May 15, 2013 - day 20 to Billings MT

day 20 photos poor due to direct sunlight and early AM haze - our day was just a drive day, heading NE towards michican, stopping only for gas and lunch and a new coffee place in billings, where we are now - we are staying at the very first KOA built in america which was in billings MT... our photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/110438477258823146205/Day20ToBillingsMT?authkey=Gv1sRgCJe00cSn7ND0aQ# our...

May 2, 2013 - Home

We decided to head home after the last day of the Rally instead of hanging around another day, so... after 2... 10 hr days, we are back in Billings and headed to the cabin for the weekend... It was a good Spring trip and we enjoyed the Rally, but now its time for some Grand-kid Time...

May 2, 2013 - Heading Home

We found Spring in Boise, but Winter in McCall. McCall is a tourist town about 100 miles north of Boise on a road that first follows and curves around the Payette River and then widens out into huge meadows until you get to McCall. Ken Sterns, Dale Buhlman’s friend, has a beautiful cabin up there and he let us stay for the weekend. Kristine came with us and we had a grand time hiking, biking, eating out, playing games, exploring and just relaxing. Ed and Kristine found several geocaches in the area and we even rescued a young woman who had...

Apr 18, 2013 - A beautiful sunny day through the Big Horn Mountains

Date: April 18, 2013 Tonight’s Location: Billings, MT Mileage: End - 15103 Start - 14665 Total Miles for the day: 438 Weather: windy, cloudy till 9:30, then sunshine Temperature: start 23º High 54º Wildlife count: Mule Deer, White-tailed Deer, Pronghorn, Coyote, Woodchuck Year List: 186 Birds: Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Western Meadowlark, Rock Dove, Turkey Vulture, Mourning Dove, Magpie, Golden Eagle, Redtail Hawk, Raven When we got on the road this morning at 8:15, it started well for a few miles, then the blowing and drifting...

Oct 28, 2012 - Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota

Hello all! We are in Keystone, SD and are glad to be off the road for today! Had a super drive - stopped at the Custer Battlefield site and then went on to Deadwood (I had a beer), Crazy Horse Memorial (no beer), Mount Rushmore (no beer) and then Keystone (3 beer so far). We got in trouble at Mount Rushmore because I would not let them go into the welcome centre because I did not want them to pay....we parked on the road and looked through binocs and a cop told us to GET OFF THE ROAD!!!!! We did!!!! I wanted a beer but we could not have one...

Oct 28, 2012 - Sunday, Sunday, Sunda

Here we are in Billings....we were so tired last night, it was all we (Mo and I) could do to get down 3 or 4 beers in the bar down the street. Tracy had a Heineken!!! We knew yesterday was going to be a long day but it was super long. Our hotel here is quite nice but I have to say that the bed was delicious. It was so comfy.....so comfy, in fact, that Mo and Tracy may not be up yet (despite Sgt. Soupears pronouncement that a 6 A.M. Wake Up Call would be necessary for today!!! lol The first day drive was uneventful....I made the girls watch...

Oct 3, 2012 - More Black Hills

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we were basking in 26 C sunny weather and today we drove through snow flurries and the temperature went down to 0 C. We spend some more time in the fabulous black hills and drove highway 16A as it meanders through the hills and winds through 6 tunnels carved in the rocks. 3 of these are so laid out that when you drive through them you have a distant look at the Mount Rushmore monument. (see picture) I have also included a close-up of the Crazy Horse monument and here you can have a better look at...

Oct 2, 2012 - Last night on the road....

So on Tuesday we made it a long day and got into Billings, Montana around 8:30pm. Decided to set down in the Walmart parking lot since it was just a quick overnight. Walmart has been well utilized this trip. We started out with forgotten medication and prescription refills in Helena. Broken eyeglasses were taken care of in Fairbanks, and various household and minor repair necessities purchased at Walmarts in both Canada and Alaska. We all love to hate Walmart, but admittedly they were there for us for most of our trip. I finally got the...

Sep 21, 2012 - Mammoth to Billings, Montana

Until today, Yellowstone has been (generally speaking) an uninspiring drive from one exceptional scene to another. NOT TODAY! The drive from Mammoth to the northeast entrance was "the event"!! As the photos show, the scenery was varied and spectacular! Our excitement was heightened when we approached Barronette Peak and noticed a few people staring at the mountain with really powerful binoculars (the kind that are held in a stand). So out come our binoculars and low and behold, we see a mountain goat! As we continue to scan the mountain,...

Sep 9, 2012 - making progress

Montana isn't Alaska sized, but when you're trying to drive through it, it does take forever. When we are trying to pound down the miles, we favor expressways, but there are none from the NW to the SE in Montana. But it didn't matter much. The two lane route drove through miles of empty. The only interruption in the scenery was a giant wind farm. Mostly the land was dry and dusty. If we saw a patch of green, it was irrigated. The speed limit was 70, faster than we should be shoving our house down the road and we made good time. We stopped...

Sep 2, 2012 - Billings,Yellowstone, Little Big Horn, Lewis/Clark

Billings is a city of nearly 100,000 located east of the mountains, in a relatively flat countryside and rolling hills. North of town is a large mesa upon which the airport is located. The mesa provides great views of the city and the surrounding landscape. We were surprised to see at least two large oil refineries in the area; shades of Texas and Louisiana. I suppose the current oil boom explains their presence. The city is not particularly attractive and doesn’t possess any notable attractions that caught our eye or interest. Rather it is...

Aug 17, 2012 - Breakfast in Billings - We have been gone a month!

After we left Charging Horse Casino we had to stop for some breakfast. Jim wanted to leave pretty quickly. Billings is interesting. We sat on a hill overlooking the city and ate our bacon and eggs. Billings looks like a city that we could never afford to live in.