Wednesday 9-23-26 Errands, Having Fun & Walking to Story Mill Community Park

 

Gallatin County Fairgrounds

We're still in Bozeman at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds. It's really not a bad place to stay because we have power and we can walk around the neighborhood in the evening.

We had a front come through last night about 9:30 pm and stayed around until early morning. When I got up at 7:30 am it was still wet outside. But by noon it was dry because the sun came out. There were a few high clouds, that rolled in and out all day. The morning temperature was a cool 50 degrees with a breeze. The high was 72 degrees.

Rainy night and early morning

We hung around the Minnie all morning reading. I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Spider Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 52 minutes and 37 seconds to complete the games, which put me in 11th place in my group.

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and shared a shake. For lunch we had a sandwich and chips. 

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast

After lunch we did a few errands to get the Minnie ready to get back on the road. First stop was at the office to fill the water tank with fresh water. Larry went into the office and paid $5.00 for the water. The lady in the office had to come out and unlock the box so we could use the water. When we finished we went into the office and told her we were finished. She was surprised and thanked us. I guess most people just leave. Next stop was down the street at the U-Haul to fill the Minnie with propane. Final stop was Walmart to go grocery shopping. We didn't need too much but we wanted to make sure we were stocked up. We're weren't to sure when we would see a Walmart after leaving here. After shopping we went back to the fairgrounds. Then we loaded the motorcycle on it's carrier and strapped it down. The motorcycle and the Minnie are ready to go.

Running Errands

Larry gave Andy's Glass a call at 4:00 to see if our window had come in on the truck. Brooklyn wasn't sure so she checked on the order. They told her that the truck would be there at 4:30 so they weren't sure. She said she would call us by 10:00 am tomorrow. So were in limbo until tomorrow. 

Bozeman isn't a bad place to be. They have paved walking trails around town. After dinner we walked for 3.1 miles. We took the paved trail to the railroad tracks. Then we crossed over the tracks and picked the paved trail back up. We walked through a pedestrian tunnel to get across the highway. Then we walked a dirt road to Story Mill Community Park. As we walked the road we saw a few horses in their backyards. The entrance to Story Mill Community Park was a nice archway. It had a nice sign welcoming you to the park and a map on where things were. We walked a half mile loop around the park. This loop no dogs are allowed but they have a very nice dog park for them. The trail took us in between two rivers (East Gallatin River and Bozeman Creek). It was a nice walk through the park. They had a couple of nice bridges that looked over the East Gallatin River. We took the same trail back to the fairgrounds except when we got to the railroad tracks. Instead of going straight we went to the right, which pointed us to the fairgrounds. As we walked we saw a lot of families and friends riding bicycles, a few joggers and walkers like us. It was a nice walk.

Pedestrian Tunnel

 

Story Mill Community Park welcome sign

East Gallatin River

Here's a fun fact. The section of the road we walked was the Northern/Pacific Burlington Northern Story Mill Spur. On July 2, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation that established the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and financed the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. At this time the Northern Pacific impacted virtually every place it had contacted, which included Bozeman, Montana. On January 9, 1882, the Northern Pacific purchased a large tract of land northeast of Bozeman and started construction of the first transcontinental rail yard. They did this because of Gallatin Valley's reputation as "the granary of Montana" together with its proximity to Bozeman Pass and the large coal reserves of the neighboring Trail Creek Area. At the same time Nelson Story was building a large flour milling complex near the mouth of Bridger Canyon, where Rocky Creek, Bozeman Creek and Bridger Creek merge to form East Gallatin River. Story made arrangements to connect his milling operation and the proposed Northern Pacific mainline via a 100 foot wide rail spur right a way. Story Mill Spur, approximately 4400 rail line remains as the Gallatin Valley's largest an most heavily used industrial spur until the mill decline in the 1960's.              

When we got home we relaxed with a book. By the end of the day I had done 9,000 steps. 

For dessert we had a limited edition Nestle Toll House Soccer Ball Mossels Chocolate Chip cookies. They were chocolate chips cookies with white soccer ball shape mossels on them.

Toll House Chocolate Chip with Soccer Mossels Cookies