To Montana and Back Again

Grandchildren exert a powerful draw. The opportunity to babysit was too good to pass up. Originally it was going to be T and j. T would rehearse and perform, and we would take care of j. Then, it got even better, as G and a  arranged to join the party. So we loaded the truck and set out for Bozeman, MT, a place we had never been. Which, for us, is just one more reason to go.

We left reasonably early on Sunday with the goal of reaching Cedar City, UT for the first night's stay. The first surprise came at the junction of 89 and 89a near Page. The road (89) to Page was still closed due to the massive rock slide that I had forgotten about. So, we happily took the slightly longer route over the Kaibab Plateau. Along the way we had been treated to some beautiful fall colors, which continued to impress us as we entered the canyon north of Kanab. But the real autumn treat was route 14 to Cedar City. Every shade of yellow, gold, orange, and red alongside the evergreens and the multi-hued sandstone. And, to make it perfect, a deer in the road and a herd of elk in the woods.

Next morning we hit I-15 and headed north. The speed limit along the rural stretches is 80 mph. Apparently, that is fast enough for everybody, because with cruise control set at 80, nobody passed us. We saw beaucoup pronghorns (aka antelope) in the fields and rangeland all day. We also saw a school bus sailing along at high speed on a road parallel to the highway, but invisible due to the high grasses. It was weird. We took a scenic detour around SLC just for the fun of it, and got more beautiful fall color in the scenic canyons. But we missed a turn and ended up catching I-15 again in downtown SLC. Still, we arrived in Idaho Falls before dark and checked in to a hotel. It was right on the Snake River, which has a beautiful walking park along the namesake falls. We walked to a dinner place and back, arriving just after dark. After driving all day, a nice walk is perfect.

The plan for Tuesday was to arrive in Bozeman around 1:00pm. But we decided to detour through Yellowstone since it was so close. I have my old farts' card (aka Senior Pass) which gets us into national parks for free. Peggie also got one at the entrance, since she, too, is now old enough to qualify. In the park, we saw only bison as far as wildlife is concerned, but we stopped to walk around a hot spot called Artists' Paint Pots. Again, a nice walk, and, of course the name comes from all the mineral colors surrounding the bubbling waters. Exiting to the north, we encountered a construction zone that held us up for a while. We were having a nice conversation with the flag person about the strange people one encounters when a women from several cars back in line walked up and asked, "What's going on?" To which the flag person replied, "Just a little road construction." The young women countered with, "But they're telling everyone the road is open." The flag person informed her that the road was, indeed, open, but there would be a few minutes delay. The woman returned to her car. Where do people come from, who don't know what a construction delay is?

We exited the park at Gardiner (north exit) and caught the interstate at Livingston. West of Livingstone there are several domestic bison herds in pastures. Also taking advantage of the green fields along there were elk, deer, and pronghorn herds. Not domesticated.
So, we arrived in Bozeman about 5:30, much to a's chagrin. She wanted to see us at 1:00. Little j doesn't know the difference, so he was standoffish, anyway.

Wanting to be good grandparents, we had several child-friendly outings planned for our days in Bozeman. We tried to go to Lewis and Clark Caverns about 40 miles west but the caverns were closed for the winter. So we headed back with two sleeping children in the truck with nothing to show for the drive except learning that there is a breed of cow called a Red Angus. Who knew?
We decided to go east of Bozeman a few miles to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. It was a tacky little roadside attraction based on the owners' attempt to rescue grizzly bears from bad situations and to use them to educate the public. We observed four bears and heard all about the grizzly. They have an enclosure that is woefully small for bears, but large and natural enough that it is more like the Desert Museum than like other zoos. We got the idea they do the best they can with good intentions and limited funds.

Friday night, I got to go to the performance called "Wine, Women and Song." T played piano for a pair of sopranos and the audience tasted wines from Italy, Germany, and America, as music from those areas was performed. The setting was a private home on the edge of town. Very wealthy patrons of the arts.

Next day, we took the kids and G to the Museum of the Rockies. There, we learned about dinosaurs. That was a fun time for all of us. Even j found things to hold his interest. In case you didn't know, some of the dinosaurs were VERY BIG! That night, G and a and Peggie went to the performance while I sat with j. He was still being standoffish, but as soon as we were alone, he cozied up just fine. We played cars and watched cartoons.

On Sunday, all of us headed for Yellowstone. At one point, we pulled off the road to check out what Peggie thought might be a bighorn sheep on the rocks. Instead, there was a meandering stream of beaver dams. I went back to get a out of the car so she could see them and T was pointing out a moose down there. The moose eventually got spooked and hid in the willows. But it was a good sighting. We couldn't see the possible sheep any more. Inside the park, we saw bison several times. Then we waited for Old Faithful to blow. Just as it started, a spotted a chipmunk and became so fascinated, that she almost missed the show. Afterward, we went inside Old Faithful Lodge and were awed by the architecture of the lobby area. Can't describe it. You have to go see it.

On the way back home, we saw a grizzly in the wild, elk, and deer. We also got the traditional bison walking sedately in the road causing a traffic jam.  At this time, a was riding with us and as it got dark she suggested we count roadside crosses. She rode with us part of the way down and we had explained to her about playing "cows" on road trips as kids. We had also explained to her the purpose of the white crosses by the road. There were a lot of them. We surmised that the combination of narrow winding road, skiers heading home, and deer crossing the road, contributed to making this a deadly stretch. Anyway, it was getting dark and she needed something to keep her interest, so we counted crosses. When it became apparent that, as driver, I had the advantage, I was banned from playing. So Peggie gave her a five cross handicap, and they played. It is a macabre thing to make a game of, but it kept a awake.

Monday, GajT had to leave at 8:30 to catch a plane, so Peggie and I stayed to clean the condo we were in. We got on the road at about noon. We had heard that the area around Missoula was pretty, so we headed over there on I-90. Right away we saw a bald eagle on a utility pole. Then we decided to take some scenic red roads and we were rewarded with sightings of turkeys, pronghorns, elk, and deer.

Leaving Missoula on Tuesday, we headed south on US 93. We saw elk and lots and lots of pronghorns. We had just remarked to each other that we never see antelope crossing the road, when coming around a hill, we had to brake to avoid hitting four antelope crossing the road. We drove over the continental divide into Idaho and spent the night in Hailey, just south of the Sun Valley ski area. The next day, going back to Cedar City, was our only driving day with no wildlife sightings.

We made it home Thursday night after stopping for dinner with Casey and her roommate, Laura in Tempe. We saw one deer outside Kanab, enjoyed the colors on route 14 again (they were beyond spectacular) and amid all the warning signs on I-17 south of Flagstaff, spotted a herd of elk just before dropping into Verde Valley. Sorry, family, by then we were ready to be home in our own bed.

This was a fun trip. We got some good time with GajT, and heard T perform, which is always a treat. The scenery was spectacular with mountains, canyons and fall colors and wildlife was abundant. Roads in MT and ID tend to follow rivers, so plenty of running water. And farmland. Lots and lots of farmland. Hay, wheat, potatoes, corn and cows. The area appears prosperous. Bozeman is a beautiful city. And we had no mis-adventures of the mechanical kind. Though we had to brake once for antelope and twice for deer in the road, we didn't hit anything. Not even the sedate bison who made us go around him in the other lane.