The start of our ten-week Summer 2026 trip north to Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon dawned sunny and bright. The first 24 hours were a dream. And then …. tragedy!

Not the tragedy that this picture first suggests … I did not run over Philip’s head with the RV. Rather, one of the hydraulic lines on the underside of the RV fell down and melted through on the hot muffler beneath. That caused the blood-like fluid to bubble up and spew all over, necessitating CoachNet Roadside Assistance and a 24 hour trip delay for repair. $1,000.62 later, we were back on the road to North Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park

When discussing Yellowstone National Park, it’s important to distinguish “North” or “West” or whatever region, because it’s 2.2 million acres — larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. We’d visited South Yellowstone (and all of the most popular attractions like Yellowstone Falls and Old Faithful) in 2014 (click here to view that post). We wanted to return to the NW corner for smaller crowds and closer proximity to different things.

We took a ridiculously steep, winding, seriously-terrifying road to our homebase in Gardiner, Montana, just outside the park and home to the iconic Roosevelt Arch, inscripted “FOR THE BENEFIT AND ENJOYMENT OF THE PEOPLE,” which is obviously the guiding principle behind every one of our wonderful National Parks.

Mammoth Hot Springs is not the kind of hot springs you take a leisurely bath in. The scalding, will-kill-you-in-an-instant kind. It’s steamy and stinky and eerie and gorgeous and mesmerizing, bubbling up with all the geothermal processes you slept through in high school science class. See the tiny people on the tiny raised boardwalk trails? These keep visitors from certain death-by-scalding.

Lamar Valley has the highest concentration of bison and other wildlife in Yellowstone. We were in the park when Carl-the-suspendered-grandpa was bubbled up more than 8 feet in the air by a bison — maybe you saw it on the news. The humans (or “tourons” as they are known: tourist morons) seemed to be behaving a little more carefully the next day. The next week, a guy dressed in a bison costume and chased visitors for two hours before being arrested, whether for harassment or impersonation or what, I don’t know.

Let it be known, you don’t necessarily have to go to Lamar Valley for wildlife. Elk wander freely throughout Gardiner city center, taking the church sign advertising “Visitors Welcome” literally. Did they tithe?

I’d be careful if I were those in-town city elk, however … the Elk Meatloaf at the funky Iron Horse Bar and Grill was dang delicious.

Norris Geyser Basin is the oldest, hottest, and most dynamic hydrothermal area in the park. It’s also home to the world’s tallest active geyser, Steamboat, bubbling up steam and blasting boiling water up to 400 feet in the air. “But Millers, what about Old Faithful?” Old Faithful is often assumed to be the tallest, but its claim to fame is rather that it’s on the most predictable schedule.

Yellowstone Hot Springs, the other more-civilized kind of hot springs, are about 7 miles north of Gardiner. Refreshing spring-fed pools are like the three bears … one probably too hot (109 degrees), one probably too cold (65 degrees), and one justttt right, bubbling up from its beautiful mountainside setting. This place is maybe not as rustic as some (read about ten of our favorites here), but worth a relaxing visit.

The Old Saloon is a divey, circa-1902 bar in the middle of nowhere 30 miles north in Emigrant, MT (where A River Runs Through It movie was filmed), that hosts awesome outdoor concerts and a whole lotta denim.

We sampled “Rattlesnake Milk,” billed as “underground American band known for a distinct, rebellious blend of outlaw country, punk, rockabilly, and psychedelic surf rock” and therefore probably unknown to the majority of this blog’s target readers (including us), but nevertheless clearly a local fave based on the crowd’s ability to sing along.

Helena, MT

175 miles north of Gardiner, Helena is a cool, historic mining town that’s also the state capital. Anacanda should have been the capital instead, but the sheriff counting ballots on capital-election-day stuffed a bunch of them into the wall when it looked like Helena might lose, an election-denier narrative that Trump would love.

Last Chance Gulch is a fun pedestrian mall that follows the path of the old river where gobs and gobs of gold was found in 1864, during their “let’s give it one last chance” effort at mining before the founders gave up in favor of a career as, I dunno, a farmer or a saloon owner. So much gold, that at one point in the 1880s, Helena had more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the world.

Reeder’s Alley is the oldest remaining district of town, set into the hillside. It has been preserved and has a number of associated ghost stories and legends that have bubbled up for decades. For instance, The Stonehouse was allegedly used to hide bootleg alcohol during prohibition. The owner kept canaries in cages, and when the birds were hanging outside, locals knew a fresh shipment of illegal liquor had arrived. The sound of canary songs lingered long after the birds were gone … so you be the judge! Haunted, or no?

The Cathedral of St. Helena is visible from just about anywhere in Helena, due to its 230-foot spires. Modeled after Votivkirche, a cathedral in Vienna, Austria, it was not nearly as impressive as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, but still a gorgeous and inspirational place to visit. The stained-glass windows were made in Bavaria, but their arrival in Helena was delayed by WWI, since nobody wanted them to end up on the bottom of the ocean.

Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour, the top thing to do in Helena, is in its 140’th season of narrated tours up the Missouri River, upon which Lewis and Clark made their historic trek west. Fording the river, at each bend in the waterway, towering walls of stone seemed to block passage ahead of them, only to open like gates of the mountains as the expedition drew near.

Symphony Under The Stars is the most popular community event of the year in Helena. The day before, people make a donation to the Boy Scouts who guide them to a place to lay out their blanket on the Carroll College campus; blankets are secured by canned goods which are later donated to the food bank (15,000 pounds worth!). We missed the concert by a day, but marveled at the patchwork hill where 10,000 people would gather for the free concert and fireworks show.

Always Entertaining

Amusing and interesting things are always bubbling up on our trips (although nowhere as many as in wacky California) and Montana has been no exception!

This is a new one: a custom, rolling trailer for a 35-year-old macaw named Snowball. His “Taj Macaw” has AC and heat powered by solar, and cable TV with 125 channels. The owner let us inside for a Snowball V.I.P. FaceTime with our grandchildren back home, and revealed that her now-deceased husband gave her the bird as a egg 35 years ago, and now she (and her descendants) are stuck with him forever, since they live to 100+ years, causing her to have to tow him everywhere she goes. Choose gifts for your spouse wisely, folks, less they curse you for eternity and beyond.

Philip’s recovery from his major back surgery on June 2 is going great! He is walking up to 3 miles a day, has lost 40 pounds since April, and is bubbling over with gratitude for renewed health and vigor! Let it be known that living in a 200 square foot RV is no excuse for not doing prescribed PT therapy.

Our enthusiasm for the great state of Montana, “the last best place,” continues to bubble over, and we’ll be here through August 12. We are proud to say that this blog is still 100% free of ads and AI-generated content. Please forward to a friend who likes charming adventures in the good ole U.S.A!