Stalagmites, Stalagtites and One Cool Cavern

Wednesday 9/14/11

Cool morning and out of propane.  Fortunately there was propane right there at our campground.  Spent the morning in a Bozeman café having coffee, breakfast and catching up on inserting pictures into the blog.  Still haven’t figured it out totally.  Probably doing it the wrong way, the long way.  Maybe better for you all- less pictures.  And our photography doesn’t do justice to the sights we see.

Another beautiful day driving along the Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers.  Just southwest of Three Forks, Montana we went to the Lewis & Clark Caverns.  Tom Williams and Bert Pannell first peered into the caverns on a winter day in 1892. They’d been hunting and saw what looked like a column of smoke rising from a hillside. They labored up the mountain to investigate and learned that it wasn’t smoke at all: It was steam, the steady exhalation of living, breathing caves. The warm air was pushed from the mountain’s lungs only to become ice in the cold air, transformed into crystals so tiny they floated skyward and evaporated in the sun.

We hiked up a winding path for about ¾ mi. past rock formations filled with fossils and saw an actual sea shell dating back 300 millions years.   At the small 3 ft. high mouth of the cave the State Park Ranger gave us some history and information then led us through an hour and a half tour pointing out the many unique formations, calling them by cute names.  There were about 600 steps winding around narrow pathways through the dark cavern, bumping our heads. By the time we got to the bottom we had dropped 500 ft.  I must say the next morning I could feel it in my thighs.  I should do that more often! 

Check out how small the opening is!!

We arrived at Diane and Bruce Seiler’s outside of Helena  about 6:30 PM.  Wow, what a spectacular property.  About a mile or so up a dirt road, their beautiful house sits on top of a mountain overlooking Helena in one direction and the Continental Divide on the other.  Diane and I knew each other from our former design days (way back when we first started working- Deborah Meyer Assoc.) and of course her house is just perfectly gorgeous.  So Jeff and I will have a few nights in luxury!  What a fun night catching up over a great dinner.  Lots of remembrances and laughs and even figured out that we have some acquaintances we never knew about.  So much fun.  Bruce too lived near us in Philly, a former Secret Service agent, is a renowned gunsmith and former national long rifle champion.  He’s also is an antique car/truck restorer and dealer, manufactures new weaponry and has new 4,000+ sq. foot workshop that most guys would die to have.

Bruce is also on the campaign committee for the prominent, conservative Republican candidate for 2012 Montana Governorship, who Jeff met at his lovely home.  http://www.neil2012.com/

There are beautiful pelts hanging around their house, including a 600 lb. elk in their stairwell which both Bruce and Diane took down.  Diane said she would never do that again.  But you can do that kind of thing out in the wild hills of Montana.

Boy did we sleep well in our beautiful guest suite, with a brass bed and western antiques.     

Big Old Buffalo

Monday 9/12/11

32 Degrees!!!! The temperature sure drops at night.  But in the morning we turn our heat on and in no time we are toasty warm looking out the window seeing people cooking breakfast around a campfire with gloves and hats on.  No thank you. Did I mention that when we check into campsites they go through a big speal about Bears.  I guess they are around.  Another reason I’m not keen on tents.

Paint Pot Springs

We must apologize for not answering emails.  Out here in the boonies we don’t get reception.  And during the day where we might be able to get reception in certain areas we are too busy checking out God’s Wonders.  So be patient.

Okay... Our day took us to The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  The Upper and Lower Falls.  Wow. Spectacular.  We did some hikes around the canyon.  By the way-  I'm still trying to figure out our new camera and how it works so hopefully pictures "might" get better.  Check out the pictures of the fat little marmot.  Also saw a few deer, which are no big deal to us, since we lived on the edge of Valley Forge Park which was inundated with them. 

Grand Canyon Upper Falls

Yellowstone lower grand canyon falls

Mr. Marmot

Our highlight was while at sunset, sitting up on a ridge in our camp chairs, enjoying popcorn and overlooking 3 rivers, the Madison, the Gallaton, the Jefferson and they come together, a great big old Buffalo came out of nowhere.  

Sitting up high on a cliff

Fisherman could care less about the Buffalo

In the evening we went to the amphitheater about the 1959 Yellowstone 7.5 earthquake.  28 people killed.  It was a fasinating presentation with slides and done as a ranger's wife telling the story as she experienced it some 50 yrs ago. 

Grizzles, Markets, and Brews

Tuesday 9/13/11

Sadly we left Yellowstone.  Much more still to see but we must move on.  Leaving the park on the west entrance we came by Grizzly and Wolf  Discovery Center.  Facinating info.  Now you can ask us the difference between a Grizzly and a Black Bear.  Great displays, videos, and the best was the real live bears, wolves and coyotes.  I could have snuck a picture of the bears or wolves in this blog and said we met them on a hike but I'll be honest and tell you they were taken at this center.  Don't miss it if you are ever in West Yellowstone. 

The drive to Bozeman, Montana was so beautiful.  The road just weaved along the Gallatin River and in through canyons.  Must be great fishing as we saw lots of fishers in waders.  In Bozeman, it happened to be Tues. Farmer's Market Day from 5-8 PM.  What a great market.  Bigger than we expected.  And on Saturdays there is an even bigger one.  Local Produce, Music, lots of food, jewelry, crafts, rock climbing.  Why cook when there is all this wonderful local food!  People were there with their dogs, kids played on the swing sets and Jeff talked to a local fellow while I went back through all the the stalls and of course had some sweets.  Next stop was at The Montana Ale Works (great bldg.) for a local brew where we met an interesting couple who live in Bozeman and love it.

Another busy and fun day.

By The Light of The Silvery Moon

Sunday 9/11/11

We entered Yellowstone through the South Gate.  Jeff being a senior now has the wonderful advantage of free entrance into the parks and campsites for ten dollars. If it’s not free it’s half price.  Not bad hanging around with an old man!  Already saved us over $75.00.

1^st stop- Lewis Falls.  Tetons still in view. Next stop was Kepler Cascades.  There was a great overview deck over a deep gorge with waterfalls.  Hard to look over the edge.  What will I do when I get to the glass walk over the Grand Canyon?  After a nice lunch in a quiet wooded picnic area, our next stop was none other than Old Faithful with only 10 minutes to showtime.  Amazing how many people view this every 92 minutes all day, every day from May thru Oct, every year.  We enjoyed a 2.5 mi. trek around the loop to view all the other geysers, each with their own name.  Morning Glory Geyser was definitely the most colorful.  Happen to be making a documentary film about the creation of the earth, which Jeff found interesting, since reminding him of his video production company.  On the way back Beehive Geyser gave us a spectacular performance along with a rainbow.  We both thought that geyser was better than Old Faithful.  By the way- we have been blessed with gorgeous weather again.  Sunny, warm, not hot, and a wonderful soft breeze.

When here you just have to see the Old Faithful Lodge.  What a structure. Note in the picture the flags at half mast for 9-11 ten year remembrance.  This Inn is an attraction in itself.  If your not camping, that’s the place to stay.  Actually we’re very content in our little camper.  We have had people come up to us and admire our truck and camper.  Who would have thought!

The day goes by so fast when there is so much to see.  At about 4:30 PM we arrived at  Madison to settle in for the night.  Or so we thought.  We pulled into Madison Campsite and no sites at the camp!!!  Where to go-three other campsites closed down for the winter.  Again, can’t imagine what it must be like in the summer. Actually we could “boondock” but it’s not allowed in Yellowstone Park.  I must have been convincing, because they did find us a campsite.  Schew!!! I put a beef and elk stew together while Jeff talked to the guy next to us with a 40 ft rig and 4 slideouts.   That’s not exactly camping.  He and his wife work at the camp in the summer and they get a free site off season.  Maybe that’s what Jeff and I could do!!??  At 8PM, in the outside amphitheater, was an interesting talk, with a huge screen slide show all about amphibians and reptiles in Yellowstone. Only one venomous snake in Yellowstone.  The rattlesnake.  Glad were in a camper and not a tent to find a snake cuddled in our sleeping bag.  

Around 9 PM we walked home By the Light of the Silvery Moon



Saturday 9/10/11

Colter Bay is another beautiful lake in The Tetons.  There are paths around the lake and canoes and kyaks  available.  The view of the Tetons across the lake was so beautiful.  God is awesome. What spectacular creation.  Colter Bay is a great recreation area and campsite.  The central area had a nice shop and market. They had a laudramat so we threw our clothes in and just a few hundred yards away was the lake where we relaxed while our laundry spun.  Pretty easy!

Colter Bay and Teton Mountains

Raven on Colter BAY

The campsites were clean and the layout was pretty private, each site with it’s own picnic table and fire ring. The RV next to us was the same make and almost the same model.  So Jeff had a chat with the owner from Arizona.  We grilled steaks on the fire and watched an incredible full moon rise between the tall pine trees. Then walked around  checking out all the RVs and tents.  What a variety.  

A relaxing day!

The Perfect Day

Friday 9/0911

Grand Tetons

Hike to Fall

Jenny Lake is a beautiful spot just outside of Jackson Hole in the Teton National Park.  We took a boat across the lake and then hiked up to Hidden Falls where the cold mountain water cascaded down the mountain, over rocks and cliffs and through the woods. The weather was perfect and the smell of pine trees made you lift your nose into the air.  We kept peeling off layers of clothes and by the time we got to Inspiration Point, 7200 ft. I had zipped off the bottoms of my pants and was in a tank top. Can’t imagine doing this in the summer with the heat and crowds of people and kids.  We stopped for lunch and looked down over the lake and valley.  What a way to have lunch- Pretty spectacular with The Grand Teton Peaks behind us and still some snow on them. 

 Back in Jackson Hole we enjoyed a Gallery Stroll.  The town has about 50 art galleries and most of them had something going on. Some of our favorite goodies included BBQ Buffalo sliders, sugared Elk bacon strips and venison carpacio.  After seeing some wonderful art, most of which would never go into a beach house, we went to the Silver Dollar Saloon, recommended by cousin Jimmy “Sea”.  We had the most awesome pheasant soup, met some interesting locals and danced to a great band.  What a great day!