I left Billings as soon as I could get my stuff together. The Billings Hotel and Conference Center wasn't a bad place to stay by any means (though not the most sterile place I've been), but I was eager to get moving. I read that route 212 to Yellowstone might be closed at this time of year, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.
Route 212 is really lovely! Here's the first video...
-and-
And did I make it to Yellowstone?
What is that music playing in my car? I have no idea. I don't remember having cell phone service there, but it must be something off of Pandora Radio. Very strange.
With the closed road, I headed back to a little town called Red Lodge. I really fell in love with this place. It's quaint, but it has some nice shops and restaurants. For lunch, I stopped at a place called Bridge Creek Backcountry Kitchen and Wine Bar. I had the avocado and ham wrap with sun-dried tomato aioli, and the spinach salad. Everything was really fresh and it was absolutely delicious.
This is across the street from the cafe where I had lunch... The pizza place delivers. There is a steak house on the left.
Me at the restaurant... You can see the wine shop in the photo on the left (or top photo depending on your computer screen).
I stopped in a shop down the street, and found a pretty silver cuff bracelet on sale. I started talking with the woman running the store who happens to be from the Hanover, NH area. We discussed NH a little bit before I purchased the bracelet and headed back to my car. She had a lovely stock of locally made jewelery. I love that stuff.
I would really love to spend a few weeks here. I know it's small, but it's really nice, the scenery is amazing, and the people are friendly. I picked up a promotional book for Red Lodge, and I hope I get to return someday.
Though I wanted to stay, I knew I had to make it further along Highway 90, so I headed to Bozeman. I decided to try once more for Yellowstone and I turned down route 89. As I was driving, I saw a sign that said it was 50-something miles and would cost $25 to enter in a car. This would be no problem if it weren't already 4:00pm. All the places to stay in the park itself are closed this time of year, so I would have been scrambling for a hotel if I had decided to go for it. I reluctantly turned around, but I promised myself that some day I would return to Yellowstone. This fits quite well with my plan to return to Red Lodge. Someday...
I made it to Bozeman and drove into the downtown area. I was looking for a place to stay with a bit of character that wasn't too expensive. I saw a neat building with a hotel sign, but when I went inside I discovered that it's been converted to condos and offices. There was a woman working at a ritzy chocolate place who was so nice and offered to help by searching the internet for bed and breakfasts.
Unfortunately, when I call the places she found, I discovered they only had expensive rooms. The cheapest available was $85 plus tax, and the place would have had to be really special for me to pay that on this trip. I headed up the street and found a really neat coffee shop with wifi. (I took pictures when I returned the next day- I'll post them next blog) Travelocity was my savior that evening... they had a three star secret hotel listing for a good price. I ended up at the Windham by Wingate which was really super clean, and pretty nice. So, it didn't have a ton of character, but I was happy with it, and I spent a very restful St. Patty's day eve in(I just didn't have the will or the energy to head back out like I originally planned).
That's all for now. I'll tell you a bit more about the morning in Bozeman, and I'll post photos tomorrow. Cheers.
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