If you’re like I was, completely ignorant of what’s special about Yellowstone, I’ll give you a layman’s quickie description. Long ago, a giant volcano left still-hot magma under the surface here. Pockets of heated gases and brine have formed right under the top layer of earth due to <insert geological stuff I don’t understand, plus […]
Geysers, Fumeroles, Mudpots, Oh My
Once again, the act of taking in all I can of Yellowstone in a day has left me slack-jawed and stupid. I started at 6:30 am when I walked Banjo, and then we hit the road at 7:30 to get to Old Faithful before the lunch crowds. It’s 4:00 pm now, and I don’t know […]
Yellowstone Firsts
I lived in the Northwest for three years, driving across the country back to the east coast for holidays the whole time, and somehow I’d never been to Yellowstone. So here we are! Tracy’s been a bazillion times when he lived in Bozeman, so he’s showing me around. Mammoth Terraces These chalky terraces are created […]
Sheltered and Satisfied
We leave today after a week here on the Missouri River in Montana, and it’s been peaceful, all in all. Exception: the constant insects—ants in the sand, covering your feet the minute you stand still, crawling on Banjo as she eats them one by one. Long-winged flying things (ants?) all in the tent and in […]
Along Canyon Ferry Lake
Just a quick note to let you know where we are; nothing much has been going on to tell you about (which can be a good thing). We’re back near Townsend, Montana, to visit again with my old friend Tom, who has very generously accepted a load of packages delivered for us. A few other […]
One Night in Butte Is Enough
Tracy wanted to see the famous Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana (he’d seen it years ago and was impressed), so we parked at an odd little boondocking spot off the interstate, tucked Banjo inside the trailer, and went exploring. Butte seems to be like Helena (but smaller): a shrinking, strange little town. It used to […]
Stand in the Place Where You Are
Your feet are going to be on the ground. Your head is there to move you around, so stand. REM Missoula Then and Now To me, this town is filled with ghosts: unpublished writers, slacker pool players, crystal jewelry purveyors, and long-dead mining engineers. People I knew 30 years ago. I keep seeing them in crowds. […]
Perpetual Stranger in a Strange Land
I’ve a friend who lives in her Airstream but travels less than we do; she and her husband own a parking pad in a little Airstream community that they use as a home base. So we share quite a bit in terms of lifestyle, but we also live very differently within that lifestyle. What’s funny is […]
Missoula Shows Its Quality
Two quick pieces of background before I get to the point of this post. Towns Change; We Change You know that I lived in Missoula, Montana for grad school and loved it, but, when we visited a few weeks ago, I found it crowded, with terrible traffic. So we spent most of our time at […]
Most Excellent Free Campground
(Marred by Racists Hate-mongers) After we left Lake Koocanusa, we drove down that lovely, long, valley lake, past Libby Dam, and into a Corps of Engineers campground right on the Kootenay River near the town of Libby, Montana. It’s a practically perfect campground. It’s one paved oval road, with level pull-through spots right on the […]
