Well, we made it about 75 miles into Montana before we headed back to Yellowstone. We were planning on venturing farther, but got a call from Dan’s aunt who was headed to Yellowstone with her friend Marge and had heard we were in the area. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them, so we headed back to West Yellowstone and our nice ForestService campground on the Madison River.
Jenn mountain biking in Gravelly Range, MT
Before heading back, we spent a week boondocking in the Gravelly Range, just south of Ennis, MT. The views were terrific except for some haze from forest fires (nowhere near us). We enjoyed some mountain biking and best of all, lots of quiet. We camped at 7500 feet and the birds and stars were wonderful. There was no one camping anywhere near us. We took an awful 4wd road that was only 6 miles and took us four hours. Not worth it, we didn’t realize it would take that long. Exploring Virginia City killed a day, we enjoyed the old buildings, but Dan didn’t approve of some of the “restoration techniques.” Always the engineer.
Back in Yellowstone, we welcomed Joan and Marge to our humble home and put them up in our spare bedroom… the living room. We had a great time showing them around Yellowstone. They said they wanted to see our secret
Joan. Jenn & Marge in Yellowstone
spots, and it was fun for us to see the park through new eyes. Joan showed great potential to become a “geyser gazer”. I wouldn’t be suprised if we see her again in Yellowstone. It was really a treat to see some family and have guests. Anybody else want to visit us? We have room…..
After they left, we spent another full day in the geyser basin, before heading south towards Idaho. We were hoping to get within reach of some High-Def TV stations in order to watch the Olympics. Wow, did we ever get lucky. We ended up in Rexburg, ID in a county park. It was right on the river, really nice and free! We spent 5 nights there (the legal limit) before moving about 5 miles upriver to a Idaho Wildlife Management Area. We are boondocked about 10 feet from the river. We have been swimming and bought an inflatable kayak to use on the river. We took it out on it’s maiden voyage this morning and had a blast. Great exercise and a new take on the river and birds. The birding is the best since last winter in Texas. We have seen numerous Muskrats and I came upon a family of river otters playing the other day. The Olympics are coming in crystal clear, free camping, lots of sun for our solar system, swimming, birding, kayaking, what more could we ask for?
River Otter in Henry's Fork of the Snake River, ID
