Places Visited:
Montana: Billings, Montana.

Wyoming: Cody & Yellowstone, Wyoming.

Sunday, September 2, 2001
Yellowstone River Campground, Billings, Montana. Elevation: 3,160'

note: be aware that Yellowstone River Campground became active in the campaign to have city fathers prohibit RV's from overnighting at Wall-Mart in Billings. Because of this we will not stay with them again.

We worshiped at the Emanuel Baptist Church in Billings, MT then
rested. Our RV-Park is on the Yellowstone River and Joyce take walks
down to the swift flowing river. We have marveled about seeing the
beginnings of this river in Yellowstone National Park. The upper
falls and lower falls are within miles of the Yellowstone Rivers
origin in Yellowstone Lake. From the mighty falls that we viewed in
Yellowstone to the river we see passing the RV-Park here in Billings
it is obvious that agriculture has been taking its share of the
resource.

In the evening deer emerge out of thickets near the RV-Park and graze
in open fields. One field has a half dozen does with spotted fawns.
Another field has several adult bucks. Watching deer like this is
something special to us.

Monday, September 3, 2001 (Labor Day)
Yellowstone River Campground, Billings, Montana. Elevation: 3,160' note: be aware that Yellowstone River Campground became active in the campaign to have city fathers prohibit RV's from overnighting at Wall-Mart in Billings. Because of this we will not stay with them again.

We visited the Moss Mansion in Billings, Montana. This huge majestic
mansion was built in 1902 and for the most part has been maintained in
its original state. Original carpets, drapes, wall-treatments,
cook-stoves, sinks bathroom fixtures were still in excellent shape
including the majority of the furniture. It is absolutely beyond my
comprehension that women could have lived in this house since 1902
without painting the walls. Think about it men, do you know any woman
that could allow a perfectly beautiful wall to go 100 years without
painting it? Most of the ceilings showcased beautiful artwork.
Elaborate ornamental plaster cornices decorated the showcase rooms
downstairs.

This house still had the old "Ice-box" where the deliveryman could put
ice in it from the outside without having to drip it through the
kitchen. How about that for a modern convenience?

I learned something new today. Do you know what a "Thunder bucket"
is? I did not know but it is a euphemism for a "Johnny pot" at least
that is the term our docent used. We got a kick out of our 89-year
old docent who was having the time of his life taking us through the
house. There was nothing slow about this gent. He relished telling
us about the history of the house and its occupants. He had gone to
school with the youngest son of the owner so knew the family.

Tuesday, September 4, 2001
Absaroka Bay RV-Park Cody, WY. Elevation: 5,400'

This was a wonderful day. It was wonderful from beginning to end.

First thing Tuesday morning we pulled out of the RV-Park in time to
arrive at Interstate Diesel (the Allison transmission shop) in time to
join the mechanics for morning coffee. To make a long story short
they found the cause of my transmission-overheating problem in a very
short time. A valve between the transmission and the cooler was
routing much of the hot transmission fluid back to the pan instead of
sending it through the cooler. That valve is no longer in the system.

With the transmission problem behind us we were headed toward Cody,
Wyoming when we got a call from Joyce's sister who is on a 2-week
vacation and had just arrived in Cody. We are planning to meet them
for supper tonight. Oh happy day! The transmission is running
150-degrees again, the sun is shining, Joyce is smiling, how good can
it get?

The ride from Billings to Cody is through farmland with scattered
ranches. Hay, sugar beets, alfalfa and wheat seemed to be the crops
of choice. Crops along here have to be irrigated. Between Billings
and Cody the elevation rises 2,000 feet so this is a good test of the
transmission repair. The transmission is performing as beautiful as
the scenery we are enjoying.

Once in Cody we finalize arrangements for supper with Joyce's sister
and our Brother-in-Law.

We ate a very good dinner and had a good time visiting with family
before it was time to say our good buys. It was great to get to see
these relatives while they were out this way.

Wednesday, September 5, 2001
Absaroka Bay RV-Park Cody, WY. Elevation: 5,400'

We slept late before getting up and heading into town. For being a
small town (pop. 8,500) Cody has a lot to see and do. We decided to
experience the "IRMA" for lunch. The IRMA is a hotel, restaurant, bar
built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill Cody. The place is historic. On one
side of the restaurant is the famous Cherrywood bar given to Buffalo
Bill by Queen Victoria. At the time the bar cost more than the entire
hotel complex. To say that Queen Victoria liked Buffalo Bill is an
understatement. We learned later in the day that Buffalo Bill was
quiet a lady's man. At one time Buffalo Bill Cody was the most
"recognized" individual in the world. This was during the time he was
touring the world with his Wild West Show. Our lunch was nothing to
write home about but the cherrywood bar was.

In one area of the IRMA there was a display of mounted sheep that
represented a hunters "Grand Slam" of 12-different varieties of sheep
taken by a single individual. To accomplish this feat the hunter had
to travel the world over. Some were from Wyoming near Cody, British
Columbia, Mexico, South America, Iran, Iraq, Europe and Africa.

Later in the afternoon we took a trolley ride of historic Cody. The
couple running this attraction did an excellent job. We thoroughly
enjoyed the hour we spent with them and highly recommend their trolley
ride.

Around 6:00pm we watched a staged "shootout" outside the IRMA. It was
good entertainment. The "shootout" features local actors garbed as
heroes and desperados. The good guys in our show were Wild Bill
Hickock, Doc Holliday, and Buffalo Bill Cody. I did not recognize any
of the "bad-guys". The actors use real guns with blanks. There is a
LOT of noise and action.

Thursday, September 6, 2001
Absaroka Bay RV-Park Cody, WY. Elevation: 5,400'

Today is our 32nd Anniversary. Joyce has a place picked out to eat
and dance the night away tomorrow night. It seems since it is after
Labor Day that the band only plays on the weekend so we will put off
the big celebration until Friday night. When we talked with our son
and he asked what we were doing to celebrate Joyce said we were going
to do something special. He blurted out "you have been doing
something special for the last 5-months". We all got a big laugh.

Everyone that mentions Cody always says to visit the "museum". This
was our day to tour "The Museum". The museum everyone is referring to
is the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (four world-class museums) under
one roof with a fifth dedicated to natural history under construction.
James Michener called the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, "the
Smithsonian of the West". Michener said it best; this museum is truly
Smithsonian quality. We spent 7-hours and only got through the
Buffalo Bill and Plains Indian sections. We plan to return tomorrow
morning and tour the Gallery of Western Art and the Firearms Museum
housing the world's largest collection of American-made firearms, as
well as European arms dating to the 1500s.

The high temperature yesterday was 93 then last night a cold front
came through. It sprinkled rain all night and today. The wind was
gusty all day and the temperature dropped into the low 40's by
nightfall. It was snowing 40-miles west of there in Yellowstone
National Park and the Bear-Tooth Mountains a short distance to the
northwest. Local expect snow here tonight. The motorhome is rocking
from wind gusts as I write this. Rain is welcome in this area. They
have been suffering from a lack of rain this summer. The rain should
help control some of the wildfires ravaging the west.

News of the last two weeks has been about the wildfire burning on the
west side of Glacier National Park. The homes being evacuated are the
homes of the 60 to 80 people that live along that road to Polebridge
we wrote about several weeks ago. It would be interesting to ride
along that road again, in someone else's vehicle, and see what remains
of the forest. We wonder if the restaurant at Polebridge escaped the
fire.

Friday, September 7, 2001
Trek mileage: 30,31

Absaroka Bay RV-Park Cody, WY. Elevation: 5,400'

After breakfast at Granny's it was back to the museum. The weather
has changed so drastically that our options on what to do are severely
reduced. Two days ago it was 93 degrees the high today is in the low
50s with freezing rain and hail. Tonight's low is supposed to be 35
degrees with a 40% chance of snow. The wind is howling. In sum the
weather is miserable. Visibility is so bad that we can't do some of
the scenic trips we were looking forward to. The museum that we only
got halfway through yesterday beckons us back.

This time we tour the firearm and western art section. Viewing
thousands and thousands of guns can get boring in short order.
However, included in the firearm exhibit was a head and horn exhibit
of world record bear, deer, elk, moose and caribou. Boone and Crocket
record animals are on exhibit in a special room. While in the museum
we heard a loud noise like the building was under attack. We ran to
large plate glass windows and watch as an intense thunderstorm dumps
marble size hail. When it was over the ground was white, covered with
frozen marbles. Shortly after the hail storm the building was abuzz
with news that the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park was
closed. This time is was not a fire but fugitives in a stolen truck.
We met RV'ers that were run out of the RV-Park at Fishing Bridge just
inside the east entrance. A park ranger knocked on their door this
morning and told them to leave immediately. They evacuated to Cody
and were touring the museum while waiting to see if they would be
allowed to return to their RV or would have to spend the night in a
motel in Cody.

Nightly news tells us that early this morning a park ranger spotted a
suspicious pick-up truck near Fishing Bridge. Upon running a license
check they learn that it is a stolen vehicle containing fugitives. The
truck disappeared for 10-minutes and the occupants flee. At this
point everybody (workers and tourist) was evacuated from the Fishing
Bridge area. Everything at Fishing Bridge including stores, the
RV-Park, the service station, and seasonal-worker dormitories were
evacuated and closed. It appears that those evacuated RV'ers will be
spending the night in area motels.

Since we did not adequately celebrate our 32nd anniversary Thursday
Joyce found Cassie's Supper Club that features a live band for us to
celebrate. Joyce did a good job with this one. Two weeks ago Vince
Gill and wife Amy Grant ate there and afterward Vince borrowed a
guitar and treated the guests to a 90-minute show then jammed with the
house band for a while. On the wall was a "tabloid" headline and
story about Tanya Tucker getting in a catfight with a cowgirl who was
coming on to her "man". We got a kick out of this and wondered if we
were going to be lucky enough to see some of this action. The hostess
told us that Vince and Amy were spending the week at a nearby dude
ranch where they had a great time. On Wednesday night of that week an
entertainer was at the dude ranch for her normal Wednesday night sing
around the campfire. Gill and her performed some of his songs
together and they became friends. It just so happens that this girl
also sings at Cassie's during the dinner hours. When Gill asked her
where they could get a good steak of course she said Cassie's. When
Gill made reservations he included all of the staff and families at
the dude ranch. Wow! What a tip!

We did not get to see Vince Gill in a 90-minute set but the house band
was good and we had a good time.

On the way home we see a bank sign flashing 44-degrees.

Saturday, September 8, 2001
Absaroka Bay RV-Park Cody, WY. Elevation: 5,400'

This morning's newspaper says the fugitives, two teenage boys and a
juvenile girl, were captured about 6:00pm last night. The trio took
off on foot around 5:30am after they abandoned a stolen truck in the
Hamilton Store parking lot at Fishing Bridge. Many of you are
familiar with the Hamilton Store at Fishing Bridge. With three armed
and dangerous fugitives on the loose Park officials evacuated the
immediate area. I suppose virtually everyone in the park was on the
lookout for these teens. According to the newspaper the group had
walked about 10-miles when they were spotted in the Harden Valley. The
girl was barefooted. The group was reported to be tired and cold.

We drove from Cody to Fishing Bridge and back today. This is a
150-mile round trip. On the way we toured the Buffalo Bill Cody Dam
and Visitors center. The 75-mile ride between Cody and Fishing Bridge
in Yellowstone is one of the most scenic drives we have been on. Just
outside of Cody the road traverses a narrow canyon with three tunnels.
At the west end of the canyon is the Dam and Visitors center. From
there to the east gate the drive is through a wide valley lined with
dude ranches and Buffalo Bill State Park. Once inside of the park the
awesome scenery doesn't stop as the road winds over 8,530' Sylvan Pass
then along Yellowstone Lake. RV camping opportunities are numerous
between Cody and the east gate. Beautiful campsites are available
along the reservoir in Buffalo Bill State Park. From what we can see
from the road these spots do not appear to have hookups. Other than
the State Park several Mom & Pop operations are offering RV-Parking.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix