Later in July we drove through Wyoming and camped north of

Black dog sitting on rocky terrain looking out over layered mountain ranges under a blue sky with scattered clouds

Later in July we drove through Wyoming and camped north of Yellowstone along the Clarks Fork River near Beartooth Pass, Montana. Below is a journal entry from that trip, followed by videos & pics from Montana:

22 July ~ 2024, Montana: There are a lot of grizzlies up here north of Yellowstone. When I walk in the trees I'm always yelling ‘hey bear’ so we don't surprise one on its daybed. Up above tree line I stay quiet because one glance around shows that there are none nearby.

The dogs are having the time of their lives. A few days in though when it's time to sleep all of us are just straight out, from all the activity we have during the day. My only thought about a bear coming by at night is the pepper spray I have within arms length. I'm staying in a campground and the forest service has a large metal container to store your food in. Every evening though I have to take the cooler out of the back of the truck and shut it in the cab.

We are just about 30 ft from the Clarks Fork River. The spring runoff is down, and so now it's becoming a more peaceful river. I absolutely love hearing it when I'm in camp. It's called water therapy. Beau and Jess spend a lot of time down by the river.

More journal notes: (not always sequential)

Person standing on a grassy mountain slope with three dogs, overlooking a wide valley with rocky cliffs and distant snow-capped peaks

Clear mountain river flowing past a rocky shore with a forest of pine trees and a sharp mountain peak in the background under a partly cloudy sky

Man in a plaid shirt and cowboy hat holding a walking stick and a leash, standing on rocks by a flowing river with pine trees in the background, accompanied by two border collie dogs

23 July ~ 2024, Montana, Beartooth Pass: I actually slept really well at just under 11,000 ft near Beartooth Pass, in the tent. I had a lot of powerful and strange dreams because of the full moon, but the night passed quickly, and before I knew it I was up photographing the sunrise and the first light on the Absaroka Mountains. My worry about a grizzly coming by was for naught, but you're always going to have thoughts like that at bedtime when you're out in the wild by yourself in this kind of country.

Sunset with the sun partially below the horizon behind a mountain ridge, casting a pink and orange glow across the sky, with rocky terrain in the foreground

July 2024 backpacking

Two black and white dogs resting on a grassy mountain ridge overlooking a vast valley and rugged mountain range at sunset

22 July ~ 2024, Wyoming: I have a long history driving across the sagebrush flats to Yellowstone and beyond. My daughters were fascinated with the hot springs, geysers, fumaroles and boiling rivers of Yellowstone. They saw their first buffalo calf and grizzly bear there, starting way back in the 1980s. We were there in August of 1988 when much of Yellowstone burned, and were so close to the fire at times that we could see the flames up on the hill. The park was mostly deserted, but we were diehard Yellowstone fans.

A mid-summer road trip like this invokes a certain feeling of freedom along with it. My border collies got to summer swim in both the Big Horn River and then the Shoshone River of Wyoming today. Now we're out watching the nearly full moon climb the sky. Tomorrow I visit the Buffalo Bill western, native art, and natural history museum before continuing North to where we're going to camp, this time along a bank of the Clarks Fork River.

I didn't go dancing at Cassie's in Cody tonight, just drove by it and saw that at 9:30 there were only five cars in the parking lot. I just decided I'd rather sit out in the cool evening air with the dogs at the cabin we have reserved for the night. Also the dancing and the bands at the Rose lately have been tremendous. It will always be hard to top that experience. (I was there last night).

One thing trips like this always do for you is cause you to appreciate your home a bit more. (Or a lot more).. I'm going to enjoy our trekking up on Beartooth pass, but also will be looking forward to the day I can get up in the morning and go down off the deck to say hello to the chickens, then check my gardens with a cup of coffee in hand.

Black dog with wet fur sticking its head out of a car window on a sunny day with hills in the background

July 2024 backpacking

25 July ~ 2024, Wyoming: I picked up camp today and my plan is to do a slow drive through Yellowstone and Grand Teton national Parks, and then just sleep in the truck somewhere tonight. It was a good plan because I saw a grizzly bear while driving through Yellowstone. A nice lady had a spotting scope set up and let me look through it a couple of times. It was like the bear was right next to me. The grizzly was sleeping on it's daybed, and every once in a while it would roll over, which would get the crowd up on the hill cheering! What a beautiful country we live in.

I texted my daughters that I was in Yellowstone and saw a grizzly today. Both of them texted back to get them a nice soft Yellowstone t-shirt. And so I overdid it, getting them a bunch to choose from. I was telling the clerk who rang them up that all these are for my daughters who went to Yellowstone many times when they were kids. And she also had to listen to me talk about my border collies 🙂

Sunlight streaming through clouds over jagged mountain peaks with forested land below

Wyoming 2024 camping

A brown bear resting in tall green grass, looking directly at the camera

Interior of a rustic store with wooden beams and various items including backpacks, hats, clothing, brass deer figurines, and a grocery section sign in the background

Coffee mug with a bear illustration and Yellowstone National Park text, with the name AMY printed above the bear

Coffee mug with a bear illustration and Yellowstone National Park text on a shelf labeled Alyssa

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Colorado, Wyoming, Montana Part2

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart"