Our general travel route for this week ...
Day one was from Calgary to Fort Benton Montana. Fort Benton is a little town situated in a beautiful spot on the Missouri River. We decided it should be called the "Horseshoe Animal" capital of America as we spotted several metal animals sculptured out of horseshoes! Below is a picture of a horseshoe bull. Also spotted what we can only presume might be Stephen Colbert's home - have never seen bald eagle lawn ornaments before. Managed to parlay $2 into $3 in a small casino. Watch out Vegas!
Day two was from Fort Benton to Billings Montana where we stayed two nights. Exceptional scenery through Montana. We travelled secondary highways and along the way passed through small towns which apparently offer their own local traditions. As inviting as the "Testical Festival" sounded, we decided to give it a miss... it was too cold for anything testicle related, no matter how you spell it. Explored Billings for a day. Parlayed $5 into $25 this time. Vegas is getting nervous.
Day four from Billings to Hardin Montana. Hardin is a small town near the Bighorn National Monument (Custer's Last Stand). We went out to the monument and spent about 3 hours there. Very fascinating. The battlefield contains markers where individual soldiers actually fell. There is also a very moving monument to the Indian warriors who fought and lost their lives in the battle. Although the Indian warriors won that battle it was to be their last great victory before their traditional way of life was essentially lost forever. The visitor's centre is very well done and the ranger gave an excellent talk about the battle.
Day five was from Hardin to Sturgis South Dakota. Yes, that Sturgis. Again, really great scenery all along the way. Sturgis is a tad quiet when it is not "rally week". We dined at "Knuckles Saloon". Can't image what it might be like during rally week. Note to selves... do not order the wine! Food was good. Great atmosphere and it appeared they had both kinds of music... country and western! There was a big truck event in town and we saw this truck being prepared for travel. They took the giant tires off and put them on another truckbed for transport and put little wheels on the monster truck ..... reminded us of ladies changing their heels for walking shoes.
Day six was from Sturgis to Douglas Wyoming. BIG GIANT HEAD DAY! We went to the Mt Rushmore National Monument and to the Crazy Horse Monument. These are great to see in pictures, but way cooler to see in person. The Crazy Horse Monument is still under construction and will likely take many more years to complete. It will be absolutely fascinating when finished. The size of it is unimaginable. The head of Crazy Horse, by itself, is bigger than the entire Mt Rushmore monument. The drive through the Black Hills of South Dakota reveals more great scenery. On highways we often see odometer test sections. On the way to Douglas one part of the highway was so jiggly that Kris declared that it must be the "bra test section".
Day seven was a short freeway drive from Douglas to Cheyenne Wyoming. Douglas has the distinction of being 72nd of the top 100 small towns in America as rated by someone who had apparently not travelled much. It is also the Jackalope capitol of America (possibly the entire universe) and their local radio station announces itself as 'RADIO JACKALOPE!!!!' Below is a photo of a young one (you can tell it is young because it doesn't have antlers yet).
Cheyenne is a little city in the middle of a large ranching area. Kris always complains that she never gets to see an aramadillo .... and now she has had lunch with one. Travel is broadening.
| On to Week 2 |
How fun! Good stuff. You are missing stellar weather here, 20 degrees, dry, sunny. We leave for Arizona on Friday for some fun in the sun. Kris, I have discovered Viking knit wire and have made some ultra cool bracelets with it. Talk to you again soon.
ReplyDeleteLaura