Pleasant Surprise in Cloquet

We called the Duluth/Cloquet KOA as soon as we got into cell coverage area, and they had a site we could have for one night.  So we moseyed on over the roughly 100 miles to get there.  It's a great campground.  It's small, and well-kept.  They have a pool (happy Ruth) and hot tub, and an ice cream social on weekend nights.  We pulled into our site and got set up.

Ruth used TripAdvisor to find a restaurant that was also featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network named Gordy's Hi Hat Drive-In.  It's a burger and fries and fried fish place.  We got there around 1:15 p.m. and the line was out the door and out under an awning.  Since we weren't sure where else to go, we stayed in the line, which actually moved pretty quickly.  Gordy, the owner, was at the counter taking orders.  We all got burgers and shared fries and onion rings.  We agreed that the burgers were really good.  We all liked the fries, but didn't like the onion rings.  The onion rings have a cornmeal breading that is pretty thick and not seasoned.  

After lunch, we headed back to the motorhome to relax.  I ran to Walmart since we were back in civilization to pick up some supplies.  Ruth went to the pool, but as she will probably report in an upcoming post, it was really cold so she couldn't stay in for long.

Gordy, the owner, was working the counter

The burgers were delicious!

Ruth was pleased with her pick

A Dud in Deer River

The challenge in planning this year's trip was finding a campground in Minnesota.  Jeff had researched Brainerd, a town that is surrounded by lakes and has many resorts.  He wanted to rent a boat and go fishing.  I looked into it, but couldn't find any campgrounds that had available spots in or around Brainerd.  We had booked a stop at Itasca State Park, but had to cut that out of the trip since we stayed an extra day in Red Lodge.

I was able to find a "resort" in Deer River, Minnesota, which appeared to be right off Route 2 on Jessie Lake.  The site said they had a Recreation Room, boat rentals and a swimming beach.  That worked for the long term plan, because our campgrounds in Minnesota and Michigan were off of Route 2.  

Our drive from Medora to Deer River was a long one, and it couldn't have been easy for Jeff to pass so many lake resorts that had campgrounds, knowing we still had miles to go.  Our campground was feather off Route 2 than either of us thought it would be.  We finally got to the Jessie View Resort, and well, let's just say that they must have an excellent website person, because the website is much nicer than the actual campground.  Calling this place a "resort" was a bit of s stretch.  We were the only tourists at the campground - the rest of the people were seasonal campers.  When I checked in, the girl (maybe 15 or 16 years old) told us we could park in an open spot.  There were at least 12 of them.

We found a spot where we thought Jeff could get a satellite signal, but try as he might, it wouldn't work.  No internet connection either.  I went to check out the "game room" that included a television.  Someone had left the door open, and bugs were in there.  Lots of mosquitoes and flies.  I don't think any of the video games worked, and the room was old and worn out.  Jeff said the television worked and got some stations, but I don't think anyone wanted to sit in there.  

We were literally in the boonies.  There was no town near us, and we barely passed anything that looked like a town for many miles.  There was little sign of life in the campground - I saw one site with people on it.

Jeff and Ruth walked down to the lake to check it out, and Ruth was not impressed with the swimming beach.  I don't think they saw any of the alleged rental boats either.  

I ran out to find a convenience store to pick up a few things, and found one a few miles down the road.  It also had gas, so we could fill up our tanks before we left.  I had almost everything I needed to make Cincinnati chili for dinner - homemade chili had had defrosted, served over spaghetti.  I grabbed some extra tomato sauce and shredded cheese at the store, along with some drinks and a few other staples we needed.

Upon my return, Jeff and I agreed that we would not be spending two nights here on Jessie Lake.  No internet, no television, lots of bugs, and nothing to do.  Nothing nearby to check out.  We were only about 100 miles from Duluth, and they had a KOA campground.  

We had a good night, so all was not lost.  Dinner was great, and then we all packed into the back bedroom and watched the last two episodes of VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980's I had burned onto a DVD.  Jeff and I knew most of the songs, and Henry and Ruth had heard of some.  They saw Michael Jackson when he still looked like Michael Jackson, and they were introduced to some 80's one hit wonders and long term stars.  It was a lot of fun.

In the morning, I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  While hooking up the Jeep, an eagle flew over Jeff, so close that he got a really good look at him.  That salvaged an otherwise lackluster camping experience.

Land of 10,000 Lakes

On our drive through northern Minnesota to the campground, we passed an area that boasted 90 lakes in 90 miles.  I don't think they were kidding, because I quickly counted about 15 lakes along the way.  To kill the time of the drive, we started counting lakes we passed and signs for lakes along the way.

We came to the town of Akeley, and the sign welcoming us said it was the home of Paul Bunyan.  Lo and behold, in the center of town was a huge statue of Paul Bunyan with his hand extended so you could sit or stand on it.  Ruth was a little freaked out by it, but Henry climbed up to pose for a picture.  We talked Ruth into it, but she wasn't so sure about the big bearded lumberjack...

 

 

The Camping Life

My job in the RV is pretty simple, but i have a few jobs that are hard. 

My jobs are washing the dishes, taking out the garbage, sweeping, cleaning up the bathroom, and just tidying up. 

Some campgrounds have basketball hoops (basketball is my favorite sport so that makes me happy), swimming pools, and playgrounds. but some campgrounds that we go don't have anything special so I beg my family to take me to a hotel because they have pools there.

Not many people get to enjoy camping like i do so i am really lucky. 

Bye!

Ruth

Museum of the Buffalo

On the long drive from Medora to Deer River, Minnesota, we stopped in Jamestown, North Dakota for a break.  Jamestown is a good-sized town for North Dakota, right off the interstate.

To bring in the tourists, Jamestown has a Prairie Village and Museum of the Buffalo.  I saw good reviews for the museum on TripAdvisor, so we decided to check it out.

They have a herd of bison that grazes in a pasture the museum owns.  One of the herd is a white bison and we were lucky to see it in the fields beyond the parking lot, grazing with some other bison.

We enjoyed our time in the museum.  It has many exhibits, including donations from contributors such as tools made out of bison bone by indians, real arrowheads and stone hammers, and art that depicts bisons and bison hunts.

Sunset in the Badlands

Henry and I spent yesterday evening in the South Unit of the park so Henry could spend some time watching the prairie dogs and I could watch the sunset.

We didn't drive the whole loop of the South Unit; we stopped at the first prairie dog colony, drove out to where we saw wild horses the night before, and then drove up to a higher spot in the park on the way out to watch the sunset.

We saw the coyote roaming through the prairie dog colony again, but it didn't look like he caught anything.  The prairie dogs were very chatty while he was around, and a whole section of them seemed to be standing up on their hind legs and yelling to one another.

It was a beautiful sunset.  The sky had a few clouds, and as the sun dropped behind some buttes, the sky turned pink and purple and the clouds picked up flecks of the sun.

After we watched the sunset, we drove back by the colony, and it was eerily quiet.  We didn't see any prairie dogs - they had all gone underground for the night.  We had no idea they did that.

The View Up North

On our full day in Medora and the national park, we slept in.  It wasn't intentional; actually, I hoped to wake up early and see the South Unit again around sunrise.  But since I was up late writing on the blog, that didn't happen.  That will be one of my regrets of this trip.  I should have set my alarm clock.

The late start helped Jeff get some work done before we headed up to the North Unit of the park around 10:00 a.m.  It's about 60 miles from one unit to the other, and in between the two units are National Grasslands.

The drive up Highway 85 was scenic, with grasslands and some private farms and ranches along the way.  Highway 85 North will take you up to Williston, North Dakota, where the drilling boom is occurring.  It's apparent that the boom is occurring:  Highway 85 is loaded with tanker trucks, construction vehicles and company management pick-up trucks going in both directions, and they're widening the highway to accommodate increasing traffic.  There are signs advertising jobs along I-94 and Highway 85 in construction and drilling.  We saw a few smaller drilling spots on ranchland as we made our way north.

The tiny spots on top are bison -
see picture below.

Before entering the North Unit, we stopped at a scenic pull-off to look at a large swath of bandlands on the right side of the road.  To the left was a large butte that towered over the highway.  Jeff and Henry used their binoculars to look for bighorn sheep, since a sign on the highway alerted that there could be bighorn sheep crossing the road.  Jeff has repeatedly called these signs false advertising, because we have rarely seen a bighorn sheep when those signs were present (Colorado Monument, Flaming Gorge, etc.).  Holding true to his theory, we didn't see any sheep.

The Northern Unit of the park is about the same size as the South Unit, but instead of a loop drive, there's a 14 mile road through this section that you take in and out of the park.  The drive is just as scenic as the South Unit loop.  The North Unit lets you walk among the canonball concretions - Henry climbed up on one.  Seeing the effects of water and wind on the sandstone is incredible; at the top, middle and bottom of buttes there are hoodoos, terraces and pockmarks.  In some places, it looks like there are small caves that Henry and I thought would be perfect homes for mountain lions.

Looking up at the ridge of buttes on our right, Jeff spotted some bison grazing at the top of a butte.  It was an incredible sight to see these huge animals silhouetted against the sky.  We wondered how they got up there.

Henry saw another bison rolling around in the dirt and running in a grassy area behind trees along the park road, but the trees prevented a good view of him.  We couldn't get pictures, but it was awesome to see the bison run off into a stand of trees.  Because of their size, you don't think of them as fast animals, but they can run pretty fast, around 30 miles an hour.

At the end of the 14 mile drive is a scenic lookout of the Little Missouri River and the surrounding badlands.  A sign at the pullout noted that when Teddy Roosevelt lived here, thieves stole his boat and he pursued them through the area and caught them.

During the Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps provided jobs to many people by building roads and buildings in national parks and other areas.  The CCC built a shelter on one of the trails in the North Unit that has spectacular views of the badlands, and Henry, Ruth and I spent some time there enjoying the view.

Driving back out, we each got different views of the park even though it was the same road.  We saw broad spans of prairie and could see cattle grazing in distant fields.

We enjoyed our time in the North Unit and I'm glad we took the time to drive up and see it.  It was even less crowded than the North Unit - I don't think there were more than 13 other vehicles in the park besides us.  Great place to get away from it all.

Early Evening in the Badlands

Teddy Roosevelt National Park preserves the badlands and grassland prairies in western North Dakota.  The park is named after Teddy Roosevelt, who lived, ranched and hunted here.  Scholars say this is where Roosevelt became committed to conservation after seeing the potential impacts of man on our country's natural resources and beautiful landscapes.  Roosevelt's time here made such an impact on him that he said:  "I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota."

The park is make up of three sections:  the North Unit, South Unit and Elkhorn Ranch.  Roosevelt's first home in the badlands was the Maltese Cabin, and it still stands, having been moved from its original location to within the park.  His second home, the Elkhorn Ranch, no longer stands, but the land is preserved and the foundation of the house is still there.  

On our first day in Medora, after arriving from Red Lodge, we drove through the South Unit after dinner.  The timing was good, because we remembered that the badlands in South Dakota looked even better at dusk, when the sky took on orange, red and purple hues.  The South Unit has a 37 mile loop that winds through sandstone buttes, valleys and prairie.  It's home to bison, elk, wild horses, thousands of prairie dogs, mule deer, badgers and coyotes.  When you turn your car off and get out, you can also hear the birds:  meadowlarks, doves and other songbirds singing tunes that carry through the air.

Every turn through the park brings a new view and every one is pleasing.  Glaciers first carved this area, and over millions of years, plants and animals who have lived and died here became fossils and then the dark lignite (coal) that make up one of the darker layers of sedimented rock in the badlands.  In the 1950's some of the coal caught on fire and burned underground for 20 years.  That baked layers of clay in the badlands, causing some of it to turn red.  

The buttes in the badlands also have gold and white layers, and erosion causes the buttes to "slump," where a upper section of a butte gets too heavy and slides down to the area below.  The layers of rock and clay stay the same, so when you drive through, you can see the same patterns of rock at the top and the bottom of the butte.  Erosion also creates "cannonball concretions" that just like the name, look like big round balls that rolled off the butte.  There are also hoodoos, which are unique creations in the sandstone caused by erosion.  In the park, one looked like a large table, a perfect place to have a picnic with the perfect view of the park.  

The first wildlife signing we had was a huge prairie dog colony.  As soon as we opened our windows, we could hear them yipping and screeching to each other.  They popped up out of their holes and scurried around the field, and every once in awhile, one would stand up on their back feet and let out a big screech as if to say "Seven o"clock and all is well!" or "Dinner's ready, come on home!"  As we were checking them out, we saw another creature checking them out:  a coyote.  He crossed the road and then walked among the prairie dog holes, probably looking for dinner.   In hindsight, the loud screeching we heard could have been "Here comes the coyote - take cover!"  Henry loved watching the prairie dogs and would have stayed there for an hour or more if he could have.  But it was time to move on to see the rest of the park.

We found some wild horses grazing as we continued on the loop.  There are a couple hundred wild horses that live in the park, just as they did when Roosevelt lived here.  We also saw some mule deer grazing up higher on the buttes, somewhat hidden among the trees.  There is a horseback riding stable in the park, as well as the Cottonwood Campground, which is located along the Little Missouri River and a field of sagebrush.  We scanned the area for elk or bison, but didn't see any.

The people who map out the roads in national parks like this one do an amazing job of creating a lasting impression on the people who will drive on them.  We had views from above looking down into the canyons of the badlands and views from the valley looking up.  There were pull-offs just when you needed them to take a picture or watch for wildlife.  And there are trails in just the right places to get off the road and into the prairie or along a canyon.

We saw some more wild horses along the drive, and as we came to the end of the loop, there was another large prairie dog colony, so we pulled over and watched them for awhile.  The last part of the park road before we crossed over the highway had an overlook with beautiful views in every direction - of the cayons below, the buttes off to the west, and the prairies.  

Roosevelt said:  "It was here that the romance of my life began."  This land healed his pain, strengthened him physically and mentally, and allowed him to move on with his life.  

I loved this park for many reasons.  The unique beauty, the quietness, and the prairie sounds:  tall grasses rustling in the wind and the songbirds.  Unlike Yellowstone, the were no crowds at every pull off; many times, we had the road to ourselves, so if we saw something, we could stop and take a better look.  

Roosevelt loved the badlands for the solitude and the stark scenery, and so did I. 

Medora

We got to Medora, North Dakota yesterday afternoon.  We weren't sure what to expect of the campground and the town.  The reviews of the campground and restaurants in town made the place seem like a tourist trap, and with nothing else around the area, we set our expectations on the low side for everything but the national park.  We loved Badlands National Park in South Dakota and were looking forward to checking out the badlands of North Dakota, protected in the Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  Since most people haven't visited North Dakota or Medora, here's a map to help you figure out where it is.  You can zoom out on the map buy clicking the minus sign in the right corner.



Before Teddy Roosevelt became president, he lost his first wife (after giving birth to Teddy's first child)  and his mother (typhoid) on the same day.  It wrecked him, as one would imagine it might.  He set off for the badlands of North Dakota to mourn, and his way of mourning was to work incredibly hard to take his mind off his misery.  He took to ranching and hunting in the area we're in now.  He wrote of his times in the North Dakota badlands, and he said:  "I grow very fond of this place, and it certainly has a desolate, grim beauty of its own, that has a curious fascination for me."

This area was frequented by many Indian tribes, and then there was a white settlement here that eventually was abandoned.  A Frenchman brought his new bride, whose first name was Medora, to settle here and named the town after her.  He built a meat packing plant and other businesses in town.  According to recent census records, the population of Medora is 116 people.  It is in the only incorporated area in Billings County, North Dakota.  To say we're in the middle of nowhere is not exaggeration.

Without the national park to bring people to the area, Medora might not exist.  The town works hard for its tourism money.  There are a couple small motels, a few campgrounds, about nine restaurants, a few ice cream shops, a candy story and a few gift shops.  Most of the buildings in town are dark brown wood, giving the place a very rugged western appearance.  To give tourists something to do when they're not exploring the park (because there is nothing else in the vicinity), there is a Nightly Cowboy Steak Fondue dinner and Medora Musical show in an outdoor theater.  

The nice hotel in town is the Rough Riders Hotel.  We had dinner in the dining room last night and it was delicious.  I'm not sure how new the hotel is.  It also has a wood exterior but the inside is completely modern.  The bar is really comfortable and the dining room is comparable to a good restaurant back east.  Our waiter was from Argentina, and another server was from South Africa.  The food was delicious, and it was tough not to go back there for dinner tonight as well.

Perhaps it's because the Medora Musical begins at 7:30 p.m. every night or because the residents like to get to bed early, but pretty much everything in town closes by 7:00 p.m. every night.  The town goes dark.  Seems odd in the summer season when people might want to walk around and purchase something.

Elkhorn Cafe

Tonight, we had dinner at the Elkhorn Cafe.  It was challenging to find a place after our fabulous dinner at the Rough Rider Hotel last night, but it was fine enough.  We got sandwiches and salads - nothing fancy, and enjoyed the homey diner feel of the place.  After dinner, we went next door to the taffy store owned by the people who own the restaurant.  They make the taffy on site, and we watched them make a batch of huckleberry while we waited to order a pound to go.  I tried a piece of the strawberry and it's pretty good.  On the porch outside, Ruth found a bull she wanted to ride like the horse your child can ride in a shopping mall or outside a strip mall.  I had to chuckle when I read the sign on the window behind it:  "Do Not Stand on Bull."  I wouldn't have thought about that as an option, but apparently, other people had.

We walked around town for a few minutes, but it was 7:05 p.m., and stores were closed.  There went our opportunity to invest in the local economy.  

If we didn't have the kids with us, I would have suggested to Jeff that we go to the Rough Riders Hotel and have a cocktail at the bar.  That would have been a nice ending to the evening.  Instead, Jeff and Ruth went to the motorhome to watch a movie, and Henry and I drove back into the national park so Henry would watch the prairie dogs and I would watch the sunset.  I can't speak for the movie watchers, but watching the sunset in the badlands was a great way to end the day, and our stay in Medora.

Pompey's Pillar National Monument

Our one stop today between Red Lodge and Medora, North Dakota was Pompey's Pillar National Monument.  Pompey's Pillar is a rock that sits along the Yellowstone River.  William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition stopped here on his way to meet up with Meriwether Lewis on their return trip to St. Louis.  He named the rock after Sacagawea's son, whose nickname was Pomp.  Clark saw some carvings on the sandstone formation from earlier people and decided to add his name to the rock.  It is protected by glass so that no one looking to carve their name in the rock can deface it.  

Pompey's Pillar

Just on the walk to the Visitor Center, I had three mosquitoes get on my arm, so I went back to the motorhome to get some bug spray.   Henry and I toured the Visitor Center while Jeff got some work done.  Ruth took Dramamine before we left Red Lodge and she was sleeping.  They came later to meet us as we walked out to the rock to see William Clarks' carving.

Reproduction of Clark Signature

It's difficult to photograph the carving because of the glass, so the Visitor Center has a replica of the carving on display.  I took a photo of that because it is easier to see.

Actually, lots of people besides William Clark have carved their name in the rock - some back in the 1800's but sadly, many more recently.  We looked for the pictographs or petroglyphs that Clark mentioned, but couldn't find any.

Actual carving on Pompey's Pillar

From high atop Pompey's Pillar, Clark said he could see elk and bison, as well as the river and mountains in the distance.  The view from the top (which gave us all great exercise getting there, I might add) was incredible.  Henry and I both wish we could see the prairie covered with bison and elk, as it was back when Clark traveled through North Dakota.

Visitor Center  

Ruth's Ice Cream Round Up

Along the trip, I've had a lot of ice cream.  Besides swimming and seeing bighorn sheep, it's my favorite thing on the trip.

The first place we had ice cream was at St. Louis and and I had BOTH an icee and an ice cream that dad got me, (which he had to go to a scary neighborhood to do so.) 

Next was at Denver when I got Dippin' Dots at the Colorado Rockies baseball game. Then we went to Rock Springs where I went repeatedly to the campground store to get ice cream for me and my family.  I got ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cones and fudgesicles.  The same thing in Jackson Hole, too.  

West Yellowstone was the place where I had the best huckleberry ice cream ever! At Red Lodge,  I got cotton candy ice cream (really good by the way!) at Scoops, an ice cream shop in town.   The ice cream in Yellowstone and Scoops is made by Wilcoxson's in Montana, and Mom found some at the grocery store in Red Lodge.  Now we have vanilla, cotton candy, huckleberry and blueberry cheesecake in our freezer.  

Now we are in Medora, North Dakota, and I've already found an ice cream shop in the tiny little town I want to go to before we leave.

Bye!

Ruth

Henry's Animal Report: Beartooth Edition

Based on last time's experience driving the Beartooth Highway in 2009, I was not expecting to see any animals on the drive.  On our drive on Monday, we were surprised to see white Rocky Mountain goats when we got higher on the mountain.  I really wanted to see a pika, but we only saw chipmunks and ground squirrels.  Pika are 6-8 inches long and have reddish fur and are really cute.  Natalie, our wildlife guide in Grand Teton, said you can hear pica before you see them because they make loud squeaking noises.  There were a few signs saying we were in grizzly territory along he drive, but we didn't see any bears either.  

Here's the count:

Rocky Mountain Goats: 7 (6 along the Beartooth Highway and one on Baronnette Mountain in Yellowstone)

Mule Deer:  4 (in our campground)

Uinta Ground Squirrels:  5

Eagles: 2 Chipmunks:  6

A New Approach to S'Mores

I'm not a big fan of traditional s'mores - it's the graham cracker that does nothing for me.  I find it too thick, I think.

I found a thin butter cookie that is great for s'mores.  It's crunchy and, in my opinion, goes really well with the marshmallow and Nutella.

Yes, I said Nutella.  Ruth likes Hershey bars with s'mores, but I like Nutella.  It's delicious and I like the texture better than bar chocolate.  

Before the trip, I was in Costco and saw pizzelle cookies, which are also thin and lighter in flavor than graham crackers.  I bought a package of them and figured we could try them for s'mores on the trip.

In Red Lodge we made a nice campfire and after dinner, Ruth and I pulled out our s'mores supplies and began experimenting.  I liked the pizzelle version, but Ruth didn't like it as much because she had to put two roasted marshmallows on it to fill up the pizzelle cookie.  They're larger than graham crackers and have more surface area to fill.

We'll definitely make these again.

Steak...It's What's for Dinner

On the first day we walked down Broadway in Red Lodge, we saw the Carbon County Steak House and liked the look of it.  They have a big outdoor seating area with dark metal tables and tall heaters to keep diners warm on chilly nights.  We made a reservation for dinner for our last night in Red Lodge to celebrate our time in Wyoming and Montana, since the rest of our trip would be heading back east.

Because the late afternoon/early evening weather has been cloudy, windy and rainy during our stay, we opted for indoor seating.  I'm glad we did.  The inside of the restaurant was upscale western themed, with a gorgeous framed sepia print of a wild horse on the wall in the entrance.  The interior was painted a dark rusty orange, and dark wood framed prints, cowboy chaps and other items hung on the walls. The silverware was big and heavy with a simple but elegant design.  It felt like we were sitting in the dining room of a ranch home.  

We all ordered steak, of course.  Jeff and Henry shared a large bone-in Delmonico steak and Ruth and I ordered our own.  The steakhouse's house salad dressing was an apple vinaigrette that was delicious, especially with the bleu cheese crumbles they put on top.  I should have asked for the recipe, because I need to make that salad again sometime.  Ruth declared her Shirley Temple to be the best Shirley Temple she's ever had.

Sidebar:  a funny thing about Ruth ordering Shirley Temples is that Ruth doesn't like maraschino cherries.  So when they bring her the drink, she gives Jeff the cherries and she drinks the soda.    

Henry's eyes nearly came out of his head when our server brought the Delmonico steak to the table.  It came on a cutting board with a huge rib bone coming out of it.  Made me think of the Flinstones a bit.  He took a picture with the iPhone, and our server said the Delmonico is the most photographed steak in the restaurant.

All of our meals were delicious and our server, who was from Cody, Wyoming, was wonderful.  This was a little jewel in Red Lodge and if we ever get back to Red Lodge, we'll certainly head back for a great steak dinner.

A Perfect Afternoon in Town

Downtown Red Lodge, Montana

I'm from a small town and enjoy spending time in small towns all over the country.  I like towns with main streets where you know they have July 4th parades with local school bands, veterans and people in old cars.  Red Lodge is a perfect small town to spend an afternoon walking around.

Since I had no takers for going back to check out the rest of the shops on the main street, which is called Broadway, I went by myself.  Having some "me time" is always a nice thing - remember, I mentioned that we're traveling in close quarters for about 30 days.

First I went to a building that looked like an old train depot that is now an art gallery.  They had paintings, photographs, jewelry, pottery and other creations by local artists.  Lots of great stuff.

Then I headed north on Broadway and made my way to the left side of the street, which we hadn't covered earlier in the day.  A local photographer had a shop with pictures of animals he has taken in the Beartooth Mountains and Yellowstone.  I found a photo of a pica for Henry.  Picas are small rodents that live in the sub-alpine and alpine areas, and try as we might, we never did see one at the higher elevations in Yellowstone or on our drive on the Beartooth highway.  I figured having the picture might make him feel better about not seeing one in person.

I debated stopping for a locally brewed beer at a bar and grill that had outdoor tables, but since I was alone and driving, I kept on going.  If I had more time, I would have stopped in one of the day spas and got a much-needed pedicure.

I then visited a store called Whispering Pines.  It's a great store to spend time browsing through, because it has a little bit of everything.  They had Spode dinnerware in the Woodland pattern (one of my favorites), western themed home decor, unique clothing and jewelry, salt and pepper shakers made with elk antlers, and some books.  I picked up a book by sisters who travel the country in trailers - it's a hybrid of a cookbook and a collection of stories about traveling.  The store owner recommended it and said it's a good read, and the recipes look pretty good too.  I could have bought a lot more, but many of the things would add weight and take up space in the motorhome, so I passed on it.  I wish they had a website so I could shop online later, but I'll settle for having the phone number.

In a store that sold lotions, soaps, oils and some handmade glass items, I picked up some handmade soap called "Campfire" which smells earthy and comforting.  I browsed through a shop that sold handmade furniture made from juniper wood.  If I had a wooden lodge or cabin, the furniture would be perfect.  Sadly, I don't have a lodge or cabin....yet.

I averted my eyes as I passed the City Bakery because I wasn't hungry and didn't need any more baked goods after my two trips to the Wheat Montana Bakery.  I debated going into the Coffee Roasters store, but it was hot and I wasn't in the mood for a coffee drink.  I looked through the bead store, but didn't find any interesting beads to add to my collection that I swear, when I have time, I am going to turn into beautiful jewelry.  I browsed through a home design and furnitures store called Kibler and Kirch that had terrific chairs, tables, lamps, artwork and western-but-not-hokey-western furnishings, mostly all of it made in America.  I liked everything in the store so much that I reminded myself I need to start playing the lottery so I can win millions of dollars and buy a lodge in Wyoming or Montana and have these people decorate and furnish the whole place.

 One of my favorite stores in Red Lodge is the Red Lodge Rocks store.  The store is full of petrified wood, crystals, fossils and stones from both Montana and around the world.  The store owner also makes jewelry using local stones, including Montana agates, garnets and sapphires.  Montana sapphires are pale blue and sparkly - really beautiful.  I bought a necklace with a lovely Blue Sky Agate that is pale blue and shaped like a teardrop.  It's about an inch and a half long and the is the color of a pale blue sky.  I thought it would be a great reminder of the Big Sky in Montana and Wyoming that I love.

I finished my walking and shopping tour of Broadway in Red Lodge at the Book Store and Tea Room.  It's a great combination for a store - books in the front, and a tea room, including a counter with stools, in the back.  The best part, the man who helped me pick out a good iced tea to cool off after walking both sides of Broadway on a hot afternoon was a cowboy.  Well, I'm not sure he's a real cowboy, but he was wearing Wranglers, a western button-down shirt and a black cowboy hat, so I'm saying he was a cowboy.  A tea-making cowboy.  And boy howdy, he knew his teas.  He suggested a white tea with peach.  I watched the cowboy fill the teapot with properly heated water (he said too hot water will make white teas taste bitter) and set a timer to make sure the tea steeped for just the right amount of time.  Meanwhile, I sat at the counter and browsed the tea menu to learn all about black, green, white and herbal teas from around the world.  Then the timer went off, he poured his carefully brewed tea over a cup full of ice, and handed me a delightful, refreshing iced tea for the drive home.

Of course I loved touring the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and everything we've seen on this trip so far, but the couple hours I spent roaming Broadway in Red Lodge was truly a highlight of my vacation.

Sign at the store for the Red Lodge Ski Resort

Historic markers are on many buildings
in town.  This marker notes that
the building was formerly a bank that was robbed by
the Sundance Kid