Long lost dear Marah and the close of our trip

We drove from Saratoga over the Snowy Range scenic highway (which was indeed beautiful), then down into Colorado until we finally got to my long lost friend Marah's house.

I hadn't seen her in 12 years and so much has happened in both our lives. Although we stayed in touch over the years, it was pretty amazing to see each other in person and to meet each other's families.

Her partner Steve is an interesting and friendly guy and the kids got on really well together - Maddox (6 yrs) is big into Lego, so he and Tryfan had that in common; Maia (2 yrs) was initially shy and reluctant but then soon warmed to Rhiannon.

 We had a great night together at their house and in the morning we had a lovely breakfast, then walked down the road to the Lafayette Peach Festival.

Now we are off to the Denver airport where we will fly at 2:35 pm back to Gatwick on Norwegian Airlines. It's been an amazing three weeks and we are so grateful for everything.

Saratoga

After driving all afternoon following the cutting event with Uncle Joe, we pulled into Saratoga around 5:30 pm and stopped at the Hotel Wolf to check if they had availability. They did except they only had 2 rooms left, each with one bed, so we took rooms 14 & 15 which were opposite each other at the end of the corridor. Perfect! We changed into our swimsuits and headed to the 'Hobo' hot springs which turned out to be walking distance from the hotel. Perfect again! This lovely hot spring turned out to be free, open 24/7, and already populated with about 20 people. Sounds like a lot, but actually there were two pools and they were pretty big, so it didn't feel crowded. We met a few people who were on a big adventure trip organized by Northern Illinois University and we spent about 30 minutes soaking and chatting. Bliss!

Then we walked back to the hotel, changed clothes for dinner, had a quick game of pool (w/ beers for Rhods and me) and then walked up the road to dine at Bella's Bistro.

Uncle Joe had spoken highly of this place so we figured we would give it a go. What a fabulous meal we all had! We sat out in the warm summer air on the fairy lit terrace and made the most of this 'grand finale' meal.

Uncle Joe and the Cutting event

We found out before leaving the ranch that Uncle Joe was going to be competing in Big Piney on this day in a Cutting Event!

We made sure to leave ourselves plenty of time to get there from Jackson, and indeed we did get there in just 1 hr 30 min. Turns out this is a real small place and the people attending the event were pretty much just the competitors themselves. It was so cool to watch him ride his horse Jethro!  They spent a long time riding around in circles getting warmed up/ calmed down, and finally it was their turn to compete.

Here is a video of Joe and Jethro performing...

After they finished we said goodbye and hit the road. Miles still to go today! But we were all so glad that we got to be here to watch a real live cutting event!

[We're going to] Jackson!

This famous Johnny Cash song has been ringing in all our ears since we first decided to stay in Jackson for a couple of nights. Now we are here and making the most of our one big day!
Last night was pretty good though - we just basically checked in and went straight upstairs to the bar/ restaurant for dinner.



This morning we walked into town and had a fabulous breakfast at the Jackson Coffee Roasters, then walked back to the hotel to regroup and head for the hills.

 We drove 30 min to Teton Village and then took the 'tram' up to the top of the mountain. We went for a short little hike ('Top of the world' tour) and then continued on the newly reopened 'Cirque Trail' which took us down and across to the top of the Bridger Gondola station. It was beautiful and with a perfect temperature.; only downside was that it was a bit smokey.

After lunch we took the gondola back down the mountain and did some shopping, then drove back to the hotel for a swim and to relax. It was pretty hot and we were lucky to snatch some loungers in the shade on the grass.

When we were ready for dinner, we walked back into town and decided to have sushi at a Japanese restaurant.

We walked around until we found a place for ice cream, and we saw some interesting outfits as we passed some shop windows.

Then we got back to the hotel to find out that something was wrong with the TV connection throughout the whole building so we couldn't watch telly! Major bummer because after this busy and fantastic day we were looking forward to laying like vegetables and watching telly. Oh well, could have been worse. We have another full day tomorrow.

Hello Wyoming!

Big day today: Yellowstone National Park from top to bottom, weaving around the Grand Loop to catch the Lamar Valley with lots of wildlife, then the west side with the geyser basins.

We got a good early start (though not as early as I was pushing for!) at 6:30 am and said farewell to Judy and Joe, then drove to Red Lodge for breakfast.  Stumbled upon 'Red Lodge Roasters' which turned out to be an excellent choice with great coffee and breakfast sandwiches.  Then we continued on to the Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge over into the park at Silver Gate. The kids fed chipmunks by hand using some seeds another visitor had given them.

 The best part was the northern part of the park with the gorgeous mountains, huge sweeping Lamar Valley and the wildlife within it. 

 We stopped at Norris Geyser Basin, then Old Faithful, as well as plenty of little roadside pull outs so we could admire the Park. I had bought the 'Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country' ahead of our trip out here, so finally today was the day we got to use it. It was great to be able to read the descriptions and explanations about what we were seeing from a geological and also historical point of view.

 We all got a little bit giddy towards the end of the day after seeing Old Faithful erupt.

The end of the day got a little tiresome for Rhods as he had been driving for the better part of 13 hours, but finally we made it to Jackson and the Snow King Resort where we had booked to stay two nights. Pretty exciting to pull up to a fancy looking place and know that we got to stay two nights!

Goodbye Montana family

Our final day and for most of it Rhiannon and Joe were up with Fred the horse at the vets in Red Lodge. They came back in the very late afternoon after such a long day, and Uncle Joe very generously offered to let the kids ride one last time. I'm sure it was the last thing he wanted to do but he did it anyway and it meant so much to the kids.

 Steve and Maura came over for our final dinner too and that was really special. We have so enjoyed their company this visit.

The ominous clouds from the late afternoon let loose their thunder, lightning and heavy rain late in the night starting from when we were in the jacuzzi for our final soak.  We got out of the jacuzzi when the storm got closer to us, but it was pretty dramatic!
Tomorrow we will set out for Yellowstone bright and early....

Kiln excitement

Here are some before and after pictures of our clay creations...

 

   

It was amazing to us how the very different glazes looked the same upon application, but then after firing in the kiln, they came out looking so very different and beautiful! We will carefully carry home our precious creations.

Montana beauty

Our time in Montana has been a beautiful swish of both activity and relaxation.

We have done so many things after our first days of helping with the cattle drive and then getting a riding lesson: we went on a trail ride; played with clay; read books out on the porch; went fishing in the pond up the road; made jewelry; went on a hike around the property; helped Judy to prepare and enjoyed delicious meals; drank lovely wine; watched the hummingbirds feed; rode bikes up the long hill; played dominoes; played cards; went on a picnic and then wildlife spotting drive up Crooked Creek; watched shooting stars from the hot tub before bedtime... so, so much. It has been absolute bliss for each one of us, I think.  I haven't been able to keep up with each day's activities as I did before in Stehekin. But that is also part of the magic of this place - I felt us all really, truly relax.

Herd of wild bighorn sheep on the roadside!

We found the natural spring that Rhodri couldn't find yesterday!

Judy and Joe relaxing in the fabulous kitchen window seat

Out on a hike while Rhiannon was at the vet clinic in Red Lodge with Joe

The only sad thing is that at some point soon we will need to leave... like, tomorrow, unfortunately!