I won the gamble on selecting good days to see the wildflowers at Vipond Park.

I wanted to just hang out and absorb the view, spend time up on the plateau. I visited the old Mewonitoc mine and the Gray Jockey  mine to slowly look around. Each mine held the stories of people that dreamed of finding a big gold lode that would bring them riches. But these mines didn’t make the big time.

I didn’t see much wildlife on this trip except for butterflies.  At Vipond Park there were lots of different types of  butterflies siting on the road.  I drove slowly in hopes that they flew away instead of getting squished by my truck.  At one point I stopped driving and just watched them looking down out my window.

I stayed at the Canyon Creek Forest Service Cabin which required that I drive the scary road.  I wasn’t going to let my irrational fears hinder my visit!  Now that I knew a bit about the road I found that the drive down was easy. One can stand at the top and see if there is anyone coming up. And going up, I now knew that there is only about .5 miles at the top that is worrisome.  I drove the road three times.

Facts:

• Call the Wise River Forest Service station for advice and updates on the timing of the bloom.
• Link to the forest service site about Vipond Park.
• The Canyon Creek Cabin was the darkest of all the cabins I stayed at. A low ceiling and few windows. But the cabin was clean and complete with supplies.
• All of the cabins in Montana have a warning that they may have mice. This cabin did have mice. My young dog Razzy let me know in the middle of the night there mice.  She actively started searching for mice as I tried to sleep.
• Vipond Park, Montana is south of Dewey and west of Melrose.