THUNDERSTORMS AT CAMP & THE COOLEST SMALL TOWN IN AMERICA? + The CHIEF JOSEPH Highway | RV LIFE

Waking up here feels like I'm in a dream. It's like being transported into a Disney fairy tale forest with birds, chipmunks, deer, and beautiful wildflowers. Unless I happen to be thinking about the grizzly and black bears that also call this magical place home. The temperatures fluctuate quite a bit here. It gets really chilly overnight and in the morning and pretty warm in the afternoon but it is still one of the coolest places that I could find on the map here in the lower 48. I'm still here outside of Kick City, Montana. It's an interesting place because it's very remote. It's a very small little western town. We'll take a visit there on this video. The only ways to get into the town, there are three ways. It's either through the park, Yellowstone National Park, or over Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge, which I took you on that drive last week. If you missed that video, check it out. It's absolutely stunning. It's a jaw-dropping drive. Or from Cody, Wyoming over Chief Joseph Highway. Today we're actually going to take a drive over Chief Joseph Highway. It's another very scenic highway. Because I need to go into Cody to resupply and run some errands, there is a Walmart there. We're visiting Walmart. It's about 1 hour and 35 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minute drive from here. But it's an absolutely stunning commute to go take care of errands. So that is the plan for today. My solar has been loving this place though. It charges up to 100% every single day and I can have the power on all day long, which is good because I have been utilizing my Starlink. There is no cell service in Cook City. None. Or in the surrounding areas. So if you don't have Starlink or something to utilize, the only Wi-Fi that is available is down at the Visitor Center. Otherwise, no cell service. I guess unless you stay at a hotel or something like that, they probably do offer Wi-Fi there. I've been having a relaxing, slow morning, enjoying my coffee and getting caught up on emails. But it is time to get dressed and get on the road. Unfortunately, it's been pretty hazy with smoke from fires in surrounding states. You might remember I mentioned that in the last video. I think I chose the best day to do the Beartooth Highway. It's a little hazy today, but not as bad as it's been on other days. We'll still get some beautiful sights. I've stopped here at a scenic area to use the restroom. I've been drinking coffee this morning. I think I've decided to do the majority of my filming on the way back because I'd like to take my time, stop at the scenic areas. Right now, I just want to get to town and get my errands completed while it's still somewhat cool. Hopefully by that time, the visibility will be a little bit better. Fingers crossed. Cody is named after Buffalo Bill Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896. The population was 10,028 at the 2020 census, making Cody the 11th largest city in Wyoming by population. Themes surrounding Cody's pioneer and cowboy and western history are common in the I've heard about some amazing museums in Cody. However, today I was here for more domestic purposes. Rodeo is important in the culture in Cody, which calls itself the rodeo capital of the world. The Cody Night Rodeo is an amateur rodeo every night from June 1st through August 31st. I'm headed back to camp and none too soon because it is hot down there. Can't wait to get back up in the mountains. Wyoming Highway 296, also known as the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, is a 45.96 mile long state highway in the state of Wyoming. It follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he led the Nez Perce out of Yellowstone National Park and into Montana in 1877 during their attempt to escape into Canada. Absolutely gorgeous views but definitely still hazy. Better than it was earlier though and it is so much cooler up here. It's like being in air conditioning with the wind blowing. It's at least 10 degrees if not more cooler up here so very pleasant. The Nez Perce surrendered after the six-day battle of the Bear Paw in northwestern Montana. The tribe was stopped only 30 miles from their destination at the Canadian border. In his speech of surrender Chief Joseph expressed dignity and defeat with his famous words, hear me my chief I'm tired my heart is sick and sad from where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever. The Nez Perce tribe was forced onto reservations in Oklahoma and Washington despite promises to allow them back on their lands. I've made it back here to camp and honestly that drive goes by so quickly because it's so beautiful that time just flies. I only wished it would have been a little more clear so that the vistas would have been more visible but I'm not complaining. It was absolutely stunning. The only chore that I didn't get done in Cody was washing my truck. Unfortunately by the time I was done with my laundry it was lunchtime so I think a lot of folks had the same ideas I did and the both car washes there were two were full completely full and even when I came out from shopping at Walmart it was really busy so I just decided to clean it out myself when I got back here to camp. I just cleaned out the inside and forgot about the outside because we're getting thunderstorms every single afternoon so washing the outside would not have been fruitful because it would just get rained on anyways and it looks like another thunderstorm is moving in tonight. Since I've been out and about all day I'm going to keep dinner very simple and make a easy chicken stir fry. And once again the thunderstorms had returned. I do enjoy them and they do pass through very quickly. Good morning everyone. We are going to start the day today by taking a trip into the tiny but charming town of Cook City. I need to send some photos off to a patron as well as retrieve some mail. You might remember I utilize a mail service called iPostal. Everything is done through an app. They'll notify me when I receive mail and then I can decide what I'd like them to do with it. Whether I want them to discard it, shred it, scan it, or ship it to me at another location. So I had them send something to me to the local post office here. General delivery. Not every post office accepts general delivery mail so you have to check that out first but this one here in Cook City does. So I'll be picking up my mail and then also I will take you through town and give you a little bit of history. I'm going to walk the streets as opposed to driving because I want to get a little extra exercise. I can't really walk around camp because of the grizzly bears so I feel like it's going to be safe for me to walk here in town. Cook City as of the 2020 census had a population of 77. The community sits northeast of Yellowstone National Park on the Beartooth Highway which leads east to Red Lodge Montana on a scenic route climbing to 10,947 feet. If you missed last week's video, check it out. I drive the Beartooth Highway. The town's chief industry is tourism which during the winter includes skiing and snowmobiling. It's named for J. Cook, financier of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Cook City sits at an elevation of 7,580 feet. There are lots of good eateries but no grocery store. There is a general store, a couple of little general type stores, as well as the convenience store at the gas station which has quite a stock of items. It's a prime hub for outdoor enthusiasts with lots of hiking trails, fly fishing, horseback riding, all kinds of outdoor activities nearby, as well as Yellowstone National Park. The visitor center houses an awesome little museum with lots of history on Cook City. It also has a public restroom and free wi-fi available. After rejecting a number of places as too civilized, too conscious of his notoriety, Ernest Hemingway spent the summer and fall of 1930 hunting and fishing at the El Barty, a dude ranch 12 miles south of Cook City, Montana. Didn't I tell you it was charming? There is another even smaller charming town just ahead called Silvergate. It's only about one mile outside of Yellowstone's northeast entrance. We'll take a quick drive through there. And that's it. That was Silvergate. The time has come to do some projects that I want to do around my little trailer here. I got some supplies yesterday at Walmart to get that done, so let's do it. This is a little stool that I use as a seat as well as storage for my hats, but as you can see it's pretty full. So what I want to do is put some hat hooks above my coat hooks because I've been hanging all my hats there and it's getting out of control. So I'm going to put them right above here on the wall and then probably on another wall as well. I'm just going to clean this wall with rubbing alcohol, get all the dirt and dust off so the command strips adhere better. Okay, I've got one up already and I'll tell you these command strips are like the best thing ever invented. You don't damage your walls, they come off. Let's see, right about here. Okay, I've got four more hung here right above my bed. It's not the most pleasing aesthetically, but my hats are getting pretty thrash being squished into that little ottoman. So I think my hats are pretty happy about it. The next project I've got going on is you are supposed to store your sewer hose in this bumper. Unfortunately the cap fell off a long time ago so I haven't been doing that, but I found this nifty cap. It's a magnetic so it's going to stay on there. You can just twist the top off and pull out your sewer hose. So it's on there, it's stuck on there and then I just pull my sewer hose. This is a clean hose, a brand new hose actually, so it's not dirty while I'm touching it. Just pop it back in, screw the lid back on. Unfortunately this is where I've been stowing my sewer hose. This is the old one, this is a new cap so I'm going to throw it away, clean this all out, and get this bay organized. I've got my Starlink in there, I've got my freshwater hose, regular hose. So I'm going to get all this cleaned out. I've got these cool bags to organize my hoses. Okay, I've swept it all out, wiped it all out, cleaned it, and now I'm going to put everything in in a more organized fashion. The freshwater hose was easy because it's much smaller than this beast. Much, much better. I've got these handy dandy little tags as well. I'd say that's a whole heck of a lot better and I am going to get a nice case for my Starlink to store that in. That box is pretty beat up. Well I think I'm going to go ahead and wrap up this video here. I hope that you enjoyed hanging out with me once again here in Montana outside of Cook City. I absolutely love it here. It feels very comfortable and I feel very at home here even though there are grizzlies around. I still haven't seen one here at the campground by the way even though there are warnings that there have been grizzlies in the campground. If you watched my previous video you know all about that. I'm going to be here at this location for just a little bit longer. I'm not sure whether you'll see it again in the next video or if I'll pick up as I move on. I do plan on moving on next week so I'll definitely show you the next location that I wind up at. This video is just a look at how I live out here day to day. I have to run errands and do all the things that you normally do in a Sticks and Bricks home except it's a little bit more complicated and there are a few more logistics involved usually but at the moment I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you all so much for joining me. I always appreciate you coming along. I appreciate your support. If you haven't subscribed to the channel please subscribe. It's absolutely free. It helps out a lot and I would really appreciate it. I appreciate you all so much. Thank you all so much for joining me and I will see you on my next adventure. See you soon everybody. Bye-bye. Here at camp. Big pile of berry scat.