Roadtrip 1 - Day 2 - Billings, Montana

Cities sure are loud.  Even with earplugs the flashing lights and shouts of a thunder storm kept me up all night.  I forgot how to sleep through an actual storm with no side-sound.  No fan, no computer, just my open window for fresh air and a storm outside.  It was kind enough at least to wait until night, but still.  Between being too hot for a blanket and having too many little baby bugs in my bedroom, falling asleep was a challenge.   Ah, first nights.  Never are they fun!

Anyway I was up by 6am, puttering about quietly with my things. Neil and Emily got themselves ready for work and out the door around 7:30/7:45, I was showered and out by 8:30.  They'd convinced me to head out to Red Lodge, Montana.

Red Lodge really reminded me of home.   This post is picture heavy, so head on past the cut for photos and a longer write-up!


I'm already forgetting things I wanted to post.  omfg.  So tired.
 In general, drivers once out of Colorado remain better.  Always good.

On the road to Red Lodge (the road's really boring...)

Stopped for coffee since nothing was open yet.  Lovely little back area.

This shop was awesome.  Inside had the best decorations too!

I walked up and down the strip, popping in shops I found interesting.  There was one with a sassy older man who screen printed all the shirts for sale.  $15 a pop, I was tempted to pick something up.  I didn't though...
Stopped in "Red Lodge Books & Tea" Which is moving to Billings in 4 days... they had a bunch of steampunk things, interesting books, and awesome tea flavors.  I wanted to go back, but two cups of tea in my body heating into the mountains proved to challenge my resolve.   I really enjoyed it there though, will have to stop back if I get to Billings again!

 

First time I pulled over in Beartooth Pass (which the tea shop convinced me to do).  First restroom stop, I should say.  

View to the left of my stop up above.

Driving onwards!

 There was some epic evidence of rockslides during the switch backs.  I'd gotten a bit of history of the rock slides while at the tea shop.  Still, seeing cement poured over a slide zone to stabilize it was kinda weird.   Unfortunately I couldn't nab a photo, there wasn't really anywhere safe to pull over.

Chipmunk feeding.

 

See those guys?  I didn't know this, but they're with the guy who shows up later on.  The same guy who took my photo below.  Who I kept running into. Good times! 

This is in front of the bathroom :D

View from the top!  Check out those switchbacks

Scrawny dude missing a tail.

Mooo, yeah I'm tubby in this photo.  Sitting around in the car does that to ya, and drinking your weight in tea.

Heading back from the overlook.

I like water.

Remember the guy who took my photo?  Photo of him! :D He'd promised his french friends they'd see snow.

That picture above that had me liking water, is a view of that far lake.

STORM in the parking lot.

the HRR enjoying a break.

So pretty.

One of my favorite spots that I stopped. 

Turned the wrong way at a waterfall?

 

Actually I pulled over too soon for the waterfall.  This is what I got instead. 

Can you guess what this is?  You're right, a bathroom!

  There's a fork in the path.  I of course, picked the wrong one.  But it was pretty!

 

I went the right direction, wasn't overly impressed by the waterfall.  But the hike was mega fun and kinda technical with crossing water and rocks and trees.  No photos of that as I was busy being graceful.  But I am straddling rocks in this photo and in the middle of the river. 

 

Heading back to the parking lot, moar lakes. 

 

The woman at the book store was really happy that the wildflowers were alive again.  I wanted to take a picture of one of them for her sake. 

 

I reached the "top of the world" gift shop thing.  Which actually was lower down than the mountains.  I forgot its claim to fame. Munched on an apple strudel muffin here though.  And ran into those guys again.  Forgot to take a picture of the "now entering wyoming" sign at some 10k feet.

there's a gas pump at the top of the world.

person is afraid of the narrower roads.

Guess what stop this was.... You're getting a hang of it. It IS a bathroom!

Can you believe the speedlimit through here is 65/70mph?  There's also cows on the road.

So yeah, I went through Custer a bit apparently, and almost landed in Yellowstone.  Then after popping out here I remembered that Big Horn Canyon was near by and they had the Pryor Mustangs.  So I headed that way, and got very lost.  But eventually found the visitors center for the mustangs and got a map and directions, which I followed and got very lost.  So went to the Big Horn visitor center and got better directions.  It was 6:15 by then (Granted I didn't leave Red Lodge until nearly noon)... But I raced into the seeing sun!
And found out you had to pay $5 to get into the Big Horn National Forest (i think that's what it was called).  I drove on for a few miles, feeling incredibly lost and looking for someone to question about me being in the right place.  Saw signs for wild horses, and information about them, and poop.  But no mustangs.  I gave up pretty quickly, as if I turned back and headed to Billings now, I should get there by 7:30pm, still needed to eat, and was due to get up at 6am.  Eek!

So, it's nearly 10... I'm going to wrap this up and head to bed...