The Big Sky is quite a beautiful place! It was very evident even before stepping foot onto land at Bozeman. We ate lunch at The Garage which is a pretty tasty little joint with a nice atmosphere. Immediately after we blasted off South to Big Sky by route of Hwy 191 which twists and turns with the Gallatin River. The water looked too rough for my likin, but many paddlers were enjoying the haymakers. I, Toby, personally ended the night by eating 2 lbs. of pasta and a 1/2 lb. of breadsticks in a little establishment known as The Quarry.
The following morning we started up the old pony (Jami's Car) and took off south on Hwy 287 with Yellowstone on our minds. Katie and I entered through the West Yellowstone entrance of the Park on Tuesday June 30 after staying the night at Rainbow Point campground on Hebgen Lake. We spent the entire day checking out as many fumaroles, mudpots, pools, geysers and other geothermal features as possible. I think I can speak for both Katie and myself in saying that Yellowstone is a very interesting and wild place with much to see. We learned quickly that one day would not be enough, but we were fortunate to experience what 2 awestruck travelers from Arkansas could with the time constraints. Taking the route out of the North Entrance through Mammoth Hot Springs was equally as breathtaking as the rest of the park. Katie and I spent Wednesday evening with Chuck and Jami chillin down at Last Chance Gulch for the Alive at Five weekly community gathering in downtown Helena. It was a blast!
We all fired up whatever cylinders we had remaining the morning of Thursday July 3rd and worked our way slowly toward Glacier National Park. It was quite a treat being able to visit two of the most beautiful wild places on any continent within such a short trip. On our way we stopped at the Exxon in Choteau and I overheard a local man say, " I'm going to get drunk today, tonight and tomorrow." Wow! I found it funny, but at the same time I felt like it was no laughing matter. Before even entering the St. Mary access of East Glacier is was very apparent that this was quite a bit different than Yellowstone, but equally awesome! We arrived at the Rising Sun campground, quickly set up camp and headed south for dinner at Serrano's at East Glacier. During this relatively short trip I accidentally reformated my memory card on my digital camera and possibly erased all Yellowstone pictures. I now know that I made up for it by taking over 500 pictures of Glacier! Day two at Glacier was spent winding through the park via the Going-to-the-Sun route with Polebridge as our destination. We arrived in Polebridge and were surprised with a 4th of July parade, elk burgers, and good off-the-grid times. Chuck, Matt (Chuck's neighbor) and I spent Saturday July 5th hiking up to Gunsight Lake and Gunsight Pass. It was an amazing hike that we all were very appreciative of. Chuck and I tried to make it to Gunsight Pass at the Continental Divide, but turned back because of snow fields and bad trail conditions. However, we did chill a couple of "Very Sneakys" in the alpine snow and tipped both off to the view. The twenty or so mile round trip was a surreal experience where I personally felt like I was somewhat "On top of the World." Words don't do justice to the beauty of so many of the natural areas that can be found throughout the world.
If you're ever near Babb, definetely check out Two Sisters Cafe for some good grub and friendly feel. Our trip up the park to Many Glacier was a huge highlight with the sighting of a grizzly mom and two cubs. The Glacier expierience was mindblowing!
Katie and I ended our whirlwind of a trip enjoying some of the joys of the town such as hiking Mt. Helena, eating at Benny's Bistro and the Pita Pit, chowing on some homemade elk chili at Chuck and Jami's swaaaaweeet little pad and wishing we could stay longer. Thanks for everything!
This is Katie, just wanted to say that we are super grateful to Chuck and Jami for being so welcoming and helping us have such an amazing trip. Definitely the main highlights for me were seeing the grizzly mom and her two cubs at Glacier and all the beautiful turquoise pools at Yellowstone. After being out west and seeing all these amazing sights, I'm inspired again to get out and enjoy the Ozarks as soon as we get home!
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