Day 82 - Yellowstone to Montana

My alarm sounded at 5:30am, a time early enough for me to arise before someone found me secretly camping. The geyser prediction said Grand at 6:15am so I set out toward it. 

I ran into geyser gazer Jim there and he said it likely erupted at 4:30-- missed it. Early morning eruptions are hard to predict as someone needed to have seen the previous overnight eruption in order to make a prediction. I walked on toward Artemesia, an unpredictable geyser at the far corner of the basin. I had seen her erupt from a mile away and wanted a closer inspection. The early morning setting was momentous, yet I didn't see a geyser erupt up close until Grand at 10:30.  Then Sawmill erupted with its twirling thirty foot action (pic).  

The only remaining geyser left to experience on my mental list was Beehive up close. With a predicted window of 810 to 1210, I arrived at 1030 and waited until 1pm, before giving up. The sun was hot, I had read the geyser book cover to cover, and while seeing each geyser for the first time was exhilarating and addictive, seeing them erupt again often didn't seem worth the wait. My geyser gazing days were officially over-- at least until my next Yellowstone visit. 

Despite having some five mile hikes to geysers and waterfalls left on my to-do list, I decided to leave Yellowstone that afternoon. The trip felt complete and wonderful and I like leaving some things undone: a good excuse to come back with friends and family again. I considered heading southwest to Idaho but after looking at the craters and waterfalls and canyons in the Idaho Falls to Boise route, I decided to skip it and head north to Glacier. I had four weeks until Uncle Bill and Cousin Roman came to meet me in Seattle/Olympic Park and a lot of territory sitting between here and there. 

I drove through scenic Montana Big Sky country along a river jammed with white water rafters before arriving to a free campsite along a reservoir just east of Helena. I walked down to the lake and was surprised by the beauty. I could stay here for days it was so nice. I jumped in the lake to bathe and swim, then indulged in some luke warm but refreshing IPAs while updating the blog. Montana looks very promising indeed-- Glacier tomorrow.