Four year ago Traci and I got married in Joseph, Oregon and later enjoyed a great time at the Oregon Coast for our honeymoon. The following two anniversaries were spent enjoying the Oregon Coast and last year we made the mad dash trek to Wallowa Lake.... which is in Oregon. Since we discovered that we were getting stuck in a rut in the great state of Oregon, we decided it was time to see new sites.
Recently Traci and I have been in the middle of getting into debt, (more on that later) so the financial situation greatly narrowed down our get-a-away options. Due to the fact that a full week in Milton-Freewater was no longer an option, we resorted to spending less money and visit Yellowstone National Park. Excited to begin our adventures, we wasted no time in leaving Walla Walla just as the sun rose behind the the Blue Mountains. We ended up adding another hour to our trip by heading east and catching Highway 95 at Lewiston towards Couer d'Alene. The trip to Montana is highly scenic with plenty to see along the way but with time it begins to get redundant, so it was nice to see new trees and passing lanes. Once we got to Bozeman, we ate at Johnny Carino's with Traci's parents and drove around for some tire kicking with a little bit of shopping after supper. We spent the first night in Bozeman and had a great time talking with the folks.
To kick off our our anniversary we enjoyed the most amazing cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Traci's Dad had recently hauled the Chevy to Bozeman, so we took the car out for a short drive to a local antique shop where a I bought a much needed pipe wrench. When we got back, we loaded up the the Yukon and prepared everything for our camping trip. Since this was our actual anniversary day, we wanted to do something special right at 4:00pm to celebrate; we couldn't figure out what to do but simply head straight to Grant's Village and enjoy ice cream. It turns out that we were right at Isa Lake on top of the continental divide when the clock striked 4:00pm. Isa Lake is believed to be the only lake that drains to the Pacific and Atlantic. Which is pretty cool if you ask me. So after taking a few pictures, we drove to Grant Village, stamped our National Park book and celebrated our 4 year anniversary by enjoying a huckleberry ice cream sandwich.
We froze the first night at the park. We thought we had enough blankets on top but I guess that wasn't the case, so around 6am we got in the car and headed towards the Tetons. Due to the fact that it's fire season, we weren't able to see much of the mountain peaks. Perhaps Yellowstone sits higher than the Tetons because we had clear sky's during our stay there. After having hotdogs for lunch at a park near Colter Bay Village we began our trip back to Yellowstone. Once we got back, we walked around West Thumb Geyser Basin, took pictures and pondered on the natural phenomenon of geysers. To end the day, Traci's parents met up with us and we took a walk along the lake.
Saturday was pretty much just a long drive back to Bozeman. Right after we had packed up our tent, we saw two male elk battling for mating rights just about 80 feet from our campsite. Unfortunately, the cold night practically drained what was left of my camera battery. Those bulls are huge. Their shoulders sat at about as tall as I am, so I definitely gave them all the space they wanted. We ended up seeing more wildlife as we headed north; we saw bison, pronghorn and a grizzly bear. One of the neatest things we did was driving on the old Yellowstone Trail out of Mammoth Hot Springs. This road has been closed in the past so it was exciting to have travel on the same road that Teddy Roosevelt once did.
Our final day was pretty much a long drive. I had been wanting to explore Homestake Pass since the railroad tracks have been decommission since the early 80's. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to explore the pass but I hear there is an old train tunnel. We drove through Anaconda where the houses are literally built a foot from each other. It began as mining town so it was simply a matter of building homes as fast as possible. Definitely, the highlight of the day for Traci was a candy store in Philipsburg, MT. This store is filled with candy, it's a dream come true for those with a sweet tooth. Finally, no trip to Montana would be complete without making a quick stop in Kellogg, Id. Dave Smith always has those rare cars that we only see on car brochures... plus, the car sales people never hassle you.
To be honest, I had second thoughts about whether this trip was going to be fun or simply try to survive fire season in Montana. The last night in Montana I was barely able to breathe, which was not much fun. Nevertheless, it was exciting to hear the coyotes and Elk all through the night when we would briefly wake up. I discover my favorite ice cream, Huckleberry ice cream sandwich, I got to see two bulls go at it. It truly was a fun trip and the best part was that Traci is still beside me after four years.
