Sept 28, Mon - day 53
West Yellowstone, Montana to Cheney, Washington
Weather - low 30(-1C) to high of mid 60s (18C) smoky



Image: Clark's Fork River near Missoula, Montana



We wanted to beat the snow and cold predicted to arrive on Wednesday, so we were up at 4am to disconnect the water, cable and electric. Then we opened the curtains (too early for light as yet, but we were prepared), and were ready to leave our nice home in West Yellowstone. Gus started right up and though it was dark it lightened up quickly and by the time we got to Bozeman the sun was up. What a sunrise it was, with smoke everywhere it really added to the color. We passed by four different forest fires on our way to Cheney and smoke was with us until we reached Spokane.



We wanted to get out of the mountains as quickly as possible so we pushed to make the trip from West Yellowstone to Cheney in one day, not something we would normally do. We made several stops to stretch our legs during the 11 ˝ hour drive and arrived in Cheney about 5:30pm.



Racine spotted a dozen antelope running for their lives in a field along the highway in Montana….and can those animals run! The continuous smoky conditions made it difficult to get clear scenery pictures.



Driving was a bit faster than the 45 mph we’d been doing in Yellowstone. Moving along at 65mph with Gus is OK when there is no side wind, but not our choice when we can avoid it. We had a tail wind all the way to Cheney and that made driving a little easier. We fueled up near Missoula at $2.599/gal and that was lots less than the $2.839-$2.899/gal we’d paid at Yellowstone, but we were shocked to see fuel prices in eastern Washington at $2.959/gal. That was more than we paid at any time during our trip.



We pulled into Cheney and our RV park before dark. We were just a bit tired, so I just hooked up the water, cable, and electric, we had dinner, then tried and tried to get on line and to our website and finally did (after four days it was back up with partial features). Then we collapsed and retired for the night. The adventure continues….



To see more of our Yellowstone National Park images click HERE