Livingston and Bozeman, Montana

August 9, 2019:

The drive north from Gardner to Livingston is a scenic drive in a beautiful Valley aptly named Paradise Valley.  The road follows the Yellowstone River for most of the route with many frequent fishing access points.  Fly fishing is huge here and I must say very appealing.  The Absaroka - Beartooth Wilderness Area looms on one side of the route which consist of very rugged tall parks, one of the largest wilderness areas in the country.  There is a hot spring resort at the town of Chino where I thought, that would have been even a better shower had I known ?  I also made a stop at the town of Emigrant where there is a great restaurant and bakery, that muffin was irresistible and absolute perfection and the BBQ restaurant with outside patio next door smelled so good.

There was a BLM camping area down this road on the river

An unusual roof on this converted bus RV

It's a large grassy valley with much ranch land

The real attraction is the Yellowstone River

At Emigrant you have the Old Saloon 

Also the Wildflower Bakery and Cafe, what else does one need ?

Pulling into Livingston, I had to take another look at the Yellowstone River which is
longest un damed river in the US at 670 miles long

I arrive at Livingston about noon and make a stop at a McDonalds which was one of the most dysfunctional McDonalds I’ve ever seen, it was chaos.  I look at the sales receipt and something strikes me as odd.  There is a survey which says; Rate us and give us a 5 and tell us you were satisfied and you will receive a buy one, get one free, any sandwich of equal or lessor value.   So, I they only reward you for giving them a positive review ?

I then go to downtown Livingston and do my usual self guided walking tour where I see they are setting up on Main Street in preparation for a music event to start at 6 PM.  It is called Livingston HOOT and it is a free music event with much community and volunteer involvement to promote the city of Livingston.  It is being done very professionally with a large stage and several speaker platforms set up on each block. There are many food vendors setting up and it goes on for about 5 blocks of Main Street.  The opening act is a country / bluegrass nationally touring band called the Western Flyers.  The headliner is Marcia Ball who is a popular R&B nationally touring band.  I thought the country band was way more in tune with Livingston, Montana crowd.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livingston,_Montana

I actually liked the country band best, never thought that would happen ?

The action is heating up around 8 PM

Marcia Ball Band

I go to the Yellowstone Gateway Museum on the following day which is located in the old grade school.  As I am looking at exhibits this group of men come into the room and are talking about grade school days and discussing which classroom this was.  One of the men was sure about it without question, it was Miss ........'s 3rd grade class, all teachers should be like her, she was wonderful.  The man then told me that they all went to this school as children and every few years they come and meet here for a reunion.  How cool is that ?  It was one of the best town or county museums I have ever been to.

The museum entrance

Needs to be more people like Doris Whithorn in this world

They are having a dance while the city is in flames 

Joe Garr was quite a character

I love the box

We need another president like this soon

A real Railroad man

The Great Northern was truly great !

The Crow could really ride !

I saw this live, you will see in a future post

A sheep herders wagon looks somewhat like my van

I next traveled 20 some miles to Bozeman, Montana.  I have also been in Bozeman before and it quickly comes back to me.  It has been threatening to rain and it starts about the time I get there.  I take shelter in a record store until the storm passes.  I see on a wall a sign for the Bozeman Stampede happening in the evening.  Coincidentally I had gone to the Bozeman Stampede on my last Bozeman visit at the same time of year.  I debated going as the weather forecast was poor, possible showers, but decided I had nothing better to do.  It is a really good rodeo in that it has many local regional contestants and has more of a local down home flavor.

This was parked in the curb

A sidewalk view of downtown Bozeman

This car was interesting

The Rialto Theater is always interesting

Liked the name of the coffee shop

The Bozeman Rodeo grounds are in a scenic setting 

I always hate the rodeo clowns

Could also do without all the obsessive military praise

A cowboy getting ready to rodeo

That's getting some air

This man was taken on a wild ride

Same cowboy stayed on to the end

Not sure if this cowboy made it ?

Afterwards I go to The Filling Station which is a nearby rough (dive) bar which I have been to previously.  As I walk in, the round girl at the door tells me there is a $10 cover charge.  I told her I only wanted to have one beer, not stay for the music, I think she took pity on me and said OK go in.  It was a really weird crowd with a DJ playing this weird mix, heavy with bass, kind of interesting, but the same thing over and over.  The crowd was like a blend of heavy metal, punk and hip hop.  I was ready to go after they one beer. 

At convenance store parking lot I see RV’s parked below, then see the Walmart logo on the adjacent building.  I go down there and find dozens of RV’s and vans all other the parking lot, no problem staying here overnight.

Back to Livingston where a thunderstorm develops in mid afternoon with rain, hail and wind.  Afterwards the sun came out and it became very nice enabling me to get better photos of some views taken the day before.  I also stop into the Owl Tavern just to see what it looks like inside, I was quire surprised to see it was totally refurbished inside very nicely.

One of the greatest street views in the west

Everywhere you look there are images to remember

The OWL Lounge is classic

The Great Northern Depot is a beauty from any angle, this is the rear

Side details

The Mint is a beauty inside or out

Another downtown view

There is a blues band playing at the Hotel Murray bar at night, it was an all black blues band, kind of unusual to see.  There was a large crowd, all seats and tables were taken.  The band was playing very loudly and as usual half the crowd had no interest at all, a few people just want to dance and a few are into the music.  There were a number of kind of rowdy looking and acting young men who just looked like trouble.  After an hour it was getting boring and I left to find a rest spot on the street for the night.

Next stop in Billings, Montana