Moving On to Walla Walla

Wel-l-l-l-l-ll, I can tell by the number of hits on the blog that it is time to move on.  There are so many more things I'd like to show y'all:  marmots, flora and fauna, ground squirrels, waterfalls, swimming holes, stagecoaches ... oo! oo!  I HAVE to show you this before moving on!

I've seen a LOT of dragonflies in my time - but never a ruby red dragonfly.  So cool!  And Granpa did a good job sneakin' up on this one...

Are you guys sure I need to move on ??

Okay.  So we get out the road atlas, put a finger on Yellowstone and a finger on Walla Walla, Washington and ... there is NO ROAD BETWEEN HERE AND THERE!  No.  Seriously.  You can't get there from here.  Sigh.

Alright.  We'll go out the west entrance to Yellowstone and head north into Montana.  We're familiar with this route.  There's a campground and cave just before the interstate.  It's called the Lewis and Clark Cave, but they admit Lewis and Clark probably didn't go through it.  They did travel on the river just below the cave though.  It's my kind of cave - primitive.  No cathedral lighting in there.  We're talkin' extension cords and drop lights!  There are places you have to "duck-walk" through and other places you have to sit down and slide on your behind.  Yuppers.  I love it.  Granpa, however, wouldn't go in there if his life depended on it.  He'd stay behind and guard the entrance, but die fighting to stay out of it.

Hello.  What's this?  

Is that a bump up there?  Is there a baby?

They're Osprey.  And here's the parent.  Mom?  Dad?  Regardless, LOOK AT THOSE CLAWS!  Yikesters!

Pretty cool.

We pick up Interstate 90 along about Bozeman, Montana and head west.  In Missoula we drop off and head down U.S. 12.  Now, we could have stayed on 90, cross the Idaho panhandle, and zip down to Kennewick.  But Interstates are no fun.  We like the scenic route if timing permits.  So, we're meandering down U.S. 12.