Our schedule had us back in Yellowstone today, but last night we decided to take off in another direction (and gave us an excuse to sleep in.) So with 3-star coffee in hand we headed generally North on Highways 191 and 287 toward Ennis, Montana. Much of this drive followed the Madison River, which is known as one of the best for trout fishing. In a little over an hour we were in Ennis, population 660 people and 11,000,000 trout (or so the rumor goes.)
Had to make a visit to the Madison River Fishing Company. I receive a catalog from them several times a year and it includes an invitation to stop by when in town (like how often am I in Ennis, Montana.) So what could I do? I suppose the invitation to stop by also included an invitation to buy something, which I did. Barb picked out a T-shirt for me (I’m now a walking advertisement for them) and I took a blue R.L. Winston hat to replace one that died several years ago.
Barb thought she might want to move to a log cabin on the Madison, so we took in a few real estate offices. More on that if we ever get serious.
We then took a short drive to the old town of Virginia City (no not Nevada.) Almost a ghost town, but not quite. We spent about an hour walking around and then headed back to Ennis for a picnic lunch at Ennis Lake Community Park.
Since the day was still young, we took Highways 287 and 84 to Bozeman. Nice town, but a little big for me. On the plus side we found a good car wash and were able to rid the front bumper and grill of bugs from four states. Gas was $2.79.
Highways 84 and 191 took us back to West Yellowstone. That route follows the Gallatin River and is designated a scenic highway by Triple A. And it was. Beautiful river, beautiful drive. And if that wasn’t enough, there was the bear to watch just off the road.
Ended the day with dinner at the pub next to our motel. All in all a great day! 253 miles today.
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