Heading Home to Kansas

September 7th we were saying goodbye to Montana and looking forward to being home.....or not  looking forward to the long drive home one or the other. Anyway we were eager to get started.

The sun was just coming up. I was eager to leave but at the same time sad because I loved this area. No wonder Grandpa Hoag wanted this to be his final resting place!

The trip home was beautiful  all the way. We went through Wyoming, South Dakota. Nebreska and finally Kansas. I didn't take pictures. I just enjoyed the ride. My thoughts as we traveled were what a beautiful country we live in and how fortunate I am to be able to see it and enjoy it. We met wonderful people from all over at our campground, at the lighthouse and as we traveled. It was just seven weeks of an amazing trip.

One of our stays was in Rapid City, South Dakota. We had dinner at a wonderful steak house, Dokato. Theire was an interesting statue of a buffalo that was made of all kinds of "junk". It so fascinated I took several pictures of it.

Home at last.

Yellowstone Park September 6, 2014

Here it is October 30 and I am finally in the mood to do some blogging. 

After getting the tire fixed on the camper we decided to visit Yellowstone. 

Both of us had seen it before and enjoyed it very much so we kind of knew what to expect. We were ready to see just what we could see in four or five hours. It is a very big park with many wonderful formations that only Mother Nature could provide. Because it is so big we knew our sight seeing would be limited.

The park has a special meaning for me because My grandparents met and had a romance at Yellowstone when the Park was just becoming popular. Grandpa Hoag drove a stagecoach and Grandma Hoag worked at the lodge. Their romance of two years ended in marriage having my mother and her brother, Uncle Frank and her sister Aunt Catherine.

It was always a sweet story that was fun to hear Mom tell.

Gary and I had lunch at one of the new lodges where I met a young couple working at the cafeteria. They were visiting at the window when I came up with my empty tray. I told them the story of my grandparents and with a wink I said, "One never knows what a summer job in Yellowstone can do." Their answer was a giggle and an Oh, no.

This couple was from Czechoslovakia! There were several young people working at the lodge from other countries. How times have changed.

As Gary and I were leaving there was a small yellow bus parked where it could pick up tourist.Gary said, "There is the modern day stagecoach!"

Yellowstone pics:

On our way to Yellowstone and the beautiful Yellowstone River.

Wild life in the park. Whenever there was a group of people gathered taking pictures you knew they had found some wild life. 

His partner is resting.  Look close at the top of the tree shadow.

Small geysers and the resulting rock formations. Warning signs with dangerous.....very hot every where.

Angel Terrace

Small geysers

Indian Paint pots

It was a short day but a fun one. We were now on our way "home" to Yellostone Edge RV Park. 

If you haven't  guessed I love water pictures. This one is one of my favorites.

Livingston MT

It was time to leave Carl G Wasburne and Heceta Head Lighthouse. I have to admit there were some tears when we left the campground. We had made some good friends and it was sad to say good bye but it was time now to head home.

We were on our way to Oregon City,Oregon to have dinner with Bob Kenny,a nephew on Gary's side,and his son Matthew. We stayed the night and the next morning we were on our way to see the Columbia River. 

The next picture does not do this scene justice. The sunlight brought out all the different colors. After I had taken the picture I stood in awe enjoying this beautiful spot.

This drive was truly awesome. It was a beautiful drive all the way to Spokane Washington.

From there we headed for Livingston Mt.

We drove 18 miles south of Livingtons to the Yellowstone Edge RV Park. It was  in a beautiful setting by the Yellowstone River...known for its ideal fly fishing.

I loved this area. Each morning when I stepped out of the  camper I would look up at the mountains and say.....I am in Montana! Wow.

It was cold when we woke up, hot during the day except in the shade and once the sun was down it was cool again. I truly loved it.

To get into the spirit of our surroundings we watched the movies.....yes we have a tv for our camper. It is for DVD's only.....Ledgends of the Fall about a family living in MT but filmed in Canada, and A River Runs Throug It, narrated by Robert Redford. This movie was actually filmed right here in this area. 

Once we left Spokane there was always a river on one side of us or the other. It fascinated me. Gary got tried of me saying, "a river runs through it" Robert Redford knew what he was talking about.

I wouldn't want to live in MT because of the cold winters and small towns far apart but I loved being there the four days we were there.

Livingston is were my grandfather on my mother's side grew up. When he married my grandmother they lived there then moved to Baker where my mother was born and 23 years later I was born there.   

My grandparents are buried in Livingston. Grandpa wanted to be buried at the foot of "Old Baldy"

Livingston is a town with an interesting history. At one time it was known for its railroad.

Then in the 70's it was discovered by Hollywood, artist and fly fisherman.Now it seems it is thriving on tourism.

We made several trips into Livingston for  groceries and to fix the tires on our camper. It seemed one of the wheels was leaking oil. It was an easy fix and not as serious as we first thought but it caused us to stay one more day because we wanted to spend a day in Yellostone Park since we were so close. 

The next day we headed for Yellowstone our last hurrah and then it was a serious drive home.