We left off as we headed into Montana from Canada. It was a joy to return to the U.S. and get use of our data plans again - I think Heinz was having withdrawal from the iPad. We headed south planning on spending a week in Glacier National Park, then changed our minds and headed for Yellowstone National Park instead. Unfortunately, we stopped for a couple of cheeseburgers at McDonald's in Missoula, MT. Those $1 burgers got a little more expensive when Heinz hit a low overhang and had to stop over a couple of nights to do some minor repair work. As they say, it's not if you'll do it, but when you'll do it. We've got that pesky little faux-pas out of the way and can laugh about it now.
It wasn't a complete loss of time though. I found a great store for fly tying supplies and got a little giddy amongst all the furs and feathers. In the meantime, Heinz found and acquired an inflatable boat. We stayed at our first KOA campground, Missoula KOA. It was great - swimming pool, hot tubs, cafe with a great breakfast, and a staff that went out of their way to be sure we got what we needed in the way of ladders, etc. for our repair work. The Missoula area and the Blackfoot River are beautiful and will definitely need further exploration in the future.
Leaving Missoula we headed off for Yellowstone National Park, and darn it, if there wasn't another squirrel crossing our path. So we were off to Ennis, MT and the Madison River - famous for being the locations Norman MacLean wrote about in A River Runs Through It. We found a great state campground on Ennis Lake that was free. It only had nine spaces and no hook ups, but the tail end of the trailer was 10 feet or less from the water.
Along the way to Ennis
Whoa, this looks like an indication of too much snow for me!
Off to try out the new boat
Just a country scene
Around Ennis, MT
Lake Ennis
Sunset after a thunderstorm
Now this is camping by the water
Heinz tried his luck fishing, but nothing was biting but the mosquitoes - so we just relaxed and enjoyed our time in Ennis. The town is small, quirky, and friendly. There is no sales tax which was a nice change of pace. Each business in town had at least a flower box or potted plants out front and at least 75% of them had some type of sculpture/art-work.
Fish sculpture at the entrance to one of the RV parks in Ennis
Leaving Ennis we finally traveled another hour or so down to the Yellowstone National Park area. We decided to boondock once again and found a place at Beaver Creek Campground in the Gallatin National Forest on the west side of Yellowstone. It was amazingly peaceful there. The camp was not crowded at all and we had our pick of plenty of spots. We chose one in the midst of a patch of wildflowers and set up camp.
Outside the window at the campground
The next morning Heinz was out on the Madison River and Quake Lake trying his luck once again. Quake Lake is a 190 feet deep, 6 mile long lake formed in 1959 when a 7.6 earthquake set off an 80 million ton landslide. The landslide traveled down the south flank of Sheep Mountain, at an estimated 100 mph, killing 27 people who were camping in the area and creating a natural dam on the Madison River. Now the lake is a favorite fishing spot in the Yellowstone area. Alas, Heinz's luck was not good. Not only did he not catch a fish, but one of the oarlocks on the new inflatable boat broke, leaving him out on the lake with one oar int he wateer, with a storm approaching. He had to tie on to a tree while rigging a makeshift oarlock from rope - then rowed back into a headwind back to the boat ramp. Needless to say, he was not cheerful when he got home.
The wildflowers in the area were spectacular. According to the camp host, there had been a great show earlier in the summer, followed by a dry spell. Then more rain came and the flowers were prolific again. I have put in a couple of shots here, but I am having so much fun taking photos of all the wildflowers I've seen along this trip that I am now working on a wildflower album. I'll let everyone know when I get it complied, labeled, and posted in Photobucket.
Indian Paintbrush
Common Harebells
We did take some time to visit Yellowstone National Park. The western entrance to the park meanders along the Madison River past meadows, volcanic rocks, and LOTS of fly fishermen. We drove into the park and over to the Lower Geyser Basin, the first of three basins that contain most of the world's geysers. At the Lower Basin we got out and walked around the half-mile trail to the Fountain Paint Pot. This is a section of mud, 202 degrees, that is composed of clay and fine particles of silica broken down by acids and grinding action. The pink and grey tinting of the mud is due to iron oxides. The bubbling action results in escaping steam and gases. In the spring and early summer the mud is thin and the pots boil, but by mid to late summer there is less moisture and the mud is thicker, creating the unusual shapes such as those shown here. We also strolled past the Great Fountain Geyser which erupts on average to a height of 100 feet.
Fountain Paint Pot
Heinz in front of the Great Fountain Geyser
And what trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful? Quoting from a guidebook, "Contrary to popular belief, Old Faithful is not the tallest geyser in the park, nor even the most predictable; honors for regularity go to Riverside Geyser...The tallest geyser in the park, and in the world, is Steamboat Geyser." Nevertheless, Old Faithful is impressive. "Old Faithful erupts 17-20 times a day, with a show that lasts two to five minutes. During each eruption it discharges roughly 4,000-8,000 gallon of water, shooting an average of 130 feet into the air." While visiting the geyser we also poked our heads into the Old Faithful Inn, a massive building started in 1903 with a lobby fireplace built with 500 tons of stone.
Old Faithful getting started
Halfway there
Peak eruption
We spent 5 days in and around the Gallatin Forest, and Yellowstone Park. Heinz was out on the water a great deal of the time, trying out the flies I was busily tying for him. The fish, however, were not cooperating. Though he had a number of bites, he only managed to bring home one small brown trout - it was teh first fish caught on a fly that I tied!!!!!! Along the way he returned the inflatable boat and opted for a fly-fishing float tube instead. But I've seen the look in his eye, he's lusting after an inflatable pontoon boat.
The last day we were in the area Heinz took off for the lake and I headed into town for the 41st annual Yellowstone Rod Run, 500+ classic cars parading through the tiny town of West Yellowstone, ending up in the town park for viewing. There were some pretty neat cars on display. I have put a couple here, but there are lots more shots in the Montana Photobucket album.
Leaving out of the Yellowstone area, we headed east, driving all day to Rapid City, SD. As we drove we saw more and more and more motorcycles...oops, this was the week of the Sturgis Bike Rally. We managed to get a spot in the local KOA by the skin of our teeth. One of their employees had a family emergency and had to leave that day so they rented us his camping spot for two nights. Of course being that close to Sturgis (30 miles), we HAD to drive over and check out it out. We both agreed that it was a much tamer scene than we had expected. Lots of tents selling t-shirts, patches, and Harley Davidson gear, a ton of motorcycles on display and cruising the streets, and lots of vendors selling and installing accessories while you waited. On the other hand, we expected a raunchier atmosphere at Sturgis than we got. The crowd was very mellow and family oriented. almpst cpmservative - you can see more skin in San Francisco on just about any Saturday night than we saw while at Sturgis. Oh well, we went, we watched, we bought the t-shirts. You can check out the rest of the pictures on Photobucket.
Main Street, Sturgis MT, opening day of the Bike Rally
Following Sturgis, we drove on down here to Kansas. As I said at the beginning of today's blog, we were heading down to Louisiana for my dad's birthday, but...Heinz's family is all gathering in Estes Park, CO for a few days, so we're off to chase that squirrel and will head down to Louisiana a week later than planned.
Here's our friends of the day:
Mayfly during the hatch at Ennis Lake
Bald Eagles were prolific at Quake Lake and the Madison River
