ON THE ROAD TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Thursday, June 28 – We traveled a couple hours this morning from Butte, MT, to Livingston, MT, and the North end of Yellowstone National Park. Our daughter, Carrie, is going to meet us here this evening after work. She's in Billings, MT, and will drive the couple hours here to spend a long weekend with us.

It was another gorgeous drive. Boy had the weather changed. No rain just a lot of heat.

Can you read the sign through our filthy windshield?

We are staying at Osens RV Park and Campground in Livingston, MT. The sites and roads are gravel with a generous grass area between the sites. We have 30 amp electric, water, and sewer connections. There are no 50 amp sites available. There are nice bathrooms and a laundry room. Marsha did laundry when we arrived and said the washer and dryers did a great job. We are on the south side of town, which is the direction we need to travel to Yellowstone Park. We are only 50 minutes away.

Site B7

Looking right.

Looking left.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

TRAVELING THROUGH IDAHO TO BUTTE, MONTANA

Wednesday, June 27 -- We continue eastward this morning towards Yellowstone National Park. We will be rendezvousing with our daughter, Carrie, in Livingston, MT, on Thursday, for a long weekend touring Yellowstone.

It was a beautiful drive through Idaho. We had heard that Idaho is a beautiful state and it is true. What a gorgeous drive through the mountain valleys. We drove along a couple mountain streams the entire way. Wonderful.

We then entered Montana on I-90 and enjoyed this section of our drive, as well. Again, magnificent mountains and valleys.

We were up to 7,000 + feet.

It was smooth sailing all the way to Butte, Montana. What a find! This old mining town has a rich history in Copper. The downtown is full of wonderful old buildings and homes. The hill overlooking the city is where all the deep vertical mine shafts are located and that area is just full of historical places to discover.

One of the biggest attractions in Butte is Our Lady of the Rockies. This 90 foot Statue sits on the Continental Divide. Donations of money, land, equipment and hundreds of volunteer hours over six years made this feat possible. The Statue was completed on December 20, 1985. Besides being 90 feet tall, the base is 3,500 feet above the city, and the base alone contains 4,000 tons of concrete. The head is 16 feet high by 10 feet wide. The rest of the statistics are amazing. Find out more about the immensity of Our Lady by clicking on Our Lady of the Rockies.

Now you ask, why didn't they get a better photo of it? MONEY. The only way to get up to Our Lady is to take a tour. Now you know the rest of the story.

Our Lady of the Rockies

Once again, we've found an area that needs additional touring. I guess that's why it's impossible to see everything this great country has to offer. Add Butte, MT, to our list of places to return to some day.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

A WONDERFUL VISIT WITH FRIENDS

Tuesday, June 26 -- With heavy rain this morning and a weather report calling for all-day rain, we decided to wait a day before heading towards Yellowstone National Park. We hung around the motor home all morning until about noon when Donna call and invited us up to visit her and Norm. These are friends from the last two winters spent in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. As a matter of fact, we rented a RV spot off them the first year we visited Mission, TX.

They have a wonderful home in Deer Meadows, WA, which is about 30 miles North of Spokane, right on the Columbia River. This is their summer home. They recently purchased a home in Mission, TX, where they spend the winters.

They met us along the highway, and we followed them down the road to a delightful small town grocery store/restaurant, Fort Spokane Store Restaurant. We love eating at small local dinners or taverns. And thanks Norm for grabbing the check!

The guy that owns the place just can't throw a thing away.

Donna and Norm

We then moved to Donna and Norm's home to visit for the afternoon. They have a lovely 4-bedroom home out in the country, and get this guys....Norm has TWO storage barns! Now that's what Paul calls awesome! The place is for sale if anyone is looking for a very nice home on the Columbia River near Spokane, WA.

With the rain continuing and fog settling in, we decided we better head home. Thanks Donna and Norm for a fun afternoon get-together. We'll see you in South Texas.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!