Back in Bozeman

Stewie never left a certain corner beneath my bed last night. I could hardly sleep. I was restless and worried about him. When Jenni woke up she hadn't slept well either. We couldn't figure out what was so uncomfortable about sleeping in this gorgeous place in the middle of the Big Sky. 

Look at this view from when I woke up this morning. 

We headed to breakfast and made several calls to find a spot in Bozeman that would let us check in early. We needed out of Chico. Once a room had been confirmed we decided to get out of there. 

Before going Jenni spotted some tee pees she wanted to photograph as inspiration. I visited the horses. My mom and I had a horse for years and I forgot how amazing those big creatures are. I met a half mule/half horse named Solomon. He was such a big love. Note the mule sized face and head. 

This guy snuggled me a bunch. I felt like I could take a huge deep breath when I visited them. What is more Montana than these boys?

We hit the road to Bozeman after Jenni coaxed Stewie out from under the bed. I'm not sure I could have done it. 

The ride to Bozeman was rainy but of course something to look at. Once checked in at a normal hotel Stewie seemed fine. I told Jenni perhaps the room at Chico had bad smells or maybe it was haunted?

Dana picked us up and brought us to her house. She kindly allowed us to do a huge load of laundry. We had lofty plans of driving up to Big Sky but the rain and the timing were both not working in our favor. We did a quick lunch at McKenzie River. Toured Jenni through Main Street and did a short but necessary hike up Pete's Hill. It began to clear up and we could see the Bridgers. It felt so good to look out at the old town. It is also strange to see how much it has changed since I was here 15 years ago. 

A quick (unchanged) view from our hike

Dana toured us around Black Bull where her husband Bert works. It's a golf community in Bozeman. Dave would go nuts over it. Luckily we will be much closer to Montana now and can hopefully visit more frequently. It really is one my my most favorite places. We mentioned to Dana that the hotel was creepy and she decided to finally tell us it's haunted. It's not just a little haunted. Everyone knows AND evidently there's a "white lady" who used to own it. Not only can she be found in a rocking chair in room #44 (not our room) but she has also been spotted playing piano in the lobby. Like in broad daylight. 

Thanks for letting us know after we checked out Dana. 

The moving truck arrived in San Rafael today. Dave has everything he needs but its all packed up in boxes. We are really looking forward to seeing him and all getting settled a bit in one place. 

We are back at our hotel debating what the last leg should be tomorrow new are open to suggestions. Salt lake? Elko, NV? 

Bi just called to check in on us. We can't wait to see him. I told him about our experience last night and Stewie's  behavior. He researched the hotel at Chico and said, "I'm really glad you both didn't read about this place before you stayed there. It's super haunted. There's a list of haunted rooms there. Tons of them. "

Off for Mexican food with Dana and her family. We are so lucky to have another home cooked meal. 

Signing off from gorgeous gorgeous Montana.