I haven’t posted since Friday. I think this was my longest lapse. I had good reason – we were off the grid completely for the weekend, no Internet or cellular service. Throw in a couple of travel days and there you are. I’ll have to break the update into a couple of posts or it will be too long.

On Friday, Donna rode her bicycle into Yellowstone National  Park. She rode all the way to the Madison campground and back – a round trip of 28 miles. On the way, she had a close encounter with two bison, one on either side of the road. She had to ride between slow moving cars to shield herself. She rode through most of the turn-outs and view points. In one turn-out, she spotted a bear across the river. It was a black bear. Despite the name, black bears come in a variety of colors. They can be blond, cinnamon, chocolate or jet black and every shade in between. This happened to be a sizable cinnamon colored black bear. Donna snapped a photo with her cell phone.

When Donna returned from her ride, we walked into town. It was lunch time, so we stopped at the Taco Bus. It’s an old Bluebird bus converted to a Mexican diner.

We ordered enchilada verde plates and dined al fresco at a table in the sun, next to the bus.

We wanted to walk through town and wander through some shops, but thunder clouds suddenly appeared. The weather in the mountains can change very quickly. We walked to the grocery store, bought a few goods and quickly returned to our coach. We didn’t want to be caught out in a downpour. I loaded the scooter and Donna’s bicycle in the trailer.

Saturday was a travel day. We did the usual routine and hit the road by 10:30am. We headed north on US191 through the Gallatin Range.

We had two goals for the day. Our first stop was at the WalMart in Bozeman. We stocked up on groceries there. We dry camped at this WalMart last year. I also filled our fuel tank in Bozeman.

From there we drove east on I-90 past Livingston to US89 north. There wasn’t much traffic on US89. We enjoyed the scenery and amused ourselves by counting the antelope and deer we saw along the way. Our next stop was White Sulphur Springs. I told Donna about the motel and spa there. They have hot mineral water pools there. For a fee, you can soak in the mineral water.

I used to come to this area every year in late October and spend 15 to 20 days hunting big game in the Little Belt Mountains. While we were in the area, Jim Birditt and I would make a couple of trips to White Sulphur Springs to do laundry and soak at the spa. In late fall, it can be very cold here. Jimbo and I always soaked in the enclosed pool.

Things have changed. The enclosed pool is the same, but they’ve added another outdoor pool with jets. The water in the pools comes from natural hot springs. The pools are different temperatures, ranging from 96 degrees to 105 degrees on most days. They completely drain the pools every night and allow the springs to refill them.

Before we left West Yellowstone, I was able to reach a dear old friend on the phone. When I used to hunt big game in Montana, we stayed in a cabin north of White Sulphur Springs. Bob and Shirley McBride own about 160 acres of land within the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It’s not uncommon for land to be privately held within public land areas. This is known as checkerboarding. In some areas, every other section is privately held (a section is nominally a square mile or 640 acres). Most of the private sections were originally railroad grants to develop the west.

Bob McBride is a Montana native – I think he grew up near Big Sky. He has an engineering degree and was commissioned in the Navy as a Seabee officer. I don’t think there’s anything that Bob can’t fix or build. When he bought the land, there was an old cabin on it. It wasn’t much of a cabin really – just walls without a roof. There was no floor and the interior was full of cow manure. Over time, Bob rebuilt the cabin, then started adding buildings. He built a log barn. He built a bunkhouse called The Annex. The Annex is where Jimbo and I slept on our hunting trips. He built a wood-fired sauna.

Bob always had a task for us when we came out there. He was always building or working on something.

When I talked to Shirley, she said we were welcome to come out to the cabin. No one was there and she didn’t expect anyone to come while we camped there.

We drove north from White Sulphur Springs about 15 miles. I haven’t been in this area since the 1990s. A few things have changed, but it’s not too different from what I remembered. I found the dirt road that leads to their land. I pulled off in a turn-out on the opposite side of the road. I wanted to walk in first and make sure I could get our rig through the gate. The road is tight and as you enter from the highway, it immediately turns 90 degrees to the left, followed by a 90-degree right turn through a gate.

I decided to go for it. But, I had a problem. I couldn’t turn around from the turnout we were in. The two-lane highway was too narrow and didn’t have a shoulder. I had no choice but to drive north in search of a suitable turnaround. I wasn’t feeling too good about it. I couldn’t remember much development until the town of Neihart, 21 miles away.

Eight miles later, I saw a motel on the left with a parking area the encircled the building. We were able to turn around and head back to the cabin. With some careful maneuvering, we entered through the gate. The first thing we saw was an antelope walking in front of us. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an antelope here, only deer and elk.

The two-track dirt road meanders through a couple stands of pine trees. We barely fit through a few spots. A mile in, we came to the gate marking the entrance to Bob’s property.

The compound with the cabin is called Mumbro Park. I don’t remember the story behind the name. We passed through a few gates on the way in. I told Donna the rule – if it’s open when you come through, leave it open. If it’s closed, close it behind you.

The cabin sits nearly two miles in from the highway. It’s totally remote. No cell service, no Internet connectivity, no electricity. The kitchen in the cabin has a spring-fed sink with good water. Other than that, there’s no plumbing. Everything is heated with wood-burning stoves and there’s a big old wood-burning oven and stove top.

I turned around in front of the barn and parked in a fairly level spot.

We couldn’t hear anything but the sounds of nature. There were tree swallows and blue birds flying around us. The view out our windshield was amazing. I took Donna on a tour of the place. That will be in my next post.