Day 13: Rest/Tourist Day in Livingston

July 21, 2024

The motel recommended the Northern Pacific Beanery for breakfast. It's 8 blocks from the motel, so I pedaled to breakfast. The restaurant is adjacent to the fancy old railway station. After breakfast I walked around the railway station property and tried to visualize what it was like for a visitor in 1900 stepping off the train after an extremely long journey.

I had breakfast at Northern Pacific Beanery on the property of the railway station.

Closeup of the Northern Pacific Railway yin/yang logo that adorns the building.

Across from the railway station I walked into the lobby of Murray Hotel to have a look.

Lobby of Murray Hotel. Wish I was staying here.

I also went into Gil's sporting goods store next door to the hotel to buy a patch kit. It looks like the store has been in business for more than 100 years. It has a large bike section and a larger fishing section.

I bought a patch kit from Gil's sporting goods store.

Morning light gives the only good views of the buildings on the west side of Main Street. They aren't as interesting as the buildings on the east side.

I walked the streets south and east of downtown. It has a charming neighborhood of Craftsman style houses, plus several large public buildings.

Arts Center and adjacent pavilion. Probably a former school.

In the afternoon I took a 3 hour nap and also did some chores such as fixing a puncture in a tube, and cleaning the chain.

I left the motel at 6:40 PM and walked downtown to have dinner. Hopefully after dinner it will be late enough for good sunset lights.

Population of 8790 makes Livingston the 4th largest town on this tour. Livingston is a wealthy exclusive town. I imagine that the city actually tries to avoid growth in order to retain its rustic character.

Tonight I had dinner at the Livingston Bar and Grille. It's at the corner of Main Street and Business 90, across from the train station.

I had dinner at Livingston Bar and Grille.

I sat at a small table in the bar room and had a good but very expensive steak. Last night's steak at The Mint was cheaper and just as good.

After dinner I walked around downtown waiting for the lights to start showing up. Livingston has many lighted signs.

The theatre lights turned off seconds after I took this photo.

Futuristic 1920's lights at Murray Hotel.

Livingston is 4500 feet elevation. Not as high as Cody, but the evening was surprisingly cool. I'm far north of Cody now.

Even the Baptist church gets in on the lights action. Unfortunately most of the lower sign wasn't lit.

Livingston is a great destination for a rest day if you can afford it. The downtown area has many interesting things to see. My only regret is that I didn't pedal a mile south to a city park to see the Yellowstone river one more time.

I didn't pedal very much today but I walked to downtown 3 times and walked around downtown extensively. More than 5 miles of walking.

Despite all the walking I felt much more energetic in the evening than in the morning. It felt like a rest day. I needed the rest because tomorrow's route to Bozeman includes the biggest climb of the tour.

Distance: 1.2 mile

Today's ride: 1 mile (2 km)
Total: 509 miles (819 km)

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