When we were in MT, regular gas was just 85.5 octane and we were told that is all it needed to be at the higher elevation. Gas was most expensive in Michigan where most places were over $4. a gallon. The least expensive was Ohio where it was $3.35 a gallon.
The GPS is a lifesaver on these trips and you wonder how we navigated before but we did. We are now back in Long Lake safely! Thank you for following our trip!!
One thing we noticed about the west is that we saw lots of trains. I am not sure if there are actually more freight trains or if they are just more visible than in the east. Livingston train station was always busy. Each time we went into town, there was a freight train coming in or just leaving. They also have a train museum in Livingston and a very active model train club.
The state of Montana ranks 4th in size of all the states but it ranks 44th in population so it is a good place to get away from it all.
After the bear sighting we continued on over this road that was new to Jim and I and it was quite a road to say the least! The elevation when we started was 6,270 feet. The road climbed steadily until we reached approximately 8,800 feet. The temp was around 81 degrees when we started and slowly went down to 68. As we got closer to the top, we also got closer to the snow until there were snowbanks along the roadway. The road just wound around along the very edge of a mountain and you just prayed the brakes didn't give out!!!
During the trip we saw buffalo, black bear with cub, elk, antelope and a mountain goat. The weather was perfect and it was a fun day.
On Saturday I went with the kids to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. We climbed to the top of the hot springs along the boardwalk where we had a nice view. after a picnic lunch, we headed back to the cabin. While we were gone, Jim went to an antique car show in Livingston. Our neighbor is a very active member of the antique car club and he also rebuilds old cars and trucks so he had one of his vehicles on display. Luckily we all got back early enough that the guys could get a bit more fishing in.
Not long after we went through the park entrance, we spotted a couple mountain goats along side the road. All areas were very green after all the spring rains. There is still plenty of snow visible on many of the mountains. In fact they had reopened the Beartooth Highway recently. It is always closed for the winter and normally reopens around early June. This year they reopened it in time for Memorial Day weekend and then had to close it again this past week due to some three foot snowdrifts! They told us they were not sure when it reopen. The Beartooth is just northeast from the northeast entrance to the park, near Cooke City, Montana.
We got to see the usual buffalo all along the ride and as usual, we had to stop several times to let them cross the road. I have no idea the number of buffalo in Yellowstone but it has to be at least several thousand. Many of them now have their little calves with them so that's neat to see. We also spotted some mountain goats high near the top of a cliff. To tell you the truth, until Jim gets his pictures on the computer and blows them up, I am not sure if they were mountain goats or bighorn sheep. All I know is that they were very high up on a very steep cliff.
We also saw several elk, some antelope and a few deer, although I didn't get pictures. Many places you can't just pull over as there may be a steep cliff on the side of the road. Speaking of steep cliffs, it is amazing that there are not more accidents there (or maybe there are and we just don't hear about them. It wouldn't make for good press concerning the park :-). Anyhow, there are very few guardrails along the roads, including on some turns. There could be a drop of hundreds of feet with a foot of the edge of the road and still there is no guardrail! I'm surprised more people don't just drive over the cliffs when they take their eyes off the road just for a second to look for or look at an animal!
When we got to Silver Gate, MT, which is the first little town you come to after you go out the northeast entrance to Yellowstone, we stopped in a little shop there to look around. It turned out one of the girls working there was originally from Warrensburg, NY, which is about an hour from Long Lake. She had moved there this spring. They were telling me that in the winter one of the roads leaving Cooke City is not plowed for an eight mile section. She said some people do leave a car at the end of that unplowed stretch. Then they take a snowmobile over to their car! The other road is the one that goes through Yellowstone and that is kept plowed all winter. In order to get groceries, they have to drive through Yellowstone to Gardiner, MT, which is just over 50 miles. Then they usually go to Bozeman to shop which is another 75 miles I am guessing. The road through the park is tough enough on a good day so I would hate to have to travel it in bad weather!! IMagine driving over 125 miles one way just to get groceries and whatever other items you might need at the store. It certainly would be a different way of life! I have posted some pictures on Shutterfly if you'd like to check them out.
Speaking of the water levels, one other difference we noticed here is that the water levels in the rivers apparently is very closely monitored and recorded. If you check fishing conditions for any area river online, they give the latest water level for that river in CFS (cubic feet per second). For example, today the Yellowstone River is running at approximately 8,000cfs. If you go in one of the many area fly fishing shops, they have fishing conditions posted in a board and they, too, post these water level numbers. People seem to be very aware of what the numbers mean. The last couple of days have been very cool so the numbers went down because the snow melt slowed. When the temps warm up, water levels will rise again because the snow melt will increase. There seems to be a big interest here in these numbers. We don't see anything like this in NY.
One other thing we have noticed in Montana is that the people here are exceptionally friendly. If you go in a store and ask a question, the clerks are very helpful and offer more information than you might expect. We have found we have learned a lot about the area just from talking to the employees at various stores. The same is true of other people we have met. Everyone has been very friendly.
One of the first things you notice is the vastness of the area. I've tried to capture it in pictures but it seems impossible. Often when you look out, you can see for miles and miles over rolling hills and then onto the grassy covered or rocky mountainsides. Trees are nowhere near as prevalent here as they are in the east. I'm not sure if it is from logging, from the rocky terrain, from the pine beetle that was killing many of the evergreen trees or from a combination of all these. In places where you do see trees on the mountains, most seem to be evergreen trees.
As you look at this vastness, there are very often farms out there, or maybe I should refer to them as ranches. They are huge, covering many acres, if not several miles. Some of the ranches have crops and others seem to be raising beef cattle. Some also have sheep and almost everyone has at least one horse but more often, they have several. The other day we came across some of those horses at work as we had to come to a complete stop on the roadway to allow a huge herd of cattle pass by. They were being herded by a group of cowboys (I call them that because of the cowboy hats, chaps and long barn coats they were wearing) on horseback. The cows were all mooing in protest and it was quite a sight to see if you haven't seen it before.
Another thing they have here are water "ditches" that bring water from the large rivers to residents in the area. Near our cabin is one of those ditches and the landlord told us it is for the cabin as well as for two or three other neighbors. In a visit with one of those neighbors, he was trying to explain how that water works and the bottom line is that it is very complicated. There are water regulators who work for the town. As the water in the ditch gets lower, the person on the ditch who has had their rights the shortest time, gets cut off. The person with the oldest rights is the last to loose their water from the ditch. This water is often used for watering lawns or gardens, not for drinking.
I think I've mentioned speed limits before but I still find it different. The Interstate speed limit is 75mph in Montana. Then as you drive along, at the base of a long incline you may see a pull-off with a sign saying "attach chains here.". Then you continue up the mountain and as you start down the other side, there is another pull-off with a sign saying "remove chains here." This time of year the trucks seem to use this areas as rest areas. On the regular two lane state roads, the speed limit is 70mph during the day and 60mph at night for cars. Then it is 60mph during the day and 55mph at night for trucks. In between the speed limit signs you will often see signs reminding you to beware of wildlife on the roadway.
One similarity with northern NY in the time we have been here is the weather. The temperatures have been similar as well as the number of cloudy days. There is still plenty of snow in the mountains here and northern NY just got a couple feet of snow on the mountains there. All in all, it is an interesting place to visit.
We went over to Pine Creek trail. The sign at the start of the trail said it was one mile to the waterfall. That sounded like a good destination so we headed up (as in up hill)the trail. We were in a very wooded area and it was also a canyon type area with the high mountains on each side so there was no wind there. I'm not sure who measured the distance but it seemed like a long mile to me. We made it though and it was a pretty big waterfall. I posted pictures in the album on Shutterfly.
Despite my comments about the distance of the hike, it was nice to get out and get some exercise in such a pretty area. It was a fun day.
Yesterday's forecast was for cool weather (temps in the low to mid 50's) with a good chance of showers so we decided to head out to check some new territory. We headed north to Livingston, then west to Bozeman and drom there, we headed southwest towards Norris and Ennis, MT. In this area we got our first glimpse of the Madison River which, along with the Yellowstone River, are world renowned for their trout fishing. We stopped at some of the fishing access sites along the way to check out the water conditions. This time of year there is a lot of snow melt and run-off so the rivers are high and fishing isn't as good as it would be later on but there are always diehard fishermen out there no matter what the conditions and we saw a few of them. A couple were taking a boat out but most were fishing from shore. We had our lunch at one of the sites and after lunch, Jim decided to try a few casts. He actually hooked a nice trout on the first cast but unfortunately it managed to get off before he could get it in.
We continued on past Hegben Lake and saw the Hegben Dam. The Madison River runs into northern Hegben Lake and then out the southern end where the water flow is controlled by a dam. This helps regulate the water in the Madison which makes it a better fishing choice this time of year.
Next we came to the town of West Yellowstone. I'm not sure the population here but their main street is full of all sorts of shops and various places to eat. The town is right at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped there for a short time so Jim could check out Bud Lilly's Fly Shop and I wanted to check out The Eagle Store, which is a clothing and gift shop. I had contacted them last fall about purchasing my things and I wanted to stop in person to show them some items and see if they would like to order.
By this point, we had travelled over 120 miles. There is lots to see but nothing is close to anything else. As we left West Yellowstone, we entered Yellowstone National Park. The road traveled along the Madison River for several miles and that is where we encountered a herd of buffalo. The traffic came to a complete standstill in both directions as some buffalo stood on the road. It was like they couldn't decide which way they wanted to go so the cars were not able to move. Then two huge males started pushing at each other right in the center of the road. I thought sure they might have a big fight right there!! I have pictures posted on my Shutterfly page. We also saw some mountain goats back near Hegben Lake, and some elk and antelope in the park but I wasn't able to get pictures.
We continued on through the northwestern part of Yellowstone to the north entrance at Gardiner and then on north to our cabin. It was about 200 miles od riding but we got to see a whole new area we had not visited before so that was nice. The rain held off until we passed Gardiner so it didn't interfere with our day at all.
