Day 3--Mile 952 - 1532--Billings, Montana

For my Texas friends and family, IT IS 63 DEGREES IN BILLINGS THIS MORNING!!! Won't stay cool, but what a gorgeous morning.

Leaving Denver and Mike's brother was a little harder than leaving a hotel. It was so good to see the brothers together. Mike's family moved often when he was a child as his dad worked in the oil business. So, Mike and Scott share many interesting experiences of living in Brunei, Australia, Iran, Ecuador . . . It is fun to see them together. So, after our goodbyes there we shopped for lunch, patronized STARBUCKS!, got gas, and headed out of Colorado. Emily is still waiting to actually see a Rocky Mountain.

The first 100 miles of Wyoming made me think its motto might be the Land of Surprise. The land seemed to change every 5 - 10 miles. Each curve in the road revealed a new and amazing sight. We did wonder why the capital, Cheyenne, was so close to the border of Wyoming-Colorado and not closer to the center of the state. Well, by the time we had gone another 100 miles that question was answered. The land is so vast that when we did see cows or sheep grazing, they looked like little plastic toys. For many miles, the only two cars I saw were mine and Mike's. This sparked a lot of conversation about the pioneer days--what it must have been like to cross this country in a covered wagon. We talked about cattle drives and how desperately they hunted for water. After crossing the south, middle and north forks of the Platte, we understood even better. These aren't rivers like the Arkansas!!! I think we could have stepped across each one of them at the points we were. We did giggle when we crossed the forks of the Crazy Woman River, speculating about the circumstances behind the name. The exits on the interstate are few and far between. After stopping at a bustling truck stop in Casper, where we saw many real, honest to goodness, bow-legged, elderly cowboys, we were joined on the road by a black 18-wheeler that would pass us, fall back and pass again. He exited once and then caught back up with us. Eerie! Not sure what that was about.

As most of you know, Emily and I pride ourselves on being "right" most of the time. So, yesterday when Mike beeped me on the walkie-talkie and asked if Jackolopes were real or sort of a fictional joke, I replied "They're real!" Of course, I knew that if he was asking me, Emily had already emphatically stated that indeed jackolopes were real!!! I beeped him back to remind him that we had seen stuffed and mounted ones at the Prairie Dog Town gift shop on Sunday. "Hmmm, I thought they were a joke." I assured him again that they were real but decided to call Mark, who knows better than anyone how gullible Emily and I can be, for confirmation. Well, I'm sure you know how the rest of this story goes. I think that's the most "Awww, Lordy" I have heard from Mark in quite a long time. Score 1 for Mike. We try not to let him be right very often!!!

We really didn't think that Montana was anywhere ahead, but we finally crossed into the state and stopped at The Little Bighorn Battlefield. Sobering to read about this clash of cultures and purpose. I believe that this was David's first trip to a National Monument. He enjoyed reading the timeline in the visitor's center and bravely tromped around the battlefield and National Cemetery. Lots of infant and child graves as well as a lot of unnamed graves. Beautiful location overlooking the valleys.

We are most interested in the fact that in this sparsely populated part of the country you see little sign of the towns or cities that are ahead. The first hint of Billings, which is a city of 100,000, was one little house two miles before the first exit. This is such a contrast to the urban sprawl that we are accustomed to. We are glad that the longest mileage day is behind us and are looking forward to tomorrow.

So, tune in for our next leg of the journey--Billings to Lethbridge, Alberta.