Long trip to town, at least there's good shopping!!!

August 6 – We were up and out by 9 for a long day to Bozeman!  There was hardly anyone

Nice drive

on the road almost the entire way.  We were about half way there before we saw any fishermen or rafters.  Once they came into view we saw numerous fly fishermen and lots of rafts in the water, at put in points getting instructions and the buses parked waiting to pick them up.

It was a gorgeous day, no rain, no wind!  Our first stop was the used book store.  We went to where we thought we’d been before and it looked like a different place and it was.  The old place raised the rent a lot so they moved just down the road to the new place, which after 6 months they then sold to a young woman.  Bill found quite a few books and I settled for one. 

Then the shopping began!  We went to Penney’s, JoAnn’s, Bath and Body Works at the mall, well, I went and Bill stayed in the truck until I called him to come into JoAnn’s.  We picked out new fabric for the bed headboard.  Hope it all comes together!!

We made stops at:  Lowe’s, Goodwill, World Market, Michaels, Ross, Bed Bath & Beyond, Wal-mart, Dollar Tree, Safeway and Rosauer’s.  Somewhere in there we went to Famous Dave’s for lunch.  They do nice brisket.  

We were pooped and had the 2 hour drive back to look forward to.  By the time we left it was dinner time and we were already headed out and the last intersection where we turn south does not have a lot to offer.  I saw a sign for Taco Time and decided it was pretty much our only option at that point.  We’d never heard of Taco Time!  Bill chose the drive thru and they were not the most organized young people.  It was filling but nothing to get excited over.

Glad I'm not in that line!

Just as we were headed into the valley the line of vehicles coming toward us was super long.  There didn’t appear to be any reason for it and Bill started counting how many we passed.  He count over 300 and then figured what he didn’t count before and after he stopped was over 500 vehicles.  At several points they were dead stopped and we had no traffic at all on our side.  Strange!!

We saw 2 young coyotes that crossed the

Great views

road right in front of us and Bill wouldn’t stop!! Then I saw a total of 4 deer along the way, no bears!  Darn!!!

By the time we unpacked our stuff we were done for!  The fun part is finding a home for everything!  At least we didn’t have to worry about dinner! 

The long and winding road -- up and back!

August 2 – Shopping day down the long and winding road to Bozeman.  It’s a good thing it’s a beautiful drive.  Glad we don’t have to do it every week.  You feel like you’re rushing and can’t make all the stops you want since you’ve already invested 4 hours in driving time.  We left about 9:30 and got home after 7.  Long day!

Bill wanted to stop at the bookstore on the way in and then we hit the mall.  I did some shopping for Sue and myself at JoAnn’s and then a quick stop in Bath & Body Works.  By then it was lunch time so we stopped at Wendy’s.  I had the “new” salad, Strawberry Mango and it was delicious!  It might be as good at the one with blueberries they used to do in the summer!  I dropped Bill off for a haircut and went to 2 liquor stores, Dollar Tree, Goodwill and Bed Bath & Beyond before picking him up.  He had to wait behind 3-4 others.  So once I picked him up we headed to Wal-mart.  He had a script to turn in and wait for and also a return.  Since I had a pretty short list today, I was done about the same time as he was.  We picked up iced coffees at the McDonald’s in the store and started back on our way.  We did stop at Four Corners to gas up and I bought some fresh organic black, blue and straw berries that were being sold on the lot.

I have to say I was quite disappointed that I didn’t see another grizzly on the way home!  On the way in there was a big doe and a wild turkey.  Oh well, I’ll continue to keep an eye peeled and take my camera every time we’re in the car!

By the time we both finished LARGE ice coffees we needed to make a pit top in West Yellowstone before the last 14 miles.  They have a nice Visitor Center with 24 hour outside access restrooms so it was a quick stop.

Putting things away is not my favorite part of the trip!  Trying to find space where there is none is a continual challenge.  I miss my 5^th wheel storage inside!  This morning before we left I put a pork loin in the crock pot and made a pasta salad so dinner would pretty much be ready when we got home.  I chopped some tomatoes and cuke to put in the salad and shredded up some of the pork and we were good to go!

We had counted 5-6 open spaces when we pulled in but before bed there were a couple more come is so the park was almost full.  Maybe the fires in Montana pushed people in our direction!

Almost at the end of the line

June 27 – Today we headed west again to Bozeman, MT., our last stop before reaching Island Park, ID.  We left around 9:30 and today was another windy day.  It also seems the traffic on I-90 was heavier than it had been.  I do hate driving in the wind and with some of the WIDE LOAD trucks, I hug the edge of the road. 

The scenery had changed yet once again.  As we left the low rolling hills of the high plains, we entered plush fields of green and higher hills and deeper meadows.  This was beginning to look like the Montana people envision.  We had some cloud cover and a couple miles of heavy drizzle and then we looked and there were the mountains breaking away from the clouds with snow-caps.  I’m not sure how many photos Bill took but I’m sure there were quite a few.

Our only tourist stop was an hour down the road, Prairie Dog Town State Park.  Normally there are brown signs along the Interstate denoting state and federal locations.  Not this time!  Bill could see on the map about what exit it was and when there were no signs he said, well, get off here and we’ll see what there is.  Luckily at the end of the ramp was a brown sign pointing left

under the interstate.  Then it pointed left again and Bill thought it was going to take us up a gravel road.  It didn’t!  It was a rather narrow paved road and appeared to go way up the mountain, but it turned out that this is an unattended park with a loop at the end of the road a short way up.  It was perfect for us since we were the only ones there and we parked in the loop and enjoyed the frisky little prairie dogs racing from hill to hill and chatting each other up and then, posing on top of their hill just as perfect as you please.  I haven’t checked my photos yet but Bill said I got some really good ones.

It was back on I-90 into Bozeman and as the road turned left a second mountain range

came into view.  This time the sun was broken through and the snow caps glistened.  Bill says this is what it feels like for someone in Montana to visit Daytona Beach.  To us it’s no big deal, just as the mountains must be to them.

It was easy off on the east side of Bozeman to our RV park for the night.  We were parked by lunch time but Bill had to do the hook ups in some light rain.  We had lunch and left out of the park and onto Main Street.  We like Bozeman.  It’s a college town with nice restaurants and good shopping and great grocery stores.  Of course there is a Wal-mart and we found a big used bookstore today.  We came here several times for the day when we were in ID 2 years ago.  It’s about 2 hours so you have to make a day of it.  Some times I’d drop Bill at the theatre and go shopping.

We went to the mall first and I hit Joann’s and Bath and Body Works while Bill hit Barnes and Noble.  Then we went to the used book store and made a stop at Starbucks.  I checked out World Market but left empty handed, shocked Bill!  Last stop before dinner was Wal-mart.  Couldn't get anything refrigerated since we were going to dinner on the way home.  That was OK since we’re going to Rexburg (45 miles south of Island Park) on Friday as Bill has 2 appointments and we can pick up what ever we missed today.  Groceries will be once a week so a list will be VERY important.  West Yellowstone is 14 miles but only has 2 small overpriced tourist grocery stores.  It breaks my heart to pay those prices. 

There’s a little southern style (yes, in Montana) chicken place we like called, Roost Fried Chicken.  I had the spicy with cheese grits and collard greens.  Conventional Bill had fried with cole slaw and potato salad.  When we got to the RV the place was much fuller.  We put most of the stuff away, some we left in the car until tomorrow and later we had our free ice cream sandwiches that the campground gave us in Garryowen.  They are huckleberry ones.  I must say even with the chocolate wafers the huckleberry went really well.

Then it was time to sit down and get this blog caught up and hope the WIFI holds out long enough for me to get it posted.

Last Big Day in Yellowstone!

September 1 - It was a long, 12 hour day of sightseeing and shopping! We left at 9 after a hardy breakfast for Yellowstone and we got home just before 9 PM.

Young elk stranded

We hadn't been in the park long when traffic halted. Someone spotted something but we headed on to the next traffic halt. This time there was space on the side of the road so Bill pulled off. There was a young elk in the middle of the river. It looked so scared with so many people watching and it carefully too a couple of steps while I watched as the water was flowing rather swiftly and it was for sure looking for its mother. I felt bad for it but hopefully it made it across.

Road work

Once we made our turn at Madison for the northern route the traffic thinned drastically. We knew we were in for a slow down once we reached the area where the road is being widened and repaved. Our wait was short but it was slow going for the next 6-7 miles. Once we were back on 2 lanes it was fine. As Bill rounded a bend I glanced to his side and spotted a bison extremely close to the side of the road but I hadn't seen it soon enough for him to stop so no photo.

The old and the new

The drive through that section is really beautiful. There are mountains and a lot of green area and valleys with grasses turning a lively shade of golden yellow. You see skeletons of old lodgepole pines looming above the new growth and it reminds you of the

Overlook view

deadly fires here in 1988. One of the areas we stopped for some scenic photos was above a valley that had been overtaken by fire and is once again plush and vibrant.

We enjoyed our quick view of the Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs as we passed by for a stop at the Visitor Center for a bathroom break. There I picked up confirmation instructions to the Boiling River. Nothing in our literature tells you about it, but Kam spotted it on public media and I checked for it on several blogs. As you leave Mammoth Hot Springs the road curves on the long decent and the last time we were there we wondered why so many cars were parked along the road and flooding the parking areas and we could see lines of walkers along the river. We thought it was just nice picnic area. That was the path to the Boiling River.

Bill on the path

My information said to change your clothes before arriving or do it in the vault toilet at the end of the parking lot. Since we were heading on to Bozeman later, we packed our swim clothes and water shoes and changed in the clean but pungent vault toilet. They said the walk to the “hot springs” was only 1/3 of a mile but

Boiling water flowing into the pools

by the time you walk around the bend to the bench area it's at least a ½ mile. Had we known the full scope of the area we would have stopped when we first saw people in the pooled areas below and their bags left along the path. From the bench area you VERY carefully walk into  extremely cold water from the Gardiner River and all along the left side BOILING water flows in to meet the ice cold water. There is steam coming off the water as they meet and a rock wall to sort of divide the river from the 

Found a nice spot!

pooled areas has been built. There are several large pooled areas far down that we had passed from above. I found a rock strategically placed in the middle where the water was perfect. That didn't mean that in one instant you wouldn't

More hot water flows

feel scalding water hit your leg and in the next instant cold. We were glad we waited until now to come back here since the crowd was much less than when we were by there last time. It was such a neat experience! They warn you all over the place about how hot the boiling parts are. Still some idiot

The Chippy watching the river

will stick their hand or foot in and complain. I can see why they don’t publicize the area, the crowds would be horrendous. It's the only place in the park you can enjoy a thermal bath for free.

Once we walked back and changed clothes we headed into Gardiner. We had our lunch in the car and then indulged in possibly our last treat of Wilcoxson ice cream. I had the Cream and Coffee and Bill had the Graham something. Then it was on to Bozeman.

As we headed out of town and through the valley I spotted 3 small herds of privately owned buffalo. I guess that's where the meat comes from that they have in the restaurants and stores. They were much smaller than the wild ones in the park. Either they were young or bred with cattle as we have heard. The drive was nice and we saw some beautiful homes along the rivers and on the hills overlooking the water. They're just too far away from civilization for me. Even the little villages, they don't have much so like we've done all summer you must carefully plan your trips to town.

The disappointing Ice Cream Factory

We stopped in Livingston, MT on the way so see if we could tour the famous Wilcoxson Ice Cream factory. I called and got an address and she said they do have tours. Then when we arrived that addressed didn't exist. I Googled again and got a different number and she gave me the address and we drove by twice and finally turned since it was on a corner to see if the sign was on that side and there was no real sign. There was a small sign on the door with the hours and a smaller sign in the window. They don't have tours as it's now just the plant and main offices. We determined that the first place I called was their facility in Billings where they make the individual servings, such as ice cream sandwiches. Oh well, I tried!

Once we arrived in Bozeman we decided to head out to the airport where we had been told I could get my last passport stamp for Yellowstone. They closed the Yellowstone Destinations store at 5 so we thought best to go there first. Well, no, they don't have a stamp since they are not “in” the park. Someone needs to get their stories straight!

We went back into town and made our stops at Bed, Bath and Beyond, World Market,

Sign in the restaurant

Albertson's and then to The Roost for dinner. We love that place. This time I had the half rotisserie chicken with collards and cheese grits and a biscuit. Bill had 2 pieces of fried chicken with slaw. I shared my biscuit and brought home the breast and wing half of my chicken but the grits and collards were so yummy! We stopped at the Rosauers grocery and they had some good sales on produce so I picked up what I hadn't gotten at Albertsons. Last stop was for gas and then I drove the trip home.

It was still sunny out until we reached the long narrow valley leading into West Yellowstone and then I had to put the lights on.  There was very little traffic on the 2 lane road which was nice.  It has plenty of curves and little hamlets along the way and its calming to drive along with the river rushing along side.  There was a much larger herd of privately owned bison along the road.  We didn't notice them when we went to Bozeman before.  We made our right turn in West Yellowstone for the final 14 miles back to Valley View.  The big sign outside was finally on and working, welcoming us home.

We missed the 7:00 Rizzoli & Isles but it repeated at 9 so we managed to unload and settle in just in time to sit down and enjoy the season finale – with a cliff hanger, of course!