with how exhausted we were, I was so glad we did that stretch.
It opened up even more places that we want to go back and explore.
That’s the funny thing about these adventures.
Sometimes you leave the mountains exhausted, sore, dirty, and completely worn out…
and somehow all you can think about is when you’re going back.
By the time we showered and crawled into bed, our bodies were completely spent.
My hips, back, and neck were screaming at me, and all I wanted was to stretch out, relax, and let my body recover.
It didn’t take long before we were all passed out.
Sunday — Back to Reality
Sunday morning I actually slept until 8:00 a.m.
If you know me, you know that is practically unheard of when we’re camping.
I’m usually the first one awake.
Funny enough, if we’re home, I can stay in bed as long as humanly possible.
Papa Bear, on the other hand, is usually the early riser at home.
Apparently camping flips that whole system around.
We had a slow-moving Sunday morning for a while.
And then…
Papa Bear got antsy.
Anyone who knows him knows exactly what that means.
It was time to pack up.
I have him figured out by now.
There comes a moment when he starts moving around, looking at things, picking stuff up, and generally acting like he’s ready to go.
That’s when Mama Bear knows it’s TIME.
Time to start putting everything away.
Time to load up the camper.
Time to get the pups situated.
Time to say goodbye to our little mountain home for another weekend.
And time to head back toward reality.
But damn…
What a weekend.
Two hundred-plus miles through the mountains.
Fall colors everywhere.
Old mines.
New trails calling our names.
Friends around the fire.
Cold mountain mornings.
Tired pups.
A little adventure.
A little chaos.
A smoked belt.
A grocery store run.
A near heart attack on a mountain road.
And a whole lot of memories made.
That’s exactly why we keep doing this.
Because someday, these won’t just be weekends in the mountains.
They’ll be the stories we sit around telling.
“Remember that time we rode over 200 miles in one day?”
And we’ll laugh.
Because we’ll probably already be planning the next damn adventure.
Leave a Reply