July 1st, 2023

Starting mileage: 5442, Distance travelled: 478

Miles hikes: .8

Got up at 5am to hit the road by 6:15 to exit Yellowstone before all the bison-gawkers clogged up the roads. Crossing over the northern park roads was dramatic and harrowing. We climbed way up into the mountains, winding through S-curved roads, with spectacular cliffs on either side. The equally serpentine way down offered incredible views of pristine valleys below. Susan was holding on tight while David was wishing he was in a zippy sports car instead of a clunky camper. The kids snoozed in the back while we drove, getting in nearly 250 miles before lunchtime. David and Susan saw a deer in the road and our only bear in Yellowstone while the kids were snoozing.

Stopped briefly to get a look at Mammoth Hot Springs and then to take a picture at the iconic Roosevelt Arch. We missed crossing over into Montana just before exiting the park.

We stopped in Helena and had lunch at a local diner, where Susan tried the Montana signature sandwich, the porkie, a fried pork chop. The kids also enjoyed the homemade pie of the day, Strawberry Banana Cream. Susan and David enjoyed having cell service for the first time in three days (thus, the major delay in posting). Back on the road we passed fields of yellow that we learned are a variety of mustard used to make canola oil. Lots of open fields with cattle and stunning mountains on the horizon. The cross winds in northern Montana nearly took the van off the road several times. David struggled to maintain the 80 mph speed limit on the extremely narrow roads with such high winds.

After surviving some harrowing summer-only roads, where we saw a trailer in front of us almost bounce himself off the road on a frost heave, we arrived safely at Watertown Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. We had an awesome campsite in a spectacular setting and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the small, touristy town. Unlike other towns, all trash cans were bear lockers and deer wandered the streets like stray dogs…pretty surreal.