Starting Mileage leaving Billings: 5487
Ending Mileage arriving Bozeman, MT: 5655
Miles Driven: 168
Avg. MPG: 7.2
Gas Price: $4.09--Billings, MT
Travel Day
Overnight: Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman KOA
This morning as we were preparing to exit this blacktopped lava bed upon which we camped, I decided we should find a Best Buy to take back a WiFi booster I had purchased in Sioux Falls, SD. After all, it could be a long time before we see a big city again. I need to return it because when I had tried to load the software, I received a warning that the certificate for working with Microsoft Products was not authentic. So, needless to say, I stopped the installation and wanted to return the product.
We hooked up (didn’t take long as we had no “dumping” to do this morning). And, believe it or not, we were sitting in the Best Buy parking lot by 9:30 AM! Unfortunately, they did not open until 10 AM.
While waiting, I noticed a Home Depot next door. This was a great opportunity to purchase some new window blinds for the RV. When we purchased the RV, Dave had replaced the pull-down window shades in the living and dining areas (at my request) with blinds. You can tilt blinds and peek out at the world, but with the shades that come in the RVs, you can't see out unless you completely raise the shades. Dave did a great job at replacing the shades, but We can now tell you from personal experience, vinyl blinds do not survive the rigors of a trailer. Little by little, slats have been breaking off. The missing slats created opportunities for creating peeking in at us by fellow campers, especially at night.
I dashed into Home Depot to make my purchase while Dave played chauffeur and picked me up when I was done shopping. We were so speedy that by the time we got back to Best Buy, we still had a few minutes until the store opened. However, at 10 AM, I was first through the door; I received my refund quickly; and we were off to Bozeman.
Here's an unusual sight we spotted along the way. I thought you'd get a kick out of it as much as we did. Have you ever seen cows walking in the water next to fishermen? Now that's country!
We made a brief stop in Columbus, MT. Dave has been drooling about this stop for over a year. He loves Western-style belt buckles. He found out that his favorite buckle was manufactured in Columbus, so that was a definite stop.
The manufacturer sells their products through distributors, so they do not have a factory tour or shop. But, they do have a factory outlet store for discontinued items. So, Dave shopped till he almost dropped. He special-ordered a belt to commemorate his family ancestors’ settling in Montana. We both found some great bargains and had a good time thinking we could afford the moon, and settled for the little dipper.
We worked up quite an appetite from all the shopping and dreaming, so we went to a restaurant/saloon/casino for lunch called “The 407.” The food was quite good and the atmosphere was very nice. The waitress informed us that all the haze we have been seeing for a few days was from a nearby forest fire that was out of control. And, truly, it did make it difficult to see in the distance and to take clear pictures.
We were back on the road about 1:30 PM.
The terrain on today’s drive gave us glimpses of more and more mountains. We are still following the beautiful Yellowstone River. At some breaks between the hills and mountains, there are still patches of farm land.
The mountains in the distance began to look like scenes from old cowboy movies. The countryside is really getting quite extraordinary. But, as you can see, we are still suffering haze from the fires.
As we were engrossed in the river’s splendor, all of a sudden we caught our first glimpse of snow-peaked mountains. The snow is hard to see through the haze, but if you look carefully at the picture, you can see a bit of white at the peaks far in the background.
When we left Billings this morning, we had not yet determined if we would drive through to West Yellowstone or stop in Bozeman. But, by the time we got near Bozeman, it was obvious, we were ready to stop.
This KOA is the nicest we have ever stayed in. There are hedges between many of the campsites, which makes it cozy and private. We were parked very close to the office area. And, hold on to your hats, we were told they had an ice cream social between 7 PM and 9 PM every night. Wow! Could I have been dropped off in heaven?
Dave took his afternoon nap while I chilled out watching TV and doing some more crocheting. I’m now making a few gifts for folks, so I won’t be able to share exactly what I’m working on. But, as usual, I am doing a lot of ripping out and re-crocheting. It keeps me entertained.
At 8 PM, Dave and I meandered over to the club house to get our huckleberry ice cream. There are a lot of huckleberry-flavored this and that in Montana, so I had to try it out. Yumm. We sat on the patio and watched the kids play in the pool. I thought folks would stick around the area to eat their ice cream, but most just came to purchase it and then took it back to their campsites to devour it.
We did not unhook the RV when we arrived as we only plan to be here one night. And, that meant we didn’t hook up the sewer either. Therefore, my shower would be at the camp's facility tonight. Showering there provided a good opportunity to color my hair (chemicals better in their drain than ours). I slathered on the Nice ‘N Easy, waited my 30 minutes, and tip-toed over to the showers. It was dark, which was a good thing because I hate running past children and scaring them with a smelly, purple skull.
By the time I got back to the RV, it was nearly 11 PM. So, quickly to bed as tomorrow, we are off to Yellowstone National Park.
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