Today was absolute perfection! Joe drove us into Yellowstone to see all the sites that we were going to miss since we changed our route. After seeing the traffic and narrow roads, I was sort of relieved that we changed our route plan.
We drove down through Paradise Valley into the North Entrance of Yellowstone. I've been dreaming of coming to Yellowstone for years so it was soooo exciting to finally see the park. It did not disappoint - in fact it was beyond my wildest imagination! Stopped at the Norris Geyser fields to see all the funky little steam producers and then on to the big falls in the beautiful canyon. This is the most gorgeous National Park that I have ever visited!!!!
To top off our adventure, we saw just about every species of animal - mountain goats,black & brown bears, huge buffalo, antelope, foxes, pelicans, deer, moose, elk. It was amazing! Upon leaving the park, we drove through Gardiner,MT and stopped at a quick mart for some drinks. Marc pointed out a few pies in the refrigerated section. I picked out a sour cream lemon pie. OMG! It was amazingly delicious for a convenience store pie. Real whip cream topping with sour cream and lemon filling with a delicious crust. I planned to share, but ate the whole thing! My appetite is getting crazy.
After the park, we enjoyed a soak in Chico Hot Springs. Great for our sore muscles and hopefully good for our sore tendons. The hot springs was a neat little place tucked away in Paradise Valley and only a $6.50 entrance fee!
After a full day of fun, we headed over to Dave's Sushi Restaurant in Bozeman. We were so eager for some healthy food after all the junk we've been eating. Our dinner was delicious - seaweed salad, multiple sushi rolls and a delicious sake, courtesy of the house. Wow - I love this town! It will be hard to leave tomorrow. We've had such a fun visit with Joe!
Marc took lots of cool pics in Yellowstone - I'll add them tomorrow. Back on the saddle in the AM - promises to be a sunny day tomorrow! It will hopefully be an easy 60 miles to Big Timber, MT tomorrow. Looking forward to starting the adventure again after a well deserved rest.
Showing posts with label Bozeman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bozeman. Show all posts
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Day 13: Bozeman, MT
Greetings from "MAN"tana (as Joe affectionately calls it - I guess the women are a bit scarce here.) Bozeman is a great town to stop and rest for a day or two. It's reminiscent of Boulder with that college town feel and an overabundance of artists, athletes and "trustafarians" (trust fund kids- to the lay person), but a bit rougher around the edges. (Probably from all the rugged mountain terrain and its cowboy roots.)
This morning we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground and decided that we better make a few serious decisions about our route. Snow in Bozeman, at 4500 ft elevation, surely meant snow in Yellowstone, 7500 ft. We only have a two day window to cancel our Yellowstone Cabin Reservation for Sunday night, so were facing a deadline dilemma.
After consulting our maps, resident Montana friends and the weather channel, we decided to skip Yellowstone (boo hoo!) and take a more northern route via Billings, MT and then drop down into Sheridan, WY. This route will keep us in the high plains areas and out of the mountain elevations. The new route is also a bit less strenuous so we have an extra day or two to play with until we camp with my sister and her family in Custer, SD.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the downtown shops of Bozeman and looking for a good slice of pie. We found the Leaf & Bean Coffee Shop and subsequently a delicious slice of Chocolate Banana Cream Pie. It was a chilled delight with crisp nilla wafer crust, banana chocolate base topped with a delicious layer of creamy vanilla custard and then a light whip cream top. I usually do not like chocolate in my pies but this one just had a hint of chocolate in the base and a touch on top for effect. YUM!
The evening was filled with activity. First we took a short bike ride down to the local Art Walk. Bozeman has an old high school building that they converted into artists studios. After checking out the local artists displays, we rode over to the Little Sherpa Coffee House for some music and relaxation. Joe's girlfriend, Mel, owns and manages this cute local coffee joint. Then, to top off the evening, Marc made us all a delicious dinner of fried tofu with peanut satay sauce and a spicy Pad Thai w/ beef dish.
Marc spent the rest of the evening soaking his "Cankles" in Epsom Salts (his tendons are still really sore and swollen). Looks like we are going to spend another day in town before heading off toward Billings on Sunday. Joe is planning to drive us into Yellowstone so we can see the sights and hit a hot springs on the way back. What a great host!
This morning we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground and decided that we better make a few serious decisions about our route. Snow in Bozeman, at 4500 ft elevation, surely meant snow in Yellowstone, 7500 ft. We only have a two day window to cancel our Yellowstone Cabin Reservation for Sunday night, so were facing a deadline dilemma.
After consulting our maps, resident Montana friends and the weather channel, we decided to skip Yellowstone (boo hoo!) and take a more northern route via Billings, MT and then drop down into Sheridan, WY. This route will keep us in the high plains areas and out of the mountain elevations. The new route is also a bit less strenuous so we have an extra day or two to play with until we camp with my sister and her family in Custer, SD.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the downtown shops of Bozeman and looking for a good slice of pie. We found the Leaf & Bean Coffee Shop and subsequently a delicious slice of Chocolate Banana Cream Pie. It was a chilled delight with crisp nilla wafer crust, banana chocolate base topped with a delicious layer of creamy vanilla custard and then a light whip cream top. I usually do not like chocolate in my pies but this one just had a hint of chocolate in the base and a touch on top for effect. YUM!
The evening was filled with activity. First we took a short bike ride down to the local Art Walk. Bozeman has an old high school building that they converted into artists studios. After checking out the local artists displays, we rode over to the Little Sherpa Coffee House for some music and relaxation. Joe's girlfriend, Mel, owns and manages this cute local coffee joint. Then, to top off the evening, Marc made us all a delicious dinner of fried tofu with peanut satay sauce and a spicy Pad Thai w/ beef dish.
Marc spent the rest of the evening soaking his "Cankles" in Epsom Salts (his tendons are still really sore and swollen). Looks like we are going to spend another day in town before heading off toward Billings on Sunday. Joe is planning to drive us into Yellowstone so we can see the sights and hit a hot springs on the way back. What a great host!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
