Days 12 & 13

We spent another day in Missoula to enjoy the town and the area. We headed to the Fort Missoula Historical Museum. Amongst other things we learned that the Army experimented by creating a regiment that was mounted on bicycles! It was the 25th Infantry Regiment and was comprised of black soldiers. To test the viability of this unit, they did a 1900-mile bicycle march from Missoula to St. Louis in 1896. Their route was not on any road and was overland. It took 40 days to complete the journey and they averaged 6 mph. The first Adventure Bike riders!

After the Museum we next headed over to the Elk Preserve. Well, it was closed because it was Sunday. I'm glad to hear that the Elks get the day off!

The next day we said goodby to Missoula and drove to West Yellowstone. Along the way it rained with thunder and lightning and pea-sized hail. We drove alongside this lake that still has many dead trees sticking out of the water. Was this a relatively new reservoir? It turns out the lake was formed by a landslide that was triggered by an earthquake in 1959. Many people died that "night of terror."

We arrived at our campsite in West Yellowstone. Tomorrow we'll explore the park further.

Those of you that know us know that we have a Labrador named "Hobbs." Hobbs loves to go camping with us. So - where's Hobbs? Well, we agonized over this decision, but we decided not to bring Hobbs with us on this mega-trip. We wanted to be able to spend full days visiting the sights and many places don't allow dogs. (e.g. the Smithsonian.) Our son and his wife and their son are graciously watching Hobbs for us these next three months.

As a bon voyage and birthday gift to Susan, Jason and Ashley gave her an internet-enabled picture frame. People can send pictures to the frame directly and they just show up in the ongoing slideshow. It's wonderful! We're getting daily updates with pictures of our kids and grandkids! It makes our three-month absence much more bearable.

Two of our kids and their families are vacationing together in Kauai right now. How's this for a great view?