This has been a whirlwind trip and Edward Bear was so tired last night that he didn't write his usual blog. The camper arrived in Big Timber in the early afternoon. Edward got to hear the familiar sounds of the Boulder River and, of course, Cody the dog, who loves to chase balls and anything else that a person will throw for him. Cody likes to focus his attention keenly on the ball and he can catch it in the air. He is a very, very fast dog!

One of the things that Edward likes the best about visiting the Boulder is the sound of the river. There are lots of other animals, deer, an occasional bear, eagles, and of course the fish in the river, mostly brown and rainbow trout. Edward's favorite fish is Salmon but they don't swim in the Boulder, which is a very, very long ways from the ocean. The Boulder flows into the Yellowstone, which flows in to the Missouri, which flows into the Mississippi, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, half a continent away.

Today, Edward got up at the boulder and before long the camper was being packed up for a long drive of about 400 miles across Montana, the corner of Wyoming and South Dakota to his home. The camper is not yet in the storage place, because it needs to be cleaned before it is put away and the family was too busy with meetings and other activities to finish getting it ready tonight. But the camper is quiet, with the refrigerator and hot water turned off. It is dark and the familiar sounds of South Dakota surround Edward. He likes it when the camper is at the house because he can watch the deer out of the window and in the mornings he sees Turkeys.

Edward is hoping that there might be one more trip before winter hibernation sets in, but he doesn't know what adventure will come next.

Edward is delighted to be back in Red Lodge. One doesn't always have to go to somewhere new in order to have a grand adventure. Edward has been to Red Lodge many times, perhaps as many as any other place besides Rapid City. He loves the sound of Rock Creek rushing by and the song of the coyotes in the distance. He loves the fields of daisies and the cool mountain air. He loves being around happy family. He even likes some of the stories Ted tells about when he was a boy and he visited his grandmother and grandfather here. He likes stories about grandmother's cooking, but doesn't like the stories about bear cubs taken from the den who later ended up in zoos.

Red Lodge is a good place to be outdoors. There are many hikes that can be taken from right close to town. The hills are full of spruce and lodgepole pine. The air smells sweet even though there is quite a bit of smoke from fires off to the west. This has been an especially bad summer for fires in Montana and the firefighters are getting tired and hoping for cooler winter that fall brings. In a month or so it should start snowing in the high country again, which is just what is needed for the fires to calm down. Edward is concerned for the safety of all of the firefighters.

There was a special treat after a day of hiking and exploring. Huckleberry milkshakes for a bedtime snack. That is definitely one of Edward's favorite foods.

Tomorrow it is off to Big Timber - another of Edward's favorite places and a great place to go to sleep to the music of the river.

Edward has been sitting in the camper so long, it was almost as if he had been hibernating. Since he got back from the trip to Washington and Montana at the beginning of June, he has not been out of the camper storage area. But today he got on the road again. The trip started out about 2 pm and the first part was just driving on the Interstate highway across Wyoming, But north of Sheridan they turned onto a winding road that quickly took them up high in the Big Horn Mountains. They even got to see a Moose just before they arrived at the Plum Creek Campground where they got to spend the night.

Edward found a neat place down by the creek where there were mushrooms growing and the cool water felt good after being out on the highway in 90 degree weather. It feels good to be back in the high country where the plants under the forest canopy are all green. This campground is very quiet.

Edward is excited to be in a campground where there are bear-proof garbage cans and bear hooks high above the picnic tables. It is obvious that this is a place where other bears visit. Edward has been keeping an eye out, but so far he's the only bear in sight.

The campground isn't too far from the highway, but there doesn't seem to be too much traffic on the highway so Edward is mostly listening for animal sounds. He'd know the sound of a bear if he heard one, but he knows it is more likely that the moose will come to visit. Edward thinks that would be pretty great.

Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day. The trip will continue over the Big Horns and down the steep road to Lovell, Wyoming before they turn north to Bridger and on into Red Lodge, Montana. Red Lodge is another of Edward's favorite places to visit.