Day 22, Idaho redeems itself, not in spades but in spuds

Idaho continued its rehabilitation today.  We couldn’t resist a highway exit sign that said POTATO MUSEUM.  We couldn’t see it from the exit, so we pulled into McDonalds where a local resident called a friend for directions. A few minutes later I was standing inside one of the largest potato sculptures that I have ever seen.  The museum staff were friendly and relaxed.  The exhibit combined a film, lots of pictures, displays, a great supply of tools and machinery (drool) and gift shop with potato related products and gifts.



Gloria in the exhibits



The free gifts from the Chamber of Commerce included a coupon to Rupe’s Burgers a few blocks up and over the railroad tracks.  The food (Chili stuffed baked potato for me) was great.  On the way back we were treated to nearly an hour of watching a freight train go back and forth loading new cars, before we could cross the tracks and resume our journey north.



The very full Gallatin River near Yellowsone National Park

We traveled north with the snow covered Rocky Mountains on our right, all the way to West Yellowstone, where our preferred Hotels have been all booked up for a week. We continued another eighty miles along the Idaho/Wyoming border mostly through the gorges that hold the Gallatin River.  The trip was halted for a while as crews dynamited a rockslide on RT. 191. The road weaves in and out of the western edge of Yellowstone Park with stunning views of mountains and valleys.  Yogi bear and his colleagues seemed to be away mooching off the many tourists we saw heading toward the other side of the mountain ranges.  Gloria will need to find some other way to get the peanut butter off me; the bears weren’t around to do the job for her.

Bozeman seems to be another of those great finds, a neat little city with lots to do and see.  After a less than stellar bit of city driving I found our hotel, a very nice Holiday Inn, without injuring persons or property (barely).  Thanks to a liberal amount of the produce from a local microbrewery, the stress of the road has faded and life is once again fun. 

I will check in with you tomorrow from Sheridan Wyoming which is our next major stop before Deadwood, South Dakota on Thursday.