Spent our first full day Monday on "the ranch"--Matt and Jenn's 12-acre piece of paradise in the Potomac Valley of Montana.  Matt is re-building a staircase to the second floor loft area, so we took measurements and eventually drove to Missoula (in the rain--when will it ever stop!) to pick up some lumber for the project.  He also had to stop at the auto parts store to replace a radiator hose and spark plug wires to the Ford 250 snowplow vehicle.  A ravenous band of marmots that live nearby apparently think that radiator anti-freeze is the nectar of the marmot gods.  They had chewed through the radiator hose and then the spark plug wires for dessert.  Paula made a nice pork roast for dinner when we returned.  There are a few leftover pictures from Yellowstone since I haven't taken any of the ranch yet, but stay tuned.

Bear Creek during winter

Sandhill crane

Pronghorn antelope

Tagged bison bull

A geyser moonscape

More geyser activity on landscape

Grand Yellowstone Lodge 

We broke camp Sunday in Yellowstone and headed home to Matt's house in Potomac, Montana.  On the way we stopped at two "ghost towns": Virginia City and Nevada City.  Both are old  gold mining towns and curiously named since we Californians are used to our own Nevada City near Grass Valley and the Virginia City of Nevada, home to Samuel Clemens and the Territorial Enterprise.  It was an interesting stop and also provided us a nice picnic table for lunch.  Once we left Nevada City, the rain started and didn't stop until after we reached Matt's house.  This was no "spring shower," but a bonafide winter storm.  Matt, who was ahead of us on his motorcycle, once again got drenched.  We stopped in Butte at the Three Bears market to load up with provisions.  It was like coming home as we drove along the Blackfoot River and up to Matt's bucolic home overlooking the Potomac Valley.  We will bivouac here for about 12 days and await Jenn's return from her art residency in Wyoming.  We'll be sending updates with photos of projects around the house and fly fishing expeditions!

Virginia City, MT

Virginia City

Virginia City or Bust!

Asseyor's Office

Mercantile

Mercantile

Saturday in Yellowstone

Today we returned to the park with wonderful warm sunshine.  Since we had explored the geysers the day before, we wanted to explore the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  After visiting a coffee kiosk in West Yellowstone, we headed to the park.  The Yellowstone River has carved a deep gorge through the heart of the park. Though not rivaling the Grand Canyon of Arizona, it does startle the eye with its impressive depth and wide expanse.  The river thunders through the gorge creating some beautiful waterfalls.  The park offers scores of well-developed trails and viewpoints with ample rails and benches to invite easy and comfortable viewing.  We spent the entire day following different trails and stopping at many vista points.  With tired feet and that satisfied feeling of having tasted some of nature’s most gorgeous bounty, we dined at the Madriz Spanish Café in West Yellowstone on tapas and paella--a rare find in this corner of the world.

Paula and Matt at "Artist's fire pots"

The "Blob" invades Yellowstone

Talkative Elk!

The "Brink" falls--Yellowstone River

Bottom of the Brink Falls

Yellowstone River canyon

Paula at the "Brink"

Osprey nest

Another view of Yellowstone canyon

Lone Elk

Friday in Yellowstone

Spent this day enjoying Yellowstone National Park.  After finding a great coffee shop in West Yellowstone (Morning Glory) aand a delicious bakery (Woodside Bakery) with incredible cinnamon rolls, we headed for the west entrance.  Our first stop was a meadow with a bison herd.  Great photo ops.  We were able to get up very close. Then we hiked a trail to Fairy Falls with some beautiful geyser pools and mineral lakes and gurgling, bubbling mud pots.  Then on to Old Faithful where we toured the beautiful Yellowstone Old Faithful Lodge that offers rooms from $103 (with shared bath) to $512 (the penthouse with a view of the geyser), then waited on cold benches with a hundred or so others for the scheduled eruption of the most famous geyser in the world.  On the return trip to West Yellowstone and our rv park, we had to drive slowly through an area where the bison herds use the park road as their own thoroughfare.  After a stop at the local Dairy Queen for a Blizzard, we headed for camp and a cold beer.  The weather continues to be unseasonably cold: hovering in the forties with windchills making it feel like the thirties.  Tomorrow promises to be a bit less cloudy and a few degrees warmer.

Paula met a friendly Taliban on the trail

Thar she blows!

Fairy Falls

Mineral deposit art

A wonderful Yellowstone vista

Tatonka!

Baby bison

We drove from Twin Falls, ID, to West Yellowstone, traveling via Hwys 84, 86, 15 and  20.  The terrain is flat, lush, irrigated farm and ranch land for half of the way, then gradually becoming forested and mountainous once you leave Idaho Falls and continue on 20.  We enjoyed mostly cloudy weather with a smattering of sunshine.  Once we arrived at the KOA in West Yellowstone, there were periods of hail and what appeared to be embryonic snowflakes.  Our son, Matt, pulled in shortly after we did and tried to unwind from his five-hour motorcycle ride through rain, hail and cold headwinds.  After thawing out, he joined us for a quick tour of the quaint town of West Yellowstone, which is literally the gateway to the park.  The town is outfitted for tourists with numerous, restaurants, bars and a zillion gift shops with clever T-shirts emblazoned with bear photos that say: "I eat tourists, marinated in bear spray."

Matt's bike

Need this for Search and Rescue

View from campsite

Clifford imitating bison

Today's leg was our longest slog: about 560 miles and nine hours in the saddle with a few stops for meals and restrooms. Consequently, we didn't have time for photos.  (Just one of the rig parked in the Twin Falls KOA.)  The weather was mostly cloudy and quite windy.  When we left Boomtown, the flags were stiff and pointing north.  Even the birds were all flying in the same direction. Crossing HWY 80 to Wells, NV, we noticed some turbulence but managed to hold it steady.  Heading from Wells north on HWY 93, the tail wind helped.  There were dark clouds and rain most of the way.  We ate dinner at the Depot Cafe in Twin Falls--established in 1917.  I imagine the cooking hasn't changed much in the intervening years, and we would give it only two stars.  Paula's steak was tough and fried in generous grease.  My "fish platter" would have served as good bait for bottom fishing--even Clifford turned up his nose at the leftovers.

  Tomorrow we head to West Yellowstone and the rendezvous with our son, Matt.  He is spending tonight at a motel in Cody, WY, trying to dry out from the drenching he received on his motorcycle ride from Sheridan, WY.

On Tuesday we completed the Lower Lake to Boomtown, NV, leg of the journey.  We had to stop in Rocklin to exchange a faulty barbecue at Camping World.  But after wrangling with the sales manager for a while, we managed to get almost full value for the Cuisinart (wouldn't recommend one!) and applied that to a Weber Q200, a solid piece of work that could handle a small steer. The KOA at Boomtown was quiet and restful, allowing us to prepare for the long stretch tomorrow that will take us all the way to Twin Falls, ID.  We took a stroll after dinner and discovered some old western ruins nearby that were an interesting juxtaposition near the casino and a fairly new Cabela's.

Boomtown Casino

The old homestead

Old meets new

Cabela's in the distance