Day 4 Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Friday October 25, 2019

Decent breakfast at the motel. Cute dining room with a mural painted by a Calgary artist!

Brandin Iron dining room.

Headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was very snowy on the roads and parking lots also on the walking paths. The waterfall was spectacular. The sun was out so it didn’t feel that cold.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Sue sliding down the stairs.

Continued to travel southbound stopped at the Mud Volcano and the Dragons Mouth Spring. Saw a large herd of buffalo. Stopped for a couple more pictures. Made a stop at a lodge on Yellowstone lake where we ate lunch from our cooler and car snacking bars.  Then headed out of the park towards Jackson Hole.

Dragons mouth spring

Lodge on  Yellowstone lake closed for the season.
It made me think af the Shining

Dragons Mouth Spring sign.

Stopped a couple of times to take pictures of the Grand Tetons. Saw a moose at Moose Junction.

Got to the Antler Hotel in Jackson Hole. Got settled into a quiet room in the very back. Then we went out to find supper. Found another Thai restaurant down an alleyway. No one in the place when we first walked in but it quickly filled up. Food was good but not as good as in Bozeman.

Day 3 Bozeman to West Yellowstone

Thursday October, 24 2019

Breakfast at the hotel was excellent. Sadly I thought that biscuit gravy was porridge. Yuck! It was tasteless thin porridge. Had a good laugh about that. Other than that it was really good variety of food. Got gas in Livingston. Stopped at a cute little General Store before getting to Gardner. It was in the middle of no where and was like a health food store! Drove past the small campsite that Shauna and I had camped at, closed for the season of course.

Drove through Gardner found the way to the Roosevelt gate to take a couple of pictures. Small herd of elk provided a nice back drop. Bought a park pass $30 gave us 7 days for a car load. Stopped at the Information Centre. Found out that not everything was open. That included restaurants also the road south of Old Faithful was closed.

Yellowstone Gate

Continued on to the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. Then headed down the road toward Old Faithful. I saw a lone wolf run across the road in my rear view mirror. That was the one animal I wanted to see.  Talked to a Ranger later she said that the Jasper wolves are surviving and thriving.

After the west entrance road we came around a bend to have a herd of buffalo on the road. They are truly massive animals as you can see as they stroll slowly past the car. It is an exciting experience to have. We got to Old Faithful and found a place that was open with food! Then we got a front row seat to see Old Faithful erupt



Headed out of the park on the west entrance road. Found the Brandin Iron Motel. All was fine until we realized there was no microwave to heat up our Thai leftovers.  Suzanne found that we could use the breakfast room. The room was just OK. No heat in the washroom and the door was in desperate need of weather stripping along the bottom. I blocked the breeze with my largest suitcase. Thankfully the heater worked fine.

Buffalo wandering down the road.

Old Faithful

Here comes the Buffalo

Day 2 Great Falls to Bozeman

Wednesday October, 23 2019

Blue sky finally at Butte

The only thing worth having at the free breakfast was the coffee so we left the hotel and had a decent breakfast at Perkins. Headed out into a snow storm between Great Falls and Butte. The roads had been plowed and sanded so my all seasons tires where fine. Stopped over in Helena at our first Costco shopping spree. Both of us bought stuff to have for snack attacks. I bought a new jacket that I wore for most of the rest of the trip! Loaded up on yogurt and fruit to store in my new cooler. Of course a bottle of red wine, 7 deadly zins! It continued to snow like crazy until we got to Butte when we once again saw blue skies.

Evidence of snowstorm

Turned off of I-15 on to I-90. Traffic was heavier going east - west than north - south route. Hotel was easy to find after a quick detour through the Costco parking lot. Went for dinner at a really good Thai restaurant for supper, Thai Basil, 1805 Oak St. It was the first oversized U.S. potions that gave us enough leftovers for supper the next night.

Back to the hotel with a short detour into the Costco parking lot once again. Nice to have a glass of wine to enjoy in the hotel room.

Supper at Basil Thai in Bozeman

Day 1 Calgary to Great Falls, Montana

Tuesday October 22, 2019

We left a day earlier than planned due to a snow storm that was moving in the next morning. Went for a great breakfast at Eggs Oasis. left Calgary around 10:00 am. Heading south into a strong west wind but skies still sunny.

Stopped in Lethbridge aka L.A. at Safeway to buy lunch. Then headed towards the border. No problems getting across. Pulled up to the crossing it was a young red headed woman She only asked where we going and how long we would be in the States. That was it.
Stopped at the first rest station. There was a traffic/weather report playing in the restroom. Prediction was for snow south of Great Falls the following day. Yikes did not have my snow tires on. Had a good laugh at the signage warning people to beware of the wildlife in Montana. Made a stop for gas in Shelby

We didn't have a place booked for the night in Great Falls but found a decent Best Western right downtown. It was an older place but had underground parking heated parking. The restaurant, The Celtic Cowboy, that I had researched was a block away. Bonus! Had a great meal of Sheppards pie. There was a trivia night happening! I would have loved to have played but we were not staying. Had a fun cocktail. It was like a desert came with whipped cream which Suzanne gladly ate which left the booze for me!

Fun night to begin the trip. Back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Staircase to whiskey tasting room.

Fancy cocktail with supper! 

First night supper at the Celtic Cowboy Pub.