Day 29 – July 11, 2015

Day 29 – July 11, 2015
Bozeman to Livingston MT – 26 miles

Bumble Bee – Audrey:

We slowly made our way out of town, stopping again at the Co Op for some breakfast. We had a Pass to do, Bozeman Pass about 5300 FT. It was pretty easy, a slow and steady climb not too steep. The grade was what Gregg called “railroad grade”. The only difficulty was that we had to get on i90 for about 6 miles. I hate that, trucks, rumble strips, noise and high speed vehicle just a couple feet left of us.

But the reward was at the top. Once we got to the high plateau about 1 mile from the Pass we pulled off the Interstate. There on the top of the hill was a Grizzly sanctuary. There we spend 45 minutes watching little Bella ( the 300 lb cub) play with a stick and romp around. The volunteers were very informative. The had about 5 other bears who come out at different times. The little one, Bella can’t really really stand up to the older ones, they need to wait until she’s over 400 lbs. It was interesting, kind of a little zoo for Grizzlies, yet deep down in my soul I felt a little weird. Was this place legit? or some kind of scam where these folks are making money off these beautiful creatures? Who knows? They claim that these bears who were born in captivity could absolutely not survive in the wild. I suppose it is the zoo discussion all over again. At least this place educates and lets people see Grizzlies and learn about what they are. It is probably OK. I bought a T-shirt for the cause. It was all “organic” cotton and proceeds go to the bears. Well it made me feel better. Gregg was glad we passed thru the Rockies without any Grizzly encounters in the

wild. Thanks Bella. You are a cutie.

We coasted down the hill another 10 miles to Livingston MT. We decided on a short day because we had to break up our trip to Billings into smaller parts. I had calculated a 55 mile day and then a 86 mile day. Just too much.

The coasting down the mountain was fantastic. Today we really witnessed the BIG SKY that is what Montana is famous for. It was spectacular, the clouds were dramatic, the mountains that appeared were the first real Alpine looking peaks we have seen. It was wonderful. We took pictures and filmed most of our coasting down the mountain.

Arriving in Livingston MT was pretty special. It was a real western town with a certain sophistication. We rode around looking for a campsite, got to the Livingston Inn and the campground was just behind it. It did not look good and there were very dark clouds over the the mountains. Gregg took the command decision to get a room. This hotel was nothing special but it had charm, we paid for the charm and the fact that Livingston is the gateway to Yellowstone. Packed on a Saturday night. All good.

We went to town for a great lunch of lamb kabob salad and a organic free range burger, wine and beer. What more could you want. We then found a small ice cream shop/coffee shop where Gregg finally wrote a blog entry. I wander the town. I came upon an art studio where Aileen Bensley beckoned me in. She was an incredible vivacious character, full of life and passion for her art. It was a real breath of fresh air to find her, spend some time, and buy a little piece, most of her art was large. It was so nice meeting her. It was as if I met another angel of the road. I happened upon her and she welcomed me, what more would I want? Very special.

So here we are in the Livingston Inn relaxing and eating. Gregg just received some very bad news, one of his very best friends Alan, a fellow teacher at Hamilton HS is very very ill, in a medically induced coma with a very bad lung infection (ARDS and pneumonia). Shocking. It may change our plans. Right now we hope and pray that Allen recovers and the doctors at Cedar Sinai find a way to treat him successfully. Our thoughts our with him, Erin his wife, and all of his many friends and students that love his so much.