Day 27 – Anaconda to Livingston MT
Our drive was wholly uneventful except for a recycling stop that made us go through a tunnel that was just barely big enough for the rig. I might have held my breath.
After Bozeman, we drove by the Montana Grizzly Encounter. The billboards made it look kinda cool, but the exterior of the place itself looked like a tourist trap.
We spent some of the evening “on the town” in Livingston. We started at The Fainting Goat because we have a bar we like in Denver with the same name. The regulars found that cute. The Denver one is a dive, but this place has “some of the best food in town,” according to our new friend, D. He and I share a fondness for documentaries, so we traded favorites. I’m now to watch Jinx, The Endurance, and Maidentrip.
We hit a couple more bars. I had a mule made with Huckleberry Vodka. Yum! We also did some fun window shopping. The town has a bunch of art galleries.
from The Fainting Goat
Day 28 – Yellowstone north
Despite it being a weekend and the dreary day (and all the weathers: sun, wind, rain, hail, and even snow) our north loop of Yellowstone was quite enjoyable.
He just lets us drive on it sometimes.
were the size of my fist
Day 29 – Montana Grizzly Encounter and Bozeman
We looked up the Montana Grizzly Encounter and found stellar reviews, so we decided to give it a shot. We are both very glad we did. It’s superb! Hunter is a fabulous host and educator. The rest of the staff is also sweet as can be; they were quick to respond to a medical emergency from one of the guests. They have a Wishlist (and the place could use some bikini top shade panels in the guest area), so if you are feeling generous, consider a donation to this fine program or make a purchase from their gift shop.
After our time with the bears, and since we were halfway to Bozeman, we drove over there. We found a local chicken place for a late lunch, and then went to an RV show. It was running for 10-ish days. We saw some new-to-us rigs and learned a bunch of stuff. We are not exactly in the market, but we aren’t not in the market, either. Six years is the sweet spot and we are at a little over 3. The sales guy is fantabulous and is looking for stuff for us despite our home state and our “not exactly in the market” stance.
And then the heavens parted and the angels sang from on high and there was a feeling of joy all around the Earth. He found us the fanciest bar we’ve ever been to.
The Devil’s Toboggan is swank-eeee!!! wow! The drinks and the staff are 10 out of 5 stars. Their photographer was even there shooting drinks for their marketing.
After a couple of fancy cocktails for me and some deviled eggs for him–a buffalo bleu version and a chicken and waffles version–we ran a couple of errands and headed back. We spent a little time sitting outside. We watched the birds play near the campground’s apple trees, watched dogs go for their walkies, and even “chatted” with one of the chickens who wandered up. She did not want to be petted, however.
We rounded out the night with the weirdest hail storm we’ve ever experienced. There were some heavy pieces, but they were one every few seconds. We even heard other campers exclaiming, “what?!??!”
Then, we got the light hail pattern we’re used to, and then we got rain. You know, typical mountain weather. Except we weren’t in any mountains, really.
(Apologies for the photo vomit of fuzzy grizzlies!!! Just kidding. I’m not apologizing for cuteness!)
and a total ham for the camera.
Boog from Open Season.
Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it.
VOGUE!
with a ribbon of fat on it
top left: chicken and waffles
bottom right: buffalo bleu
