As we drove through Eastern Idaho, the area was mostly farmland (potatoes?), but still under quite a bit of snow. As we hit Montana we started to climb and encounter more snow. Roads we in good shape so it was an easy drive. We stopped in West Yellowstone and all the RV parks I had been checking in to were still closed for the winter. Town was empty again this year, but unlike last year, it wasn’t due to Covid – just too early.
We arrived at our destination at the Inn on the Gallatin – a small campground & cabin area right on the Gallatin River. Sites are very close together but we were lucky that we were on the end and had no one right next to us on the other side. We love this place – so cool with the river right there. Nice picnic table but a bit chilly to use. The evening we arrived it snowed on us big time, but we were warm and cozy in our rig.
The snow stopped around 10 am, so we took off to explore Big Sky. We’ve read that this place is the best ski area no one comes to. No local airport, and I guess people don’t want to fly into Bozeman (an hour away). But we had a great time – cool coffee place for breakfast, drove the roads and explored all the ski areas. Cute ski mountain town with Beverley Hills prices.
The next day we awoke to sunny blue skies – all the snow had already melted. We drove into Bozeman for the day. Yelp led us to a great breakfast place in downtown (cool older buildings but way too many cars). We ran some errands then hit the Museum of the Rockies. Lots of dinosaur fossils & skeletons, history of the people, and ended with a cool planetarium show. A full day and we were grateful to get back to our rig. The owners here have built a large area right on the river with a firepit, BBQ, table and chairs. We went down to the fire at night and met some locals that were here for a couple of days.
The next morning (ok, I guess it was afternoon by the time we were moving), it started snowing again. We drove back into Big Sky (maybe 25 min from where we are staying). Tried breakfast at a place we heard about, but had to settle for lunch since they quite serving breakfast at noon. We were going to do something exciting like do our laundry, but it was snowing so hard the roads were starting to get covered, so we high tailed it back to the rig. By 4 PM it stopped and I am sure it will be gone again by tomorrow.
It continued to snow so we had another relaxing day at the rig. Nice day to hang and read. Campground WIFI works for some calls and email, but not enough to stream, so we are without TV or Netflix. Good thing we like to read. Tried going for a walk but the wind cuts right through you. For us, this snow is a novelty, but the owners here are over it. We find it exciting as long as we can stay warm.
The next day we drove into Bozeman and did the laundry we didn’t do the other day. Went back to the place we had breakfast the other day (Jams). Enjoyed it once again. After laundry we took another drive up through Bridger Bowl (local ski rea). Continued on some back roads and really saw some gorgeous country.
The next day we wanted to into Yellowstone Park. From our campsite it’s a 2.5 hr drive. We drove to the North Entrance at Gardiner, MT. Bur once we entered the Park we found out we could only go as far as Mammoth Hot Springs (maybe 5 miles into the Park). Officially the Park doesn’t open until April 16 (we were there on the 14th). So even though the roads were clear, they had them blocked off. So we say a couple of the geothermic areas there, then headed back. Good news is we saw lots of buffalo, elk, deer, and big horn sheep. So a good day for Ken after all.
Our last full day here we hung out in the rig doing a good cleaning, ran to Bozeman to pick up meds, and packed as much as we can to make it easy tomorrow. A problem I have is our water line and sewer hose have frozen (good thing I flush with water after dumping). I’ll have to use warm water to thaw everything tomorrow morning. Next morning that didn’t work out so well. It was so cold it never did thaw out. Stuffed everything into the bay and will thaw later. Meanwhile, on the road again.