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Our chosen campground on Sunday evening was a short distance out of Bozeman. “Martin”, the Manager, lead us in a furious downpour to our site. We had watched the ominous approach of those dark clouds for several hours after we left the Lewis and Clark Caverns. (Who would name their kid “Merryweather”, and then let him go out roaming the countryside? Somebody could have beaten him up!) By the way, those caverns were pretty spectacular, though the tour was quite long, and…well, chilling! – with bats, and temperatures down to 6 C. And also ‘by the way’… L & C NEVER saw those caverns. Perhaps Montana ran out of famous people to name places after.

Back to Bozeman…and our quiet RV park after the rain…the Sunrise RV Park sits right between the freeway, and the intercontinental train tracks. Trains are frequent, and very regular, and let us know they are passing (just in case we didn’t hear the rumble) with 4 boasts of their whistles. Nice night!

It rained off and on, but was finished by morning when we headed for the west entrance of Yellowstone, once again at the uniquely named place of West Yellowstone! We wandered through town and into another QUILTING shop. It turned out to be mostly beads and trinkets, so my partner declares that this doesn’t count. However, I need a show of hands…how many think that a shop that has the word “Quilt” in its name should be considered a quilting shop? (The I’s have it!)

On into the National Park. The sun shone, and we immediately grabbed a camping spot at Madison. This is a large camping area, and since the afternoon was ours, and the road east of Old Faithful would be closed after Labour Day, we decided to spend our afternoon there. It was truly a stunning experience for folks who had never visited Yellowstone! We arrived at the Old Faithful geyser just moments before it erupted, so were able to get that experience behind us.

For the next few hours we wandered the trails around that area as well as many of the off-highway “roads” between there and Madison Camp. Most of those roads were marked “No buses; no RVs”. So, the question arose…”Is Truckhouse an RV, or not?” We seem to be accepted as both, since we can happily park in RV sections at rest stops, but we can also fit into car parking spaces. Needless to say, we ignored the signs – with a bit of trepidation, and carried on down those one-way paths, seeing some glorious, yet sulfurously stinking pits, ponds, and bubbling holes. The fresh air at Madison was a welcome end to our day, as we listened to a rather lengthy, yet informative, talk on Yellowstone’s history at the amphitheatre’s “fireside” presentation. Final note: nights are getting very chilly – approaching 0C!

On Tuesday the amount of traffic on the highways indicated that, while the young folks were back in school here, the seniors were certainly out and about, so we headed north towards Mammoth Hot Springs, with a stop at Norris Geyser Basin where we embarked on a lengthy looping trail through the maze of sulfurous geysers and holes reminding us that we were treading on the crust of a dormant volcano. With this spectacle behind us, we headed on to Mammoth, where crowds jammed the parking lots and trails around the rather spectacular scenery. We added our bulk to the jam, and joined the throngs, until we were footsore, and ready to head to the next campground at Tower Fall. We stopped briefly to take a pic of a distant antelope, and another of a couple of sheep/goats/whatever, and then arrived at the turn-off to the campground, where a sign informed us – “FULL CAMPGROUND”. Oops!

With no other option, we began the long climb over the pass to our next possible campsite at Canyon. The climb had some spectacular vistas, but “You watch the road”! from my partner, as well as concern for space at the next site kept me hustling down (up, actually) the road. I passed thousands of slower RVs hoping to make it into the campground before the “FULL CAMPGROUND” sign went up at Canyon Campground but alas, even that exaggeration wouldn’t have helped. It, too, was FULL! So, with Yellowstone gradually shrinking ahead of us, and no intention of retracing our steps, we finally headed to Fishing Bridge RV Park – for ‘Arvys ONLY! That’s Truckhouse! And…there was room! (No soft-sided units because of bears, apparently.) And…it is the most expensive ‘Arvey Park we have ever stayed at.

With little left to see in Yellowstone, and even less desire to contend with the horde of sightseers who were fighting for camping spaces after at least one 400 site campground had closed after Labor Day, we gladly carried on south into Grand Teton National Park with the spectacular Teton Mountains rising straight out of the plains (no foothills) to the west. (I bet Kodak made a ton of money on that vista over the years!)

And so, we spent Wednesday evening at Colter Bay Campground on Jackson Lake. We got there just about noon, so we rode our bikes, lazed, read, and explored. We also went to a presentation on the Shoshoni people who inhabited this area in the summertime during past centuries. We learned the next day, at a second presentation, that the Shoshone were decimated in a slaughter at Bear River in Idaho in the 1870’s.

GT Park has done right by cyclists! Parallel to the road through the park – starting at Jenny Lake, there is a multi-use path, though both of us agreed that there sure weren’t enough camping spots available. On Thursday, after many stops to photograph the Tetons from different perspectives, we finally landed at Gros Ventres Campground just out of Moose. Just before arriving at the campground, we stopped at the Craig Thomas Visitor Centre near Moose Junction. There, we watched a very good National Geographic presentation video on Grand Teton Park. It was entertaining!

Again, after landing at Gros Ventres Campground, because it was early afternoon, we rode our bikes a couple of miles down a gravel road called Mormons Row – named after a historic settlement that managed to successfully farm the infertile soil. I planned on taking a great pic of one of the standing buildings, but alas…my battery was dead, and besides, it was a barn, for goodness sake! We then watched a coyote bound away through the grain fields – stopping to check on us every few bounces!

Today, we stopped to go through the National Museum of Wildlife Art, but after parking, and admiring the awesome building, we entered and were met by an officious lady who asked if we were “with the Rhodes Scholar group”. (“Glad you asked, but no…we are with the Senior Quilters and Woodworkers of Nanaimo”. ) We discovered that even seniors were being charged $10 each! We passed on the artistry, and found an exit!

Jackson Hole – a cute, but very touristy town. Apparently, “Hole” doesn’t describe the living conditions – it refers to being in a Valley. Thank goodness I paid attention to one of the information sessions! It provided groceries and a scare for us! After shopping at Albertsons, Sandy packed the groceries into Truckhouse. I went to warm up the truck, and found it unlocked. Another oops! But not the worst! When I checked my pockets, my keys were missing. Check pockets up to 5 times, and then admit loss to Sandy. Okay, that sends the daytime temperatures up a lot!

We race back into Albertsons, but Lost and Found doesn’t have them. Neither were they turned in at the Starbucks counter where I bought the coffee. Back outside, and a thorough retrace of my movements! Then, back inside the store, where the plan is to search all the aisles where I had wandered. Sandy starts at Starbucks, and immediately finds them under a rack where I had grabbed a bag of coffee! Okay, we can both breathe again, so we headed west again into Idaho, and maybe, I won’t count that West Yellowknife Quilt Shop after all!

Once again in beautiful weather, we wound our way over the passes into Idaho. It is harvest time, the leaves are beginning to turn, and farmers were busily combining the rolling hills creating quilting patterns with symmetrical cuts. (Sandy suggests “breadboard patterns”! I think we are in synch!) The scenery was beautiful. We finally landed at Idaho Falls at the Snake River RV Park…all services, and even a train track next door. Good news…the rail traffic is less than the Island Rail!

Forecast: chance of quilt shops, less possibility of tool/toy shops!

I am delighted that so many friends and family members are still linked to this blog. Best wishes, love, and good weather to you all!!

Tony, the Quill

And now…Sandy would like to add a word about her quilting intentions:

I know you are all feeling sorry for the poor Quill, loitering outside all those quilt shops, looking lost…….. Reality: I am looking for a specific piece of fabric to border a completed quilt top…not wandering, admiring, drooling, buying. First stop, he was outside enjoying Whitefish, laughing and joking with Bob (5 minutes max). Second stop, Bob suggested a shop in Kalispell that had thousands of bolts of fabric. I quickly ascertained that the needed fabric was not available, and then joined the boys in a Cabela-type store where they were admiring outdoor toys. The third stop DID have “Quilt” in the name, but it should not be classified that way since it only had a few bolts of wild-life fabric.

(Sandy’s comments have been edited, and by the way there is that synchronicity again – “bolts” in a quilting shop; “bolts” in a toy shop!)