Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere, Montana 9/16/2009

After saying goodbye to the family early, we spent the morning and part of the early afternoon further exploring Yellowstone. We were fortunate to see large herds of Bison (several hundred at least), including a few that wondered across the road! When you enter Yellowstone the ranger hands out a leaflet warning you to stay AWAY from the bison. A bison weighs up to 2000 lbs. and can charge at speeds up to 30 mph. You would think with this information people would pay attention. Nevertheless, we witnessed several incidents of people being stupid. Case in point number 1: We saw a woman knock down her elderly father with the open door of her own car because she was obsessed with pulling ahead to get that perfect shot and forget that dear old dad wasn’t in the car yet! Case in point 2: A bison wondered very close to a couple as they stood outside their car, both clicking away frantically. When they lowered their cameras and suddenly realized the bison was 5 ft from them, they made a MAD dash into their vehicle. Amazingly, seconds later as the bison walked away, the woman jumped OUT of her car to get a shot of the bison’s butt! People being crazy! The best part of Yellowstone so far has been the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Upper and Lower Falls. I don’t know why Old Faithful gets all the love when the real crown jewel of the park is the falls. We stopped at several vantage points and were amazed at the force and beauty of the thundering water. (Check out today’s picture). After leaving Yellowstone we headed for Cody, Wyoming in search of Buffalo Bill. We stopped at the Buffalo Bill Historic Center and after spending a few minutes perusing the gift store, we decided that was enough cowboy culture for us. We were however channeling Vic, knowing how much he would love this place! The highlight of Cody turned out to be Bubba’s Barbeque where we both enjoyed a healthy cowboy portion of beef brisket, including baked beans and coleslaw. (That sound you hear is my arteries clogging). Our destination for the night was Cooney Reservoir State Park, outside of Red Lodge, Montana. The navigator was busy texting her daughter while the pilot was happily driving due east (in the wrong direction). Of course when the navigator discovered the change in course she used it as a grand opportunity to take a “back road”. We did find a large barley growing and storage facility being used by Busch brewing company. Ned was very impressed. The drive was beautiful, but arid and uninhabited. Once back on course, we enjoyed the drive through Red Lodge and after miles down a dirt, washboard road are enjoying Montana’s finest – camping in a mowed field next to a reservoir. It does however meet my requirements of flush toilets and shower! The last three days in Wyoming have been cool days (65-75) and very cold nights (38 deg last night!). It’s was 90 for most of the day in Montana and the night has a forecast of a low of 61. Nice! Tomorrow, Billings and a tour of the Pictograph Caves…Oh yes, and the occasional cute cowboy!