Author: Easin' Along

It’s been a few weeks since we shared another stop on our trip to the northwest and the Rockies. There’s a reason for that. After four months on the road, we encountered the inertia of returning to life at home. We had two large boxes of mail to sort (most of it was junk), medical appointments to keep, my mom needed some catch-up time, and my PC was in the throes of a death spiral. Catching up with home life went well–the computer issues did not.

I ordered a Big Mac only to find that converting over thirty years of files and pictures from a PC to a Mac required more effort than I wanted to expend, so I returned it. I ordered a mid-level PC but found that the resolution for picture editing wasn’t as good as the small laptop I use for travel. I returned it as well.

For now, I am using my small laptop connected to my PC monitor by way of a $60 docking station.  I should have used my travel computer to start with, but my old eyes work better when I don’t have to squint at a small screen. It’s not an ideal situation, but it gets me back to my blog, which I missed while spending a lot of time to no avail. It’s good to be back; let’s go to Big Sky, Montana.

Before Big Sky, Helen and I spent three days in West Yellowstone, MT, a small town located beside the western entrance of Yellowstone National Park. We wanted to meet up with Helen’s niece, McLeod, working as a housekeeping manager at Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. We visited Mammoth last summer on the northern end of Yellowstone and looked forward to another visit. We met for lunch in nearby Gardiner, MT, and had a great time while learning much about the challenges of working in a lodge in the time of COVID. Back in West Yellowstone, we rode our bikes a lot, explored a little, and found a saloon suitable for gaming.  Helen loves gaming.

Last summer, we discovered The Inn on the Gallatin, a campground that offered everything we love about RV travel. We booked another stay at the end of that experience and eagerly looked forward to a return trip in this unique setting. The Inn on the Gallatin is a “boutique” for RVers.  The owners, Deann and Steve, take great pains to enhance the experience of their guests.  The campsites sit adjacent to decks overlooking the scenic Gallatin River. The flower beds and the lawns are immaculately maintained and colorfully accented with artwork and whimsey.

On weekends, Steve and Deann open a cafe next to the office for campground guests and feature gourmet breakfast offerings complete with warm doughnut holes and fresh coffee.  Breakfast at the Inn is a not-to-be-missed experience, and we invited Debbie, our friend from Knoxville, now living close by, to share this pleasure with us. Debbie had visited the cafe often after moving into the area and knew Deann and Steve well. They greeted her with open arms. We lingered long over the breakfast table before waving Debbie goodby and retreating to Dora for a nap.

The following day, Debbie’s husband Rick, also from East Tennessee, picked me up for a fly-fishing trip on the Gallatin. Rick is an expert fisherman and tied the flies that he shared with me.  On this day, Rick unselfishly decided not to fish and offered to wade the river and guide me through the section of the river he chose for us.  After several misses, his counsel paid off, and I landed a rainbow. The picture below illustrates my elation. Even if I had not had success at fishing, I would have been fine.  Fly-fishing in a mountain stream requires a degree of concentration that shuts out a lot of life’s noise. I find it very calming, and I owe Rick a big thank-you for a delightful outing.

The remainder of our time at the Inn was relatively low-key.  I prepared a delicious meal of scallops and bacon that we purchased frozen in Morro Bay, CA, and saved for dinner on our deck in Big Sky.  Smoke from distant wildfires drifted above us during our stay but was of no concern (yet).

At the end of our visit to Big Sky, we flowed away as calmly as the river behind us.  It was time to Ease Along.

Please see Picture Gallery that follows this post. (Link here)

Campground reservations in Jackson Hole are hard to come by anytime, especially on the Fourth of July. Helen and I had three days on the schedule for Jackson and were determined to make the most of it. It helped that, once again, we had camping reservations at the Kudar Motel, one block off the downtown square.

We arrived on the afternoon of July 3^rd and backed Dora into the wrong campsite, thinking we had the same site as last year. Thankfully, Michael, the owner, corrected us before we got too settled and led us to our site at the rear of the motel.  After settling in, we immediately drove to the lovely house that Carolyn, my son’s mother-in-law, rented for the summer and where Collin and his family were spending the month. We needed a granddaughter fix in the worst way.

Carolyn and her husband Johnny prepared a lovely dinner for us, and the girls brought us up to date on all they had seen and done since arriving at the base of the Grand Tetons. It was great seeing everyone. Although Helen and I were a bit road-weary, we stayed long into the evening and planned our next day, including the Fourth of July Parade.

Bob and Mary Alice, friends from our time in Berlin over forty years earlier, met us for coffee on the morning of the parade.  We had not seen each other since those days and had reconnected recently on social media. They have a lovely home in Jackson and divide their time between Wyoming and their home in Virginia. It was great catching up with them, and we agreed we had to do it again soon.

The parade was a fun-filled event! Crowds lined the street early along the parade route, and we worked to reach the meeting point for our family.  The girls arrived before us and looked eager for things to begin.  Our youngest planned to fill a grocery bag with the candy and souvenirs tossed out by parade participants. Once the parade began, we couldn’t look away for fear of missing something unique or unusual.  Parade organizers treated us to antique cars, several groups of cowboys and cowgirls, political groups, first responders, school children, and ordinary citizens looking to wave to the crowd.  On top of it all, a bluebird day made the experience even more pleasant. A grand time was had by all!

For our final full day, we planned to take a float trip on the Snake River. Collin rented a float boat and agreed to paddle it for us. The float trip would begin at the launch at Pacific Creek and end at Dead Man’s Bar.  When Collin lived in Jackson after graduating from college, we fished this stretch of water often and I was looking forward to a return trip.

The Grand Teton mountains are in view for most of the float and I find it difficult to avoid capturing them on camera, they are so majestic. I have several pictures of them from the float trip and from Carolyn’s house.  It is almost impossible to put their beauty into words.

The weather conditions changed dramatically on this day.  A storm came up quickly and pelted us with sleet for a few moments, and lightning strikes came close a couple of times.  We pulled over to the riverbank and waited it out. Few people win an encounter with lightning. Fortunately, the storm left us almost as quickly as it came and did little to dampen our spirits. We resumed our float.

That evening, we all shared a pizza in Dora and invited the girls to spend the night with us—a treat we get so rarely.  They agreed and it was good to be with them. After a weather-beaten day on the water, they slept well. 

Regretfully, Helen and I had to move on the next morning. Carolyn’s house was on our route to West Yellowstone, so we dropped them off with a couple of bear hugs from Big Daddy.  Our time together was short, but we remain grateful for every experience.  Thanks so much to Carolyn and Johnny for sharing her house and her time with the family.  They’re great hosts, and we enjoyed every minute, but it’s time to be Easin’ Along.

See you in West Yellowstone.

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