On the Trail with Louise – Montana 2023 (August 8 – 14, 2023)
August 8th We checked into our garage-top cabin between Livingston and Bozeman and are quite happy with the accommodations. There are two large bedrooms, a generous living and dining area, and functional kitchen with everything we might need for the week. I also like the patio and grill in the back yard and would be very happy nesting here on my own. Louise seems happy and relieved to be done with her summer work, most of which was in South Dakota. She described the two dudes that she was assigned to work with all summer, and it was clearer why she was happy to have this behind her. One of them was very sloppy and continually dragged the accuracy of their stats down. She said that it was extremely frustrating because as hard as the other two tried, this dolt's laziness poisoned the pot. Nature was also challenging. She shared her sleepless night in a tent as a buffalo herd meandered their grazing outside of her tent in Teddy Roosevelt National Park. One of the them got spooked and tripped on her rain fly. Last week, the winds and rain were so extreme that her tent collapsed and soaked her to the bone. Even so, she was positive overall. She rented a room in Bozeman from a friend she met in her study abroad program in Botswana, and really enjoyed spending time with her Americorps ERT friends from STL, who spent a month in Montana this summer. She can put a positive spin on just about anything. We hiked three miles of the South Cottonwood Trail while hearing all these stories. Louise was distracted because she forgot to bring her bear spray. She said that no one hikes without it. I had given my bear spray to Carolyn, which Louise thought was rather silly, "Mom, black bears aren't a problem; grizzlies live in these mountains." She clearly is the more experienced outdoors person. We will make sure that the spray is with Louise on future hikes...and not get separated. August 9th We drove to Big Sky today on Sheila's recommendation and found it to be very touristy and commercial. We parked at the resort because there was a recommended trail on the ALLTRAILS app we've been using - Moose Tracks Trail. We had to walk through the resort and ski lifts to get to the trail and kept hoping that both trail and views would improve. It was all very well marked but half of the trail was a gravel service road! Imagine walking uphill for 2 hours, hearing the groaning of construction in the distance and the roar of a helicopter flying back and forth (probably part of the construction). You hope that you will be rewarded with a spectacular view at the top, but we learned that the destination was the top of a ski lift! There was nothing scenic about today's trail; it stunk of big money and development. After a much quicker descent (1.5 hours down), we shook the dust from our feet and drove to the town of Big Sky. We parked the car and walked through the Farmer's Market, which was larger than yesterday's market in Bozeman. We had great fun checking out all the vendors and capped the evening with dinner at a Thai place - The Lotus Pad. August 10th We entered Yellowstone for the second day of our vacation-within-a-vacation. Yesterday we walked through all the hydrothermal geysers and hot springs. There were scads of people at the most popular sites (especially places with wheelchair access) but thinned out the farther in we would trek. (Fairy Falls was a lengthy walk which was more satisfying because there were so few people at the end admiring the falls.) Old Faithful had chairs for folks who waited to see regular eruptions. We were lucky enough to see Old Faithful erupt twice and Lion Geyer erupt right as we passed it on the boardwalk! Nature at its best. We stayed in Island Park, ID last night at a redneck hotel that advertised free muffins and coffee this morning. We assumed it was the large cabin next to our motel-lodge but found out that it was a single-family cabin when we tried to get in. (The family was just pulling out of the driveway and politely told us it was their place. Whoops.) I was sad to learn that I left my travel thermos behind and contacted the owner of the lodge on the off-chance s/he might send it to me. “Jay” was happy to oblige and sent a very nice note saying that he also has a mug that has traveled with that he would want back if forgotten. I take back comment about it being a redneck place. August 11th Day One in Yellowstone was great, but Day Two was even better. Our plan was to drive east toward Lake Yellowstone, then catch as many sites as possible before exiting the North Entrance/Exit. Lake Yellowstone is pristine, while having a crusty, sandy shoreline with geysers that jut out of the water. The lake may have had just one section with hydrothermal activity, which would make sense given its size, and we were glad to be part of its admiring crowd. Our next site was to view the gorges and canyon cut by the Yellowstone River. We hiked along the south rim of the river for about 2 hours before driving north to catch views at lookouts along the way. I was surprised to see how quickly the landscape changed; thick ponderosa pines gave way to a stony canyon in 10 miles. Louise really wanted to hike to the suspension bridge over a gorge cut by the Yellowstone River, so who were we to say no to such enthusiasm? It wasn't well advertised (she found it in one of the guidebooks available at our Airbnb), and the marking for the turnoff was a very small sign off the road from the canyon. The trail wasn't long, but it was a steep descent and even more challenging climb back to the parking lot. I really thought Mike was going to have a heart attack. Given the difficulty of the trail, there weren't many people around...making a rescue more difficult! All that worry and he huffed and puffed it back to the parking lot. We didn't see much wildlife yesterday but were luckier today. We passed a herd of bison enroute to Yellowstone Lake, cornered a woodchuck on the south rim trail, killed a chipmunk crossing the road, and freaked out a fox near the suspension bridge. I was sorry that Louise and I missed seeing elk, especially when Mike said that he saw one laying down near the bridge where we parked our car! (He went back to retrieve while Louise ascended steps at Mammoth Hot Springs.) Well, after dinner at the Wonderful Cafe in Gardiner, MT, we walked back to our car and nearly bumped into an elk doe eating petunias from a planter on the corner! I saw three more just outside of town! I'm sure that they're pests in the same way that deer are in La Crosse. August 12th What I have seen of both Livingston and Bozeman is an explosion of housing and commerce - all which will look dated in another 20 years. Bozeman has a very trendy downtown area with outfitters, coffee shops, mountain bike shops, trendy bookstores, restaurants, and TWO co-ops. You can see it as a pocket of blue - attracting earth-conscious young adults who want peace and organic produce; drive into Utah or the Montana countryside and you'll see plenty of gun-slinging conservatives. It's a curious part of the country. We visited the Grizzly Rescue Center today and saw "Max the Grizzly" in action. They had a very helpful guide who gave us some great tips on what to do if we met a bear in the wild: "If it's black, fight back; if it's brown, lay down." The advice seemed sound until she explained that black bears can be brown, and grizzlies can be almost black. Her explanation of their respective physiologies made more sense. I can give you a lesson when we get back, if you'd like, as well as what to do if you ever encounter a bear in the wild. The remainder of the day was spent at downtown bookstores and the Museum of the Rockies. The natural history museum is managed by Montana State University and contains exciting dinosaur fossils. We also bought tickets for 5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI. Fascinating. Knowing that 5000 computers compiling data on galaxies on the other side of the Milky Way still need a human being for analysis gives me hope that AI won't take over the world. We had dinner at the Ugly Onion, which is owned and operated by Louise's roommates, Greta and Max. They have a fancy portable pizza oven that they transport from venue to venue. It was truly delicious. August 13th Our last day in Bozeman started with Mass at Holy Rosary Church on Main Street. The music was OK; the cantor stood in front with the organist (console and pipes were behind the altar). I thought it refreshing that the single adult server was wearing a suit! We also had communion under both species, which was almost novel in our post-COVID world! I know that Montana had looser restrictions during COVID, so I wasn't surprised to a return to the common cup. Everyone sang. It felt normal. We picked up Louise after Mass and had lunch at Feed Café, followed by an afternoon at Fairy Lake, which is a short drive from Bozeman. The gravel road was in horrid condition - so bad that it took us 30 minutes to drive a mere 6 miles. The setting was worth the hassle of getting there; others must have felt the same way because the parking lot was packed! We are leaving tomorrow and will stay in Chamberlain, SD tomorrow evening. We are hoping to have time to stop and see Mt. Rushmore tomorrow and Blue Mound State Park on Tuesday. We plan to be back in La Crosse by dinnertime on Tuesday, August 15, 2023!
1 Comment
9/20/2023 02:35:21 am
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AuthorMary Ellen Haupert is a wife, mother, pianist, teacher, and Catholic church musician. Archives
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