A little variation to the plan today…
We usually plan our holidays down to ( almost) the finest detail, however we do try to allow for a bit of flexibility. Our main aim over the next couple of days was to try to drive the beartooth Highway into ( or out of!) Yellowstone National Park. Weather stoppe dus in 2009 and we’re determined to do it this time. We’ve been watching the weather a little anxiously and decided that we really needed to postpone the drive by one day.
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| Costco shopping haul |
Neil’s route planning had allowed for it and so instead of two middling driving days, we had one short driving day today and a longer one tomorrow. The hotel room last night was very comfortable and spacious after our tiny room in Glacier National park, it was astudio suite with a small kitchen and a sitting area and we really luxuraited in the extra space. However during the evening we realised we had a proble with the big fridge – it must have been the noisiest fridge in existence! I managed to get to sleep but during the night, Neil got up and wrestled it out from the wall to try to reach the plug. Well, he did the trick – it turned off but somehow he seemed to disable it well and truly!
After a disturbed night it was nice to sleep in and have a very lazy morning. We didn’t check out til nearly 11 am which is almost unheard of for us! We only had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us so “we” decided that a little shopping would be a good way to fill in the time til we left Bozeman. We found the local mall which didn’t seem to be doing much trade on the Labor Day Holiday weekend and then we visited the local Costco.
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| Doggie Rest Area |
This is the second time we’ve been to a American Costco and they really do dwarf the ones in Australia. We stocked up on some great bargains in clothes but resisted the temptation to buy a car! ( or some toilet rolls…)
The drive to Red Lodge was mainly along the interstate and we stopped briefly at one of the impressive Montana State Highway rest Areas. These places a beautifully maintained and heated for people but I was really aken with the care they take of the four legged people that travel the interstate. There was a fenced run for them to stretch their legs and a conveniently placed fire hydrant to encourage them to let it all out!
then down a quieter country road. This is prime farming country scattered with many pretty red barns. The mountains grew tall as we approached and the clouds, hopefully, look like they’re lifting so with luck our second attempt to drive the Beartooth Highway will work out ok!
