MONTANA RECAP

FAIRY LAKE

I made it home safe late last night. The return flights to Orlando yesterday were long, uneventful and tiring for me. My time in Montana was absolutely a mind blower. The landscapes were spectacular with every turn.

GUS LEADING THE WAY AT FAIRY LAKE

While there I was able to check a few things off the Bucket List along the way. Our daily adventures were unbelievable.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS IN YELLOWSTONE NP - WYOMING

Only two pairs of shoes were taken and returned with me and I survived. The trip to Yellowstone National Park was beyond words and we barely scratched the surface of what there is to see there. The GoPro was only dropped out of the truck window once (while moving) and it survived!

STUMP NEAR MY SISTERS BARN IN MONTANA

Now it's time to turn it around. Unpack. Repack. Then in just a few short days . . . ROAD TRIP! Tim and I depart for an Epic Adventure in the Airstream to the Southwest!!!

 DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN, MONTANA

PALISADES FALLS

 

Today was my last full day here in Montana. We started off the day by going to the Cateye Cafe for a scrumptious breakfast. 

Then my sister took me on yet another amazing hike. This time we went to Palisades Falls in the Gallatin National Forest. The drive there was much longer than the half mile hike to get to the falls. The falls height is 80 feet and is at an elevation of 7,200 feet. Magnificent! The 11% grade paved trail there is fairly easy with a few switchbacks to the base of the falls. 

Once we wrapped up the hike we headed back into town to the Museum of the Rockies. There we explored an amazing living history farm with costumed interpreters that take you back to the 1890's. We also stopped by to say hello to BIG MIKE the Bronz T-Rex who greets you upon arrival. 

The last stop of our day was at Bridger Brewing for pizza and to sample their current taps. Yum!

I'm so sad ... Tomorrow I travel home. My last day here was amazing. My entire time here was one gorgeous adventure after another. The time has flown and I can't wait for my return to the beautiful landscape here.

FAIRY LAKE HIKE

First I will begin with saying 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to my fabulous sister JoAnn. Both she and her husband Spencer have been the perfect hosts making me feel right at home during my stay with them here in Montana. 

In celebration 'I' wanted to go hike the trail at Fairy Lake. We took the most experienced guide along for the the ride - GUS! Gus is the best he always stayed ahead on the trail to check things out for us. Then he would circle back to make sure we were all keeping pace. Gus is the best and I am working on teaching him the worst of habits while I am here so that his parents will want him to return to Florida with me. LOL Fairy Lake is one of the most spectacular areas here! Amazing!!!

As soon as we returned to Bozeman we went to the 'Garage' for a fabulous lunch. Gus came along as well and got a bite to eat too. 

 

It turned out to be another amazing day here. We made a few additional stops on the way home ... REI Store, Sportsman Warehouse and the 406 Brewing Co. Then off for a Mexican dinner celebration for my sister. Now who can complain about this day? Oh ... And I guess that I can scratch another one off the bucket list - Hiking in Monrana!

THANKS YOU GUYS!!!

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

WOW! Today I had two great tour guides. My sister and her husband, JoAnn and Spencer, drove me down into Wyoming to Yellowstone! And yes ... another item has been checked off my Bucket List. Super amazing, spectacular, jaw dropping ... what more can I say except that Yellowstone is a Natural Wonder. So I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves:

NICE DAY FOR A RIDE . . .

My sister, JoAnn, took me for an amazing ride on her horses today. I haven't rode a horse in a gazillion years and was excited to do so. First things first ... get on the horse. Well I was so embarrassed because she had to help me on. No really ... it's hard! The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was spectacular and I had a great time. So that's one more item that I can take off my Bucket List - Horseback Riding in Montana!

After we finished our ride we drove into Bozeman and polished off a pizza and a few brews. We were also able to get a little shopping done in the downtown area. 

Tomorrow we are headed south into Wyoming and should have a another great adventure ahead. 

 

TRAVEL DAY . . .

Today I traveled to Bozeman, Montana. But without the Airstream. My flights were all good. Long story short months ago I booked my flights with good departure times and one easy layover. United decided to cancel those flights and make up a flight plan for me with two layovers with one being a super long one. 

Oh well not much I could do about that. One thing I was able to do today during my travels was to mark an item off my Bucket List. I've always wanted to eat a hotdog in Chicago. During my short layover there I was able to make that happen . . . 'ALICE' style. Ketchup only! It was tasty. 

Once I landed in Denver I could tell that I was at a higher elevation. Since this was the LONG layover a few cold beers were in order. Finally I landed in Bozeman, Montana where my sister, JoAnn, picked me up from the airport. It's been a long day of traveling and the plan is to have a few amazing days here spending quality time with my sister and help celebrate her birthday. 

Are TEN too many?

Not Airstreams! Shoes that is! I've started thinking about what to take on our Southwest trip. I've been working on reducing the clutter and unnecessary weight inside the Airstream that has accumulated over the years. Beach gear, bathing suits and hot weather gack can be temporarily removed for this journey.

This then made me begin thinking about hiking and cold weather necessities to bring along. Maybe a space heater, gloves, scarves, heavy socks and an extra blanket or two. I've begun gathering the major stuff. Then I began to think about what shoes and how many to bring. With so many needed to bring I came up with the following list with reasons why to bring each pair.

1. Hikers - A must bring!
2. Tennis Shoes - For exercise & Hiker back-up.
3. Flip Flops - Can't leave home without them.
4. Water Shoes - You never know!
5. Cowboy Boots - Uh . . . duh . . . gotta!!! I'll be in the Cowboy Filming Capital of the world!
(But which pair of cowboy boots?)
6. LL Bean Rubber Boots - For those rainy, muddy days!
7. Flat Slip Ons - For relaxing shopping trips!
8. Timberland Rubber Slip Ons - For a quick get away on damp mornings!
9. Snow Boots - You never know?!
10. Heels - A girl needs these for a fun night out!

Uh ... maybe eleven! Do slippers count? I've been able to justify why I need to take each pair of shoes. Now to get Tim on the same page.

More questions I ask:

Will Tim allow me to take all of them?
Will I return from the trip with more or less pairs of shoes?
Where will all these shoes be stored over the course of our trip?

I purchased a few perfectly sized baskets for under the bench to store a few pairs.

I'll be flying out to Montana soon for a few days and will be blogging from there. Then Tim and I are Southwest bound! Stay tuned . . .

THE TRIP OF ALL TRIPS IS NEARING . . .

Twenty-four days and counting! The details of our Southwest trip are still being finalized and everything seems to be falling into place for our departure. Looks like we will be riding trains, hiking, panning for gold, exploring the Mighty Five, watching the mass ascension of hundreds of hot air balloons, searching for hidden treasure, exploring ancient ruins, and looking at the grandest of all canyons and much, much more! I've had to rearrange the sequence of a few stops due to weather and parks closing during the winter. WHAT? Yes, they do that out there.

Over the course of our Epic Adventure I will blog as often as time and internet access permit. There will be times that we will be completely off grid. We have prepared for these gaps as well as we can. Battery back-up packs, a generator and extra propane. For those that know us these are the moments we look forward to. Being off grid and disconnected is an amazing feeling. No crummy nightly repetitive news to interfere with our daily thoughts. I'm sure that you will all get tired of some of my wording in this blog during the course of the trip that will repeat: amazing, spectacular, tranquil, sprawling, charming, postcard perfect, grandest, jaw dropping, breath taking, unbelievable, 'my favorite' and I'm sure there will be a few more.

Last week we took a quick pre-shake down trip. After having the major work done on our tow vehicle and new tires, bearings and brakes on the Airstream . . . we knew we had to take a mini trip somewhere to make sure everything is in working order. The trip was quick and we had to return a day early for a job I received a call for. I always get the cruise ship jobs that DON'T leave the port. Uggghh!!! Overall the 'Mini Pre-Shake Down' trip was a huge success. Everything seems to be in good working order. The Airstream is Walburnized and all shinny. Major maintenance is done. So other than a few minor cleaning and small maintenance items that are still left on our lists AND the packing we are ahead of schedule and ready for departure.

I still have a little more research to do in a few of the regions we will be visiting on things like where to eat, what to see and things to do. Then before we leave I also still have my Montana Trip to take around the first week of September to visit my sister. I'll be flying out there and plan to blog and post pictures on that trip as well. We then plan on immediately departing on my return for the Epic Adventure around the second week of September. The excitement is building . . . so stay tuned!

SIXTY DAYS AND COUNTING . . .

Until Tim and I depart in September on our epic adventure. Back in February we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and have decided to wait to celebrate. Since we are still in the working crowd and taking the six month dream trip to Alaska in the Airstream is not in the stars we have chose 'Plan B' for our big celebration trip. This year we have begun changing our travel plans and carving our own road so this will be the most exciting outing for us yet.

Tim and I will be lacing up our hiking boots, grabbing all our gear and bracing ourselves for a six week expedition to the Southwest in the Airstream. I'm guessing we will be logging close to 6,000 miles round trip, exploring the unknown and discovering some of America's most amazing scenery. Our focus will be the Four Corners . . . Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. We may even throw in a treasure hunt along the way! I've included a few pictures in this blog post that will hopefully represent what lies ahead for us on this trip. The travels of our past have pretty much kept us in the eastern United States. So this trip is a major step out of the box. I have a t-shirt that says FORGET THE BOX ... JUST THINK OUTSIDE. One major stop along our journey will be the Albuquerque Balloon Fest. This balloon fest has over 600 balloons, is one of the largest hot air balloon events in the world and the most photographed event on earth.

This trip of ours to the Southwest has been a few years in the making and planning stages and we can't believe the time is nearing so quickly now. Our fingers are still crossed that we can pull this off. It seems every corner we turn something tries to corrupt our progress in making the trip happen. One thing that recently reared its hear is the EGR and oil cooler on Tim's F-350 diesel truck. This repair has been nagging at the back of Tim's head for years. It would have been so easy to just ignore what might happen and I think we were going to . . . until our last trip.

Right before we left for Cedar Key in May Tim had a computer flash update done on his truck and during our last outing with the Airstream this new update kept showing a wrench warning light only while we were towing. In order to keep the indicator from showing we could only tow at 55 mph. Good times on I-4! Anyway long story short we bit the bullet and had the repair done on the EGR & oil cooler that's not cheap or easy. It involved a full cab off on the truck to make the repair. All is well now and we will need to make a towing trip in the Airstream prior to the BIG EPIC ADVENTURE to give us the peace of mind prior to leaving for the Four Corners. Without this repair we could have blown the engine. I can just picture it happening on a 12% incline with no pullover heading to Durango. Now fingers crossed today for a delivery by Mr. UPS . . . so that this week Tim can replace all the brakes on the Airstream. Once this is done we can take off for a last minute mini trip to 'break' in the brakes and feel comfortable about towing with the new engine repair.

Just prior to our big trip in September I will be leaving Tim behind and flying out for a short trip to Montana. My sister, JoAnn, is turning ... uhhh ... will have a milestone birthday celebration this year. She moved out to Montana over three years ago and this will be my first trip to Montana & to visit her there. She does not live far from Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. I think she is going to take me there for her birthday! The remainder of this year has so much to look forward to and I can't wait!!!

So here is a request! Please let us know of any 'must go' places to visit, campgrounds, restaurants and things to look out for in the Southwest. I know many of you have made similar trips and know the roads and places to go. The travel plans and route will be a works in progress until we depart. There will be no reservations other than the Albuquerque Balloon Fest and a few days surrounding it. Since we don't know how long we may stay in once place it makes it hard to reserve anything. Any advise and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!