May 9-16, 2021

The Tetons were going to be a tough act to follow. We both have a deep and abiding love of jagged, snowcapped peaks. I did not recall any such mountains during my one visit to Yellowstone a lifetime ago. Instead, my memories from that ancient trip consist of: 1. Old Faithful 2. Upper and Lower falls on the Yellowstone. 3. Masses of people stopped along the road gawking at bison, deer, squirrels…and at one point…me peeing when I pulled over and immediately 29 cars stopped to see why we had stopped. 

This time around, in spite of snow, wind, cold temps,  and more snow – we were kind of blown away. Instead of seeing Old Faithful, we met Nadia, a super friendly local who tipped us off to the imminent eruption of Beehive geyser (amazing) and shortly after Grand geyser (it was grand!) Because of the aforementioned snow, wind, cold temps and more snow, we didn’t do any biking in the park. Our one attempt to do a long bike ride near the town of West Yellowstone got cut short by – you guessed it – a snowstorm. We gave in and enjoyed hiking and just playing tourist. While the early season did limit some of what we could see and do, it was a treat seeing the park without the summer crowds…and it was pretty amazing.

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As always, after Yellowstone our plans were kind of vague. We did find a lovely place to camp just south of the park. A beautiful ridgeline called out to be hiked, but was closed for another week to protect bears, cubs and mountain lions. Fine! We did take a nice hike around the lake and plot our next moves.

Highlights included a beautiful bike ride to a reservoir in the mountains south of Bozeman. We had planned to camp in this area, but once again were disappointed to learn that it too was still closed for the winter.

Later that day we spent a wonderful evening in Bozeman with friends Julie and Peter and their three young ‘uns. Julie was a nursing school classmate of Aarons at NAU. It was a real treat getting to see them both again, and their amazing house right downtown Bozeman.

After Bozeman, we continued our gradual journey west. Along the way, we stopped at another watercraft checkpoint. Only five western states are free of Quagga and Zebra mussels and these folks are serious about doing everything they can to keep them out. One of the ladies at the checkpoint suggested an alternate route for us. Turned out to be an excellent suggestion. We had a late breakfast on the shores of an alpine lake that just happened to be home to several families of bald eagles.

The next day we took a long bike road through and around the Sapphire mountains near Philipsburg. For those of you looking for a little get away…you might want to check out “The Ranch at Rock Creek.” For a mere $3,000-$4,000 per night, you can get an “authentic” cowboy (or cowgirl) experience at this posh resort. During our bike ride we stopped to refill our water bottles at the resort and immediately felt right at home (ha).

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After another night out, we eventually arrived at the home of friends George and Joan on Flathead Lake. They graciously opened their home to us and filled our time there with sparkling conversation, good wine and excellent food. We also enjoyed some long overdue warm weather. Perfect for sitting on the dock looking over the lake, taking the boats out, and just relaxing.

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All too soon, it was time to hit the road. Monday morning we packed up and headed west again. For those keeping track – it is now two weeks to take-off. Daily highs in Prudhoe are still in the 20’s. Ten days out the forecast is for highs in the 30s. Thursday (May 20) is decision day. That’s the day we have to ship our food resupply box to Coldfoot Camp. We’ll let you know what happens in our next installment. Until then…Seize the Carp!