Back in time

Conestoga Campground
White Sulphur Springs, MT

Seems like the rainy season is over here,

but it's been replaced by very hot weather.

Today is supposed to be in the high 90's!

Last Sunday we celebrated Father's Day

with some pie in the clubhouse.

It was very nice of Sally to honor the men this way.

There was also an influx of old Model T's into the little town

of White Sulphur.

This year the Montana 500 was held here.

The rally is held over 3 days,

with 200 miles the first and second days, and 100 for the third.

Cars must be stock, and are inspected both before and after the race.

We were lucky enough to have several staying in the campground..

Sunday afternoon they were a lot of them in town

at the local Spa Hot Springs Hotel parking lot..

 This cute one, driven by Jill Robinson, was this year's winner!

Not all are Model T's. There were some 'non-stock' cars

that tour with the other cars on their route.

It was really fun to see all these old cars.

The other night Gordon lit a campfire in the common area.

The outside temp was in the 80's, but it was fun to sit around

and chat with other campers.

We're really looking forward to the upcoming

Fourth of July celebrations.

There's a parade and nice fireworks display we hear :-)

Livingston, MT

Conestoga Campground
White Sulphur Springs, MT

Yesterday we took a nice drive to Livingston.

It's only about 71 miles south of White Sulphur,

and is a very pretty trip.

Rt 89 winds in between the Crazy Mountain

and Bridger Mountain ranges.

There was still a bit of snow on the tops..

Livingston is situated on the banks of the Yellowstone river,

and is 52 miles north of Yellowstone park.

We got into Livingston, parked in a lot by the Depot,

and walked around town.

The Depot was built in 1902 as Northern Pacific Railroad's

original access to Yellowstone National Park.

It now houses a museum and supports many festivals during the season.

This town of 7,000 was established because of the railroad.

It was midway between the St. Paul, MN and Tacoma, WA line.

The main street is lined with old west style buildings..

There are a lot of art galleries and antique shops

within some of the old buildings.

Very cool!

We stopped to have a bite for lunch in a great Mexican place..

 

It was definitely yummy!

We had heard that a drive through Paradise Valley

isn't to be missed, so off we went.

It is also a beautiful drive on south 89.

If you follow it all the way, it will lead you right into the national park.

It follows the Yellowstone River,

in between the Absaroka and Gallatin ranges.

The views are spectacular!

The river draws a lot of fly fisherman to this area as well..

It's just beautiful country!

One month down

Conestoga Campground
White Sulphur Springs, MT

We can't believe it's been a month since we've been here.

We've only scratched the surface of what we want to see

while we're here in Montana.

This past week has been quiet,

but the park gets pretty full on the weekends now.

We find that most people are on their way to or from Glacier,

or even Alaska.

Everyone has great stories to tell :-)

One day last week George and I decided to go on a picnic.

We stopped at the local market and bought some

summer sausage, cheese, tortilla chips

and some drinks and headed out.

We both really like the reservoir nearby,

and as it was the weekend,

we watched quite a few water skiers.

There's always cows and steer grazing the hills..

although this bunch looked pretty lazy :-)

We found a great little spot away from the crowds

to set up our picnic..

George was trying to spot some bald eagles,

but to no avail :-(

We think there was too much action on the water.

Almost every night there is a beautiful sunset.

Most of the time I'm already in jammies to go out

and take pictures.

The sun doesn't go down until almost 10 pm!

We're planning some sight seeing trips for

later in the summer.

Glacier for one,

and the Beartooth Highway for another.

Both will require some hotel stays,

we don't want to pull stakes and take the RV.

We're loving Montana!

An unexpected visit from friends

Conestoga Campground
White Sulphur Springs, MT

When we left Coyote RV Resort on May 11,

we said goodbye to a great couple

that we have grown very close to,

Connie & Greg.

Much to our surprise a week or so ago,

Greg sent me a text and asked exactly

where we were in Montana.

They decided to stop here for a couple days

on their way back to Akron, OH.

Arriving on Sunday afternoon,

they are staying in the local hotel.

Their trailer is in storage in CA

until they go back in December sometime.

We had them come over to the campground

and introduced them around to the owners and workampers.

The four of us went over to the Branding Iron

for an early dinner.

It was great catching up again!

This morning Greg & George went to the local

golf course to play 9 holes, while Connie and I had breakfast

and then took a short ride.

After our ride to the reservoir,

we circled back around and watched the boys

finish their short round of golf.

We took the truck back, then hopped in Greg's truck,

and gave them a tour of Meagher county.

We started on a loop that took us to Castle Ghost Town.

There are a few buildings visible from the county road,

but as the area surrounding the road is private,

you can't get too close to them.

It was once a thriving mining camp of 2,000 people, 

getting its start in 1882 mining for silver.

Calamity Jane for a short time ran a restaurant here,

before returning to Deadwood, SD.

The loop coming out of Castle Town

was entertaining us with a bit of wildlife.

We saw a doe and her fawn..

and and antelope with her baby..

The four of us were getting a bit hungry,

so we stopped for lunch at the 'Truck Stop',

which is becoming one of our favorite places :-)

We ended the afternoon by taking another short ride

to the Newlan Reservoir to show our friends.

What a perfect time to go,

as we saw another bald eagle!

Connie and Greg had never seen one in the wild,

so it was very cool!

 It was a wonderful day!

Connie and Greg are moving on tomorrow morning,

but we will see them sometime in September 

after we leave here and make our way to Kentucky.

We will miss them!