Posts from the “friends” Category

Thermopolis & Dubois

Posted on September 7, 2024

We left the wilderness and headed to the lovely small town of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Thermopolis is known for the thermal spring that the town has set up to fill several soaking pools for anyone who wants to indulge. The temperature is 104 degrees F., and is fantastic. Following this we headed to Dubois, Wyoming where we stopped for a visit in the National Museum of Military Vehicles, a 156,000 square feet large history lesson. It was truly amazing. Get this: the ticket allows for two days of entry, it is that large and expansive. The springs run off into the river with this nice suspension bridge set up for people to walk across. The large hill in the background is where the hot water…

Categories: friends, travel, wyoming

Wyoming backcountry

Posted on September 6, 2024

Kurt and I left YNP and headed east. Onto Cody, of Buffalo Bill fame, and then to the Bighorn Mountains where we backpacked into the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area one of 803 Designated Wilderness Areas in the US. Wilderness areas have one requirement: nothing with wheels can be used to get there. Legs and feet only, and if you’re a horse, the same applies. We backpacked for 5 nights and 6 days, covering almost 60 miles. We had a bull moose stroll through our camp, met some super nice people, saw several horse packing groups and only had to deal with biting black flies a bit. Wildfire smoke was minimal and I did not eat enough. Nothing really beats being the backcountry, however. At…

Categories: friends, nature, travel, wyoming

Montana / Yellowstone National Park

Posted on September 3, 2024

Into Montana, with a brief stop in my mom’s hometown of Butte, then onto Yellowstone where we camped and did some day hikes in the area. It truly is magical. And crowded with people from all the world. Still, quite beautiful and stunning and it brought back so many memories . . . . A slice of downtown, where Copper Kings once roamed . . . Our first hike back in Yellowstone, along the Yellowstone River, near Gardiner, Montana. One of these guys is 20. The other, not so much. 🙂 Norris geyser basin in the morning was full of bright steam and sun. Norris In the evening after dinner we hiked in Hayden Valley, finding a sizable heard of bison. The moms looked…

Categories: friends, life, nature, travel, yellowstone

Idaho/Montana

Posted on September 2, 2024

Continuing on the trip, we left Idaho and headed into Montana, stopping in St. Regis for some food. It was a truck stop type of place and the western vibe was ever present: paintings of bison, western clothing, cowboy hats – the works. It was a nice little stop as we figured out where to drive for the rest of the evening to find a place to camp. Stopping at 1:00 am we slept under the stars to the sound of a creek near the Anaconda / Pintler Wilderness Area near Anaconda, Montana. Looking out on the Pintler Mountains in beautiful Montana. The winds picked up and we got rained on a bit, but it was still a lovely hike. From near the top…

Categories: friends, hiking, Idaho, montana, nature, travel

Idaho/Montana/Wyoming 2024

Posted on September 1, 2024

I spent a couple of weeks in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming recently, celebrating a 40 year friendship that began in the summer of 1984, when I took a job at Yellowstone National Park as a cook at Old Faithful Inn. It was there I met Kurt and we fell in easy with each other as we discovered that each of us loved to go backpacking. So, to celebrate our 40th year of friendship, we went back to Yellowstone for a visit, with stops in Idaho and Montana along the way. Post Yellowstone, we drove to the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area, in the Bighorn National Forest, to the east of Cody, Wyoming for a 6 day backpacking trip. It was simply stunning and physically challenging.…

Categories: friends, hiking, Idaho, nature, travel