Manifest Destiny, pt. 3, Oro y Plata

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” - Teddy Roosevelt

I learned about Gardiner, MT from a buddy who said his sister and her husband lived there and that I was welcome to crash in their spare bedroom. Since they were strangers to me, I of course said yes.

Gardiner is a small town that sits just outside of the North entrance of Yellowstone and it's so nearby that the park rangers serve as the police. The most notable aspect of Gardiner is the welcoming of the elk in the city. Through years of habituation, they have no fear of city life. They are city elk that like their coffee slow drip and sustainably sourced.

With the park in the neighborhood, the high desert city naturally get the same wildlife and tourists. What was originally going to be a 2 day stay, with my host's convincing, turned my stay into a week long base camp to explore Yellowstone and the area more thoroughly.

 

 

 

I made a one-night camping trip to Big Sky, MT and a hike up to the Spanish Peaks. It was a chilly good time.

 

 

Spanish Peaks and a snowman in June

This timeframe of the trip also began my decent into the area which John Mayer made famous called Paradise Valley. Historically, Gardiner and a lot of the other small townships were established as mining communities in the early 1900's. What comes with mining communities? Homey, grungy, authentic saloons of course:

  

The last picture is Blue Goose Saloon. Sadly, it burned down a few weeks after I was there.

Hiking became and has become a critical free health staple and pastime. Lungs, legs and heart pumping. Yep.

 

This is an old abandoned "survival" off-grid camp that I hiked to that kids could enroll to back in the day

 

Snuck inside for a creepy look around

After a week of adventuring and coffee shopping, I carried on with my trip. Further Northwest through Paradise Valley again with Bozeman in my sights.

Overlooking Paradise Valley, MT

   

Speaking frankly, at this point in my trip, camping alone was wearing on me. I love the smell of a campfire and supreme solitude as much as the next Bernstein Bear, but there are only so many solo nights I can do before I want the camaraderie and conversation of a friend. I realized that I forgot to pack a dog. 

Learning this, my exploring and planning started to coincide around cities and include Western friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Another thing I'll note is that it took me about 3 weeks into disconnecting to really start brainstorming outside of my normal inventory of thoughts. It's not just a break in setting that was important, but a consistent habitual break in schedule. I made my brain be okay with not having a list for the week and a successful day could simply be a hike and reading a book. Productivity is a helluva drug.

Bozeman, breweries and beyond in the next installment. 

New in my life: I'll take velcro shoes and training wheels por favor. I believe in Santa Clause and the end of covid. Today is my birthday. 

Keep smilin'

JM