This past Monday I reluctantly packed up my car and headed back to Idaho. I had a lovely, relaxing visit at my sister's house, and knew I would be very busy as soon as I got home. Indeed, I was; that's why it has taken me all week to get around to this final trip post! Furthermore, I had not slept well the night before I drove home, so I was very sleepy all day, despite a long rest stop and attempted nap.
If you ever pass through Plains, Montana, you need to stop at this ice cream shop for a treat. It's a little spendy, but extremely tasty. They have three basic flavors of hard ice cream to which they add whatever candies and flavors you want, and then they run it through a special blender that turns it into soft serve.
It's a cute local shop nestled in some trees at the edge of town.
Ice cream is a helpful thing when one is feeling tired. Or anytime, actually. I decided on basic chocolate ice cream with peanut butter added. Yum!
After finishing my ice cream, I found a park/playground/boat ramp area just across the river, next to the now-silent fairgrounds. It was the perfect place to take a nap...or at least try to. It was also a good place to take a picture.
There are signs along a nine-mile stretch of Highway 200 cautioning drivers to watch out for bighorn sheep. Just a few miles before reaching Thompson Falls, I was pleased to discover a herd of bighorn sheep in the field where they often can be seen. I noticed a lot more fencing has been added since the last time I drove this way, in an attempt to keep the bighorn sheep off the highway and the adjacent railroad tracks. You can barely see the sheep in this photo, alas. I keep complaining about the lack of zoom capabilities on my cell phone; perhaps I ought to invest in a nice digital camera some day!
This is the best I could do with my wimpy zoom.
Here you can see the sturdy fence that has been constructed along the highway. It doesn't extend the entire nine miles, but this stretch is a very popular hangout for the sheep, so it's good to have it right here, at least.
Farther west, a scenic turnout provides this lovely view of the Clark Fork River.
Directly across the road was this splash of autumn colors on the hillside. I saw similar splashes and groves all along the way, but the fall colors were not yet at their peak. The Western Larch were just barely beginning to turn from dark green to pale green on their way to bright yellow. Now, a week later, the larches in our own yard are nearly at peak color. I should post a photo of them in a few days.
One more scenic turnout offered this view, somewhat obscured by trees. I bet the trees have been growing for years since the viewpoint was established. But it's still pretty!
All photos taken on my Android phone.