Road to Bozeman, MT and then to Jackson, WY

 
This is my kind of place!
From Missoula, my next destination was Bozeman, MT. I headed east on the interstate until I saw a sign for the Scenic Loop Route. Well some decisions are easy. This took me along route 1. Not soon after I turned, on my right was the Ohrmann Museum and Gallery. What drew me in was the giant bronze sculpture of a wooly mamoth. I was doubly pleased when I saw the sign pictured above.
Bill Ohrmann is a retired rancher living in the Flint Creek Valley. He’s best known for his woodcarvings, bronzes and porcelain sculptures which are quite good. But what I found most interesting was his creative outlet – painting. The paintings are obviously where the true thoughts of Bill come out – and a bit of his humor or at least I think so. In his own words “What is in my heart when I paint a picture, is as simple as hoping we can save some part of the natural world.”
Here is one of his works titled: The Next Level of Civilization.
 
Makes you think, doesn’t it?

I also like this one (below) because there was a hand written note letting you know that “The child is still alive!” In case you were worried the child in the birdcage was harmed in anyway in the creation of this painting. See, these are the gems you miss if you stay on the road most traveled.
  

I eventually made my way through a few small towns that just seemed like great places to live; Phillipsville, Anaconda. Cute painted houses, Dairy Queen on the corner, white picket fences. I was disappointed that I didn’t time my trip to coincide with the Accordion Festival scheduled for August. You may think I’m joking, but those that really know me, know that I am not.

Bozeman is a hip college town with a cool hostel that unfortunately was all booked up. I checked in to the Lucky 7 Motel then went to the Coop for some delicious healthy food. The next morning I headed out to the Museum of the Rockies. This is a must see! Did you know that 12 of the 24 T-Rex’s in the world are right here in Montana? Apparently Montana is a dinosaur lover’s paradise. I thought perhaps because so much of the land is undisturbed by buildings etc. it makes Montana a good place to find dinosaur bones. But this isn’t really the case. It has more to do with the levels of the earth exposed in Montana. I picked up these tidbits of information from Carol Amenson at the museum. Here she is holding the neural spine of a duckbill “hadrosaur” and a vertebrae bone.
 
I wished that I could have stayed longer but I needed to get to Jackson, WY. I went through Yellowstone National Park along the way. There is some freaky stuff to see! Like this mud pot which is circle of mud boiling and gurgling:
 
If you’d like to make one at home, here’s the recipe:
 

Here’s something else that looked otherworldly:
  

And yes, of course Old Faithful.