Let's Go to Billings!!!

Monday, October 26th was a big day for Buckskin and Noah--they loaded up the pick-up and hit the road for Billings, Montana for a day of shopping in the big city.  It takes about 2 hours to drive to Billings from Cody, but it's always an interesting drive with  many beautiful, interesting and (sometimes) unusual things to see along the way.  One of the first highlights of the drive is beautiful, ever-changing Heart Mountain.  It never looks the same twice--sometimes it's snow-covered, sometimes it's not; sometimes it's covered by clouds; sometimes it's pink in the sunset...it's always something new.  On Monday, storm clouds were building up behind it creating a very pretty effect:

A little farther up the road is the thriving metropolis of Clark.  Actually, the "town" of Clark has only one business:  the lovely Edelweis Saloon which is a very popular watering hole for bikers during the summer:

Heading further north, the road crosses over the winding Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River several times.  This section of the Yellowstone is named for William Clark of Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery who traveled this river (along with Sacajawea) on his return trip to St. Louis in 1806.  Lewis and Clark separated on their way back, so they could explore more areas of the country, and Clark's explorations took him through this area--pretty cool!

Proceeding even further north, we cross the border into Montana and seize the opportunity to play the lottery!!  Wyoming has no lottery...

One of the biggest towns along the highway is Bridger, Montana--named after famed mountain man, Jim Bridger.  There are several sculptures honoring this famous Wyomingite in town--here's one of them:  (I think that Indian is saying, "You're going the wrong way, white man!")

When driving to Billings, it is inevitable that someone will be driving some piece of farm equipment down the highway.  Not sure what this is, but it might be some kind of sugar beet picking implement--they were picking what is left of the sugar beet crop--there was a lot of damage done when we had our unseasonal blizzard/cold snap earlier this month.  Darn that global warming!!!

One of the more unusual sights is this giant cowboy dude with his scoped rifle outside the Fort Rockvale Casino.  (Note the cannons on the roof behind him): 

You know you've finally arrived in beautiful Billings when you see the oil refinery.  You really need to smell it to get the full effect, but you can use your imagination--it's really lovely (if you like that kind of thing):

When visiting Billings, you musn't miss The Big R--it's the Nordstrom's of Montana & Wyoming--you can get anything there:  seeds, horseshoes, irrigation equipment, guns, bows & arrows, clothing, furniture, bedding, horse supplies...the possibilities are endless.  Here's Noah running inside to pick up some wormers for the horses:

And even after a full day of dining and shopping, there is still more fun to be had:  on the way home we were able to spot all kinds of excellent wildlife, including this nice deer buck and a few of his harem:

That was about it for Buckskin & Noah's trip to Billings.  It was a fun and exciting time as always--you never know what you'll see when you drive to the big city.  See you all next time--bye for now!!

Love,

Buckskin