Montana!

Another three-state day. I should have mentioned earlier that everything since Minneapolis has been totally new country for me. I continued west on and off I-90 to the end of South Dakota, then angled through a part of Wyoming far north of where I crossed in March, and am now in Billings, MT, just two hours from the nearest entrance to Yellowstone!

As I'd planned, I drove straight from the Badlands to Mt. Rushmore, mainly just to say I'd been there and prove it with this photo (and several others). The most striking thing to me was how polished, sharp-edged, and new the four portraits look. This shot from the old observation deck, framed by trees, is much more to my taste than the massively Disneyfied and barren amphitheater that has taken its place.

I then cut through part of the Black Hills to Deadwood, hoping for more photo ops. Instead I had to put up with my GPS whining at me for the first ten miles that I should "turn around when possible" and get on the Interstate. Deadwood turned out to be a dud; when I asked the woman at the information office for restaurant recommendations she told me about all the casinos that incidentally serve food, and about the shootout that was about to start (daily at noon). I saw nothing in town worth a photo and fled to Spearfish near the Wyoming line for fast food.

Most of the terrain after I left the Black Hills, through all three states, was as impossibly green, rolling and gorgeous as the rest of South Dakota had been yesterday. The flashing lights and gates to close the Interstate due to snow, at Pierre yesterday and repeatedly from Sundance, WY, to the Montana line today, were all inactive and the alarm they had caused me in March was just a distant memory.

As I came in view of the Big Horn range around Buffalo, WY, I got my first view of snow-capped mountains this trip; this photo is for my brother-in-law Jim since he asked. At some point I may actually have to cross mountains like this when I reach the Rockies or the Cascades, but today the highway followed the eastern edge of the Big Horns until they dwindled into green Montana hills.

Tonight as usual I asked the hotel clerk to suggest a restaurant unique to Billings, preferably downtown away from the Interstate. She was young and not sure what I meant but ended up recommending a winner: The Rex. Most of their menu here in cattle country focused on beef, which I almost never eat. I took a chance on a special: Alaskan halibut stuffed with crabmeat and "bay shrimp," whatever those are. The seafood (though mixtures aren't really my thing) was fresh and nicely done. The two things that really knocked my socks off were the house-made blue cheese dressing and the very garlicky garlic mashed potatoes - yum! The meal was pricey, especially after the very reasonable restaurant at the lodge in the Badlands, but the food quantity was generous enough that I was fine without an appetizer.

This was largely a driving day with gorgeous but mostly not flamboyant scenery, so you get only two photos today. There was almost none: somehow since last night I had misplaced the cable that connects my camera to my PC. I discovered this after 9 tonight. I told the GPS to find me a Best Buy and lo and behold there's one a half-mile from here, open until 10 Saturday night. Saved by the GPS! The yapping after Mt. Rushmore is forgiven.