We embraced our time off in Bozeman and had a good break from biking enjoying dog walking, great eating, shopping for fat bikes for E & D to replace stolen bikes, catching up with Elissa and Grum and resting.
As well we had a mini journey from Bozeman up to Paradise Valley where Ellen and Drew have a cabin and from there we visited Yellowstone NP for a day with Drew. In the height of the summer season you have to go up to the park early. Our first animal sighting was a black bear cruising along, foraging for insects in dead logs before an impressive tree climb on a dead spar, again to get bugs. Further up the road we saw a ‘brown’ black bear. Grizzlies are known as brown bears but they are a lot bigger than the black bear we saw that came in shades of brown.
The bison are amazing huge primordial looking beasts and they are a common site on the river flats. We captured a coyote on film, saw elk, musk deer, big horn sheep, white mountain goats grazing high on a rock face and pronghorn antelope. We, being us and the thousands of other daily visitors to Yellowstone. We were lucky to have the company of Drew, who is a wildlife and fishing guide, so he knew the best places to visit in our limited time.
Alan and I had a day walk up Ramshorn Peak – fantastic Montana mountainviews – but we are still feeling the effects of the big downhill! On our last day we drifted the Yellowstone river with Ellen and Drew and fly fished. Ellen was the most successful with 3 fish caught and I caught my first ever – no records were broken with my little sushi fish (all were cut throat trout). Maybe Alan was enjoying the scenery too much and didn’t monopolise on the nibbles on his fly’s.
Tomorrow we get dropped off back in Butte for our 700 mile journey north to Banff and the end of our journey – thanks Ellen, Drew and 4 legged Jack for the great company and hospitality for our time out.
