#20-194 Days and 10,219 Miles Traveled! And they said I wouldn't make it! So Far, So Good!

Say what?! Leg 3 of Coach Addy’s Big Adventure has begun?! And “they” said I wouldn’t make it past the first 3 months! We have been on the road since January 3-that’s 194 days! This week’s highlights included visiting Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons and staying at some beautiful places in Wyoming. So much open space, so much beauty and so much fun!

Bozeman Montana, Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons

I really can’t believe that we are starting the seventh month of our great adventure! In some ways it has gone by so fast and in other ways I am amazed at how much we have done and seen already! This week has been exciting for us because we finally feel as if we are heading East and will be seeing parts of the Country that neither of us have experienced before.

We began with 4 days in Bozeman, Montana with Peder’s sister Hanne, her husband Andrew and their girls, Kirsten and Sarah. We stayed at a really nice campsite outside of downtown Bozeman, Bear Canyon Campground. We had sites across from each other and enjoyed each other’s company, BBQ’s, site seeing and Mexican Train Dominoes. We had a great time watching the girls play volleyball at Montana State University where they were attending a summer camp. Hanne, Kirsten, Sarah and I all enjoyed a float down the Madison River: the weather was perfect, the river calm and warm-such a relaxing way to spend the day and enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of Montana landscape.

Downtown Bozeman is very hip, we were able to try a few breweries, experience their Farmer’s Market and a quick stop at the Jackpot Casino. Hanne and Andrew had way more fun at the casino than Peder and I did…fun at a casino, as you can imagine is directly related to how much you win or lose-Let’s just say Peder and I didn't have much fun at all! (Clearly, this picture was taken on our way into the casino and not on our way out!)

Our first full day in Bozeman, Peder managed to get lost on his bike as he decided he would rather ride his bike to the brewery instead of going in the car with us. Thank heavens that he had cell phone service and that Hanne could teach him how to “drop a pin” so she could go rescue him! It's an Adventure!

Hot Tip #1: Really study the google map bike directions before you head out on your trip! Maybe even compare it to the driving directions to make sure that you are going in the right direction.

We parted ways with the family on Thursday and Peder and I spent the day in Yellowstone National Park. The park was very crowded, in spite of our early arrival time. What was most surprising was that they were doing road construction on the main road out of the park which resulted in major delays-Why would you do roadwork during the busiest month for visitors? Whatever?! We took it in stride and enjoyed the scenery. Unfortunately, we were not able to see The Grand Prismatic Spring, due to the traffic and crowds, but we were able to witness the impressive eruption of Old Faithful.

We then made our way to The Grand Tetons where we spent the night at Colter Bay Campground. Both of these parks are simply magnificent! The scenery is breathtaking and the fact that it is protected is such a gift to all who visit our National Parks. Peder and I very much enjoyed riding our eBikes throughout the park. The mountains appear to be jutting out of the water. A picture certainly doesn't do it justice, but the video below does a little better depicting this incredible beauty!

Wyoming-The Cowboy State

3 Harvest Host stays in Wyoming before arriving in South Dakota tomorrow (Monday).

Harvest Host #1-The Jarvis Family Farm in Shoshoni, Wyoming. Such a beautiful piece of property, acres and acres of Alfalfa and Pinto Beans along with a large garden filled with herbs, fruit trees, raspberries, and a variety of fresh vegetables. Coach Addy was parked right next to the barn and an old working John Deere tractor, we had a perfect view of the Boysen Reservoir, the garden and the pinto bean fields. They make and sell many yummy delights made from their raspberries. I picked up some jam (which always reminds me of my Nana, who made the best homemade Raspberry Jam), chipotle marinade, honey and a delicious glaze for fish/chicken. Katherine even suggested that we pick some fresh herbs from the garden to take along on our travels. Everything about this Harvest Host stay would have been perfect if not for the gazillion (and I mean gazillion) mosquitos! I have NEVER seen this many mosquitoes. How do people live like this everyday?! I couldn't do it. God bless them. Apparently, mosquitos love Alfalfa and the fact that this farm is right next to the reservoir doesn't help. Oh well, nothing is perfect! It’s an adventure…

We did meet another nice recently retired couple from Colorado who were also staying on the farm for the night. We exchanged some duct tape which they needed for some bug repellent that we desperately needed and then invited them inside Coach Addy for Happy Hour because we were definitely NOT sitting outside with all of those pesky mosquitoes. It really was a fun night!

Hot Tip #2: Focus on the positives and don’t let the negatives take away from the moment. We could have focused on the gazillion mosquitos and we would have been miserable and not have been able to enjoy the beautiful view and appreciate the hard work of Mike and Katherine at the Jarvis Family Farm. It really was a beautiful place and gave us a new appreciation for the life a farmer!

Harvest Host #2- Gruner Brothers Brewery in Casper, Wyoming. Huge place and lots of other Harvest Hosts enjoying the brewery. Beer was good and food was good also. But the best part of the trip was our stop at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. We loved this spontaneous stop. The museum is so well done and we learned so much about the role that Casper and Wyoming played in the Westward Expansion. There is a separate room dedicated to each of the four trails: Oregon, California, Mormon and the Pony Express Trails. So interesting!!

Harvest Host #3- Our Wyoming Life, a working cattle ranch and farm. Mike and Erin are wonderful hosts and even have their own YouTube Channel about life on the ranch. We won’t arrive at the Ranch until after I have posted this blog post, but something tells me this is going to be a very special and unique Harvest Host stay. I’ll let ya know next week.

Lesson Learned: Something to be said about spontaneity! Our trip to the museum was not on our radar and yet we had such a great time and learned so much! I kept thinking that the 5th graders near this museum would have a much better understanding of Westward Expansion than the 5th graders that I taught many years ago!

Bummer of the Week: The 50 or so mosquito bites that I got during my very short time out of the Coach at the Jarvis Family Farm!

Highlight of the Week: Sharing time with family. Our 4 days in Bozeman and the past 3 weeks with Hanne and her family in Pocatello has been precious and will be cherished. To spend quality time with family/friends really allows you to deepen your relationship and make lifelong memories. Thank you again to the Krause Family for letting us "Moochdock" on your driveway and for putting up with us for so long!

MILES TRAVELED-10,219!

Another fun week on The Great Open Road! We are so grateful that we have this opportunity to see so many beautiful parts of of this great country! South Dakota here we come! We can't wait to see Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore this next week. Wishing everyone a blessed week! Peder took a great video of Old Faithful erupting, you can see it below.