This is a long one so you might want to grab a cup of coffee!
Now that the park is opened up we have been trying to see many of the sites we previously missed. On this particular day we left Jack at home and headed into the park to see Thumb Basin. This geyser area is right on the lake and is particularly cool because some of the geysers are actually under the lake water. Unfortunately the geysers are all pretty much dormant but I still really enjoyed the views.
The colors are really starting to pop. They are best in late July and early August as the sun encourages algae to grow
Some of the pools are draining right into the lake which makes for a very cool effect and change of color.
One side of the walkwayUnderneath and into the lake
My favorite though was the geysers in the lake itself. Apparently they stay warm enough to keep the ice clear around them and the otters use them as “fishing holes” in the winter. Super cool. I wish they were still going off that would be neat to see.
After Thumb Basin we were driving towards Canyon Village and saw a little turnoff along the lake and on impulse stopped and saw a beautiful sandbar full of people enjoying the views of the lake. It was a windy but wonderful views and a great spot to hang out on a hot day.
I should also mention that we saw several Elk and a couple of buffalo as we were traveling.
Lastly we went to the Brink of the Upper Falls (based on a recommendation by one of Lee’s work friends) and WOW was it spectacular. I have been to the head of many waterfalls and I have never seen anything like this. First of all it has three different levels and each view is pretty unique. Plus the water levels are really high and the power of it was thrilling. I heard a local say she visits the site all of the time and she had never seen it this high. I did the best I could to capture it in pictures but really Lee’s video does a much better job.
The rainbow was a great additionThe view from the highest pointThis platform was right on the edge super coolStairs were a little steep but not longWhere the water went over the noise was all you could hear
After spending a long time getting pictures at the falls we walked back up the stairs and down the old road to a bridge and got some more cool shots. It really was spectacular and my favorite of the the Yellowstone waterfall sightings so far. I like my waterfalls up close and personal and this certainly provided that.
It was crowded on the landing but because of the noise it didn’t feel like itThe cool rock islands in the middle of the river were neatThis was my favoriteYou used to be able to drive across the bridge . I think it was built in 1932
Like I said the pictures simply don’t do it justice but I think Lee’s video does. Highly recommend taking a few minutes to watch it, and as always, it looks better full screen and in HD.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
After completing the Teton Park Road, we continued into Jackson Hole and stopped for some McDonalds. The day was getting really hot and we had Jack with us so we needed some quick food and then continued on our way. At the visitors center we had learned the Moose-Wilson road would be closed for repairs the following week so decided we wanted to drive it while it was still open. Part of the road is in the National Park (and there is an entrance gate) and part of it goes past Teton Village, which I had been wanting to see anyways.
Teton Village is a super ritzy ski town WE drove into the hills and saw some gorgeous housesEntrance gate to Teton NPThe road becomes gravelAnd there were LOTS of bike riders
My favorite part of the road was actually at the northern end where there was a huge lake that moose like to feed in. I would love to see a fully antlered moose and if I lived nearer I would definitely come and hang out here in the early mornings to see if I could see one.
Continuing our attempt to stay on the lesser traveled roads and avoid the crowds we made our way to Antelope Flats and the Mormon Row historic district. Back in the 1890s Mormon settlers established the community of Grovont which at one time had 27 homesteads. Although most of it is abandoned we were surprised that several people were still living there. We also loved the two beautiful barns in this area. We spent a ton of time taking our own version of these iconic pictures
This was my favorite of minePeople were living here
After Mormon Row we headed onto Grosse- Ventre Rd traveling past the small town of Kelly along the way. It is always interesting to me when small towns are within the borders of National Parks although I don’t really understand how that works. Grosse-Ventre road actually leaves the park and goes into the Bridger-Teton National Forest. We didn’t go very far because the road gets a little rough and it was at the end of a long day, but the mountain and river views we did see were terrific.
The town of KellyKids were jumping off the rocks into the riverLee always has to get close to the edge!Fantastic remote campsite we foundJack had fun!
It had been a really long day but a very satisfying one and we were both happy we had had such beautiful weather for our first time in Tetons.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Grand Teton is a very special National Park, but I think most people would agree that if you can only go on one day, make it a clear one so you can see the mountains. You can see them from almost everywhere in the park and the different views are spectacular. That’s why we waited a full two months to see the park. Coordinating a clear sky day with our work schedules was a bit of a challenge but finally we got that beautiful mountain shot that we have seen from others.
I literally felt like I was in a painting.
But I am jumping ahead. First we had to travel through Yellowstone and into the north entrance of Grand Teton. As an interesting note, there is no need to pay through the north entrance (there isn’t even a gate) and later when we asked a ranger he said it was because they assumed people had already paid at Yellowstone. Makes sense because there is only one dirt road opened seasonally that can be used to bypass the Tetons.
The beginning of the road through Teton is shared but then it splits with the more scenic Teton Park Road, which runs closer to the lakes. The highway also has some nice views but it is farther out and moves much faster. This is actually pretty cool because it allows people to “pass through” the park quickly. The Teton Park Road is more for the tourist traveler and that’s the one we wanted.
Teton Park Road highlighted in yellow
Before the road splits there are some initial views of the mountain and large grassy areas where (if you are lucky) you can see buffalo and or bears. In general we saw fewer animals in Tetons versus Yellowstone’s but this starting section usually has some kind of animal in it.
The view of the mountains just hits you as soon as you enter the park
The Colter Bay Visitor Center is the first of three visitors centers coming from the north and we stopped there briefly. That’s where we learned the National Park was under a mask requirement and masks had to be worn inside all building in the park. We were really surprised because there is no mask requirement in Yellowstone, but we learned Wyoming institutes county wide mask bans as needed based on “hot spots” and the county the Tetons are located in was under such a ban Thankfully they had masks available so we grabbed a couple and went on our way.
Next we stopped at a beautiful Catholic Church. We love seeing old churches in our travels and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart (built in 1937) was beautiful. The altar and stained glass window faced the mountain view and the inside wooden artwork was equally beautiful.
We usually light a candle for Lee’s grandmother Anna but unfortunately no lit candles allowed.The stain glass was gorgeous
Next we saw a sign to Signal Mountain and on impulse we decided to make the drive. If you do nothing else I highly recommend driving this road because the views at the top were absolutely spectacular. The picture above for example was taken from there and it was my absolutely favorite spot of the entire day. It as Jack’s favorite too!
It felt like we were in the Sound of Music opening sequence with the mountains and the flowers. By the way I have done absolutely nothing to this picture this is 100% what it looked like.The valley to the left showed the clouds were rolling in so I am so glad we stopped and did this first.
I took many more pictures, and these are just a few of my favorites. I also wanted to show some pictures I got of a grouse (first time seeing one for either Lee or I) and its posing for us made the spot extra perfect.
Jack had a blast
After Signal Mountain we continued on Teton Park Road and saw a dirt turnoff. Since we had such luck with Signal Mountain we decided to give this a shot. The road ultimately ended down at the Snake River (it was so wide I initially thought it was a lake) and there were a couple of campsites down there. It was a great place to walk Jack so we wandered around a bit. As an FYI this was one of the few places we couldn’t see the mountains from.
Dirt Road highlighted in pink
The biggest disappointment of the day was when we got to Jenny Lake Visitors center. It was absolutely packed because it is also a major trailhead and we couldn’t find anywhere to park at all. We later learned from our friends Julie and Casey that it was almost always packed and to get a spot you have to come really early in the morning which will be very hard for us living in West Yellowstone. We did stop at a pull out a bit down the road and went and got some views. This area was also super crowded but at least we could find a spot. We didn’t take Jack on this one though because the path was narrow and tons of people were on it. It was a pretty spot though.
We didn’t go very far down the path because we weren’t sure how far it went
Personally, I found the best views (Mount Signal aside) to be from the road itself. There are lots of turnouts and we stopped a couple of times to get pictures. There are 11 active glaciers in the park although you can see with my long lens shots many of them are shrinking. Cool though.
This road reminded me of the long stretch into Monument Valley just with snow 🙂
Right before the end of Teton Park Road we saw an Episcopalian Church (Chapel of Transfiguration opened in 1925). I really liked this one because they had a large glass window facing the mountains. It also had outside seating facing the mountain and a beautiful old church bell.
Beautiful Stain Glass WindowsOutside seating on both sidesLoved the simplicity of the altar with the gorgeous view though a large window
Finally we arrived at the Craig Thomas Visitors Center and it was really terrific. One of the best I have seen in any National Park and again huge glass windows looking out on the mountains. I particularly liked that the park was focused on the various people who lived and traveled here and had cool iron statues of many of them. Beautiful building, fantastic giftshop (although really pricey) and great exhibits.
According to the National Park website here is a quick history. “Congress created the original park in 1929 to protect the Teton Range and several lakes at the foot of the mountains. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared additional land in the valley to be Jackson Hole National Monument. In 1949, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated the land he purchased to the government to be included in the national park. Finally, in 1950, Congress combined the original park, the national monument, and the Rockefeller lands to establish present-day Grand Teton National Park.” John D Rockefeller is given a ton of credit though for the status of the park today.
I loved this quote.
Overall I really liked the Teton Park Road but can’t stress enough that you should go on a clear sky day. It’s definitely all about the views and you don’t want to miss those. After finishing the road we went on Moose-Wilson and Grosse Venture Roads on the outer edges of the park but I will save that for the next post.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
As much as I love it here it is expensive to live here. Thank heavens we have a free site or I can’t imagine what it would look like but gas prices are crazy high and local food isn’t much better. All that being said I am super happy with the month of July because we spent under $5K. See below for more details.
Clothing – We stock up on souvenir T-Shirts when we are in someplace fun and there are lots of great ones here. Lee even had a couple of T-Shirts made that have cute saying about not petting furry things in the park.
Entertainment – We spent $571 in this category but we both think this is inflated by some monthly charges. This include newspaper and TV subscriptions, IPad games, and music along with our standard paying to get into places.
Groceries – Over $1,000 again but we are trying to do what we can to keep these costs down. This also includes alcohol and I did buy some tequila for huckleberry margaritas 🙂
Eating Out – We spent over $650 on eating out. When we travel long days on the weekends we do like to find someplace local to eat and we have been going out with Lee’s work friends couple times a month as well.
Gifts – Birthday presents for my grandsons. I splurged a bit!
Truck Fuel – $475 is a minor miracle considering the distances we have been traveling and the over $6 a gallon gas price.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
After all the flooding craziness we were thrilled to learn that the park had reopened most of the roads and was removing the every other day restrictions. The National Park Service has done a fantastic job of gathering resources, but I have to admit I was surprised they could fix all the road damage in a three week period. Turns out the roads aren’t all fixed, but they are all passable and they did an excellent job of balancing pressure to fully reopen and public safety. Here is a map someone made. The roads in red are still closed.
With the exception of Lee’s one night time visit to the park we had not been in at all, so were both excited. Since we thought most people would be heading north (and we always try to go the opposite way of crowds) we headed south. There was no line to get into the park at 7am and the roads were pretty free of people. It was also a beautifully clear morning and we could see the steam rising from the various geysers. I would love to be able to capture what that looks like in a picture, but below is the closest I could get. On a clear, cool day you can see the steam rising from miles away and its really very beautiful.
We also stopped at the Continental Divide sign when we were going over a pass, and this was nice because this area has been pretty snowy. We made the trip short though because we got dive bombed by mosquitos (a first since we have been here) and Jack started making snarling noises towards the woods. To the best of our recollection neither of us have ever heard him snarl like that so we figured it was a good idea to get back in the truck 🙂
I love when we cross the Continental Divide
Finally we arrived at Lewis Falls and grabbed a great parking spot. We passed these falls once when it was still really snowy but all the paths and parking areas were closed in. This stop was really beautiful and the falls are much nicer than they looked from a quick glance. There is also a path (pretty rough) going up to an observation area which I would have missed. Lee found it though and we got several nice views of the falls. Here are my favorite pics.
The path up to the fallsA man and his dog 🙂
If you do get a chance to go don’t forget to walk across the road because those views are gorgeous as well.
After Lewis Falls we headed into Grand Teton, but I am going to save that for another post. I did want to mention though that when we came out of the park that same evening the wind had kicked up and there were clouds (not an exaggeration) of pollen coming from the trees. I personally have never seen anything like it and unfortunately couldn’t capture it well in a pic, but the visibility was less than 100 yards and people immediately turned their lights on. So far I am doing ok with allergies but if you are a person who struggles keep that in mind when you decide what month to come in.
Those clouds in the sky were actually yellow and filled with pollen
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Looking for something fun to do one evening Lee and I drove to Island Park and up Sawtelle Mountain. Since we arrived, Lee has been wanting to go to the top of this mountain because it has an FAA Radar dome at the top. It’s part of the joint surveillance network and Lee loves that sort of stuff so he did some research to see if we could go up. Turns out we can but the road was a bit hard to find.. Eventually we did start the drive and the gravel road was VERY well maintained,
The higher we got the cooler it was and the more the landscape changed. The road changed as well and turned into a crazy switchback. Lee loves those sorts of drives and I just white knuckled it until we got to the top.
The road we traveled as seen from the topThe only animals we saw were a couple of marmotsThe cell towers are to the right in the picture so the cell coverage was amazing
When we reached the top (9884 ft) it exceeded my expectations. The 360 degree views were amazing and we could even see the Grand Tetons far away. Let me just show you the pictures.
Beautiful Henry Lake State Park…excited about visiting that nowIsland Park ReservoirMy brave mountain climber. I stayed off the rocks
The facility itself was also pretty cool. It was all locked up but you could see the outside equipment. Because this is a surveillance system it is accessed year round and the federal government has a second warehouse farther down with road clearing vehicles. Personally I can’t imagine clearing snow on those switchbacks and I give HUGE credit to the folks that do it.
It was a great visit and we spent quite a bit of time up there with Lee getting some great truck porn as well 🙂 Jack loved it because we could just let him run around although I did get a little nervous when he went towards the edges. It’s a great trip to make on a clear and warmer day and I highly recommend it if you have the time.
Speaking of weather, it has finally stopped raining and has been clear skies for several days now. We also learned that they are opening the northern part of the park on 7/1 which is great for the local businesses. The entrances at Cooke City and Gardiner still aren’t open, but you can enter through the other entrances and travel 90% of the park. Most importantly they are removing the every other day license plate restrictions so we can go in any day.
Lee took advantage of the new rules and went in one night with some folks he works with to take shots of the Galaxy. Apparently the center of the Galaxy was lined up with the park and he got some beautiful shots. Night shots take more patience than I have so I gave it a pass but here are a few of my favorites.
The lines are shooting stars …really coolLooks like a rift in the universe. Super cool
As a side note, if you do go into the park at night you should definitely have bear spray and drive carefully. You should also go with a group as well and be prepared to be very aware of your surroundings. One of the guys Lee went with had night vision goggles and used them to continually scan the area for animals. Thankfully they went with a large, vigilant group and had no issues.
Next up we will both be heading into the park and we have a very fully July 4th weekend planned!
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Although the park has been available to us every other day (based on license plate) we have yet to reenter it. Partly that is because Lee’s days off fell on our non day (his employer rearranged the scheduled going forward) and partly because the weather was only so-so on the days we were allowed. The restrictions have actually seen the crowds significantly reduced (I would estimate by as much as half) so we decided to spend one day off exploring West Yellowstone itself.
Number one on our list was the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and I was pleasantly surprised. These smaller wildlife centers are a bit of a mixed bag but this one was reasonably priced ($15 for entry although we bought an annual $70 membership for two people) and had significant content for its size. The visitors center had numerous examples and we spent some time learning about the local animals.
Lee and I were fascinated to learn that the front feet and back feet of a grizzly are different. We didn’t know that.I did know they have the same ancestry as dogs which is pretty coolExamples of all the bears of the world
After looking inside we walked outside and the area was surprisingly big. It had one giant area for bears, another for raptors, a building for otters, and finally a large wolf enclosure. Many people have concerns about animals in zoos but personally growing up near the Columbus Zoo (one of the best in the world) I like them. In my opinion it’s important for kids to see animals and it inspires them to want to protect them. Of course I am always concerned about the conditions the animals live in and in this case it was clear great attention had been paid.
At this facility, the bears and raptors are all rescues and would have died or been killed if they weren’t brought here. They also do something pretty cool that I have never seen before where they remove the animals from the pens and let kids hide their food. This allows the kids to participate in a VERY cool way and its good for the animals to have to search for their food. Keeps their brains active. We were not allowed to see the areas where the bears were kept when they weren’t in the large open area, and it is quite a bit smaller, but the open areas are very nice. Bears are solitary creatures and unfortunately can’t always mingle together.
I loved that each animal had a little bioBig crowds for feeding timeTake your long lensLee’s closeupsFeeding schedules clearly postedThis is a new area they are building
The raptor area also had bios for each animal and included 3 bald eagles, hawks, two owls, and a vulture. These animals were all rescued and were injured bad enough they could not live in the wild and the detailed descriptions showed the negative impact people can have on wildlife.
One of my favorite sections was actually the ground squirrel area and since they had just been fed we got to watch them run around. They were super cute and I found them very entertaining.
This little guy smacked the other one in the faceAnd stole his carrot. Cracked Lee up
We also really enjoyed the otter house and got to see a feeding there as well. Once again they hid the food and made them work for it and it was great watching the pair of otters in the water environment. It was hard to get good pics because the glass was foggy but we stayed for quite awhile because it was so entertaining.
We learned sometimes river otters steal beaver dens
My absolute favorite though was the wolves. We spent a long time talking to a nice volunteer who explained the wolves were not rescues because abandoned/injured cubs are rarely found in the wild. Because they live in packs if a parent dies another wolf will usually take over raising them so these wolves were descendants of the few pups that had been found. Adult wolves with injuries do not do well in captivity and since the purpose of the exhibit is to show wolves in a better light they are not put on display.
We were lucky enough to see the wolf feeding and again spent tons of time watching them. There are various vantage points you can watch the wolves and they were actually in three separate places. One of the packs had four wolves and they were in the largest area and then the second pack of two was in a smaller one. There was a lone wolf all by himself because his sister wouldn’t tolerate him and the team was currently working to integrate him into the other pack. It was pretty interesting because these families have all sorts of dynamics and the keepers monitor them closely and rearrange as needed to achieve the best possible combinations. There is no breeding in this facility so this is simply done to make the wolves as happy as possible.
The proportions are less doglike than I though. They have much large heads and VERY long legsThis beauty came right up to a glass window and posed for us for a long time
Lastly the center has a great amphitheater which shows nature videos and an awesome gift shop. Lee and I really liked it and definitely plan on going back. If you come to this area with the goal of seeing wolves and bears I definitely recommend a visit, especially if you have kids. Seeing wolves and bears this close is not an opportunity you will get in the park and both Lee and I really enjoyed it.
So if you come to the area, I highly recommend it. Your animal sighting will be a “sure thing” and it will help a very good cause.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Once we left Virginia City we continued north on the loop going through numerous small towns. Most of these towns were tiny but as we got close to I-90 they were a bit bigger. The towns had few services, maybe an historic building, gas station, or convenient store but they were obviously thriving communities as they were surrounded by huge cattle ranches. Occasionally we would see something that caught our eye but in general it was just a pleasant country drive and I always enjoy seeing where regular people live in a community.
A Trump roadside displayThis house had tons of antiques
Once we hit Whitehall it had gotten a little monotonous though, so Lee put the town of Pony in the GPS and we found a short cut which skipped three forks. I am so glad he did because we found ourselves on a cool two lane highway along a railroad track. It was really pretty and best of all we saw a huge cave above the track. I can totally see a gang of outlaws waiting there to rob the train. Yes I know I am romanticizing the Old West but it was pretty cool.
We even got lucky and an actual train went by when we hit this spot. So cool!
This side cut through path really shortened the drive and we arrived back at Ennis. We really wanted to eat lunch but it was well over 80 degrees and few of the restaurants had outside seating. This is one of the few times I have wished Jack wasn’t with us on one of these day trips and honestly I think Jack was feeling the same. On a site note the next day when Lee and I went to the store Jack just looked at us and didn’t even attempt to come with us. That is highly unusual but I think he was wore out by this long day as well.
Ultimately we had a quick sandwich and then headed down to Quake lake. Thankfully the visitors center was open until 6pm so we had about an hour to see it. Quake Lake is the site of a natural disaster in the 1950’s where an earthquake sheered off a piece of mountain flooding an area where a campground was located. Nineteen people died in the event and it was extremely traumatic for those that survived. It also had created a new lake and the remains of the campground lie beneath it. For me it was a little morose but if you are interested in natural disasters you should definitely visit.
The railing were seismograph designsWhere it sheared off
It was close to six pm when we were done and I was ready to go home, but Lee wanted to do one more thing. Lee is a one more thing kind of guy and its not cool for me to always say no so I said I was in. There are many National Forest roads you can see heading off into the mountains and Lee wanted to follow one to see where it went. This one had a sign that said historic school so we got on it. Initially it was paved but then it turned to gravel although the road was well maintained. There were also several signs showing where there was public access through private lands and we paid careful attention to ensure we stayed on the NFS road. The road eventually ended at a trailhead of sorts and we got out and walked a bit.
We walked pretty far …you can see the truck in the loop
With the grizzly signs and the remoteness of the location I didn’t want to get out of site of the truck but it was pretty. The flowers have exploded here and there were tons in the meadow. We didn’t see any animals though (although we saw plenty of SCAT) and headed back to the truck and down to the school. It is a beautifully maintained building (used as a local meeting center) and we got out and walked around. The creek was pretty high here but wasn’t overflowing although part of a fence was washed away. We didn’t see any signs of serious flooding at all on our trip although water levels were definitely high.
One last thing before we were done we stopped and checked out a NFS campground. There are lots of these sprinkled throughout Montana and although they don’t have services there is always a presence of some sort. This one was small but every campsite had a horse hitch on it. I know there is a network of horse friendly campgrounds throughout the US but we have rarely stayed at any of them. We did a quick stop and checked it out and then headed home. It was a full 12 hour day but it was great to get out and best of all it didn’t rain once all day.
There was even a manned ranger station here
The most important thing to know is despite the hype of the National Parks there are lots of other things to do in the area. The irony is these views would have been a prime attraction in another area of the country but with the abundance of riches here it is a Tier 2 site. Still I liked it and mostly we weren’t fighting crowds all day.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Update: This was the first Saturday where the park was closed so we explored further afield. We completed the loop in one VERY long day but I am splitting it into two blog posts.
Whenever we go to a new area, I pick up as many free magazines as I can find that talk about attractions in the area. There is a surprising amount of info in these magazines (if you read them carefully) that is more difficult to find online. One of the things I read about early on was called The Loop, but unfortunately I lost that magazine and only had a vague recollection of it. But since Yellowstone was closed and we were looking for something to do in the outer areas and I finally tracked down this picture in a Montana magazine. The Loop is in black.
The Vigilante Trail actually goes from Glacier to Yellowstone and was originally a dirt road in the 1920’s. The trail was historically significant because a group of local vigilantes (based out of Virginia City) coded warnings to frontier ruffians carving 3-7-77 into trees to warn people. They also covered the loop area and some people refer to it as the Vigilante Loop. If you are wondering what 3-7-77 is (we certainly did) it is the measurement for a coffin. This warning and group were so popular locally that the warning was later incorporated into the Montana Highway patrol.
Like many vigilante groups their history is a mixed bag, but the locals attribute the group to being a key contributing factor to the end of the Civil War. In mid 1800’s there were many confederate sympathizers living in the hills who were funneling gold to the Confederacy. The vigilantes tracked these folks down and hung a group of them which started the legends. The loop you see up above was a big part of the area they covered and is full of small historic towns.
We started the day heading north and thankfully it was a beautiful day although it was a little hazy. We arrived in Ennis first and I loved the sign below so much I asked Lee to turn around so I could get a picture of it. Pretty much sums up Ennis, which is a lovely little town. We also got lucky because there was a farmers market in process in Ennis and we stopped and I loaded up. It was my first farmers market of the summer and I bought artisanal raspberry jam, fennel, homemade dog biscuits, a hand thrown cup, and summer sausage sticks. There was a surprising amount of variety considering how small the town was and it was great. Love me a small town farmers market.
After Ennis we went on to Virginia City which is a great old mining town. Mining towns are probably Lee’s favorite because they contain lots of old west history and lawmen (and outlaw gangs) congregated in these areas. Virginia City, MT was one of the coolest we have seen even more amazing because it was saved by one couple.
In the 1940’s Charles and Sue Bovey from Minneapolis, MN were on a road trip and passed through the crumbling town. They saw it’s potential and started buying up property and worked to restore it. The town is now a National Historic Landmark and is operated as an open air museum, but the town clearly gives credit to Charles and Sue for its salvation.
The open air aspect is what I actually found interesting about the place. Many of the structures are restored and you can peek in the buildings and see what they would have looked like. Most of the restorations are extremely well done and although the dummies are a bit cheesy the displays themselves are really cool. We spent well over an hour walking both sides of the street and peering in every open doorway. There are also some actual shops interspersed with the historic buildings and it was super dog friendly.
Working stagecoach and train in the area you could take rides on
We generally don’t take Jack to crowded places, but it got up to 80 degrees on this particular day so we walked him along the boardwalk. He did ok as the day wore on and certainly seemed to be having fun with all the excitement. It was particularly crowded that day because they were having bed races for brothel day (that didn’t start until 4pm so we missed it) and one vendor told us they were getting lots of Yellowstone traffic that would normally be in the park.
There were a lot of buildings to look at but I had a few favorites. There were two general stores that were amazing. In particular I loved the historically accurate ceilings and wall paper. One even had tiny PO Boxes inside.
Lee loved the free museum with lots of artifacts, which for me was only so-so but I did like the many buffalo coats they had one display.
We both really enjoyed the newspaper and printing presses included a wonderful ‘
This unitype was so cool
I went into the historic Anaconda hotel which accepts guests (and ghosts) during the season. The manager was kind enough to take me one a tour. It was really well done, in particular the beds were gorgeous and all antiques. If you like staying in historical places I would definitely recommend it.
Gorgeous period wallpaper
My absolute favorite though was the arcade, which was full of beautifully restored arcade games, many of which you could play for a quarter. I cashed in a couple of bucks and spent some time in there and really enjoyed myself. In particular they have a couple of “adult” films which are pretty quaint in this day and age.
Here’s a pic from the “adult film” I watched. It was essentially two young women half undressed in bed. They weren’t really doing anything.
After Virginia City we headed east a bit to Nevada City which had some historic buildings, a railroad area, and a small village with people in costumes. It was getting hotter though and later in the day so we continued on the loop. I am going to stop here though and say if you don’t have all day to see the area, you could certainly just drive to Virginia City and then come back. That would be a lovely day trip. Intrepid explored that we are though we pressed on and I will cover that next time 🙂
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
I try to be as nonpolitical as possible in this blog, but as I am a person and live within a set of laws, I would like to take a moment and talk a little bit about the recent Supreme Court trend of pushing decisions regarding some laws back down to the states. I promise I will not be giving my opinion of those decisions, but rather discuss what this might look like as someone who travels through many states and must adhere to different state laws.
To be honest until recently we haven’t given it much thought although we know many people have. Full timers who are gun owners, for example, have had to struggle with multiple regulations regarding concealed and open carry in different states, and for those who love to fish they run against different state regulations as well. There are varying state laws about triple towing, and others real world issues.
For most full timers though, the major decisions around state laws happen when they choose their home residency (vehicles inspection requirements, cost of registration, establishing residency rules etc) but once that is done, for us at least, varying state regulations have made minimal impact.
Actually, as I write this I realize that really isn’t entirely true. What is more true is that I don’t pay much attention to it. Varying state taxes (especially for gasoline) certainly have an impact, as do the state of the highways in different states, and their corresponding speed limits. Leashed dog requirements have certainly had an impact and for those of us who work in multiple states unemployment ease and access can have issues as well. Insurance rates and rules (including health, vehicle, and RV insurance) certainly can be impactful depending on your situation. I am sure there are others.
I guess as I am thinking this through there are many variations between the states and those of us who travel try to stay on the right side of the laws wherever we are. But for some things that gets a little tricky. Let’s take marijuana for example. When it was legal in just a couple of states it was pretty easy for people to know where they could partake, but every time they crossed a state line with a THC product they were essentially breaking the law. As more and more states have approved recreational marijuana this has become less of a concern, but for the many people who use THC products regularly the varying state regulations can be an issue.
The problem with the example of marijuana (and others) above is how differently the laws are enforced in the varying states. Even in some states where its not legal its unlikely you would be prosecuted for personal use, but there are a few (Arkansas for example) where it is still a felony to possess it. So what should a person with a gun or marijuana do? Generally I think folks just take a breath and wing it when they are traveling through certain states and maybe they won’t linger.
Which brings me to other more important differences. Some cultural, some codified into law, as someone who has traveled this country over the last 8 years not every place is the same. There have been many places we have stayed where I was thankful I was white and many more where I was grateful I was straight. Although we have federal laws in place to protect people of color and the LGBTQ+ community I have also seen firsthand the many ways people in those categories can be made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.
Which brings me back to the recent Supreme Court rulings. As more laws are pushed back to the states what does that look like? Does the divide between the north and south, or more accurately the urban and the rural, become more drastic? Do we find ourselves, like black people during segregation, traveling only in places where people like us are welcome? Or do we, like marijuana users, just keep our head down and roll the dice, passing through as quickly as possible?
I have to tell you I have a big problem with this thought. I love this country, all of it, and the thought of having to stay away from certain parts of the country really pisses me off. I know I am not alone in this, and I also know that regardless of your political affiliation there are already places you don’t feel welcome. Will the division continue to worsen? What will this mean for those of us who travel fulltime? Only time will tell. But unlike many others we can’t just pick up and move to a place where people have like minded ideals. Well, that’s not exactly true, we could, but we would be giving up what we love most about this lifestyle…freedom.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Camper Chronicles 