Montana, Wyoming & Idaho
As I write today, we have driven over 11,000 miles, seen 12 National Parks several National Monuments, two dams, one waterfall, thousands of cattle, and many campgrounds and hotels.
The travel days are the most fun because the scenery is so spectacular. Often, we are the only car on some of these blue highways, since we've mostly stayed away from the big cities. The drive to Kalispell, Montana, is case in point. Hugh fir trees, mountains and rivers followed us at every turn.
Wide open expanses of fields and cattle ranches tell you you're in big sky country. We even saw some cowboys on horseback rounding up some cattle.
On the 24th, we visited Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road. While some places in the park are still closed, we were able to see Lake McDonald with its pristine water reflecting the glacier mountains above.
We even saw a black bear lumber across the road in front of us, though he was too quick for a photo.
After a quick overnight to Helena, we drove to Jackson Hole. As we got closer to town, the road narrowed and we found ourselves driving on hairpin turns with no guardrails in the middle of the Tetons. The mountains seemed to rise up and overtake us, but I could barely take my eyes off the road to look.
As you enter Jackson Hole there is an elk sanctuary off the highway, where over 11,000 of them migrate here for six months. We saw 500 or 600 of them out there. Jackson Hole is a fun and friendly town with a western themed environment, including numerous stuffed animal heads and statues of cowboys and horses.
It’s officially called Jackson (like our nephew) but it sits in a big valley or “hole” surrounded by mountains and ski slopes, hence the nickname.
We also visited the Wildlife Museum here, which has some great western art and even a few Andy Warhols and Pablo Picassos. The lobby is a work of art in itself.
The highlight of our stay was a visit to the Grand Tetons National Park. As we were driving to it, I glanced to my left and the mountains seemed to magically appear. I almost jumped out of my seat. They looked unreal like they were painted onto the sky.
We left Jackson Hole to return to Idaho before our trip to Yellowstone. Our first stop was Craters of the Moon National Monument, which became a Monument in the 1920's, and covers over 300,000 acres or more.
Craters was formed from a huge volcanic eruption over 2000 years ago that left lava flow to harden for miles around. Some of the flows pushed up enormous boulders and craggy ledges and caves, while other flows are striated or layered. Amazingly, a few hardy flowers grow on the lava beds. Its an eerie sight and does resemble what you might imagine the surface of the moon to look like.
April 30
Today, we visited the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho at Patti's insistence (ok, I wanted to go too). It's housed in Blackfoot's old railroad station and the train still runs right behind it.
We learned that Idaho's climate and volcanic ash soil is best suited for potato growth and that Thomas Jefferson introduced the french fry to America. (Of course, he did).
Idaho produces about 13 billion pounds of potatoes each year. But the best part of the museum is the cafe where you can order the best homemade french fries for $3.50. And there's a candy store across the street if you need a chocolate fix.
Vangoaside: This is a shout out to Stacy, our waitress in a cafe in Idaho called The Homestead Cafe and Cabins.
She regaled us with stories and even sang for us, while we ate juicy cheeseburgers and the best cherry pie Patti has ever tasted. Stacy was so excited about our trip and asked to be included in our blog- so here's to you, Stacy!