Day 7 - Missoula to Bozeman via Helena

With sadness we left the Gibson Mansion this morning, after another stella breakfast though - blueberry scones and coffee in bed, followed by baked pear and omlettes in the dining room. Tom and Nancy, the owners, made us feel so welcome during our two night stay - a highlight of our holiday already. Thanks both if you read this - Tom, we hope you get your SMART car!!!

Crashed the Southgate Mall in Missoula for an hour - finally got my Montana Grizzlies tee (custom made) and did some more tax free shopping (another plus about Montana!).

Drove for a few hours to Helena, the state capital. A quiet, unassuming place, but a nice contrast yet again to previous places. Walked along the main street and settled on Bert and Ernies for lunch - not named after the Sesame St characters but instead pre-dating them, and the TV prog needed permission off the bar to use the names! Unbelievably, sat 10 yds away, was a group of 8 or so young male Brits in football shirts enjoying a beer or three - looked like an unlikely stag do. We couldn't work out why they were there (it is the middle of nowhere after all) - turns out they were British Army soldiers training in Canada and had 5 days off. Small world. The waiter looked bemused that his bar had suddenly been invaded by Brits!

Carried on to Bozeman through more scenery - this time flatter farmland but still amazing.

The blip is a train that we raced with for much of the journey. We got ahead of it so I pulled over, climbed up a small mound and captured it.