Blogs from Bozeman, Montana, United States, North America
June 27th 2011
From St. Louis we ended up in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois, where there was a little bit of sunshine in sight and luckily our GPS took us straight to our hosts for the next two nights. Chicago is pretty large in size, and traffic that is to definitely be avoided...bad drivers everywhere. There didn't seem too much to do in Chicago though, ironically enough, there were a few museums, theater, the great lake and finally the most delicious restaurants! We'd probably rate it the best city to eat in so far, full of options for every taste. We went to the Chicago Diner, and they had the best burgers ever and the greatest milkshakes in the world- the cookies and cream is a must! Our CS hosts were Danelle and Judy, and they made ... read more
Another year, another Asia trip
Published: May 6th 2011North America » United States » Montana » Bozeman
May 6th 2011
It's Friday morning and I'm proctoring my final exam. I have to finish grading them today because tomorrow I drive to Seattle, from where I will fly to Shanghai on Sunday! Hard to believe the trip is already upon me. When I returned last August I didn't think I would be traveling again this summer, but by October I knew that wasn't going to be an option. I actually bought my plane ticket in January this year, so I've had 4 whole months of counting down to the exact date and time of my departure. Less than 53 hours to go! If you're interested, here's my itinerary. It's pretty well decided down to the day, barring any transportation issues (which, if last year is any indication, will be plentiful...but no Expo this year makes me optimistic). ... read more
Idaho, Montana, & Yellowstone National Park
Published: May 3rd 2011North America » United States » Montana » Bozeman
April 26th 2011
We passed briefly through Idaho, the narrow northern part of the state, on our way to Montana. Montana, nicknamed The Big Sky State, does seem to have a big sky. Even with the snowy Rocky Mountains, the land appears to be so open, natural, and sparsely populated that everything seems to be a bit bigger. Due to its bigness, we split our drive to Yellowstone up by staying a night in Bozeman, a particularly cute town with a really nice, big library and a big SuperWalmart with a nice big parking lot. So that's where we spent our time...and our night. The next morning we awoke to find ourselves in a van covered with snow! Now we had done our research and already knew that Yellowstone is still mostly closed even at the end of April ... read more
June 26th 2010
We left Coram and drove southwest to Kalispell, MT. We stopped at an auto parts store to get an air filter for Bob’s car and a tail light bulb for ours. From Kalispell we took Hwy 93 south past the western shore of Flathead Lake. We saw sailboats out on the lake taking advantage of the breeze across the beautiful blue waters. We stopped by the National Bison Preserve at Moilese, where we saw a herd of buffalo and a big stack of deer and elk antlers. At Missoula we shopped for groceries before getting on I-90 east, to Butte and then on to Bozeman. Between Butte and Bozeman were some pretty steep climbs and some equally steep descents. It is beautiful country, with rolling hills, pastures and mountains, green and fertile. There are lots of ... read more
Sat, 26 Jne, 2010 Coram,MT to Bozeman, MT
Published: June 27th 2010North America » United States » Montana » Bozeman
June 26th 2010
Headed out this morning on US 2 towards Kalispell, MT. We made a stop there at a NAPA autoparts store - - air filter for the Jeep and a tail light bulb for the van. From there we went south on US 93 to MT 212 to the National Bison Range located in Moiese, MT. The girls got stamped and got a patch. Drove down the west side of Flathead Lake. It was windy and there were a few sailboats out on the lake taking advantage of the wind. The lake is large (about 35 miles long and several miles wide) and a beautiful shade of blue. After leaving the Bison Range, we continued south on MT 212 until we "T'd" at MT 200. We went east on 200 back to US 93 which we followed ... read more
Thank The Sweet Lord!!
Published: November 24th 2009North America » United States » Montana » Bozeman
August 25th 2009
Day 127 (Tuesday 25/08/09, NJJ) Everyone had to get off the bus at 4.40am in Spokane, the last stop in Washington state, for 30mins. We were unlucky to be stuck in the same seats when we got back on. We both managed to get a little sleep then. We travelled through Idaho but there were no stops in the state. 30 mins stop at St Regis, Montana at 8.30am so we bought some breakfast food but there wasn't a healthy item in the shop! I got back into my reading back to try and distract myself from the discomfort. At 12.40pm we stopped at Butte, Montana. I stayed on, Jay got off and came back with more unhealthy food. We finally managed to adjust the seats, don't know why they wouldn't adjust earlier so the last ... read more
Under the big sky: Montana
Published: July 26th 2009North America » United States » Montana » Bozeman
July 26th 2009
July 19th/21st 2009 Keeping track of time Having endured a terrible night - despite its beautiful scenery, Wolf Creek Campground is not a 100 metres from the I-95 with trucks and cars hurtling by at all hours - Nik and I set off for the Big Sky: Montana. We skirted around Moscow before stopping at Panhandlers Pies in Sandpoint for brunch. Hashbrowns, griddle cakes, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and endless coffee refills were in order! As were two to-go slices of razzleberry pie to enjoy at lunchtime. We carried on north through Naples and bypassed Moravia to turn right at Bonners Ferry and trundle across the state line into Montana (ta-ra Idaho) and into a new time zone. Yep, we are now in Mountain Time - one hour ahead of the Pacific Coast and only seven ... read more
July 8th 2009
Travel Day - Yellowstone - Bozeman, MT Woke up fairly early, everyone got dressed - it was cold around 38 degrees. Packed up the tent etc...Jumped in the car, made a quick stop at the General Store and off we went. We made the drive north to Mammoth where we made a quick pit stop. We then climbed back into the car and drove north out of the park through Gardiner, Mt and made our way to Bozeman, MT. While rain threatened the entire way, we made it without rain. We checked into the hotel and quickly went off to lunch at Famous Daves BBQ - it was excellent and I also noticed that there is no tax at restaurants here! Now it was finally time to get cleaned up. We went back to the hotel ... read more
May 30th 2009
The reason this blog is so late? We've been at the corner of "no" and "where" all day long. After 16 hours on the road, we finally arrived outside Bozeman, MT. After our jaunt to 1880s town, we made another fun stop at Wall Drug, a ginormous tourist trap in Wall, SD. We were lucky to get out, only purchasing a piece of clothing each (and milkshakes, of course.) Next up was Mount Rushmore, where Freddie and Gimli bravely marched us into the Black Hills. Quick stop to take lots of pics and get back on the road to.... ...the Crazy Horse memorial. Don't know exactly what it is? Neither did we....Turns out it's GOING to be a huge carving ala Mt Rushmore of Crazy Horse on his horse. But they've been working on it since ... read more
April 26th 2009
So here goes...thought I should try this blogging thing while I am still at a computer I am familiar with. I am starting to realize that I am actually going on this adventure...and soon! I have about seven different lists started but not finished right now. I'm sure that number will just keep growing in the next few weeks. Leaving Bozeman on the 14th. Arrive on the O.P. to visit friends for a few days and then I am off! Will arrive in Quito, Ecuador on the 19th of May. Till then!!!... read more
