We left Calgary, stopping in Claresholm for a break. We'd been there before but the old railway station museum had been closed. We did a brief tour of some of their artifacts then headed to Lethbridge. It's always neat going under the longest and highest railway trestle in the world. However, the city road meanders through town so travel time is slowed. Too late, I learned that the truck route was the way to go.
Upon reaching the border we reminisced about our last trip through Coutts/Sweetgrass when Officer Hastings had issues with us bring a load of furniture down for Geoff (see Helena, Herc, Helena). This time there seemed to be no issues although the officer asked if our grandsons cheered for the Broncos. Duh! His computer then told him to look under our hood which he did, then declared, yes, there was an engine in there. Good to know!
We gassed up in Shelby, Montana then headed to Great Falls. We stopped for lunch near the Whoop Up trail stop where we had lunch on our first trip south (see Road Trip 2010). At Great Falls, we headed east, leaving the Interstate behind. The idea was to cut across Montana and shorten our trip to Billings.
Ten hours later, we arrived at our hotel so the trip Goggle said would take 8 hours took much longer. In part due to weather issues. The first storm we hit was torrential rain. Water sluiced across the highway. Glen had wondered why the Santa Fe had 19 inch tires but during this, he was glad to have extra rubber on the road. We were just drying off when strong winds buffeted the car. It's pretty bad when a passenger can tell how hard it is to keep the car on the road.
Then came the hail. No, we didn't have to worry about our sun roof because the wind was blowing it horizontally across the highway. We could barely see in front of us but there was no shoulder so we crept along. Finally, as we crested a hill, we came upon an access road that allowed us to pull over. We weren't the only ones. Being hammered by hail was like having a metal cocktail mixer full of ice shaken beside your ear. Very scary!! The hail landing on the ground around us appeared to be about pea sized.
When the storm had eased, we headed to Roundup for gas, then came at Billings from the north. We didn't realize that there was a route 90 and an Interstate 90 and we took the wrong road. This spit us out west of the city which meant our journey was longer as we backtracked. We were hungry and tired which didn't help with navigation. However, we finally reached our hotel, Hilton's Hampton Inn, dumped our luggage and went next door to the Fiddler's Green Pub. We'd been there before. They make great pizza so we had that, washing it down with Bozone Amber Ale made by the Bozeman Brewing Company
The next day we headed to Little Bighorn. On our first road trip, we stopped here (see Where the Deer and the Antelope Play) and did the museum and cemetery. It was then we learned the Crow tribe stages an enactment on the anniversary of the Battle. Glen wanted to this happen so we arrived at 10:00 on June 25th (140th anniversary of the battle). See the next post for a description of what we experienced.
After the enactment, we headed to Sheridan,Wyoming. It was just before 4pm so plenty of time to get caught up on emails, etc. The Hampton Inn didn't have a restaurant so we asked for a recommendation and ended up at Sanford's Grub and Pub. What an unique place! Ever inch of space was filled with old license plates, posters, and memorabilia of all kinds. There was even a giant alligator! Beer, served in quart mason jars, was a local ale made by the Black Tooth Brewery called Bomber Mountain Amber.
The food had a definite southern spin. We had a plate of Buffalo Wing a Ding Dings then were served on the biggest plate I've ever seen Southern Fried Catfish with Crawfish sauce. Too much food!
A trick we've learned when travelling is to buy your lunch first thing in the morning then you aren't caught somewhere without food, especially when that somewhere is Wyoming (see Oh yes, Wyoming). It seems most gas stations we stopped at had a Subway restaurant next door. So, while other customers were buying breakfast sandwiches, I ordered lunch. We had an insulated bag that kept the drinks cool so it worked out well.
Sunday, we drove through some spectacular landscapes and even at 130 km/hr, the beauty could be savoured. I experimented with taking photos from the car window which can be seen on my Shutterfly site. We stopped for lunch in Douglas. We had no idea why Douglas was there in the middle of nowhere but it was a going concern. The information centre is well off the highway and Glen almost gave up trying to find it. An old railway station houses a small gift shop and it is surrounded by an old engine, dining and sleeper cars. A small park had two picnic tables in the shade. Very welcoming! We chatted with the older couple manning the place and learned all about Jackalopes. This strange creature is a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope. We had our photo taken next to one (see photo above) and received a hunting license should we wish to shoot one ourselves (assuming we had a gun). Hunting season is June 31 (check a calendar).
Originally, Douglas was a stop on the railroad that functioned as a supply depot for surrounding ranchers. The station was built in 1886 and named for a US senator. It continues to be home to cowboys although there are oilfields outside of town.
Glen was enamoured with the restored dining car as it was exactly like the one his family enjoyed as they travelled from Ottawa to Colorado Springs 50 years ago. Etched in his memory is the time he had his first bowl of cream of wheat while sitting in Union Station in Denver. Little did he know then that his son would live there and his two grandkids would be Denverites.
As soon as you hit the Wyoming/Colorado border, traffic triples and it is slow going as you pass through Fort Collins and its satellite communities. We took the toll road that goes from the airport to Geoff's place in Aurora. It was nice to be settled and enjoy home cooking.
See photos here.
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