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Osen’s RV Park, Livingston
Our drive up to Livingston began with a visit to Mammoth Hot
Springs in Yellowstone. After leaving the park and Wyoming, the highway
followed the Yellowstone River all the way up to Livingston Montana. After
driving through a mountain pass, we entered Paradise Valley. Wow, it was so
beautiful with the Absaroka Mountains and the Gallatin National Forest on the
east and the Madison Mountains on the west. There were several small towns along
the way. As we approached Livingston, we passed through Rock Canyon, which was
another amazing landscape. We arrived at the RV park, which was just a couple
of miles outside the city limits. It was off the highway and back in a
residential area. The park was well kept, with grassy areas around the camp
sites. We setup our rig in the assigned space, which we really liked as it was
along the edge of the park and there were no RVs behind us. There were some
trees that also provided shade, as it was a warm day. The dogs enjoyed the
grassy areas to hang out under the awning. The owners were very nice and
helpful upon check in. They let us know they would be hosting a July 4th
barbeque for all the people staying at the park.
After getting settled, we needed to go to town for some
groceries and to get oriented in this western town. The town was hosting a large Independence Day
celebration, beginning that day with a parade through downtown. We were sorry
we didn’t make it there in time for the parade, as this is a big deal in
Livingston! We checked out the events that would be taking place over the next
three days. There was an art festival and the Livingston Rodeo Roundup followed
by fireworks for all three days. It was going to be an exciting Independence Day
celebration! We stopped in a liquor store downtown and purchased our
necessities for the week. There was an adjoining bar, called The Office. This
was a big hang out for the locals. When we returned to the RV park, I called
our friend Annie Turner, who lives in Livingston and was the one that suggested
that we come up this way, since we were going to be so close in Wyoming. She
was working and would be each day, except for the 4th, so we made plans to get
together the on that day. We learned some history of Livingston while researching the events and the local area. The town was built around the railroad, which also brought industry to the area. After Yellowstone was designated as the first National Park, the town soon grew bigger as it became the first gateway to Yellowstone. Visitors came into Livingston from the east by train and then changed to another train that went south into the Park. Thus, the growth of tourism in the area. Beyond that, we just fell in love with this western town that still had much of the original buildings and that old western feel.
The next day, Kurt rode his bike into town to visit the Chamber of Commerce. He was able to purchase the rodeo tickets, which we decided to go to on the 3rd since the 4th was already sold out. He also inquired about kayaking the Yellowstone River and shuttle services. When he returned, we decided to drive around town to explore some of the river access points for put in or take out. We found that Livingston has a really nice dog park along the river, where you can let the dogs run off leash. They can also get in the river to play and cool off. We also drove south outside of town along the Yellowstone to look at river access points in that area. With the help of a great river map, we were able to determine where we would put in and take out. The shuttle services here simply drive your vehicle to the take out, which made it so easy. On our way back to the campground, we stopped in the grocery and saw Annie. It was the first time we had seen her since February in Chokoloskee. We were excited about getting together with her and Lou the next day. After getting some dinner, we headed out to the rodeo. We decided to go early into downtown and have a drink, then walk to the fairgrounds. This was only about a couple of miles from where we parked.
It was exciting to go into the rodeo arena and see the cowboys and the local people enjoying the festivities. The rodeo is an annual event in Livingston and there were some top qualifying cowboys there. We saw bucking broncos, steer wrestling, ladies barrel riding, team calf roping, ladies stunt riding and of course, bull riding. The events were very fun to watch and there was some great competition! The rodeo ended with a great fireworks show that everyone enjoyed.
On July 4th, we drove over to Annie’s house for a visit around noon. They were enjoying a day off work and getting some gardening done. It was great to see them again and have a couple of drinks together. They have two awesome dogs, one golden retriever (Jeff) and another large black lab (Jenny). We brought our dogs with us, and after the initial butt sniffing, everyone was okay with each other (the dogs that is). It was nice to get to know them a little better, as we had only briefly met them in Chokoloskee. We all decided to get together later downtown at The Office and have some drinks. We headed back to camp and returned in time for the barbeque provided by the campground owners. It was very nice with typical barbeque menu and we met some of the other visitors to the camp. We met Annie & Lou at The Office around 6pm and enjoyed the conversation and live music. After a couple of hours, Kurt and I decided we wanted to go down by the river and watch the fireworks show. Annie and Lou decided to head home. We took our cooler and chairs to a nice park along the Yellowstone River, just a few blocks from the rodeo grounds. We sat there and enjoyed the river sounds and then the fireworks display. It was a great way to end the Independence Day celebration.
The next morning, we gathered our stuff for hiking and headed south to a hiking trail in the Gallatin Forest in the Absaroka Mountains. We drove up a gravel road through the hills and forest, then back into the valley to the trailhead, near a campground. This was a hike called Pine Creek, as the trail followed the creek. It was about a 5 mile round trip back up to the waterfall. It began as a nice forest hike along the creek and then quickly changed to a steep climb up into the waterfall area. It was a very beautiful hike. When we arrived at the waterfall, it was very high and wide, with a nice footbridge that crossed the rocky creek at the base. When we crossed over the bridge, there was the other side of the falls. It split near the top, so there were two waterfall features, each one as beautiful as the other with many terraced ledges. I hung out by the waterfall while Kurt continued up a steeper trail that led to the top of the waterfall. After that, we headed back down the trail as it was getting very cloudy and overcast. In the distance we did hear some thunder, so we made it down the trail quickly. Just as we made it to the truck, the rain and storms came down on us. This was one of our favorite hikes on this whole trip. It was also in bear country, so we were hiking with the trusty bear spray. There were quite a few hikers on this trail, so we were not too concerned with a bear encounter. After this hike, we headed back to camp for lunch. We then took the dogs down to the river dog park in town. They had a lot of fun running free and playing in the river. We so enjoyed our time by the river and playing with the dogs.
The last day of our stay in Livingston was our epic paddle on the Yellowstone River. We had been looking forward to getting our kayaks on this river, it was so exciting. We parked the truck at Mill Creek Bridge and paddled about 20 miles downstream to Carters Bridge, which was in Paradise Valley. Since the river was so swift and running about 7 – 10 mph, it only took us about 3 hours to complete. Wow, we were moving faster than we have ever paddled, encountering many Class 1 rapids. There were places along the river that ran slower and was very calm; and then the rapids, which were very exciting. We did get wet, but we really enjoyed this paddle! The river flowed through many ranch lands and also some very upscale home properties along the water. Apparently, there are quite a few celebrities and wealthy people that live (or have another home) in this area. The weather was perfect his day, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. At the end of the paddle, we were so glad that we were able to do this run. This will not be our last time to get on this river. We hope to come back to Montana in the next couple of years and stay for an extended amount of time.
After returning to camp, we called Annie to see if she
wanted to meet us at a place along the river where there is access for swimming
and hanging out. She had mentioned that she loves to take her dogs down here to
play in the water. It was only a couple
of miles from our camp. She met us there and brought her golden retriever,
Jeff. The dogs and us all had a great time, playing retrieve the stick and
having some colds drinks! The dogs played well together and had a great time;
this was a chance for our boys to get out have some fun. We then headed back to camp to prepare for
the next day’s move to Yellowstone, on the east side of the park. We would be
heading to Fishing Bridge to tour that side of the park.
