Light driving day. Slept comfortably, but sporadically. Awake at 6:30.
Made it 30ish miles down the road to the town of West Yellowstone. Spent the day anchored in a cozy public parking lot in the center of town.
The spot provided the Montana Wildlife Highlight of the Day — three sizable corvids, bopping around a table strewn with abandoned bread. I picked a handful peanuts and raisins out of my trail mix and left it on the table as an offering. Not sure if they saw me leave it, but I’m sure they found it soon enough.
Planned on pressing on to Yellowstone Park proper, opted for a turkey club for lunch and a two-hour nap and instead. Much needed dose of deep sleep that’s been elusive for the past couple days.
Went grocery shopping in the evening down at at the Food Roundup. Great little grocery store, and it was jumping in there tonight. Heard a swirl of languages as I pushed my cart down the narrow aisles. A Korean 할머니 exclaimed “아! 추아!” and I reflexively repeated it to myself the moment it hit my ear. 1 A tiny South American woman locked eyes with me, pointed up at the liter Coke bottles out of reach on the top shelf and said, “…please!” with a smile on her face. Felt good doing a tall-man act of service, and it put a smile on my face too.
Stocked the pantry, moved the bus down the road to a side street for parking overnight, and went to dinner. Picked the right place.
Bison chorizo nachos2, and a satisfying, sour-as-hell virgin margarita. Thursday Night Football playing distantly over the bar, but I spent most of my meal’s casual attention eavesdropping on the Scottish gentleman’s conversation taking place at the table behind me.
Yellowstone tomorrow, then into Wyoming. 160 miles of driving on the agenda. Going to read a bit before bed. Harry Crews is solid road reading, no matter where you’re traveling.
A mantra dawned on me today, after a couple of bus quirks resolved themselves. “Trust the bus.” Power inverter making a weird beeping noise when the heat cuts on? Take a deep breath. Trust the bus. Find the right switch you need to hit, the knob you need to twist, and there you have it — problem solved.
This bus has been extremely trustworthy thus far.
bus.hair 