Day 5: Cody, Wyoming to Red Lodge, Montana

The This morning I couldn't resist taking one more hot shower before leaving camp and heading for Montana! Once we were all packed up we loaded into the truck once again. Scout is getting the hang of this road trip thing and Reno is a seasoned pro. 

Anyone who knows Kevin knows that he is fascinated by dams, so of course we had to stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam before moving on to Montana. Because of recent storms and the snow melt from the mountains, the streams and rivers are running high. When we were at the dam the water outlet valve was open and the roar was amazing! 

After exploring the dam for a bit we started our trek towards Montana. The last time we visited Montana it rained the entire time we were there, so we were hopeful for some sunshine this time around. 

Eventually we pulled into the awesome town of Red Lodge, Montana. We stopped in town long enough to pick up a few supplies before heading down the road to our campsite for the next two nights--Greenough Lake Campground. 

We officially entered bear country, but we came armed with bear spray and experience from previous trips to this region. I still get nervous, though, when I see these signs!

We were nervous that we would have difficulty finding a site since we are pretty close to Yellowstone National Park, but we found a great site with yet another open field for the dogs and a gorgeous rushing stream that could be heard while we slept at night. 

Each site came equipped with its own bear box for food and toiletry storage. This is a nice feature that helped me sleep at night! Bears can be attracted by anything that smells remotely like food, so being able to store everything in these lockers makes everyone safer. 

Once we set up camp we decided to explore the area. We took a short hike with the pups to Greenough Lake. The weather wasn't exactly sunny, but at least it wasn't raining, so our visit to Montana was already off to a great start!

After our hike, we relaxed by the campfire for a bit and then headed to bed so that we could rest up for the next day's adventure--a drive on the Beartooth Scenic Highway and a visit to Yellowstone National Park.