On the Road Again

Another long journey across a state. This time it was a surprise and we went across Montana! We assumed we would be crossing Wyoming to get to Yellowstone National Park but in reality we were only there for a small sliver. Our campsite is actually in West Yellowstone, MT so the GPS took us up into Montana on I-90. 

Driving through Montana was a lot cooler than South Dakota. The scenery changed fairly frequently with twisting roads through the increasingly large moutain-esque rock formations (do they count as mountains yet? They would in NJ, that's for certain). Hands down highlight of the trip came when we were still in Wyoming and we stopped at a rest area. There we saw another car from NJ, this got us excited. We came out at the same time as them and Chiz put up a valiant effort to be their friend.

Chiz: Hey! Are you guys from New Jersey?

NJ Hipsters: *nod* yea...

Chiz: Cool! Us too!

*silence*

Chiz: We're driving cross country!

NJ Hipsters: Yea...same....

Chiz:......Well have a good trip!

NJ Hipsters: *silence*

With all this midwestern hospitality we've experienced lately I've forgotten how douchey East Coasters can be. Their bored indifference made me a bit homesick. 

Back on the road poor Ch'nel couldn't shake what just happened. All she wanted was a new friend to sign her t-shirt and she was shot down in royal fashion. At least she tried, I just stood in the back and giggled. So we meandered along on our merry way watching the hours float on by. 

At one point we reached a stretch of 10 miles where the road lines had been freshly painted. Signs posted asked drivers to please use only the right lane and stay within the lines. It was as if everyone took a swig of liquor upon reading that sign because everyone in front of me began to swerve back and forth as they focused on driving a straight road. One poor soul was clearly so overwhelmed at the idea that he was just driving along the freshly painted sideline of the road, spewing paint powder everywhere. If they hadn't asked everyone to stay within the lines they would have been fine, but instead they just caused a panic. A hilarious panic, but a panic nonetheless.

In Bozeman, MT we exited I-90 and began to drive along Route 191. This twisting scenic road was marred by the dozens of small white crosses everywhere. Appearing in groups I can only assume these crosses represent deaths of travelers along this road. While I like to assume these deaths were drunk people speeding down the road in the middle of the night while doing a line of cocaine...I know that's not the case. It was a sobering reminder of just how dangerous the driving on these roads is and left me a little shaken. 

We continued along the road for what seemed like an eternity as we were so hungry. We pulled into our campground about an hour later and went to go register. There a nice man was stocking groceries and at the same time gave the most thorough registration and overview that I have ever seen. We were both impressed and are thinking of recruiting him to work at the office next summer. We drove over to our cabin site and started setting up. Again I wandered around aimlessly until Ch'nel fixed me dinner (beef stew) then set up my bed to relax. 

The bathroom at the campground is rather far away and we've been warned to watch out for bears. Chiz and I just drove over there to get ready for bed and I've stopped drinking liquids. Let's hope my plan works, otherwise we're going to have an issue in the middle of the night. 

We're going to be in Yellowstone for the next couple of days. This will be nice as it will give up a bit of a rest and a chance to slow down our exploration pace rather than trying to fit it all into one day. No pictures today as the road is boring.

*NOTE*

Apologies to Dudley, Suzette, Stacey and Cindy. We saw signs with your names on them but we weren't quick enough with the camera/there were cars behind us and we couldn't slow down to take pictures of them. This is especially sad because we know you are four of the blogs most loyal readers. I will now describe each of your signs:

Dudley: You had a creek named after you. It was near Yellowstone and I'm sure it was glorious. 

Suzette: You had a breakfast restaurant of sorts. It was in Minnesota. It was pink and adorable. 

Stacey: You had a BBQ joint. We only saw the sign. It was near Bozeman, MT

Cindy: You had a restaurant called Cindy's Kitchen. It sounds delicious. 

BLOG HOMEWORK! 

You know those come ons that places have that if you get a friend to buy a membership both of you get a gift? We're doing that. If you tell one friend about this blog and that friend becomes a reader I will name a mountain after you Mt. Rushmore style. So everyone go tell one friend about this blog.