We only had a 45 minute layover in Minneapolis, so we rushed to our connection to Billings. On the plane, Peggy asked Julie if she had the window seat. Julie said yes, but she didn't like the window and she could have it. Lisa was sitting in the middle seat. The woman behind us thought we said that we didn't want to sit by Linda and she felt sorry for Lisa/Linda since we didn't want to sit beside her and were so vocal about it. Poor Lisa got called Linda the rest of the trip, but we all like to sit next to her!

Our flight arrived on time, all the bags made it, and we picked up the rental cars. Before we left Billings, we stopped at Albertson's for groceries and a Montana State Liquor Store for toasting supplies. Then we had lunch at Red Robin before hitting the road for Yellowstone.   

While we were at the hospital we saw a couple that looked like they were going through labor, walking down the hall. The Woman looked in pain and as she walked by she said “Cheese and Rice”. We congratulated her, but she said she wasn’t in labor, but having gallstone pain. That’s when we all said “Cheese and Rice”.  

Once we were in the rooms we had a quick toasting time to celebrate that Connie would be able to continue on the trip with us. Lisa R, who is MIA this trip, sent us shot glasses and Lisa L, gave us 'drink up bitches' coasters that we put to good us. At 1am (2am central time) we decided that we had been up for 22 hours straight and it was time to call it a night.

After checking out of the hotel, our first stop was at pharmacy in Livingston to refill Connie's nitro pills. Then we headed to breakfast at The Beanery. The food was great but the service was very slow and they did not have milk. Yes, we are in Montana!

We got up about 8 am and cleaned up before breakfast at 9 am. We got there just before a big crowd and were lucky to get a table, no wait this morning. We split into two tables to get seated faster. Our first wildlife sighting of the day was when the bat hiding in the fireplace got hot and escaped into the dining room and flew around a while. 

After breakfast we drove to Tower Falls and on the way there we saw a black bear and her three cubs. The Rangers were there and had traffic stopped due to a motorcycle accident. We couldn’t stop for long, but were able to get a quick photo using the sunroof the of the car.

The ride was supposed to be 2 hours long but it was closer to 3 hours. Brenda rode Tar, Jill road Snickers, Connie rode Deke, Peggy rode Cisco, Julie rode Pedro, Sue rode Jim and Lisa rode Gator. Pedro was the naughty horse and kept trying to eat grass and head butt Cisco. Gator wanted to eat grass too, but Lisa just let him. Our guides were Kyle, Autumn and Becca. We saw a coyote hunting while we were riding. We also saw bison, marmot, deer and lots of wild flowers, but cameras were not allowed so there is no photo documentation.

After we got back to the stables we walked to Lisa's room for toasting. We decided to meet at 8:30 in the morning and called it a night around 11:00. 

Most of the group got up early so they packed up and were ready at 8. Brenda knocked on Peggy and Julie's room and they were just getting up and dressed thinking they had a half hour. So they hurried up and met the group at breakfast. 

After breakfast we checked out and left Tower Roosevelt Lodge at 9:30. We drove to Canyon Lodge. On the way there we slowed down because the black bear and her cubs were up in the trees by the road. We didn’t stop for a picture this time. A little further down we stopped because people were pulled over to watch some elk. They were too far away for a picture, but we finally did see them with binoculars. 

After the hike we stopped back at Canyon Visitor Center and Lisa saw Ted Turner and his wife. But we didn’t get a picture of them.  

Lisa Lancome's favorite Paint Pot was one shaped like a heart - watch the video below to see it in action.

Sue, who had been snoozing in the car, woke up as the car neared the north entrance/exit and thought they were going through a toll booth so she started getting her money out. The car got a good chuckle out of that. 

We had planned on going out for dinner but it started to get stormy so instead of going out for dinner we decided to order pizza. Brenda and Julie went on a beer run while we waited for the pizza from Pete's Pizzeria. 

Brenda made a big batch of overnight crock pot steel cut oats and we had a few toasts before calling it a night around 11:00. 

Got up to the smells of cinnamon, apples and oatmeal. We had a great breakfast of steel cut oats and yogurt and then left the house at 8:45. 

We did some shopping in the Yellowstone General Store before getting back in the car at 4:15.

Back in West Yellowstone, we stopped for Huckleberry ice cream before going back to the house.

After dinner we watched pictures and had a toasting time before crashing at 11:00. 

Sue had stirred up her famous Egg Bake the night before and Brenda got up at 6am to put it in the oven. Breakfast was planned for 7:30, but the Egg bake needed a little more time, so Brenda, Lisa and Julie went to get some groceries and coffee. Julie NEEDED coffee! We had a great breakfast and were fueled up for the day. 

We left the house at 8:25 in rain. Forecast for day was rainy with a high temperature of 57. It rained all the way to Fishing Bridge. When we got there we checked out the Visitor Center and Museum and then the General Store.

After the hike we got back in the car and headed to Lake Village where we checked out the Lodge and Hotel. At the Lodge there was a couple getting ready for a wedding. The best man was looking for someone to tie a bow tie for the groom but we were not able to help them out.

After dinner we watched pictures and surprised Connie and Brenda with Travel Planner and Julie with Photographer gifts. Frames with pictures of the BVEs in front of Yellowstone Park sign. 

We all went to bed around 11 pm except for Brenda who slept on the couch until 2am so she could get up to turn on the oatmeal crock pot for breakfast in the morning. 

Started getting up around at 7am to get packed up to leave the house. Breakfast was at 8:15 and we had oatmeal and yogurt. After breakfast we cleaned up the kitchen and rest of place and left the house at 9:00. 

We drove to Norris and had a quick look at Norris Geyser Basin. Then we drove to Ice Lake for a hike. We started at 11:30 thinking that we were just going to go to the first point and turn around. 

The end of the trail was on the road and that is when it started to rain again. We got back to the car just as the sky opened up. Our short hike endedu up being 4.5 miles and 3 hours long. Sue who sat out the hike was starting to worry about us and was glad to see us come back.

At 2:30 we drove back to Norris and stopped at the National Park Ranger Museum which was very interesting. Before getting back in the cars we had sodas and snacks in the parking lot and at 3:20 headed towards Billings. Just a ways down the road we ran into road construction and had to sit for 15 minutes for a flag car. 

We arrived at the Fairfield Hotel in Billings at 7:15. We got checked in and started toasting. We had a mission to use up the rest of the alcohol and snack. We went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse at 9:00. Then back to the hotel for one last toast before crashing at 11. 

It was the last day and we packed up and met for breakfast in the hotel at 8 am. We left the hotel at 8:30, this was the first time we left at the scheduled time! We got to the airport, dropped off the cars, put our suitcases on the conveyor belt, got the bags through security and walked to our gate by 9:45. An hour to spare before our flight. 

Arrived in Minneapolis on time and felt the heat and humidity immediately. We grabbed lunch before our flight to Des Moines. As we took off we could see storm clouds rolling in and were warned it could be a bumpy ride. Flight wasn't too bumpy but we made a hot landing in Des Moines and as we were walking to baggage claim we heard an announcement that a flight was being cancelled. If we had been 15 minutes later we would not have been able to land.