Beginning in Billings, the landscape was nice yet repetitive to a point. We are ready for mountains. By Big Timber (upper right) those mountains came into view in the distance.
As we drive from Big Timber to Livingston, another curiosity was motivating us. How much damage did the Yellowstone flooding a few weeks ago cause? We decided to go south from Livingston to Gardiner.
The north entrances to Yellowstone are still closed. The town of Gardiner didn’t have much damage because the Yellowstone River is in a canyon through town. The issue for Gardiner was there are only two ways in and out of town. North, where the road was covered in six feet of water, or south through Yellowstone with washed out roads. Fortunately the flood waters to the north subsided in two days and the road opened. It did not suffer major damage.
The big fallout from the flooding for Gardiner is lack of tourism. Without the north entrances to Yellowstone, there isn’t the draw. We drove 50 miles to and from Gardiner just to see it. We ate at the Cowboy Bar & Grill, which was filled with guns lining the walls and ceiling. They told us they only had about 10% of their usual business this year after the flood. Worse than panademic years.
Bozeman was our next stop. Today we found the hiking trailhead and had an amazing 2.25 mile hike. The Drinking Horse Mountain trail was well maintained with lots of shade, which helped since afternoon temperatures were in the upper 80s. The view of Bozeman (lower right) from the saddle was so cool!! Betsy waited for us way down below. (upper right picture, she’s at the tip of the pine tree by the tunnel that goes under the road). Hey, when you’ve basically lived in your car for a month, it becomes like family, folks. Gotta treat her well, she’s our ticket home.
We drove through Bozeman after our hike. Like Michigan towns, the downtown area was teaming with people. Large flowering baskets hung from street light posts. It was beautiful.
The final leg was our trip for the day was to West Yellowstone. The road was amazing lined with thick ponderosa pines of the Gallatin National Forest, stunning cliffs and the Gallatin River. The River was sparkling in the afternoon sun. Bright kayaks and canoes caught our attention. Rafters maneuvered the rapids. People were fishing. It made us smile to see all the activity. At one point we passed an old steel bridge on a side road that crossed the River. The type of bridge that is about six foot high and the framework is a foot or more wide. A father and three kids were standing on top of the bridge preparing to jump into the River. The kids did but dad appeared to chicken out. So many families having so much fun!
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