Northwest trip, day 9

Dateline BigFork, MT. Today was Glacier NP day and the Going to the Sun Highway was just opened for through travel. Boy, was it crowded. Construction (and repairs) made for long waits at single laneing places and it seems there is a local custom of taking it on opening day. Kind of made it hard to get to all the turnouts we wanted, but it was still super spectacular. Now visiting a relative of Sandra's on the west side of the mountains.

Tomorrow it's through Lolo Pass and on to other relatives in Kamiah ID.

Oh, you wanted pictures? Maybe tomorrow - have to process them first.

Northwest trip, day 8

Dateline Great Falls, MT. This was museum day. We were at the door of the Museum of the Rockies at 8:00 AM - the dinosaur exhibit is curated by the well-known Dr. Jack Horner and is very well interpreted. They have lots of T-Rex and Triceratops artifacts. Also Indian, also well done. Sandra liked the frogs.

Next, on to Helena, where we found the Montana Museum with an excellent traveling Charlie Russell exhibit, and lots of info on plains Indians. Another great museum, if poorly marked as far as directions to it are concerned. Finally, to Great Falls and the C.M. Russell Museum complex - another 2 hours looking at art & Indian artifacts (most actually owned by Russell). Finally, found the HIE and time to get the blog updated.

One comment on the floods - they're not quitting, as the Missouri is out even up here, with the tributaries running at bank full.

Only 203 miles today,10 hours (mostly in museums). For the trip, 2076.5. Tomorrow is Glacier NP on the opening day for the year of the Going to the Sun Highway. Ought to see some really high snowbanks. We'll head for Kallispell area & a cousin of Sandra's for the night.

Northwest trip, day 7 recap (with pictures)

Now for the details of our visit to Yellowstone:

We hit the east entrance before 7 AM and arrived along Yellowstone Lake an hour later. First stop (other than pictures) was at a visitor center, where Sandra bought the cards she's busy writing so folks will get them before we get back. Then, we followed the lake around, stopping at a geyser field in the West Thumb area. On to Old Faithful, which was finishing its display as we arrived - as the song goes, "Old Faithful Ain't Faithful any More" now waiting 90 minutes before spouting off again.

Now, we headed for paint pots - gotta have those pictures of mud bubbles popping (but you don't get to see them). The Norris geyser field is not as active as when we were last here in '74 - could be some earthquakes had something to do with it. On to Canyon to see some falls - but first, lunch at one of the vastly overpriced eatery options, the "deli." Shared a table with some folks from San Diego and their dog, which was a britdachsbasswhatever and looked like a long-haired dachsund with freckles - they knew because they'd had its DNA tested.

On to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the FALLS! Inspiration Point was changed, because it lost 20+ feet of walkway when it slid into the river during the '75 earthquake - as per a nice young ranger who had the nicest North Carolina accent.
We headed for the other side and Artists' Point where we ran into a traffic jam. Folks stopped in the middle of the road, abandoned their cars and ran to an opening in the woods with their cameras. Yep, it was a bear. Sandra joined them, then, as the cars got moving again, got some shots out the window. I think those who called it a grizzly will be disappointed, as my telephoto makes it look more like a black bear. Oh, yes - we did get someone to take our picture at Artists Point.

We headed for Tower Falls, which we didn't see in '74. En route we went through a pass that had snow along the road. I thought Sandra had had more than enough of snow back in February, but she had to stop and make snowballs. We decided we'd had enough, and headed for the north entrance (with a stop for scenic shots), then on to Bozeman following the valley of the Yellowstone. What a day!

Northwest trip, day 5 pictures

OK, I didn't get pictures posted because of time. Here's some from Day 5. A couple of pictures of the Big Horn Canyon (of the Big Horn River). Then, some of the direct Spanish line wild horses isolated in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse refuge. Enjoy.

Northwest trip, day 6-7

Dateline Bozeman - We had a long day - 13 hours - visiting Yellowstone. Yesterday we stopped early (4 PM) at Pahaska Lodge right outside the east gate. More on that place later. Hit Yellowstone at 6:50 AM & finally left at 6:30 PM. Got here at 8 PM. We took lots and lots of pictures, saw a grizzly bear and Sandra threw a snowball. I will try to post pictures tomorrow, since I don't want to stay up late tonight.

Tomorrow is museum day, with 4 museums spread over 3 cities: Bozeman, Helena & Great Falls.

Today: 250.3 miles, trip to date 1870.3.

Northwest trip, day 5-6

Dateline Cody, WY. Yesterday was visit friends & family day. I had to find a wifi hotspot in Cody this AM, so won't post pictures until maybe tomorrow night, from Bozeman. We visited old USAF friends Mike & Rosie Kilroy in Billings, met Sandra's cousins (a whole bunch of them) in Ralston WY, drove into a wild horse refuge where we saw two mustangs mating, and generally had a party.

Today is Bufffalo Bill Center in Cody, then to a lodge just outside Yellowstone for the night (wifi may be very spotty). Tomorrow is Yellowstone all day and spend the night in Bozeman. Should have lots of pictures by then.

Northwest trip, day 4

Dateline Billings, MT: What were those tones in Close Encounters? I swear I could hear them in the wind as we visited Devils Tower. Watched the prairie dogs on the way inn and were surrounded by a couple of tour buses of Japanese tourists as we walked part way up the trail - enough to see the climbers far out and above us - they sure looked tiny, and they'd barely gotten started.

We took the "scenic route" on US-212 across southern Montana for 62 miles without on cruise control. Had lunch at a bowling alley/cafe/arcade/casino at Broadus, then many more miles until we reached the Little Big Horn battlefield. Took a tour (with a Crow tour guide - his people served as scouts for Custer), then drove the route, getting a much better idea of how rash and stupid Custer was.

Finally, it was on to Billings, where the QI didn't have a Jacuzzi (TM) like the one in Spearfish. Got our plans for visiting an old friend in Billings and a cousin of Sandra's in Ralston WY.

Todays mileage: 365, total 1410. Time on road/siteseeing about 11 hours.