Blog

July 3 – July 5

Staying at he Sunshine Campground to the east of downtown. 

July 3 – It wasn’t a far drive to get to Bozeman and we had the afternoon to explore. Drove around town, checked out some stores. The downtown area was nice, quite the variety of stores. Had an early dinner at the Ale House… beer was good but we probably won’t return. 

July 4 – Drove to the nearby town of Ennis, MT for their parade. Surprisingly, Boseman doesn’t have their own. It was a fun parade but short. Over in about 30 minutes. After Benat napped we took Dexter to the Bozeman Pond dog park. Great spot because it was off leash and he could swim. Lots of fun playful dogs around too. Finished the day with an ice cream social back at the campground. Everyone was so friendly there. The days are so long here the town fireworks didn’t begin until 10:30! Luckily Benat did not wake up from sleeping but between the town festivities and the local enthusiasts, there was a lot of fireworks!

At the parade:

Cooling off with our feet in some water:

June 27 – July 3

Staying at the National Forest, Eagle Creek Campground. The colors are amazing:

New favorite flower: no visible leaves and when flower was opening it was dry and brittle as if it bloomed a while ago and dried out!

June 28 – Mellow day, some rain. Went into town to do laundry and get internet access… we haven’t been well connected once we got to the Tetons. Needed to try and get some plans for after Gardiner! Also hiked around the campground and watched the 3 bison who live here. Went to Sue and Reve’s Rig for dinner. 

June 29 – Another mellow day with rain, grocery shopping, and playing around the campground. 

June 30 – Woke up sooo early in order to drive to Sue and Reve’s. Piled in their car and as we were driving out of their RV Park we saw a deer giving birth! Only the head of the baby was pushed out and mom was walking about! We drove into the park, to Lamar Valley in hopes of seeing some wolves. We were very lucky to not only see wolves but bison, grizzly bear, sand hill cranes, black bear, coyotes, and elk! Quite the day! Came back to the camper and after Benat’s nap hiked a trail from the campground. 

July 1 – Met Sue and Reve at the Tavertine Teraces in the morning. So beautiful and amazing. And Big! 

July 2 – Drove to the end of the road past the campground and explored a hiking trail. Near an old mine that was still standing but falling down. Beautiful trail on a hillside. 

June 23 – June 27

Got a last minute reservation at Grant Campground. Planned only 3 nights but we’re enjoying ourselves we asked for another night and they could give it to us! Amazing because most recommend planning your Yellowstone trip at least 8 months in advance!!! Not 1 week!

June 24 – woke up early and made it to Old Faithful for the 9:30ish eruption. Awesome, even Benat was mesmerized. Then we walked around the boardwalks surrounding other geothermal spots. They were all different and exciting. The blues and yellows, boiling, spewing and steaming water, smells of sulfer and wildflowers. Got in the car and drove out to some mud pots which were also very interesting. Drove the long way back to the campsite (Grant Campground) and saw a lot of Bison around some fields and the huge Yellowstone River. 

June 25 – Went on a boat tour of Yellowstone Lake. Informative and interesting but not too exciting. Still nice to be on the water and look around. After we hiked the “Elephants Back” trail so Benat would nap. Nice hike up a hill (old lava flow) with good views of the lake. Saw some moose while driving. 

June 26 – woke up early in order to get to the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.” The rocks and cliffs were amazing and so yellow. We drove to Artists Point and enjoyed the view of the waterfall. We also hiked to “sublime point”…. it was less than sublime. On our way home we stopped at Mud Volcano. My favorite thermal feature was there: dragons lair. 

Dragons Lair! Loud sound from the gasses escaping which also caused waves to come from inside the cave!!

Dexter enjoyed the sunrise and sunset views from the campground. 

June 27 – We tow out of the park but was quite exciting! We got the truck hooked up and a hail storm started! So much hail we didn’t know if we would make it out! Luckily, the northern part of the park only received rain…

June 19 – 23

Staying at the Atherton Campground, a national forest campground at slide lake. The road here was bad… it seems like they’ve patched it only for the last decade. 

June 20 – Shopping day in town. So many people are everywhere. Jackson is big, but to get anywhere you have to drive through their historic downtown area. There should be an alternative to cut off part of town but the bridge over the river is seriously damaged and closed.

June 21 – Went to Teton National Park. Hiked around Jenny Lake and up to the waterfall. So much water flowing. Took the boat shuttle back to the parking lot. 

June 22 – Drove towards Snow King Ski Mountain where there are a lot of trails. Matt rode his bike and I hiked. Beautiful views and wildflowers everywhere. Then drove to the Snake River overlook, a view made famous by Andel Adams photography. Final stop was a section of Mormon Row. 

June 14 – 19

June 15 – Tried hiking in mountains on east side of the lake. Didn’t have much luck because there were so many downed trees and snow. Benat was sleeping so we bushwhacked on the side of a hill, no snow but lots of wildflowers. 

June 16 – Took a tour of Minnetonka cave, a Limestone cave. 

June 17 –  Drove to the “big hill” of the Oregon Trail. Can still see the tracks left behind from the carriages. 

June 18 – Mellow day, played around the campground and at beach.