This week we pulled into the beautiful Homestake Pass Recreation Area, another expanse of BLM land just outside of Butte, Montana.
This area was nearly perfect! It was walking distance to Homestake Lake, and a huge network of trails, there were plenty of crickets for the kids to chase and study, and it was just 15 minutes from Butte, Montana, giving us quick access to groceries and some local amenities.
Read more: A Lovely Stay Just outside of ButteHomestake Lake was probably the main draw of the area. The kids have been looking forward to taking the raft out since before we launched, so we spent a day on the lake. I had the great idea of tying the raft to the shore so the kids could go out solo without worry. Additionally, we decided to see if The Dog was a water dog or not. While she will gladly move heaven and earth to be close to her daddy, if there is water greater than chest deep, Daddy can go pound sand.
While we traveled through eastern Washington and Montana we noted to the children the changing mineral landscape. Moving from the basaltic scab lands outside Spokane, to the granite and mineral-rich hills of Butte, it was interesting to note the changes. Something we didn’t know about but were happy to find was the free mineral museum hosted by Montana Technical University. We were able to see hundreds of mineral and rock specimens from around the region and learn a lot about the local geological history.
Since the area was quite large and close to a big city, it was fairly popular and the kids made new friends daily. Leaving this area behind was necessary, but it’s definitely a place we want to revisit.
