Gallatin National Forest

The approach into Yellowstone through the Gallatin National Forest

"You are addicted to the internet" Lance told me with a smirk.  I shook my head and made eye contact. The man has beautiful cornflower blue eyes; every now and then they startle me, and this was one of those moments I was shocked when I looked up to see them twinkling at me. Maybe I thought to myself at the same time my mouth formed the denial "nah..." and I shoved the phone in my pocket.

Bozeman Hot Springs RV Campground

The resort where we landed is between Bozeman and Yellowstone National Park. It has hot springs attached to it and the town of Bozeman is adorable. I asked the clerk at the desk if we could extend past Friday and he actually laughed at me. "What, you mean into Labor Day?!" followed by a round of belly laughter from everyone who worked there.

Oh Shit. Labor Day. Isn't that like weeks away? In September... what's today? August sometime, right? Oh... the 30th.

And this is how we found ourselves between Bozeman and Yellowstone in the Gallatin National Forest in a first-come-first-served campsite next to the highway for Labor Day weekend. Close to the park but oh so far away. No power, no water, no internet. Deep in bear country.

Grizzly sauntering along the plains in East Glacier National Park

The first night was fun. We cooked dinner, cleaned up very carefully and put anything that might smell like food safely away, and enjoyed a campfire together. By the second afternoon the isolation was getting to me. I got it into my head that I absolutely had to solve a little client project (which in hindsight definitely could have waited until Monday afternoon), packed up the laptop and fled back to Bozeman, a college town sure to have a good signal.

The project took about 10 minutes and then I found myself surfing Facebook. Lance might be right... I may have an internet addiction problem.

Leaving Bozeman for Yellowstone

Time to focus. I booked us a place to land close to Yellowstone's West gate after the holiday weekend, scouted a propane supplier on our route, checked on a couple of other client projects (all quiet for the holiday weekend), and put the computer away. For real this time.

This is pure Montana; agricultural, wild, huge.

Back at camp, I pulled out the book I'd picked up in Glacier National Park written by a local author and spent Sunday devouring it. She really nailed the mood of the place with this suspense thriller. It was the perfect way to spend a holiday weekend Sunday in a totally disconnected campsite. It's called The Wild Inside and the author is Christine Carbo. Here's a link to the Kindle version.

On Monday we moved on to a swanky RV resort at the West side of Yellowstone to prepare for weeks of boondocking within the park. We should be well within the range of a good signal from here on out. Whew.