Catching Up

It's Saturday and we're in West Yellowstone, which is just outside the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  We left Red Lodge this morning and drove over the Beartooth Pass and across the northern part of Yellowstone.  It was a glorious day -- not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures ranging from 50 to 80.  The entire drive was stunningly beautiful. And eventful: we saw bison and elk, waterfalls and hot springs, jagged peaks and gorgeous meadows. In a word: spectacular.  There is so much to say about this day, but I'm afraid I just don't have enough time to go into any detail.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Thursday and Friday in Red Lodge were also eventful and entertaining, although in a completely different way than Beartooth and Yellowstone.  Our "camping" trip (an overnight stay in a thoroughly luxurious Airstream camper, complete with 3-burner stove, shower and comfortable beds for 5) was completely rained out.  Instead of hiking, we stayed in the Airstream and taught Adam how to play poker.  He was a VERY quick study! 

Friday morning, we thawed out from the overnight cold (low 40's) and damp weather. I took the boys bowling (which is connected to a casino!) and then dragged them through town so I could buy gifts and stock up on baked goods from Red Lodge's amazing 100-yr. old bakery.  

After dinner, we all went to the pig races down the road in Bear Creek.  Bear Creek is a one-horse town that's famous for being close to the old Smith coal mine, which was the site of a terrible explosion that killed 74 miners.  The owner of the Bear Creek Saloon thought that hosting pig races would be a good way to bring visitors out to his otherwise unremarkable town.  It turns out they were a big hit.  Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, they run about a dozen races.  Yes, you can bet on the pigs.  And guess what?  Adam's pig won (#5 in the pictures)! He was thrilled -- mostly because he won $25.  (Don't worry -- our next vacation won't be in Las Vegas.)  The whole is pretty funny and very entertaining.  Who knows, we may introduce groundhog racing back in Pennsylvania....

So that's all for now.  We're spending Sunday in southern and eastern Yellowstone: Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, etc.  We hope we'll have another beautiful day.