Can you call this a hidden gem in Montana?  It seems like there are so many that the whole state should be a hidden gem of the US. This "little" gem is tucked away in the south eastern corner of the state, just above Yellowstone Park. To access this beautiful area, you must want to go there specifically because the road ends at East Rosebud Lake. The closest town is Roscoe, Montana and you must search that out as well.  The drive to lake is just as beautiful as the lake itself.  Rolling pasture lands, small creeks, campgrounds, looming mountains, lush evergreen forests, and wild grass hills are just a few of the sites to see on the way to the lake.  We started off in a little town called Bear Creek just over the hill from Red Lodge which is an iconic rustic Montana town at the base of the Beartooth Mountains. It is a destination spot for winter skiers and summer vacationers. We would through the beautiful country side exploring campgrounds and potential fly fishing holes until we arrived at the lake and the East Rosebud trail head. This is only accessible during the warm months.  For as soon as the snow falls in autumn the road is no longer maintained and isn't opened until the snow melts in the late spring. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon drive on a warm autumn day. 







 

 

Part of my time in Montana was spent with my grandmother.  She lives across the road from my Aunt and just up the hill from the quilt shop.  During the day I would work on the shop and in the evenings I was able to spend time with my grandmother playing games.  Let me tell you she is ruthless with cutthroat and hand and foot.  She is hard to beat.  I don't think any of us ever won.  She just casually and calmly looks over the board, taking her time only to swoop in and send you home.  You think you have it made but she has a knack of rolling the dice just right to land right on your spot. And then she will smile softly and say "Oh dear." I think she's sharper than any of us at the table. And yes she still does her crossword puzzles. 

 

This year I had the opportunity to travel to Montana to help out with a project.  This old mining office has gone through quite a few renovations and uses.  It originally started out as a mining office. Later a post office shared the space.  When the mine went dormant so did this building.  In fact most of the building in this small Montana town quietly went away.  However this building remained.  In later years someone bought it, added the little lean to partition and used it for a wood shop.  Again it closed it's doors and waited for another owner.  This time the next owner saw the potential of the building and preserved many of the original components such as the safe with 4 foot brick walls surrounding it, the original wood floors were brought back to life as well as the wood work around the windows and doors.  It became a destination for quilters around the state and from beyond.  This is the location of the Washoe Quilt Shop ran by my Aunt..  My Grandmother was in the shop daily sewing and working on her quilts.  My other Aunt and my Mother would take turns coming to help out at the shop as well.  After more than 10 years, my Aunt decided to retire and this building is going through another change.  We will see what it becomes next.  I spent a week with my mother, aunts, uncle, cousins working on the building.  We scraped and primed our way around the outside of the building; using a genie, and climbing up and down scaffolding and ladders.  I remember as a kid my grandmother always had a project or two going with different houses.  She once bought a house that had ceiling that were painted bright tangerine orange with lime green beams.  The ceilings were 18 plus feet and she erected scaffolding so she and my mother could zip strip the color off and then stain it bringing it back to it's original beauty.  Each of my aunts and my mother have had projects of one thing or another going, never sitting still. This project wasn't any different as everyone got involved.  I saw a cousin whom I haven't seen for almost twenty years.  I couldn't believe it was that long and we live in the same state.  During the week I was there a momma grizzly and her two cubs were wandering the gullies munching on huckleberries getting ready for the winter.  We were advised not to walk alone in the evenings and one morning awoke to a mess the bears made with the garbage as well as going through a picket fence to get to the bird feeders. I didn't ever get to see those bears.  Slept right through all the mayhem they created.

 

An annual tradition is to pick wild blackberries. We gather our supplies; gallon ice cream buckets with twine, a glove to hold the prickly vines, wipes for our hands because of the berry juice, and thick soled shoes.  Just a mile or so away is an abandoned parking lot which is overgrown with blackberry bushes.  Parking the truck we make our way to the bushes.  Starting on one side we each stake out our little area to pick. this year Lona has been making smoothies quite a bit and asked to go with us so that she can stock up her smoothie supply.  She makes the most delicious and healthy smoothies and blackberries are a key ingredient in them. We filled three quarters of our gallon buckets in about an hour.  It was enough.  We headed home to pick through the berries, wash them. lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them.  After being frozen we placed them into individual quart bags just big enough for pies or a couple of smoothies to hold us over for winter.




 

We rounded the bend in the road and dipped down to the where the lake and the road intersect. I gasped and begged John to stop.  Just for a moment. The sky was covered with the wildfire smoke but I felt that it only added to the beauty of area.  I pulled out my camera and wandered to the boat house half submerged in the water to take a few photos. A group of kayakers slipped by under the bridge and out of sight. Although our boats were in the back of the truck we had only used them once on this quick trip.  We had all of our gear and really no reason to rush home except for work waiting for us the next day. We could easily spend a few hours exploring Lake Diablo.  I hesitated to ask but I was pulled, almost memorized by the scenery and pleaded to take the time. We drove to the other side to unload our kayaks and gear so we could explore by boat. The hull of the kayaks scraped along the rocky shore as we drug them to the water.  Pushing off from the shore the boats gently glided into the water.  We turned towards the bridge and quietly made our way under as cars rushed passed overhead. Following the shoreline we made our way towards the narrow passage between the two hills.  The further into the lade we went the quieter it became until we couldn't hear the noise of the road anymore.  It became tranquil and peaceful.  The lake was calm and each ripple from the paddle melted into each other until it disappeared. Rounding the bend we came upon a small island with enough room for a tree or two. we silently paddled around and decided it was the perfect place to claim as a small oasis.  We pulled alongside the rocky island, finding a small cove like area we beached our kayaks and found the perfect spot to relax and close our eyes. We became almost invisible as if we were in another world altogether.  Then the magic dissipated, it was time to return.  Slipping back into our kayaks we made our way back towards the bridge and our truck.  It was a nice diversion for the way home since we were not in a hurry.  









 

Heather Pass and Maple Pass Loop is a popular trail, which almost guarantees a full parking lot at 10 am on a weekend after Labor Day.  A National Forest Service pass is required and there is a drop box for a day pass at the trail head.  It can be hiked either direction, clockwise or counter clockwise.  In reading reviews, most suggested hiking counter clockwise since we would be able to have views right away along the trail.  Also the ascent is longer yet not as steep as the other direction and so that is what we did.  We also figured that if most people hiked it this direction there would be fewer groups we would encounter.  We took our time and I used my camera a lot. We had missed the vibrant wildflowers which were evident in the seed pods and spent blooms all along the trail however the fall foliage was just started to showcase it's color and the yellows ranged from mustard gold to bright sunny yellow all along the trail, contrasting that with the grey rocks and the blue waters, it was striking. John mentioned that this my be his favorite hike because you could see so many different drainages along the way and provided stunning view after stunning view. I am somewhat of a geek and made John purchase a map so I could try to identify the different peaks and valleys along the way. We stopped just along the boundary with North Cascades National Park and Okanogan National Forest for lunch.  Apparently this was a great spot because he came upon a chipmunk devouring a cracker from another hiker.  When I was within a foot it took off never to be seen again. We were treated to views of Lewis Lake to the west, Lake Ann directly below us in the glacial cirque.  We worked our way across the ridge line to Maple pass and then took a detour to an overlook that afforded another view of both north and south.  Glacier Peak prominently rose in the background and dwarfed the other peaks.  Once again I had the map out and using a compass on John's phone, tried to determine each peak that we saw.  We continued along the ridge line with a view of a pond that fed into rainy lake via a waterfall.  Even now I can hardly fathom where all the water was coming from to create  enough water for the falls.  It seemed as if we continued high along the ridge long passed when we should be descending.  We could see the other side of the cirque and where the trail was. The last mile or so we descended 1700 feet back to the level of the parking lot and it was an easy paved path back to the lot.  I could see why it was suggested to hike counter clockwise.  This is worth another hike and maybe even a backpacking trip to Lewis or Wing Lake.