Knowing I needed to shake out of my funk from last night and that Merlin needed some more time to rest, we hung out at the ole' WalMart till about 10:30. Naturally, we made our obligatory purchases to alleviate the guilt of a free night's lodging.
Having researched several parks in the Yellowstone area (and knowing that the NP campgrounds are not big rig friendly and that they would be booked up on a summer weekend anyway), we decided we would call Yellowstone's Edge RV Park to check for availability. We were in Bozeman - the campground was in Livingston - so we had to backtrack for about 25 miles to take 89 South towards Yellowstone. It was nice to see the mountains in the daytime. It really is absolutely gorgeous here.
We arrived around noon and met with the park owners, Pam and Chan. They're really great people and the campground was amazing.
We're not big on committing to a multiple night stay sight unseen, so we jumped onto Pam's golf cart and took a little spin to check out a few of the available sites. We decided on one that would be available for two nights knowing we would have to move Sunday morning. Not a big deal. It takes us 20 minutes to tear down and hitch up so moving isn't an issue for us. This site was well worth it. It backed to the Yellowstone River and, like every site in the campground, was surrounded by the most amazing mountains. We quickly paid our nightly fees (ouch!) and set up camp. That sounds so ridiculous...setting up camp...
We wanted to give Merlin a chance to chill and not be dragged all over God's creation, so we just stayed at the campsite all day with some sporadic dog walks and river explorations mixed in. I was really happy to see Merlin perk up when Twist started playing stick with Daddy. He went in the water (only up to his ankles of course) to grab the stick a few times but just didn't have the energy to play for very long. Not surprising given his lack of food intake. Regardless, it was nice to see him have fun. I love the fact that our dogs can splash and play in the Yellowstone River - more than 2000 miles from home. We went back to the site and chilled for the rest of the afternoon. I worked on the blog.
Bill sat with his Kindle and we all just chilled.
We continued to watch the clouds roll by and dance in front of the sun. The rays of light streaming through the clouds were especially cool to see.
I think this is what they call relaxing...still not sure. :)
At one point, we noticed Twister dreaming of the next upgrade...
We took the Boys for an evening stroll and met some really cool folks along the way. An older couple, Schuller and Olivia from South Carolina, were especially pleasant to chat with. They asked us how, at our age, we were able to travel all summer. We told them how it came to be and they thought our decision to do it now rather than later was awesome. She remarked that they often said it's a shame that most folks have to wait for retirement to travel - when they're older and don't have the energy of their youth. I'm grateful for the opportunity to not have to wait - or worse yet, wait and then never be able to do it. We're not promised any days on this earth, so we need to live life to the fullest and make the most of every day.
Anyway, I chatted with her, Bill chatted with him and we all chatted together at times. I love old people. They have the best stories and I generally enjoy talking to them way more than people my own age. Young people are generally ego-centric and clueless. Thanks, but I have nothing to learn from you...give me some old folks who can share something of value and I'm all over it. Obviously, this is a general statement and not directed to our friends back home... :) I'm strictly talking about strangers, eh. Yep, I'll stick to that. ;P
As we were chatting, the sun set and turned the mountains and clouds around us into a brilliant light show spectacle. I kept stopping mid-sentence and saying, "Wow! Look over there!". I've seen some amazing sunsets, but I have never seen the sky look like this. I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera. I have no proof of the beauty of this evening, but it will be a long time before I ever forget how gorgeous it was. I'm only hoping that our stay here the next few days yields the same amazing sunsets. Next time, I'll have my camera and will pray that the pictures can do it justice.
Upon our return from our evening walk, we ate dinner and I continued to update the blog while Bill read. At any given point, we have no idea what day it is and have to look at our watches to check. It's a hard life out here on the road. ;P
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