Flathead Lake

Driving down the east side of the lake, headed for Hamilton.

Location : Address not available

Tenth Day - Only Post

Mileage Today: 317
Total Mileage: 3164

Today, we drove the long way to Kalispell from Livingston. We went over to Three forks on the freeway, through Townsend and Helena on Hwy 287, Hwy 12 to Avon, Hwy 141 to Hwy 200 to Hwy 83. We especially enjoyed the drive north on Hwy 83 through Seeley Lake, Swan Lake and up to Kalispell.

View from MACDONALD Summit west of Helena on Hwy 12

Things didn't look too good when we got up this morning. After nine straight days of clear, blue skies with temperatures in the 80s, we were shocked to walk outside in spitting rain, 40 degree temperatures and gray, overcast skies. We felt much better after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs prepared just like Linda would have done it herself. By the time we finished eating, threats of rain had disappeared.

Salmon Lake on Hwy 83

A view of Swan Peak from Hwy 83

Skies stayed overcast much of the day with the sun finally peeking through as we drove north on Hwy 83.

Tomorrow we'll arrive in Hamilton. We'll spend the next four days between Hamilton and Missoula visiting with Dad, Paul, Jay & Janie, Sandi & Pete, Ken & Sharon. And of course, the woman and man of the hour, the bride and groom, Mehgan and Brandon.

Ninth Day - Final Post

Mileage Today: 247
Total Mileage: 2847

We passed through Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park today. We saw lots of scenery and took many photographs.

It was another perfect day weatherwise. It was much cooler than we're used to, however. We saw some frost on the sidewalks as we walked to breakfast - the bank said it was 40. About the highest temperature we saw was 75.

We were lucky to get a parking place near "Old Faithful" and after about a 30 minute wait, she blew as advertised - about 5 minutes late. There were many, many, people and none of them was disappointed.

We then drove along the north shore of Yellowstone Lake, headed for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Unfortunately, when we got to the turnoff, we found the road was closed due to a fire. That left us only a drive to Mammoth Hot Springs on our way out through the north entrance.

Along the way we saw some deer, some elk, and a whole lot of buffalo. All in all, a very pleasant day.

We stopped in Livingston for the night and our room at the local Super 8 is just like the reviewers said it would be - nothing fancy, but it has all the amenities one needs. It's certainly up to our standards - our First Lady, Michele, however, would probably feel a little disappointed.

Tomorrow, we're planning to drive up through Helena, Ovando, and Seeley Lake on our way to Kalispell. On Thursday, we'll drift on down to Hamilton.

Grand Tetons

More great scenery.

Location : Address not available

Grand Tetons

 

It's a very scenic drive from Jackson to Yellowstone Park.

Location : Address not available

Eighth Day - Only Post

Mileage Today: 343
Total Mileage: 2600

The view north out of Rawlins is more high plains and continues to be wide open, lightly populated and windy. There are lots of nice, little towns - but what happens around here in the winter time at 7,000+ feet? We see lots of snow fences all around and it's hard to imagine what it must be like with low temperatures, snow, and this wind.

As we started to get nearer Jackson, WY the mountains started appearing and soon we were looking at the Grand Tetons themselves. It was late in the afternoon and the sun prevented us from getting any good photos. This one was shot from inside Cunningham Cabin north of Jackson.

We're staying in Jackson, WY tonight. This place is wall to wall people - every parking place has a car in it and the sidewalks are full of people walking to and fro. Linda and I walked to a hamburger place for dinner and it was hard to move around without bumping into someone.

For a GREAT burger, try "Billy's Burgers" in Jackson.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the entire day in Yellowstone Park - after looking around here for a little bit.

After a less than stellar motel last night, we decided to use our 'Droids to read the reviews - I don't know why that didn't occur to us before. Tonight's motel is living up to its review and we have high hopes for the room we've reserved in Livingston, MT for tomorrow night.

Seventh Day - Only Post

Mileage Today: 361
Total Mileage: 2257

Not much to report today. We slept in, ate a leisurely breakfast and finally hit the road about 11:30 AM local time.

Traffic from Colorado Springs, around the west side of Denver and all the way until we took Hwy 40 north, was very heavy - way too many cars for this California boy.

We bagged another 10,000+ foot pass today - Berthoud at 11,307 feet.

The fall colors continued to add their glory to the views.

Once north of Berthoud pass, traffic thinned out nicely and driving was much more pleasant. We attempted to take Hwy 125 north, but the road was closed due to a fire. The flagman told us we could proceed to Rabbit Ears, then take Hwy 14 north. We followed his directions and everything worked out perfectly.

The high plains country of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming has its own special charm. Very few people, wide open spaces, lots of antelope ----- lots of dirt roads. It looks like a place I'd like to bring my BMW and do some exploring.

Tonight we're staying in Rawlins, WY in an entirely unremarkable Days Inn.