Day 11 (Friday May 22) Glacier to Yellowstone

Stayed up a little later last night to check out the stars again.  It doesn't get completely dark out here until nearly 11 pm.  Max wants to go to bed at 9pm Eastern time still, or 7pm mountain, so I just read a little and typed up some of the previous days blogs.  So this morning we slept in a little, then had a nice beagle walk all around the camp (KOA St Mary / East Glacier. I highly recommend it if you're going to the area).  There must have been some interesting animals roaming around last night because Max was following his nose all over the place. Then I took a run down the road a little over a mile to town, which was a little short but the climb up the hill on the way back made up for it.  Then packed up and it was back on the road...

Max once again propped himself up so he could take in the scenery.  We took a more scenic route back down south, on US-89 and US-287 instead of taking I-15.  The scenery was great and it was pretty remote, but nothing really seemed picture-worthy after the past few days.  Still, a nice ride, picking up the Madison River back near Three Forks (close to where we camped in the tipi) and followed the river valley all the way down to Yellowstone.  

On the drive down, while Max slept most of the time, it occurred to me that maybe I am supposed to be doing some kind of philosophical self-reflection during this journey. That's what would be happening if this was a movie. However, I'm just having fun taking in the country with my great little hound. If I've learned anything, it's that we live in a HUGE country, and there is a fireworks stand about every 40 miles. That's it so far for revelations. Sorry to disappoint.

Oh, and yes, there are still large areas of this country without mobile phone or WiFi signals, so there may be some days between posts, emails, etc. If anything bad happens, you will be notified of it by some kind of Park Service or Highway Patrol Officer. Without such notification, remember the words printed in large friendly letters on the cover of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy... "Don't Panic."

Next few days: Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and the Tetons.