Masters of RVing Adventures

Bozeman is a mid-sized town (roughly 56, 000 people) that lives like a small town. The state’s largest university, Montana State, anchors one edge of town while short drives away to the northeast and southwest are two great skiing areas and one of the most visited National Parks of all time: Yellowstone. During the short week of our stay, we experienced a MSU home football game (they don’t celebrate football or tailgating like the South!), a regional soccer tournament for kids ranging in age from 8 – 15, scenic drives in and around town, several great restaurants, and a lot of friendly people.

Day 31 – Sunday – Bozeman Arrival

We arrived at Bozeman Hot Springs Campground. The campground is neat and clean, sites are mostly gravel, though a few are paved, the staff are friendly and attentive, with the usual amenities of cabins, laundry, lodge room, playground, game room, and even a “mining” experience for kiddos. The two BIG standouts for us were the huge dog park for Timber and the free access to Bozeman Hot Springs.

Registration and check-in

Bozeman Hot Springs

Forget whatever imagery you have for hot springs – this place is a whole other experience. First off, there are eight indoor pools and 3 outdoor pools, ranging in size and temperatures. The locker rooms are more spa-like, with towels provided and changing rooms, bathrooms and showers. The indoor facilities also include a gift shop, restaurant, sauna, and workout rooms for group exercise and weightlifting. On Sunday and Thursday nights, to blazing flames alighting around the pools, they offer live music for the outdoor guests – we experienced a 3-piece ensemble that played mostly jazz and another group that performed all-time hits.

Signs for the campground and Hot Springs. One of the outdoor hot pools.

Day 32 – Monday – Big Sky

We took a drive to Big Sky to view some condos and see the ski resort again, since it had been a year since our last visit. We saw several condos, really liked one, but ultimately decided the price for the square footage plus the HOA and other fees is not what we think is best for us. The drive is very scenic with the road hugging the Gallatin River most of the way. Ted Turner owns the Flying D Ranch, a 130,000-acre, 5000+ herd buffalo ranch that encompasses almost all of the land butting up against the Gallatin National Forest. A forest service road cuts through his property allowing you to view the herd (only from your vehicle), terminating at a National Forest trail head.

Day 33 – Tuesday – Yellowstone National Park

Did you know Yellowstone is our very first, and therefore oldest, National Park? In early 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law.

With Timber in tow for the day, we arrived via the West entrance, through West Yellowstone. The drive from the campground to the West entrance was roughly 88 miles and took us about 1.5 hours. Even though we have a National Parks Pass, the wait was extensive to enter. Five entrance lanes were stacked more than 20 cars deep each. Once finally entering the park, we were to meet up with Liz and Mike at the Madison Information Station.

Once Timber greeted his Uncle Mike and Aunt Liz, we turned North with stops at Gibbon Falls and the Artists’ Paintpots before reaching the Norris Geyser Basin and Norris Museum.

Artists’ Paintpots

The paintpots operate similar to a double-boiler, underneath the ground is hot water with hot acidic steam. The super-heated acidic steam heats the ground above it causing the rocks to melt into clay. Even though mudpots are extremely hot, the bubbles are caused by steam and carbon dioxide gases, not hot water. Seasons play a big role in the consistency of the mudpots. In the spring, when snowmelt supplies plenty of water, the pots are soupy and splashy. As the summer progresses and water evaporation has occurred, the pots become thicker and thicker like a bowl of stew.

Norris Geyser Basin

The Norris Geyser Basin consists of the Back Basin and the Porcelain Basin. Even though Old Faithful is the most consistently active in Yellowstone, the Steamboat Geyser is the world’s tallest active geyser. Its unpredictable and infrequent eruptions can be more than 300 feet. So far, in 2025, the Steamboat Geyser has erupted twice: once in February and once in April.

Exiting the North Entrance near Mammoth Hot Springs

The park was extremely crowded and we were taking our time to stop and explore the various land formations. By the time we reached the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, it was an hour past Timber’s dinner time. We decided to do a drive by of the springs and eat at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel Dining Room. We had a nice dinner with Mike and Liz. The dining room is pleasant and airy. Service is a little slow, but our entrees were good. Mark had a smoked fish dip and a bowl of clam chowder. I opted for pasta primavera topped with grilled shrimp. Liz went for a huge Portobello mushroom burger with a cup of roasted red pepper & smoked gouda soup. Mike went traditional with a Bison burger and fries. Timber also got a Bison patty with steamed carrots!

Elk #24

As we exited the dining room with Timber’s ‘to-go’ meal, we heard the unmistakable trumpet of a bull elk. The park ranger was warning tourists that this guy was quite aggressive and just last week had been in a pretty big fight with another male elk (and easily won!). Number 24 (his number is a red tag on his right ear) has four lady elks that ‘hang out’ near the hotel. The Park Ranger told us to keep Timber in the Bronco, as #24 would go after him. He passed right near us but conveniently butted a passing car out of his way.

Exiting at the North Entrance. We had a 2-hour drive back to Bozeman.

Day 34 – Wednesday – Do we want a temporary place here?

We spent all day Wednesday looking at over 25 homes and condos. Our RE/MAX Realter/Broker, Shawn Gaugler, was fantastic. Patiently allowing us plenty of time to review homes with and without options for adding a space for the rig, larger lots and smaller lots, condos and townhomes in Bozeman, Big Sky, and Belgrade. Part of the problem, we still were not quite sure what we wanted to do about a property. When we looked in McCall, we had to consider acreage, as we couldn’t find any indoor storage facilities large enough to accommodate the rig. In Bozeman, we found at least four that also have electricity. Once we priced those, it made more sense to focus on condos and townhomes.

We called it quits at 6pm and went back to the rig exhausted and needing to sort through and weed down the list with a soak in the hot tubs. We had dinner with Timber, who was more than happy to listen to our discussions and give us an occasional bark in agreement.

Day 35 – Thursday – Birthday Girl!

Mark let me celebrate my birthday all day, fixing me bacon and eggs for breakfast, walking Timber on all his ‘poo’ walks, giving me plenty of time to talk to family and friends sending me good wishes, and taking me to dinner in town at Ted’s Montana Grill. Mark ordered me a French 75 to toast another year! We both ordered Bison, though I went for short ribs and Mark chose the brisket. We continued to discuss the list of homes and our priorities while sharing a huge dessert of Apple Crunch.

Day 36 – Friday – Museum of the Rockies & Bridger Bowl.

MOR

Mark and I visited the Museum of the Rockies, located on Montana State’s campus, during the morning hours. We were unaware of how distinguished the university and museum is through its contribution to the research and discovery of dinosaur fossils. The museum also proudly carries the distinction of being a Smithsonian Affiliate. Their fully-mounted Montana’s T. rex skeleton identifies their status as a leading institution in paleontological research and exhibition.

Living Dinosaurs

According to the exhibit in the museum, scientists outline two primary classifications of dinosaurs: non-avian and avian. The non-avian dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period; but within the avian classification, this group of dinosaurs continue to diversify and evolve. Today there are over 10,000 species of dinosaurs alive on earth – known as birds.

Bridger Bowl – Ski the Cold Smoke

After leaving the museum, we ran by Albertsons for a much-needed grocery restocking. After putting away the supplies, we loaded Timber and drove to Bridger Bowl ski area. We walked around and viewed the lodge and ticket area. We were impressed with its 7 chairlifts, 105 ski runs from greens to extreme, 2000 acres of terrain, 2700 feet of vertical with the top elevation at 8700 feet and 300 inches of average snow fall. I will definitely need to begin on the green runs!

Loved the ode to skiing at the Sinclair gas station where you turn to go up to Bridger Bowl!

Photo adapted from: A Beginner’s Guide to Skiing At Bridger Bowl

Meeting new people

When we returned to camp, our new neighbors, Cheryl and Noel, were sitting outside. We stopped to say a friendly hello and ended up talking the rest of the evening! When we had to pause to feed our respective pups, we both came back out with simple charcuterie boards and wine. Through conversation, we discovered we will be at the same campground and going to the Buffalo Roundup. We decided to meet up at the campground and figure out a strategy for Roundup Day. One of the things I love the most about camping is talking to people and hearing about their adventures.

Day 37 – Saturday – Switching Campsites

Because we decided to stay an extra two nights, we needed to move to a different campsite. We actually like the new site better. It’s toward the back side of the campground and has a poured concrete pad and firepit! We also met with Shawn and viewed one property again. We’ve decided to begin the process of putting in an offer. More to come later.

Day 38 – Sunday – Wash Time

Both Timber and Jack needed a good bath. Lucky for us, we found the Carriage House less than a mile from the campground, a place with bays where we can do both in one stop! Albeit, we came back needing a bath, too! Originally, I was going to take pictures of Timber’s bathing time, but it was all that Mark and I could do to hold Timber in the wash bay – He was NOT about the stainless looking contraption with sprayers and hoses that we “locked” him in for the bath!

Needless to say, it was much easier to give Cheeto a bath! Cheeto looks great, but Timber is still not happy with us!

We took one last evening to enjoy the music and hot springs before our early Monday morning departure.

Day 39 – Monday – Travel Day

We’ll have an overnight stay in Sheridan, WY, before getting to all the fun at the Buffalo Roundup!