We left the Econo Lodge in Helena, Montana early in the morning.
My grandmother was in a panic because when she woke up and looked out of her motel room window, she saw a cemetery. We arrived at night, so we didn't see it then. My grandmother said that if she had known the cemetery was there, she never would have stayed at the motel.
We had left home in the Seattle, Washington area on May 25th, 48 days earlier. As much as we all enjoyed the trip, we were looking forward to being home again by the evening.
We followed U.S. Route 12 43 miles (69 km) west through the Rocky Mountains. It was a cloudy day. At an altitude of 4058 feet (1237 m), it felt as if we could simply extend our hands and touch the clouds.
We then joined Interstate 90 again, on which we would continue westward all the way home. 249 miles (400 km) later, we crossed the border separating Idaho from Washington State.
For the first time in almost seven weeks, we were back in our home state. We all let out cheers upon seeing a sign welcoming us to Washington State. Our drive across the barrenness of eastern Washington felt like the car was borne on the winds. It seemed that the road was passing by quicker with each mile.
188 miles (303 km) further west, we stopped for dinner in Ellensburg at a Perkins Restaurant.
After dinner, we took the final 102 miles (164 km) of the trip. Before we knew it, we had crossed over Snoqualmie Pass (elevation 3015 feet/919 m) and were back in the familiar territory of western Washington, descending out of the mountains toward sea level.
After an eleven hour drive, we arrived at my mother's apartment on Mercer Island, Washington in the evening. We took our luggage inside, and collapsed on couches and chairs. After one day shy of seven weeks, it felt good to be home again. Sitting there, it was easy to wonder if the entire trip had been just a long dream.
The three cats were ecstatic to see their people again, and promptly started begging for attention. The neighbors had taken good care of them, but they were no substitute for us. They also seemed to take us to task for having been away for so long.
It took a few days to get used to being home, but life settled into its normal routines again. We had been there and back again, and were left with fantastic memories.
My grandmother passed away three years later. I'm glad she was able to experience traveling so extensively before she died.
Thank you for taking this journey through my memories.
Total Travel Distance: 582 miles (937 km)
Saturday, July 11, 1992
Friday, July 10, 1992
10 July 1992: Bozeman, Montana to Helena, Montana
When we woke up, we noticed a difference in the air of Bozeman, Montana. The city is located in the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 4,795 ft (1,461 m). The air seemed both purer and lighter. We had been too tired to notice when we arrived, but now we felt the difference.
We traveled 26 miles (42 km) east on Interstate 90 and 53 miles (85 km) south on U.S. Route 89 until we reached Gardiner, Montana.
We passed through the Roosevelt Arch and found ourselves in Yellowstone National Park. We continued to follow U.S. Route 89, and a few miles later we were in Wyoming, where the bulk of the park is located.
We spent at least four hours at Yellowstone, if not more. I remember one of the first things we saw as we climbed higher in elevation was a river beside the road. We stopped to take photos. There was a chipmunk that begged for food. I recall we gave it something to eat.
We saw Old Faithful. Our timing was perfect. As soon as we arrived and found a good vantage point, it erupted steam and water into the air. Yellowstone's most famous natural wonder didn't disappoint.
As we drove through another section of the park, we saw deer, elk, and even a bison bull at a great distance. I remember an elk in particular, because as we were driving up a hill it stood on the bank only a few feet away from the road. We stopped so I could take a photo out the car window. The elk looked up curiously and then returned to grazing.
We also saw the famous paint pots of Yellowstone, large pools of bubbling mud and steam. We walked the wooden walkways above the paint pots, getting a better look at the pink colored mud. There were no guardrails, so we remained vigilant to not fall into the hot mud.
Yellowstone is a national treasure, but only spending several hours there, we had only seen a small bit of all it had to offer.
We left Yellowstone via U.S. Route 287, which delivered us back into Montana and the small town of West Yellowstone. I remember we stopped there for a late lunch/early dinner.
Then we followed U.S. Route 287 and Montana Secondary Highway 359 99 miles (159 km) north and back to Interstate 90. I recall passing Earthquake Lake, formed during a massive earthquake in 1957 which also killed over two dozen people. The tops of dead trees still poked above the water, casting a macabre mood over the lake as a graveyard of trees.
We also saw cattle walking along the side of the freeway toward us. A little further, we saw that a section of fence had been knocked down. It was a bovine jailbreak.
We were only on Interstate 90 for a few miles before we exited onto Montana Highway 69, which we drove 32 miles (51 km) on before continuing on Interstate 15 29 miles (47 km) until we reached Helena, Montana.
We had been on the road about fourteen hours and were exhausted. We missed the exit for the motel, quickly finding ourselves out of town and on a lonely freeway in a rural area. Not knowing how far it was until the next exit, we took a shortcut on a turnout connecting both halves of the freeway, ignoring the sign saying it was illegal to do so.
We were now headed back toward Helena, but almost instantly we saw flashing lights behind us. We were pulled over by a Montana Highway Patrol officer. After hearing our story of being tourists driving for fourteen hours and missing our exit, he let us go with only a warning.
We finally arrived at the Econo Lodge in Helena. We went directly to our rooms. It had been the longest day of the trip in terms of hours on the road. We were exhausted.
We were also looking forward to the next day being the final day of the trip. We were now only 582 miles (937 km) from our home in the Seattle, Washington area. Just one more day.
Total Travel Distance: 380 miles (612 km)
We traveled 26 miles (42 km) east on Interstate 90 and 53 miles (85 km) south on U.S. Route 89 until we reached Gardiner, Montana.
We passed through the Roosevelt Arch and found ourselves in Yellowstone National Park. We continued to follow U.S. Route 89, and a few miles later we were in Wyoming, where the bulk of the park is located.
We spent at least four hours at Yellowstone, if not more. I remember one of the first things we saw as we climbed higher in elevation was a river beside the road. We stopped to take photos. There was a chipmunk that begged for food. I recall we gave it something to eat.
A river in Yellowstone National Park
Chipmunk
We saw Old Faithful. Our timing was perfect. As soon as we arrived and found a good vantage point, it erupted steam and water into the air. Yellowstone's most famous natural wonder didn't disappoint.
A crowd gathered to see Old Faithful
Old Faithful
Old Faithful
As we drove through another section of the park, we saw deer, elk, and even a bison bull at a great distance. I remember an elk in particular, because as we were driving up a hill it stood on the bank only a few feet away from the road. We stopped so I could take a photo out the car window. The elk looked up curiously and then returned to grazing.
The elk
A deer or elk
We also saw the famous paint pots of Yellowstone, large pools of bubbling mud and steam. We walked the wooden walkways above the paint pots, getting a better look at the pink colored mud. There were no guardrails, so we remained vigilant to not fall into the hot mud.
Yellowstone's Paint Pots
Yellowstone's Paint Pots
Yellowstone's Paint Pots
Yellowstone is a national treasure, but only spending several hours there, we had only seen a small bit of all it had to offer.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
We left Yellowstone via U.S. Route 287, which delivered us back into Montana and the small town of West Yellowstone. I remember we stopped there for a late lunch/early dinner.
Then we followed U.S. Route 287 and Montana Secondary Highway 359 99 miles (159 km) north and back to Interstate 90. I recall passing Earthquake Lake, formed during a massive earthquake in 1957 which also killed over two dozen people. The tops of dead trees still poked above the water, casting a macabre mood over the lake as a graveyard of trees.
Earthquake Lake, Montana
We also saw cattle walking along the side of the freeway toward us. A little further, we saw that a section of fence had been knocked down. It was a bovine jailbreak.
Bovine jailbreak
We were only on Interstate 90 for a few miles before we exited onto Montana Highway 69, which we drove 32 miles (51 km) on before continuing on Interstate 15 29 miles (47 km) until we reached Helena, Montana.
We had been on the road about fourteen hours and were exhausted. We missed the exit for the motel, quickly finding ourselves out of town and on a lonely freeway in a rural area. Not knowing how far it was until the next exit, we took a shortcut on a turnout connecting both halves of the freeway, ignoring the sign saying it was illegal to do so.
We were now headed back toward Helena, but almost instantly we saw flashing lights behind us. We were pulled over by a Montana Highway Patrol officer. After hearing our story of being tourists driving for fourteen hours and missing our exit, he let us go with only a warning.
We finally arrived at the Econo Lodge in Helena. We went directly to our rooms. It had been the longest day of the trip in terms of hours on the road. We were exhausted.
We were also looking forward to the next day being the final day of the trip. We were now only 582 miles (937 km) from our home in the Seattle, Washington area. Just one more day.
Total Travel Distance: 380 miles (612 km)
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