Greetings from Eureka, MT; approx 2 miles south of Canada. After 45+ days flying most strips in ID, few in OR & WA- wife and I are taking our dog (Husky) and pony (camper) show and headed back to CO end of week. Even after 75++ backcountry strips I have to say one of the most dramatic areas was taking off of 25U, Memaloose, OR- 6708' elev and literally wing over & diving down (as best a Husky can dive) 4,000' in 5 miles to the Snake River and landing at 1DA, Big Bar, ID- 1236' elev at the bottom of the Snake. Amazing topography. Only able to land at two strips in bottom of Snake as we headed north to Coeur d'Alene, ID due to temps and wind picking up. We were told one resort on the Snake was 130 degrees so owner pulled host out and shut down.

Anyway: looking for pireps for interesting places/strips for central MT as camper will probably be traveling I90 from Missoula to Buffalo, WY. We are in no particular hurry and deviations from our route are always encouraged. Retirement is great; for all you working stiffs. :)

Fires are kicking up so time to head south.

BTW, met some very friendly folks at almost every stop; plane people are cool...... Also, found some back woods RV places for next year.

Jack

Visit the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument. There are several airstrips there. Winifred is the nearest town, a great little place, with a super nice grass strip immediately adjacent to the town: 9S7 is the identifier. There's fuel there and a huge hangar they'll let you park in overnight.

You can base out of there, and visit the seven or eight airstrips just north of there in the Missouri Breaks. This is the last portion of the Missouri River that appears pretty much as it did when Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled through here. Spectacular scenery and nice airstrips. Heller Bottom (called Heller Farm on charts) is a great place to overnight, next to the river. Or Cow Creek strip, which is a nice strip up on top of the Breaks.

Ralph Rogers is a long time resident of Winifred. He's building a house near the airport, and currently living in a travel trailer right next to the hangar. He's the local "historian" and expert on flora and fauna. He enjoys company.

Winifred is basically the end of the road, but a good paved road in there.

Just south of Winifred is Lewistown, a little mountain enclave out in the middle of the prairie. Nice airport, nice folks, etc.

Enjoy, if you need more information, send me a PM.

MTV

Mike, thanks for the info- area looks great. I sent you an email.

Jack.

Fantastic - have a safe flight south!

Fly the Yellowstone River, from where it ties into the Missouri.

courierguy wrote:Fly the Yellowstone River, from where it ties into the Missouri.

He's coming from the west. The Yellowstone joins the Missouri in North Dakota......or is it South Dakota? Anyway, NOT the west,

MTV

Thanks all, checked Foreflight and plan to spend a couple of days flying around Winifred/Lewiston. FYI: Winifred 9S7 will probably be out of avgas by the weekend according to mgr. Lewiston "should" still have fuel.

Jack

Sounds like a blast Jack! Enjoy it!

Just a detail.....it's Lewistown, NOT Lewiston. Lewiston is in Idaho. Identifier is KLWT.

Nice little town, one of my all time favorites.

MTV

mtv wrote:

courierguy wrote:Fly the Yellowstone River, from where it ties into the Missouri.

He's coming from the west. The Yellowstone joins the Missouri in North Dakota......or is it South Dakota? Anyway, NOT the west,

MTV

NEVER rely on me for NAV info....what I remember, and have entered in my logbook, was starting from a big reservoir outside Riverton WY, entering a super scenic canyon area, and then for the next couple hundred miles or so having a great time as I flew north, finally joining up with the Missouri, where there happened to be a perfectly located gravel bar, perfect for a rest stop. Then I hung a left and flew the Mo until another left took me to Winifred. Sounds like maybe I was on just a tributary of the Yellowstone maybe, or the Big Horn, I'd say that you ruined my day, but whatever the heck river I was following, I had a great time, and I didn't end up in ND, been there/done that before. That canyon north of Riverton was stunning, more so as I never expected it.

courierguy wrote:

mtv wrote:

courierguy wrote:Fly the Yellowstone River, from where it ties into the Missouri.

He's coming from the west. The Yellowstone joins the Missouri in North Dakota......or is it South Dakota? Anyway, NOT the west,

MTV

NEVER rely on me for NAV info....what I remember, and have entered in my logbook, was starting from a big reservoir outside Riverton WY, entering a super scenic canyon area, and then for the next couple hundred miles or so having a great time as I flew north, finally joining up with the Missouri, where there happened to be a perfectly located gravel bar, perfect for a rest stop. Then I hung a left and flew the Mo until another left took me to Winifred. Sounds like maybe I was on just a tributary of the Yellowstone maybe, or the Big Horn, I'd say that you ruined my day, but whatever the heck river I was following, I had a great time, and I didn't end up in ND, been there/done that before. That canyon north of Riverton was stunning, more so as I never expected it.

Yep, that would have been the Bighorn. It flows into the Yellowstone in SE Montana. The Yellowstone flows east eventually joins the Missouri. Bighorn Canyon is pretty spectacular.

MTV

flyingjack wrote:Thanks all, checked Foreflight and plan to spend a couple of days flying around Winifred/Lewiston. FYI: Winifred 9S7 will probably be out of avgas by the weekend according to mgr. Lewiston "should" still have fuel.

Jack

Nice to see you on backcountrypilot! We met at BruceMeadows on Sunday afternoon, I think 6/20! Hope to see you up north again.

Husky/Marcia and 5th wheel/Jack both arrived Winifred 9S7 Friday around 4-4:30 or so. Mgr Ralph Rogers put Husky in a large hangar and we parked camper next to hangar so we could get electrical=AC. Great guy and cool airport-grass. At Ralph's suggestion, ate at the local favorite "Winifred Tavern Cafe"; great food and cold beer. Headed out this AM with Ralph & MTV's suggestions- spectacular country. We had no idea the Missouri River had cut such a huge canyon. We're headed out tomorrow and flying a little further to visit some more interesting places. Well worth the stop.

Although: if a ground vehicle is coming in; check your route. I picked shortest route for camper and ended up on 20+ miles of gravel road. Fly, don't drive.

Mike: never was worth a damn at writing and proofreading.

Huskycountry, did you recover from horsefly bites. Marcia still talks about those critters.

51 days mostly flying (some kayak & bikes; time to head back to CO. Plan to post a little more when I get home about the highlights.

Thanks to all who gave suggestions and help make this a great trip. Next up: Fly OZ, Arkansas in the fall.


Jack

ALL, I forgot to mention: Winifred 9S7 got a load of fuel in this AM. Good to go. Thanks Ralph

flyingjack wrote:ALL, I forgot to mention: Winifred 9S7 got a load of fuel in this AM. Good to go. Thanks Ralph

Glad to hear you had a good visit, Jack! And, I'm glad you got to meet Ralph Rogers. He is a true class act, and a real gift to aviation and to Winifred. And, the Breaks are truly a surprise when flying out across the prairie, then....WHOA!! And, lots of critters there as well, Bighorn sheep, Elk, deer, etc., etc.

Safe flights back to Colorado.

MTV