Monday, 14 September 2009
Here is yesterday's update. I wrote it ;last niht but couldn't u[pload it as I need to be outside to get WiFi here and it was raining. Now it's dry and I am sat gently swaying on a garden swing.
Road Trip Day 26
Another great night's sleep at Jacobson's Cottages meant I felt able to get up and on the road by 8:30. I needed to get going that early because I have been out of WiFi and Phone coverage for 4 days so had no hotel booked for tonight. I must say I did find that a little unsettling but it did have the positive effect of giving me the freedom to go as far as I felt able.
Passing Helena
The minimum distance I wanted to get was Helena about 140 miles away, but as I made it there before noon I figured I'd keep on going. I did stop for coffee, lunch and WiFi though all of which I was able to get at Safeway. Everything I want from a store and a little bit more.
Kicking Butte
Another 70 miles further and I was in Butte, another potential stop. Again, I'd made good time so carried on through, but not before popping into Radio Shack to see if there was anything I could do about my lousy phone. Well it turns out that AT&T aren't in Montana, or Wyoming. It also appears that the pre-pay package I have is the lowest possible priority on the network so not only do I get poor coverage, I also come bottom of the heap when it comes to connection.
So, if anyone has been trying to call me since I was in Seattle, that's why I haven't answered. Sorry.
Gaining a Day
So, still without a confirmed bed for the night I charged on into deepest, southest, eastest Montana and arrived in West Yellowstone which is (and you may have guessed this already) just west of Yellowstone National Park.
My minimal, Internetless research into lodging around Yellowstone lead me to believe this was a small, quiet town with a few cute hotels. It's actually a big tourist dormitory town full of hotels, motels, restaurants and souvenir shops. It is also full of people. In fact it is FULL. No Vacancy signs light the roadsides a gentle red tone.
I tried 6 hotels before I resigned myself to driving 8 miles out of town on the off-chance of a room. I would have rung to book it but, well, see above.
Anyway, I was just on the way out of town when I saw a Vacancy sign which was not preceded by a red neon "NO". I asked in the office and hey bingo I got a room. It's a cheap one too, about half the price of the rest. It's also about half the quality, but it's clean, warm, has WiFi if you sit in the garden (or in my car in the car park near the motor-home in which both the router and motel owner live) and is close to Yellowstone.
And lastly, I do promise to stop banging on about driving and hotels, but a final point before I get to the pictures is to say that by driving twice as far as usual I have gained a day for later in my trip. Now, the fun stuff...
What I Saw on the Way Here
Montana continued to deliver the customary dose of beautiful scenery. I make sure to see as much as I can and am determined not to become desensitised to the rolling hills, jagged mountains and vast plains I am blessed to be seeing.
One roadside piece of Americana was this display to mark the edge of Native American Blackfoot country. I was actually leaving it at the time, but turned back to snap these two impressive horsemen.
I was not far from West Yellowstone when I passed through the Madison River Canyon which was subject to a fascinating, but devastating event in the 1950's. An earthquake hit one night and caused a section of mountainside to slip down into the canyon, instantly damming the river. By the following morning a new lake was forming and a nearby campsite had been submerged and lives lost.
50 years later and the scene is still slightly disturbing, with long dead trees poking dismally from the lake.
Bug Slay
On a lighter note, The Beast has been responsible for hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny little deaths today. It would appear that Montana has a lot of bugs. I encountered a few swarms at the lakes in Glacier, but they live by the highways too. A couple of times I thought it had started raining but it was just the simultaneous passing of dozens of insects. I even found about 9 tenths of a dragonfly on the front bumper. I'm sorry.
Tomorrow is Another Park
Right then, I best go to bed. I have Yellowstone to do tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Stats - Day Fifty-Two
Distance travelled - 416 miles ( personal best) - East Glacier, MT to West Yellowstone, MT
State count - 20 + DC + B.C.
Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18
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