The journey from Rapid City to Bozeman seemed like an easy drive (460 miles), so we decided to sleep in and push off a bit later. This proved to be a mistake as we typically get on the road at the crack of dawn in an effort to arrive to our destination earlier. For whatever reason, this drive appeared to be the most taxing on all of us.
Bozeman is a spectacular mountain town, with beautiful 360 degree views. We woke at 7:00 a.m. this morning and spent the entire day hiking. Our first hike was the Hyalite Creek Trail, which is an all-day hike and has multiple waterfalls along the way. After the 3rd waterfall, and an hour or so into our hike, we were forced to turn back due to the snow pack on the trail. At fairly low elevations, we were running into a couple feet of snow on the ground–which was no contest for shorts and running shoes. Following Hyalite, we drove a short distance to the Palisade Falls–which was a brisk hike to a massive waterfall. We then ate lunch at Zydeco Cafe–which served up some yummy cajun cuisine. Peet’s Hill served as a nice afternoon hike to walk off our lunch. Peet’s Hill is a beautiful in-town trail system behind the public library which people use for mountain biking, hiking, or simply playing guitar on a bench overlooking the snowcapped mountains. After spending a couple hours tooling around Pete’s Trail, we went to Montana Ale Works for a couple refreshments and hooked Cali (the dog) up with some sliders for all her hard work. Finally, a dip in the hotel pool/hot tub and a good night’s rest in preparation for our 700-mile trek to Hood River tomorrow. Bozeman is a special place and high on our list to visit again.
