Hot and Springy – that’s how I felt at Bozeman Hot Springs, but not at first. Strangely, rather than hightail it over to the pools after check-in, I procrastinated in the van. I felt some kind of inner reluctance that surprised me, and I’m still not sure where it came from. As usual when I’m avoiding, I found ways to distract and occupy myself. This time it was grabbing an assortment of travel books and browsing around trying to figure out where to go and what the heck to do with myself. Maybe that was it…the uncertainty and lack of enthusiasm was eating at me and I knew soak-time wouldn’t be as soak-tastic without some kind of answer first.
I decided to continue heading East, even though it means not brining Rosie home at the end of summer or a VERY long-assed drive home. Neither option is appealing…which is part of why I am struggling with this indecision. Where I want to go is FAR and getting back home even farther. But, aw fuck it, I’m going. If I can’t go to Africa…then I might as well go for broke and see something I can get excited about.
For now, I’ve decided to head Northeast into North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and maybe dip south to see Badlands National Park – but South Dakota still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth after being unlawfully and very scarily detained by an unscrupulous and potentially predatory park ranger. If you are interested in that story…click here.
The plan after getting Rosie fixed up in Helena, is to head to Wolf Point for a big Pro Rodeo with an overnight stop in Havre on the way there.
With a semi-plan in place, I headed to soak and it was spectacular. Bozeman Hot Springs is pretty great – with several pools at different temperatures, some outside and some inside. Lots of lounge chairs, a dry sauna and steam room…all nicely done. I ended up chatting with a retired couple from Texas while soaking in an outdoor pool. They were also on a road trip and very talkative. I stayed well after dark when they lit all the fire features, which really make the whole evening even more memorable.
The next day (the 4th of July), I enjoyed a nice included hot breakfast before heading over for a last soak before leaving. I started reading a great book, which made soak time even more relaxing. The campground also treated everyone to a hot dog bbq lunch in honor of the 4th, which I enjoyed right before hitting the road to Helena.
It was a truly wonderful 24 hours.
The drive to Helena was quick and painless. I decided to book 2 nights in a hotel right across from the Nissan dealer to make things easy. The short version, is I vegged out while Rosie got a BJ (HA! That’s how my husband put it in the calendar – Rosie gets a BJ!) Holy crap I thought that was funny. In case you aren’t sure BJ…Brake Job.
While in the hotel, I finally got all my paperwork and documentation ready for the travel insurance, I worked on my book and this blog, finished the book I was reading, and binge watched Mrs. Maisel. It was pretty fabulous.
Today, I picked up Rosie and marveled at the awesomeness of this dealer. They did great work for 1/2 the price as the place back home – and I found out the Vacaville Nissan did some shady shit all while overcharging me. They actually did DAMAGE to my girl and then tried to do a lame-assed patch on it…all without saying anything. They are the reason some shit went wrong last summer and half the dash lights came on. I will never let them touch her again! I think I will just drive to Montana whenever Rosie needs work. Seriously…it’s that big of a difference in both price, workmanship, and customer service. Vacaville Nissan is SHADY as hell. Sorry – I guess I needed to vent.
I broke up the drive to Havre with a stop at the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. If you’re interested in Buffalo Jumps, click here. It was a nice little road stop with a 3 mile hike and terrific scenery.
The BONUS was a hard-to-believe coincidence.
On the way there, I passed Timeless Natural Foods. This is the place I order Organic Purple Barley and Organic Rye from! Seriously, how weirdly coincidental is that? I had to stop. I guess I made an impression because the owner came over and told the guys to give me the stuff for free because I was so excited. They don’t even really sell directly to people who stop, but they gave me two small bags of barley and…a 50 pound bag of rye! It totally made my day.