The World As I See It by Sue Moses

Thursday, Sept. 13

The day dawned dreary with a bit of leftover rain, so we did some errands in town in the morning. In the afternoon, which was blustery but without precipitation, I went on a 3 hour horse ride up a 7200 ft. mountain which was along the Continental Divide and provided a wonderful vista of this part of Montana.

My horse was a chestnut mare named Rosie, and like most redheads, she had a mind of her own,  but we worked it out.

Crock pot chicken dinner was great. The crock pot is perfect for the camper and for being gone all day. In the middle of the night I realized it was very cold in the trailer. I listened for awhile and knew the furnace was not running. I feared the worst, but hoped it was only that I had relied on the one propane tank a bit too long. That was the case, so I have learned that if in doubt, open both tanks at night and all will be well.

Wednesday, Sept. 12

We saw the infamous Old Faithful. It was not a picture day because of the overcast sky, but I recorded the event by video and photo anyway. The video is the first link below. Just touch the link and it will come up to play.

John was able to enjoy the event by traveling quite a distance on his mobility scooter. He could not have walked the distance and you are on your own to get from the parking lot to the OF site. He is pictured below in the blue and white jacket.

We had lunch in the Old Faithful Lodge, which has amazing architectural features. The clock, pictured, is most unique. After lunch I took an eight mike hike which took me by many hot springs/geysers and eventually up a valley and mountain to a beautiful waterfall. Great day overall!

 

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Tuesday, Sept. 11

We spent the day sightseeing at The Canyons, an area of Yellowstone that is known as The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It looks entirely different from the Arizona Grand Canyon, but is almost as impressive. Two huge waterfalls can be seen in the deep gorge where the Yellowstone River runs. There are many overlooks and trails to enjoy the different vistas of the Canyon.

Monday, Sept. 10

We traveled from Bozeman, MT to West Yellowstone, MT by way of Big Ski ski area. I rode to the summit of Lone Peak, which is 11, 166 feet. It is a HUGE, expansive ski area with a ton of very difficult, if not almost impossible terrain. It reminds me of some of the higher ski areas in Europe. Although it was 44 degrees at the summit, it didn’t feel that cold.

We moved on down to our present RV Park in West Yellowstone. We passed many areas of fires. Apparently, they started in July and just keep popping up all over the same area, about 20 miles from where we are. They just seem to let them burn unless they threaten structures. ???.

Our site in the RV park is to die for. We are in the far back corner. Only forest behind us and lots of trails for people or dog walking. Sites are super neat and tidy and it is very quiet. Love that aspect. Tomorrow we may seek out Old Faithful. Stay tuned.

Sunday, Sept. 9

Today we left Livingston and are parked at another lovely RV park in Bozeman, MT. We did laundry, and I cooked a kind of gourmet meal. I made boneless chicken breasts sauteed with lemon zest, parsley, lemon joice and tarragon, oven baked little gold potatoes and broccoli florets and then added a sauce of lemon juice, zest, honey, tarragon, sour cream, and butter, which became a reduction to put on the chicken and anything else! 😋 We also took a walk in the local park.

Tomorrow I will seek out the Verizon store and see what can be done about my Jetpack. Ugh.

Saturday, Sept. 8

We did the sightseeing marathon today. We left from our lovely RV park in Livingston, MT and headed for Red Lodge, MT. It is a true western town with buildings on the main street that date back to the late 1800’s. We had lunch at The Pub at the Pollard, a hotel and restaurant from that era. The ski area is just 6 miles out of town.

After we left Red Lodge, the real excitement began. We traveled up the Beartooth highway, which has been called the most scenic highway in America. It is long, with the usual switchbacks and precipitous sections with no guardrails. The summit is 10,947 feet. It was cold, there was lots of snow from last winter, and we hit snow, sleet, and hail on our descent to Cookes City and Silvergate. At Silvergate, another Salmon Fly Honey Rye and a liece of famous pumpkin bread fron the local cafe.

Then, on to the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone and the beautiful Lamar Valley. We saw several herds of bison in the hundreds, as well as more elk and antelope. It was a long ride back to our campsite, but well worth it. The scenery in Montana is not what I would describe as beautiful in the sense of colorful and sensuous. It is not as tactile and alive as a mountain lake in NH or a meadow filled with wild flowers and bluebirds in the Catskills. BUT, it is the most dynamic, vast, intense landscape I have ever seen. Unique and most impressive. It gets and holds your attention.

I hope to be able to post some pictures soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, Sept. 7

Today was a great day of sightseeing. We started by leaving Rt. 89 to explore a gravel road in the Gallatin National Forest. It turned out to be th eroad to nowhere. We came into an area of a big burn of 11 years ago. It looked like it had happened a couple of months ago. It’s obvious how devastating these fires are and how expansive. A fly fisherman gave us the scoop and suggested we weren’t going to see anything of great interest, so we turned around and went back to Rt. 89, which leads to the North entrance to Yellowstone through a town called Gardiner. We had lunch in town and entered Yellowstone. We bought a senior year long pass for all the national parks for $20. What a great deal. We would otherwise spend hundreds of dollars on park fees.

We headed for the nearest major tourist attraction at Mammoth. There we viewed the hot springs which are a geothermic wonder. No geysers, just pools of blue water and ledges of colored deposits made from years of the springs bubbling out of the earth.

We saw antelope, bison, mountain goats, and elk at various places along the way. I took a lot of pictures with my new Canon camera instead of my iPhone, because my camera accepts a telephoto lens. As you might expect, I have glitch trying to get the photos to load into my iPhoto software. They only want to go into the Canon software, which is useless for sharing and posting. Working on it. I know Apple tech support will help me sort it out. Also, my Verizon jetpack has stopped working, so my private internet no longer works. Have to sort that out too.

We stopped for a beer at day’s end and I discovered a fabulous local brew called Salmon Fly Honey Rye. Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, Sept. 6

We arrived in Livingston, WY early afternoon and just kicked back. We are 50 miles from the North entrance to Yellowstone. We had a great dinner at the Wyoming rib and chop house. Their steaks are to die for. Big storm. Patrick scared. Had to roll up awning in middle of night so it didn’t get wrecked. Over by morning.

Wednesday, Sept. 5

We visited some of the historic places in Sheridan, WY. The Sheridan Inn has history beyond history. Google it if you are interested. The pictures inside portrayed the life in Sheridan at the turn of the century. Oil and coal drive the economy now. Can you believe it? We went to see the Don King museum, another unreal place with more stuff from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s than you can imagine. Don was a renowned leather craftsman and saddle maker, so there is a lot of his work. But, there are collections of original indian artifacts and what all you can’t believe. It was a treat to spend time there. In the afternoon I walked through their local park, which has an historic home built by a man that eventually became Governor of Wyoming. His family started a tree arboritum that has been continued by the city.