Monday 9-28-26 Lewis & Clark Caverns Tour, Lunch, Showers & More

 

Lewis & Clark Caverns Visitor Center for tours

We had a beautiful day. The morning temperature was 37 degrees and the high was 66. We started out with a little breeze and clouds. By afternoon we had sunshine and the clouds were gone.

I rolled out of bed at 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Larry had made reservations for us to tour the Lewis & Clark Cave. The tour was the Paradise Tour, which was 1.5 hour tour through two rooms (the Living Room and Paradise Room). It started at 10:30 but they recommend, that you get there a half hour before your tour.

While waiting we relaxed. We uncovered the motorcycle and took it off the carrier. A little before 10:00 we drove the motorcycle to the cave, which was 3 miles from the campground. It was a beautiful ride up the mountainside. It was a little cold but Larry kept me warm because I was behind him. When we got on top of the mountain we easily found a parking spot, not many cars and they had motorcycle parking only. We had over a half hour to wait. The views of the surrounding area were gorgeous, We had 25 people in the tour. The tour guide was very good and gave you a lot of information about the history of the cave. 

The cave was discovered by deer hunters in the 1868. By 1901, local quarry owner Dan Morrison enlarged the entrance and built 2,000 steps and started giving tours. The earlier tours were guided by ropes and torches. In 1908 the Federal government made it a National Monument. It was still difficult to get to. Montana state officials asked the federal government for aid to maintain the cave, in the 1920s and 1930s other cave systems were developed under the National Park Service. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was assigned to work on the cave. Over the next six years 200 crew members, geologist, architects and engineers transformed access to the cave. Inside the crew repaired the stairways, improved passageways, opened new caverns, installed lighting, blasted a 538-foot exit tunnel and mapped the cave. Outside they built a steep and winding 3.2 mile access road, a granite bridge, maintenance shop, new trails, an overlook deck and three Rustic buildings. In 1937 still under construction the cave became Montana's first state park. It didn't open until May 4, 1941 because Montana Legislature didn't create the state park system until 1940.

The tour was very nice. We walked a half mile down a gravel road where there were benches that looked over the Jefferson River Canyon. Then we walked through a door, which took us down a long tunnel to where the caverns were. We explored two room. The first room was the living room of the cavern. There the guide explained all the different formations. The second room was the Paradise Room. It was very beautiful. It had a lot of different formations. The guide explained the formations and it's name. Examples are Santa Claus, Romeo and Juliet, waterfall, organ pipes, a frog, alligator, columns and many more. We only had to climb a dozen steps, they were built by the CCC from the floor of the cave. They were beautiful and looked like a marble. The caverns were made by water and air. Some places the cavern was repairing itself because early when Dan Morrison owned it they used dynamite to blast the entrances and making the staircases. Parts of the tour we were in the dark so the guide could show you the different colors in the cavern. We had a great time.

Tour guide

Jefferson River Canyon

Waterfall 

Column

 

Romeo and Juliet

City

Organ pipes

After the tour we walked back to the visitor center via the gravel road for a half mile. We decided to have lunch at the Gift Corral Cafe & Gift Shop. We shared a bison burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a hamburger bun and a side order of onion ring (real onions). The sandwich and onion rings were good. For dessert we shared a scoop of peanut butter fudge ice cream. After dessert we walked back to the motorcycle. We loaded back on the motorcycle and went back to the campground. It was a little warmer.

Gift Corral Cafe & Gift Shop

Bison burger and onion rings

Peanut butter fudge ice cream

By the time we got home it was already 2:00. We put the motorcycle on the carrier and strapped it down. Then we relaxed in the Minnie. While relaxing the wild turkeys came to visit. They came from the opposite direction and spent a lot of time in our camp site. I scared them so they bunched together under a tree. There were 11 turkeys. This is so cool!!!

Wild turkeys in our camp site 

 

Larry read and I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Pyramid). It took me 33 minutes and 49 seconds to complete, which put me in 19th place in my group. 

While relaxing we talked about where to go from here. We decided to go to Helena, which is Montana's Capitol. We decided we would leave tomorrow so went over and took a shower. It's a pay shower and there's a change machine outside the showers. It cost $3.00 (12 quarters) for 6 minutes and if you put an extra $.50 you get an extra minute. My shower was excellent. Larry said he had to wait for the water to get warm and the head didn't work correctly. He said it was ok.

When Larry got back from his shower we put the cover on the motorcycle and strapped the cover down. Now the motorcycle is ready to go. 

Larry had started a book earlier and didn't like it so he stopped. I continued to read When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart. So far it's a great book about a family's life during the Civil War. 

By the end of the day I had done 5,500 steps.

      

  

     

Sunday 9-27-26 On the Road Again, Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park & Having Fun

 

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park

We had a cold day. We woke up to a chilly 34 degrees in Bozeman Montana and the high of 56 degrees in Cardwell Montana. We had high clouds all day. At 3:30 the sun came out for a few minutes.

After two weeks in Bozeman Montana waiting on the overhead window, it was time to move on. We could have moved on a couple of days ago but we wanted to make sure the window sealant had time to cure. 

I went to bed at 10:15 pm last night. I finished reading Circe by Madeline Miller and I asked Larry to choose me a new book. He was already in bed so I would have to wait until morning. I still got up at 7:15 am. I got dressed and made mini waffles for breakfast. Then we relaxed in the Minnie until about 9:30 am. We were only going 50 miles to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. 

While I waited I played the daily event, which was Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 1 hour, 11 minutes and 42 seconds to complete, which put me in 16th place in my group. Later on I did the daily challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong.

After playing the event Larry and I put things away and secured. Larry unplugged us from the power. We were on the road again. The route we took was 34 miles on I90. At the exit going towards Helena we got on highway 287 South for 10 miles. Then we got on Montana 7 West for 6 miles to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. Which was a total of 50 miles. The drive was very nice, we saw cattle, horses and a beautiful mountain range. The Jefferson River ran along the mountain pass. We arrived at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park at 11:30 am. We stopped at the fee station and checked the information about the sites. We had no problem getting a power site. We're on site E6 for $30.00 a night, were non-residents of Montana so it cost a bit more. We found a site we liked, then we walked over to the fee station and paid for two nights. We checked out the bathrooms. The bathrooms aren't heated, the showers are separate and cost $3 for 6 minutes. They have a dump station and fresh water but they turn off the water to the park on October 1st. We'll probably get water and dump the tanks Wednesday.

Lewis & Clark Caverns Campground from the trail

We had a sandwich for lunch with chips. After lunch we went for a 2.75 mile hike for almost 2 hours. We picked up the trail by the pay station. The trails we hiked were DanMor Gypsum Mine, Jefferson River Canyon and Cave Gulch. Most of the hike was out in the open, there were a few pine and juniper trees along with sage brush. The trail started out going uphill for 625 feet. By the time I got up to the top I was huffing and puffing. I'm definitely out of shape. We haven't hiked in over two weeks. The Cave Gulch trail was very well used. It took us to the DanMor Gypsum Mine. It was Montana's third Gypsum Mine. They have it gated off so the bats could still enter the mine and to keep people out. After looking at the mine we continued hiking the trail, which turned into Jefferson River Canyon trail. You got a beautiful view of the Jefferson River and the campground. There was a trail that went down to the river, it was called Jefferson River Access. It was .6 mile one way. We didn't take it, we continued on the Jefferson River Canyon trail back to the campground. It was a nice hike.

Jefferson River from the trail

DanMor Gypsum Mine entrance

Jefferson River Canyon

On the way back to the Minnie we had a surprise, we saw a flock of  10 wild turkeys. They were doing their walk through the campground. I took pictures. While relaxing before making dinner the turkeys were walking through our site. They walked right in front of the Minnie. This reminded me of staying at South Llano River State Park in Texas. The turkeys would walk through the sites. It was very cool. 

The flock of wild turkeys at our power box

The rest of the day we relaxed with a good book. Larry started a new book and so did I. I started reading When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart. It's a historic fiction novel taking place in Nash County, North Carolina during the Civil War. 

Reading is fun

By the end of the day I had done 9,000 steps.

  

  

Saturday 9-26-26 Gallatin Valley Farmers Market, Homecoming Parade & Having Fun

 

Super day in Bozeman

We woke up to a brisk morning temperature of 39 degrees. The high for the day was 62 degrees.

Thank you Larry for adjusting the heater from 64 degrees to 72 degrees. When I got up it was very nice and comfortable. The lower temperature was perfect for sleeping because we have quilts and body heat.

When we woke up we didn't think much was going on in Bozeman but we were surprised to see a lot of cars in the parking lot. We went on the Gallatin County Fairgrounds site to see what's going on. They were having the Gallatin Valley Farmers Market at the Exhibit Hall #1. It was from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. This was a pleasant surprise. 

We walked over to the farmers market. It was very nice and had a big crowd. We were shoulder to shoulder. They were selling a lot of pastries, breads, donuts, pies, bagels, brownies and more sweets. They had giant whole celery stalks and huge ears of corns. The celery stalks were as big as my forearm and the ear of corn was as big as two or three ears you buy at Walmart. They were selling other vegetables as well. Everyone was buying something. We walked around to see what the vendors had. Then we stopped at Gallatin Gourmet Specialty Foods (Kim O'Connell's) booth. She had pies, pecan sticky buns and huckleberry muffins. She had her prices on the items. We ended up buying one pecan sticky bun for $6 and a slice off apple pie, which was a quarter of the pie for $8. Her helper put the items in nice cardboard boxes. Everything Kim baked was organic using organic ingredients. Kim has been doing this for 25 years. She was very friendly and answered any question you had and didn't rush you in and out her booth.

Pecan Sticky Bun

Slice of Apple Pie

After walking around the Gallatin Valley Farmers Market we went back to the Minnie and dropped off the pecan sticky bun and apple pie. Then we decided to walk towards the downtown area. On the way we saw a lot of people walking that way. When we got to main street some streets were closed and people were sitting along the main street. Larry asked a lady what's going on. She said it was a homecoming parade for the university. They are the bobcats. It looked like the whole town came out. I figured it was going to be a small parade but it was a big parade and lasted about 40 minutes. They had floats representing businesses, fraternities (eight) and sororities (four or five) showing their support of Montana State University. They had floats representing the MSU American Indian Council, Alumni, Shriners clowns, PBS (Clifford) and more. Each float threw candy out for the kids to collect, Madi Guar necklaces and one group gave out apples. We got two of them. It was a great surprise and we had a great time. Tonight at 8:30 Montana State University will play football against Northern Arizona University.

The beginning of the parade

One of the local merchant's stage coach

Montana State University cheerleaders

Montana State University Marching Band

The homecoming court

Montana State University Miss American Indian Council

Alumni float in the parade

Shriners clowns

More participants in the parade (one dressed up as a bobcat)

Clifford from PBS

Bozeman High School Marching Band

Gallatin High School Marching Band

Trash Collector float

Bunsky Timber Sports float

Lady driving a BMW supporting the bobcats

 

One of the sororities

 

Giving out free apples

Miss Montana's float

After the parade was over we walked around downtown and looked at the cool old buildings, which are still being used. It was packed but it was a nice walk around. While walking toward the campground we passed a lot of old houses that were restored. There was a sign in the area that said there were 28 homes on the Historic Home list in the area. We were surprised when we got back to the fairgrounds. We didn't know until we got to the Senior Center, which is across the street from the fairgrounds. We had  great walk.

The rest of the day we relaxed in the Minnie. Larry started a book yesterday and today stopped half way through, he was not enjoying it. Then he started another book and didn't like it either. He has had both of these books for years and started them both before. He has now filed put them in a Did Not Finish folder and will not attempt to read them again.

I finished reading Cire by Madeline Miller. It was a terrific book, very well written.

I played the daily challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Experts Only Mini of 5 games. It took me 45 minutes and 9 seconds to complete, which put me in 16th place in my group.

After dinner we walked around the fairgrounds. We walked to the recycling bins to get rid of our plastic bottles and cardboard boxes. Then we walked around the block to the BMX Bike Park. There were only three guys playing on the jump track. By the time we got back to the Minnie I had done 9,000 steps for the day.        

Walking to get some steps

   

      

Friday 9-25-26 70th Birthday & Having Fun

 

Happy Birthday

It was a hot day here in Bozeman. The morning temperature was 52 degrees and the high was 85 degrees. 

Today was my 70th Birthday. We celebrated it by going to lunch at Applebee's. We walked over to Applebee's, which was a half mile from the fairgrounds. We haven't been to Applebee in a very long time. We shared a Quesadilla Burger and fries. When it arrived they had split the order on two plates, which was very nice. The burger was very tasty. The waitress wasn't that great. Larry had to ask for the check and the food wasn't hot when we got it. It was like she disappeared. 

Applebee's

  

Quesadilla Burger (it's like a melt)

After lunch we walked to Access Fitness to take a shower. We had no problem getting one. We only brought one bag, that way one of us could look after keys, phone and wallet while the other showered. The owners dog came out to welcome us. She was a cute terrier. The showers are great at Access Fitness.

Access Fitness

After taking a shower we continued our walk. We walked to a different ice cream shop, it was called Michoacan A Pedir De Boca Ice Cream Shop. The menu was in both English and Spanish. I ordered two scoops of ice cream, which were key line pie and cotton candy with chocolate on top. She got confused and dished out one scoop of chocolate and one scoop cotton candy. I told her I had ordered key line pie and cotton candy with chocolate. She was still confused she gave me two scoops of key lime pie with chocolate. That was ok. We liked the ice cream better at Genuine Ice Cream. The service was good and she was friendly.

Michoacan A Pedir De Boca Ice Cream Shop

Key Lime Pie ice cream with chocolate on it

After eating the ice cream we walked back to the fairgrounds. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

We relaxed with a book. Larry started another book and I continued reading Cire by Madeline Miller.

Relaxing with a good book

I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Medium Mayhem of 27 games. It took me 1 hour, 11 minutes and 12 seconds to complete, which put me in 4th place in my group.

In the evening I walked to Walmart to do a little shopping. Walmart is .8 mile from the fairgrounds so round trip was 1.6 miles. I wanted some steps and this was a way to do so. By the end of the night I had done 9,000 steps.

I had a great 70th Birthday. I'm ready for another 70 years, just kidding. Have fun.

 

Thursday 9-24-26 Window Installed, Walking & Having Fun

 

Bozeman Montana 

We had another gorgeous day in Bozeman. The morning temperature was 48 degrees and the high temperature was 84 degrees. I am not sure but that is probably near a record high, is should be in the high 60's.

We spent most of the day waiting to hear from Andy's Glass Inc to call about our our overhead window. 

While waiting we read. Larry finished reading a book and started another one and finished it. I continued reading Circe by Madeline Miller. It's a great book about gods, goddesses and mortals. It talks about the most powerful gods and gods with no power.

Relaxing with a book

I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Pyramid). It took me 37 minutes and 48 seconds to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group of 50.

For breakfast we had mini waffles. For lunch we shared a sandwich and chips. About 3:00 we got a call from Andy's Glass saying the window came in and they had installed the window in the frame. We could come over and they would install the window. We put everything away and secured. 

Off to Andy's Glass we went. Andy's Glass is 12 miles away in Belgrade, Montana. We arrived and they had Larry drive the Minnie in the bay. Larry asked to look at window. They said not a problem. He just wanted to see how the window fit the frame and how the frame was going to be installed. It took them about an hour to do the work. We thanked them and we were on the road again.

 

Andy's Glass Inc. building

Where the old glass goes

The finished window installation

We weren't too impressed by the whole glass situation, there was lack of communication between Debbie, April and Brooklyn (the office women). When Larry would call to check on the status of the glass they didn't even remember who he was. When we arrived today Debbie told us to drive the Minnie in the bay. Once we were in the bay she was rushing us out of the vehicle and into the waiting room. Brooklyn checked us out and she was very nice and friendly. She told us not to power wash the overhead for 24 hours because the sealant had to setup. The workmanship was poor, they didn't clean the frame before installing the window. There was old sealant left in the frame. We'll stay around a day or two to ensure the sealant sets up. Hopefully we will not have any leaks.

On the way back to the fairgrounds we stopped at Exxon and filled the Minnie with gas. Then we went back to Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

We spent the rest of the day reading. I went for a 40 minute walk around the block for 2 miles. It was a very nice walk with a breeze.

The corrals for the livestock at the fairgrounds

Storage for the agility course for dogs at the fairgrounds

Bozeman's first fire engine

By the end of the day I had done 5,000 steps.