Distance today: 449 miles
I'm beginning to feel like a member of a touring rock band! I don't know what day it is half the time, what town we're staying in most of the time, or the name of the hotel we're in, on any given night!
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| No crowds or traffic here! |
Today was another day of incredible scenery. I've always had a soft spot for Montana. I like the "Big Sky" saying for this state & actually went through a town by that name today on the way to Yellowstone.
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| Big Sky Country! Note wild sage in pasture above. |
One good thing about riding a motorcycle long distances, especially on boring interstates, is that you have plenty of time to think. Today my thoughts ran the gambit of imaging what life would have been on horseback, winding my way over the hills & valleys, spending time alongside the pristine rivers, imagining what the Native peoples' lives were like before Lewis & Clark opened the floodgates for homesteaders to this country,
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| Gave thanks to the Great Mystery in this meadow. |
Sage grows wild almost everywhere so today I harvested a bit. Was out walking about in the countryside around Yellowstone, checking out the native fauna & saying my prayers. Hard to really concentrate about the content of my prayers as the mosquitoes were vicious! So was more brief & distracted than I wanted to be but know the Great Mystery will understand.
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| Can't get enough of the expansive sky here! |
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| Shot of the various flowers & sage growing in the meadows. |
I also am still in awe at the colors in the landscape, the rocks, the conifers & the sky. Just amazingly beautiful landscape!
We also had what I thought would be a fairly low mileage day. Today's motel was ONLY about 150 miles from our start point so I was really glad to have an easy day. However I didn't realize that the price of paying less for a room would be having to drive 2 hrs away to get to Yellowstone. So....we checked in early, dropped off the baggage in the motel room & off we went. Needless to say, we ended up racking up quite a few miles anyway! ARG!
So we get to Yellowstone, which cost me $25 to get in on my motorcycle, & the place is way too packed! There is a two lane road going in & out & there was so much traffic that we just were a solid line of vehicles coming in & leaving the grounds.
We went off on a side road hoping to find somewhere less crowded but ended up in a sea of humanity anyway. I took a couple shots of this really impressive waterway (see below). Then we tried to leave & crawled past about literally 100 people swimming upstream in this waterway I had taken the picture of. People were just everywhere! I'm not one for being around alot of people so ended up leaving after about 20 minutes. Just not worth it! I wonder when the best time is to visit this national treasure!? Tomorrow we are the area on the west side to get out via the east side of the park to continue our journey eastward. At least I got to see one elk female lounging next to a stream, away from the craziness, just watching the water flow by. What a disappointment!
Bison were also supposed to be at large & 'on the roadway' but they were no where to be seen. Come to think of it, despite road signs warning of cows, deer, elk, moose, bison & big horn sheep in this state, I've yet to see much presence of animals! How strange. Have only seen about 5 animals total!
Anyway, tomorrow we head ever eastward after driving a circular path inside Yellowstone. Maybe tomorrow will be more productive.
We are supposively 'on schedule' according to Rob's itinerary. I hate the idea of having to plan this trip based on a calendar, especially when we are both retired. But what can ya do? Next time.....
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