Montana and Wyoming

We've had a fantastic few weeks since leaving Canada and returning to the US. On our way out of Canada, we visited Waterton National Park which is the sister national park to Glacier National Park in the US. It was spectacular and fortunately we avoided any grizzly encounters which is a constant concern in those parts. 

We crossed the border into Montana and made our way to Helena to visit our friends Becca and Shaun for a couple days. We're planning to bike tour the length of New Zealand with them early next year so it was fun to connect with them in their home in Montana. They're REALLY into biking so Ginny and I have our work cut out for us if we hope to keep up with them on that trip. 

After Helena, we drove south to Bozeman where I had plans to meet up with old friends for our annual summer backpacking trip. After striking out many times in trying to book backcountry permits for the Canadian Rockies, we decided to go to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (Beartooths) where absolutely no permits are needed. The Beartooths are in my friend Paul's backyard so we were in great hands with him as our fearless trip leader. After seeing a few parties on our first day hiking into the wilderness, we didn't see hardly anyone for the rest of the trip which is just how we like it. We camped every night at a high alpine lake (generally at about 9,000' above sea level), went swimming, fly fished for trout, played disc golf and cards and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and solitude. We also climbed Castle Mountain which at 12,612 feet is either the 3rd or 4th tallest mountain in Montana, depending upon who you talk to. Paul's dog Yoshi also came along on the trip and generally ran us into the ground so I'm not sure as she'll be receiving an invite for next year's trip! It was a memorable trip and our only regret was that we didn't have our two friends Andy and Andrew along so hopefully they'll be able to make it next year. 

Enjoying the sunset at Big Butte Lake

Just before the sky turned orange at Big Butte Lake

On the trail making our way up to Big Butte Lake

One of many lakes we passed on the trip

Paul and Yoshi making their way down from Castle Mountain

Yoshi back at the homestead enjoying her well earned R&R!

Ginny here. Just adding a bit about what I got up to while Sam was away in the backcountry. After dropping Sam off, I headed back to Helena for some more Becca/Shaun time and some solo adventures. Becca set me up with a sweet bike from the bike kitchen she volunteers at, so I was able to ride out to the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts and check out some ceramists at work and all of the kilns. Back in Helena, I discovered a new favorite artist, Tom Bartel, at the Holter Museum of Art. His work may not to be to everyone's taste, but seeing an entire room full of his ceramic pieces was incredible! I also managed to catch an almost private showing of Didi, an audience award winner at Sundance, at the Myrna Loy, a historic county jail that has been turned into a community art space. Finally, made a trip out north of the city to Gates of the Mountains for a boat ride along the path that Lewis and Clark took over 200 years ago along the Missouri River. It's a beautiful float through canyons, gulches and you'll be sure to see plenty of bald eagles! Now back to Sam.





The local Penny Farthing guy in Helena - saw him twice!

After doing a brief housesit just outside of Bozeman, we headed south and made our way towards Yellowstone National Park. Other than driving through Yellowstone on our way to the Beartooths, I had never been to Yellowstone so was really looking forward to seeing our nation's oldest national park. As you'll see from the photos below, there truly are some remarkable sites and it is well worth the visit. However, our day was spent driving between the sites and then walking around them with tons of other tourists. Maybe that's just how many national parks are these days but it's not exactly my idea of a great day out in the mountains. 

One of many bison grazing in the park

Our campsite just outside of Yellowstone

Scalding hot water flowing out of Excelsior Geyser into the Firehole River

Old Faithful doing her thing!

Grand Prismatic Spring - probably my favorite site!

Selfie at Grand Prismatic Spring

Fountain Geyser

Celestine Pool

I must admit that I found the mountains and overall scenery to be somewhat lackluster in Yellowstone so it was refreshing to immediately enter Grand Tetons National Park as soon as we left Yellowstone. The jagged, rocky ridgeline of the Tetons has got to be one of the most incredible mountain ranges in the world so I was over the moon to finally see it in person. The Tetons are definitely as advertised and we look forward to exploring them further during the next week or so. We're doing a housesit right now in Kelly, WY, and have plans to go backpacking in Grand Tetons National Park next week. 

Running with the dogs in Kelly, WY

Those majestic Tetons sure do captivate!

Horses grazing with the Tetons in the background


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