Sept 2nd to 4th - Helena & Philipsburg MT

Sept 2nd – Thurs – Helena
I updated the blog and continued work on pictures this morning. We finally took some pictures of the truck and 5th wheel and got them posted. Thanks to everyone who kept bugging us about them!!
We went out for some lunch and then went on a boat trip to Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River at 2. The weather had turned sunny and warm and the open tour boat was perfect. The driver/guide was very knowledgeable and kept up a running commentary for the entire 2 hour trip which went 6 miles down and back up the river. Strangely enough, the Missouri runs south to north in this part of Montana so we were going downstream as we headed north towards Great Falls. The guide included geology, history, animals and plants in his talks. It was interesting, beautiful and very relaxing.
We sat outside for a while when we returned and then came inside for dinner.

Sept 3rd – Fri – to Philipsburg MT
We took the slightly longer route (Hwy 15 to 90 and then 1) to Philipsburg this morning as we just drove part of the shorter route a couple of days ago. The portion of Hwy 1 that we drove is also part of the Pintler Scenic Loop and it definitely lived up to its name with one long downhill stretch that made Terry praise the exhaust brake again.
We settled in at the small RV park connected to the Inn at Philipsburg and went to explore the town. The main tourist street is lined on both sides with fun shops and places to eat & drink in old buildings. We hit them all and had lunch in one.
We bought a folding toy fence to use to hold items on an open shelf in the bathroom. But we had to modify it which was quite the little job with our few tools. A neighbor from Florida, who was checking in at the same time as us, came over for a long chat later when we were sitting outside.
The weather was beautiful today but it cooled down rapidly so we moved inside for dinner and then watched a couple of movies.

Sept 4th – Sat - Philipsburg
We went sapphire “mining” today. We drove 6 miles south and then 16 miles west to a facility where you could buy buckets of dirt from a mine, wash it and pick out the sapphires. Screens, tweezers and brushes were provided. An employee showed us how to rinse the dirt in a big trough of water and hopefully end up with sapphires on the bottom of the screen as they are heavier than other rocks. Then you flip the whole screen of rocks over on a table. The tweezers are used to pick out the very small sapphires which are recognized by being clear like glass and can be any color. You gradually spread out the rocks in a single layer and then use the brush to sweep them off the table once you are sure there are no more sapphires. We did 2 buckets ($15 each) and ended up with 2 sapphires that were actually large enough to heat (develops and evens out the color) & cut. This would cost $69 for both and they would be worth about $75 each when it was done. It takes a while to get it done and we had no idea what we would use them for so we left them unprocessed for now.
As we were finishing picking the sapphires, big clouds were building and we heard thunder in the distance. When we drove away, it started to rain so talk about good timing. We went back to the rig where I made a late lunch and then drove into town to buy an item that I saw yesterday. We drove around the area a bit but didn’t find anything exciting to see or do and ended up renting some more movies as there is absolutely no TV reception here. About 6:30 it poured rain for a while and sent a large group next to us indoors.