We couldn't get into our next park until after noon, so we took our time leaving Yellowstone's Edge. The sun was shining and the view was hard to leave. We did not go through Yellowstone National Park. The roads are narrow and dodging buffalo and people who don't pull off the road completely to see the wildlife, just isn't worth the 44 miles we would have saved. We went back to I-90 and then took Hwy 191 south to West Yellowstone, MT
Hwy 191 took us through downtown Bozeman. It is a large, attractive, thriving area. It made us want to visit.
Just after we turned south on the west side of Bozeman we lost the sun and saw this view. We drove this road from the other direction in 2007.
Hwy 191 goes down the Gallatin Valley along the Gallatin River.
The American Legion of Montana marks every highway death with a cross like this. This road is two lane and curvy. There were too many crosses to count. Wyoming uses a broken heart and South Dakota has diamond signs with flowers wound up the pole.
This photo shows a curve and the Gallatin river on the left.
Parts of the river looked dangerous.
There were several rafts and kayaks on the river. One group motioned us to give them a blast on our air horn. We complied.
Rain drops in this part of the country are often the size of a fifty-cent piece!
We have been seeing these everywhere and I couldn't figure out why. Then we realized that Wyoming and Montana put these up and leave them up.
They then put whatever road sign is applicable to the weather or road construction in them.
Right after we turned south, there was a sign warning about construction and the possibility of a 60 minute wait. This was why. A sign at the head of the construction area asked that all two-way radios and cell phones be turned off before driving in. Thankfully, the blasting was completed before we reached this point and the workmen were clearing away the debris. No wait for us.
Pretty.
There are lots of pull-outs like this along this highway. We stopped and had a lunch that Penny had fixed last night. Nice place to just sit and look out the window as we ate.
Arrowleaf balsamroot in bloom, per Dr. Ted Alby.
A peek at the Tetons.
We rolled into West Yellowstone, MT about 1:30 pm. Doesn't look much different than it did six years ago.
The street to our rv park goes by The Hibernation Motel. Each cabin has a unique sculpture on top.
This is the office of Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park. This park is large, but extremely well kept. It is open year round. After seeing the snow poles along the highway, I can't imagine driving a big rig here in the winter. The last time we were here, Ted was washing the coach and a man he had worked with 20 years earlier drove by.
We got the last available site when we made our reservation last week and there are 240 RV, cabin, and tent sites,
The coach, motorcycle, bikes, and Jeep are really dirty after 12 days on the road and lots of muddy construction. Ted couldn't stand it. He had to wash them all. Many parks do not allow visitors to wash vehicles.
This wonderful tool was made by Mr. Clean. We think that it is no longer available. It has a built-in deionized water rinse which prevents spots.
After 3 hours, everything is clean and Ted is happy. Penny, too. However, the wind has picked up and the storm clouds are looming.... Oh, well.
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