Day 14 - Alberton, Montana to Cody, Wyoming

Ms. Perrin:  "First let me say that the place we stayed at in Alberton was so cool.  It was the Montana Hotel, set up beside the railroad in 1909.  It’s a genuine old west hotel and was SO cool.  It’s name is now the Ghost Rails Inn and well worth the stay!"

"Then we were off to Yellowstone National Park.  As usual, the drive was awesome.  We’re definitely in cowboy country now!  There is ranch after ranch after ranch and they are absolutely massive." 

"And speaking of massive, Yellowstone is much bigger than I could’ve imagined!  First we stopped in the town of West Yellowstone, just outside the park.  If you’re looking for tourist shops, this is the place to go.  It’s located right before the West gate to the park." 

"Then we spent 4 hours in the park and 2 of that was driving time.  The only stops we made were to see some of the geysers.  I did not realize what an active volcanic area this is.  Kinda freaks you out! J  The smell of sulphur is common and there is steam rising up out of the ground everywhere.  We also arrived only 40 minutes before Old Faithful was scheduled to go so we got to see that.  Very cool – I love the rumble that you hear coming out of the ground!"

"There is wildlife everywhere and we saw plenty of elk and bison.  One thing that really struck me is that in several areas, all of the trees are dead.  And I mean dead trees for miles and miles.  I’m going to have to look up what’s killing them.  The only thing that I thought of was either disease or the volcanic activity and sulphur."

"Anyways, the drive out was another scary one down the side of the mountain only this time I got to do it in the dark.  Woohoo to that!!  (please read sarcasm!)  They have these little pull outs to the side with NO guardrails and sheer cliffs and you’re constantly wondering if it’s another curve in the road.  All I can say is pay attention, drive the speed limit and watch the center line of the road to see which way it curves.  You cannot afford any distractions when you’re driving up here!"

"We arrived safe and sound just after 10:00 pm local time at the Red Pole Ranch in Wyoming.  It’s dark so I’ll have to tell you tomorrow what it looks like out here"