July 30, 2013 – Sheridan, WY to West Yellowstone, WY
Last night while we were in Sheridan, we felt like going out to dinner. A quick search of the internet identified a number of restaurants for us to sample in this town of 17,500 residents. We were surprise by the selection in fact. We opted to go to the Wyoming Rib and Chop House on Main Street in Sheridan. It was a very nice restaurant and it was packed. The good news is that it was mostly locals who were sitting at the bar waiting for a table. So we were happy to join them. After about a 20 minute wait we got a nice booth. Elisa opted for the grilled shrimp salad with a Caesar dressing on the side. I opted to try their “Award winning" baby back ribs. My dinner came with a salad and a huge baked potato with all the trimmings. The blue cheese dressing that they served was excellent. It was so good, Elisa opted to have the blue cheese with her salad in lieu of the Caesar. My ribs were very good, the rub was probably one of the best I’ve had on this trip and gave the ribs a great flavor. They serve the ribs with only a very light rub of sauce and provide you with extra sauce at the table if you want it. The only problem I had with the ribs is that it was apparent they were cooked early in the day (probably overnight) and then reheated when ordered. This is not the best way to serve ribs. So for flavor I give them a 9 but on preparation and presentation I give them a 5. So the search continues.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast and we were on the road by 8:00. First we had to find the local post office so Elisa could drop off her post cards. I stopped at the corner gas station to top off our tank and to ask the elderly gentlemen across from me for directions to the post office. That entire exchange was like an old episode from the Carol Burnett show – the one where Tim Conway plays the elderly guy that moves and talks real slow. When I asked the gentlemen where the post office was, first he had to roll down his window the rest of the way because he can’t hear too well. Then he had to get out of the car so I could speak into his good ear. Then he closed is eyes – at first I thought he was taking a quick nap – then he opened his eyes and told me he knows where it is but he doesn’t know the names of the streets. So then he closes his eyes again – another quick nap. Then he opens them and tells me that I go to the right out of the station down Main Street. He asks if I know where Ed and Nancy Grimes had their Dollar store on Main street, because that’s where I have to turn. I wanted to tell him that if I knew where the Grimes had their business I would probably know where the Post Office was, but I bit my tongue and instead shrugged my shoulders. He nodded his head and closed his eyes again – another nap. Then he opens them and he tells me that there is a bank on the opposite corner to Ed ad Nancy’s old business. I’m guessing that there may be more than 1 bank on main street so I ask him if he knows what kind of bank it is. Again he closes his eyes – and then pops them open quickly and says its the one with the stage coach. He’s clearly proud that he remembered that. I say, “you mean Wells Fargo". He nods affirmative and then tells me I need to turn left, go down a couple of blocks and then turn right. and the post office will be near there. By now it has been about 5 minutes and I don’t want to take up any more time at the pump so I thank him profusely and go to pump my gas. I notice he goes back into the station. By the time I’m done pumping my gas and getting into the motorhome, he comes out and he’s holding a map. He had gotten someone inside the station to circle exactly where the post office is located on the map. Pretty much exactly as he described. The folks out here may be old and slow but they sure are nice.
After that, we needed to travel the 220 miles to get to West Yellowstone, Wy the gateway to Yellowstone National Park. There are several different routes we could take to get there. The shortest and most exciting route is on Hwy 14. This route is about 90 miles shorter, but it winds precariously up the mountain and goes down what the locals call “Oh My God Hill". It is an 13 mile stretch of winding down hill road with grades ranging from 7% to 10%. Click this link for a graphic of the hill. We would have been going down.
When I googled it the night before, it indicated that it would probably take me 8 – 10 hours to go the 140 miles. With the car in tow, we thought we had better take the longer but more sedate route that would take us north-west on I-90 through Billings, MT and then through Bozeman, MT before turning south on Hwy 191 and heading into Wyoming. The other benefit with this route was that we would be able to stop in Bozeman, MT at Ted’s Montana Grill.
The “Ted" behind Ted’s Montana Grill is none other than Ted Turner. He has opened 4 of these restaurants in different locations, but the Bozeman, MT location is the original . You see, Ted has about 2 million acres of ranch land spread through several states. His 591,000 acres spans Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Idaho. On this ranch he raises cattle and buffalo. In fact, it is estimated that the entire population of buffalo (american bison) in the US is around 500,000 head. Ted Turner owns about 11% of this and raises them on his huge ranch. Ted believes in organic and humane treatment of the animals. They graze on the abundant wild grass and roam freely. Those that are selected for slaughter are stock yard fed for 90 days to help tame the gamey taste and make the meat more tender. They say that the benefits of buffalo meat over beef are numerous and include a lower fat content, higher protein content, lower cholesterol. After reading about this, we decided we had to stop at Ted’s grill for lunch and check it out.
Elisa opted for the Buffalo pot roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. I had the Buffalo burger served with cheddar cheese, bacon and grilled onions. Af first bite, it is difficult to distinguish buffalo from beef. However the meat is leaner. This may not be the best thing for pot roast. Elisa found the pot roast to have a bit of a gamey taste. She would have preferred it more if it had onion and garlic, but she still enjoyed it. My buffalo burger had a different taste than beef. It was good and all those good things about eating buffalo meat probably went out the window with the cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions and the side order of fries. Oh well, we checked another item off of our bucket list.
After that, we headed down Hwy 191. The change in the scenery was dramatic as we wound our way up the valley between the Teton mountains. The rise was gradual and that made the going pretty smooth. I’m happy we took this route, especially since it started to rain as we were got up the mountain. I’m glad I wasn’t driving down “Oh My God Hill" in the pouring rain.
We checked into our camp ground – Grizzly RV Park. It is a very upscale park and has a price to match. We will be here for 3 nights, so we better enjoy all the amenities.
Tomorrow, we will head into Yellowstone. We will take a bus and walking tour of he lower loop. Should be fun.
Photo 1 – Here we are entering Montana. Notice how the asphalt in Wyoming has a reddish tint. We’ve traveled a lot of highways and Wyoming is the only one with this color. It changes immediately upon entering Montana. According to the internet – it must be true – the red tint comes from the abundant red shale in Wyoming that is used as gravel in the asphalt.
Photo 2 – This is the scenery in Wyoming.
Photo 3 – this is the scenery in Montana – its different
Photo 4 -5 – Enjoying Teds Montana Grill
Photo 6 – The terrain becomes hillier
Photo 7-10 – winding our way down US191 – mountains to forests then down to a huge valley.
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