Saturday 9-13-08 Sheridan, WY.
Hello from Wyoming... one more time!
We ended our trail tonight in Sheridan, WY. around 7:00 pm... have had our grub and settled in our nice cozy bunk for the night
here at the Hampton Inn.
Since Wednesday we have covered some new trails and some old ones. On Thursday morning (9-11-08) we left West Yellowstone, MT. and headed to Glacier National Park. I checked the weather for both places (Yellowstone & Glacier) and YNP was calling for rain and snow mix... GNP... clear and sunny and also had e-mailed Ann Summers and she also had checked for us also... so it was a definite go! The drive up was beautiful...(6 hrs. w/several stops) when we left the temp was 26 and there was a heavy frost all over the vehicle and windshield as it was still dark and the sun was just beginning to rise. As we continued to the route we would take...it looked like we were going into a big lake... it turned out to be a sea of fog lying in the valley before us. We continued thought the Madison Canyon along side the Madison River which flows thought the west side of Yellowstone... before long we spotted a bear up in the edge of the forest... we turned and went back only to find, it too, had turned and was hi-tailin' it back up the
mountain. The river was beautiful... lots of white water spouting up and as the sun begin to rise the sky lite up with colors of pinks and purples... gorgeous! We continued on towards Missoula and would then stop for a picnic in the bright sunshine but brisk air.... the grass around us was a bright green and the dew was still on it.... and the air smelled so clean and fresh. as we got closer to Polson, MT. on the Flathead Lake I called Ann (From the Front Porch) and we stopped then in Big Fork and had a short visit. From here we were only about 30 min. from the park. We checked on rooms in the park and of course they were all full, but we were able to find one just as you go in. Now mind you it was not a luxury hotel-motel... you might say... this could be our camping night. Our room was small and clean, a fan for air conditioning and a little heater in the wall. We had a clock radio that would pick up one station and a shower that you could barely get your arms up without bumping your elbows.
Well,we wouldn't be there long. We took off to the Going to the Sun Road, and this would be our 3rd time here so we were excited that we would actually get to see the mountains for the first time. It was a gorgeous day,blue sky and no clouds! It was breathtaking... really...because the
mountains are straight up and the road beside of you is straight down and the road is not very wide and in some places one lane as they are working on it. Today we saw big horn sheep and mountain goats. We went all the way across and down to the Rising Sun Road, which leads out to the east side of the park and instead of turning and going back we took rt 89 back to the west side... almost a 2 hr. drive on a road that was Open Range with a cow standing in what seemed to be every curve and there were a lot of them (curves&cows) We finally got back around 10:00 and hit the bed only to get settled down when I thought I heard a bear.... false alarm... someone in the room next to us was really sawing some logs! If it was that loud in our room... can you imagine what it was like for that persons partner???
Friday morning...9-12-08... Last day... before the journey home begins...
We awake to another beautiful day! Not quite as cold as the day before, blue sky dotted with big puffy clouds. So, after breakfast at the restaurant beside of us we went back up the Going to the Sun Road. We had about a 25 minute wait in one area but it didn't seem that long as everyone gets out and likes to talk. We didn't see any wild life on the way up this time but when we got to Logan's Pass and hiked about 3 1/2 miles round trip. We saw more
mountain goats up close & personal! On the way back down, more big horn sheep! Now they tell me it is rare that you see the sheep, soo we were very lucky.
The hike back into the
mountains was so gorgeous. This is really the only way to see them. They are big, alpine like and as we continued the trail we came upon another view that would take your breath away! Hidden Lake, beautiful deep turquoise water surrounded by big tall
pines and big tall mountains and some capped with snow in the background. We continued to descend to the lake but decided we had better start back up as the time was getting late and we were to start the journey home this evening ( 2,268 mi. away).
As we traveled down the east side again we still saw many beautiful sights, waterfalls and lakes and then of course we ended up on the "Open Range" road again. Only this time in the daylight...thank goodness! We traveled along through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation!Interesting, I'm always glad to be out of their territory, lots of broken beer and liquor bottles along the road side and bullet holes in the road signs. We made it to Great Falls around 7:00pm or so and secured a room at the Hampton Inn, nice cozy bunk and no snoring next door.
Saturday morning 9-13-08 The journey home... begins
Late getting up this morning ... looked out the window to find rain and clouds and cool temps. We finally checked out around 10:30am and then went to fuel up and checked the route that "Lola" would be taking us (Garmin) only to find we would be going through ND and down through Chicago.... the weather channel showed lots of rain that way... so, we changed her mind and headed down into Wyoming. Another pretty drive today as the storm clouds turned into big blue sky again with those white puffy clouds.... part of this trail, we had been on before. We were able to stop at the Little Big Horn Natl. Monument on this trail and here we also thought we might take in a rodeo... turned out to be an all "Crow Pro-Rodeo."... they didn't seem to happy to see us there, so we didn't go and headed on in to Sheridan.... which finally brings us up to date. Aren't you glad???
Well... time for some shut eye...
Happy Trails to All!
The Trail Blazer's
