Day 5 & 6 July 14 & 15

Mostly this is about our activities yesterday since today was primarily a "transit" day (just get from one place to the other). Yesterday (Saturday July 14) we got up in Deadwood and set off after the usual Hampton breakfast. Deadwood was quite, well, dead at around 8:00 in the morning. We figured most of the folks were still sleeping it off in their rooms. The old folks were the only ones out touring the town because we have enough sense to go to bed at a decent hour. Or we just ran out of our alloted $20 in the casinos earlier. We drove around the town a bit (as I said there really is only one street) and took some pictures. Then we headed up to the Mt. Moriah cemetery where Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock are buried. Wild Bill and Jane are buried next to each other (per her request), and Bullock and his wife are buried way up above the main part of the cemetery. The climb up there is about 750 feet, so we got our morning exercise.

From Deadwood we set off toward Devil's Tower in Wyoming. It was a fairly short drive, and once again (as with Mt. Rushmore) we could see it long before we got there. I took many, many pictures on the way and at the visitor's center. That thing is amazing! I wish I could post all the pictures I took, but there is just not enough time or space.

From Devil's Tower we got back onto I-90 and headed for Montana and Little Big Horn. As usual, the trip included spectacular scenery. As we traveled west in Wyoming, we approached the Big Horn Mountains with peaks around 9,000 to 13,000 feet. This was our fist glimpse of mountains with snow on the tops. We could see the mountains from about 60 miles away since the approach to them was fairly flat and the air was very clear. This brings up a good point. The temperatures in South Dakota, Wyoming and on into Montana have been in the mid to upper 90s. For the most part, that has not been a problem since we spend most of our time in the car. But, even when we get out of the car and walk around some of these places, it does not seem so hot because the air is dry and there is usually a pretty good breeze. The low humidity also means the air is clear and you can see very long distances. All this lends to the spectacular views we have been seeing as we drive along.

As we got into Montana and headed toward the Little Big Horn battlefield, we could see a storm approaching from far off. We got to the battlefield around 4:00, and just as we were walking up to the site of Custer's Last Stand, the storm hit us. It was quite a sight to watch it approaching from so far off, then the wind really picked up. We had to quickly visit the area, shoot some more pictures and jump back into the car before we got drenched. It was the first real rain we encountered during the whole trip. I did get pictures of the hill where the last stand took place where there are markers that indicate the location of each person who fell there. We also visited the section of the cemetery where they are buried. Because of the rush to avoid the rain, we did not get to the Indian Memorial.

From Little Big Horn, we got back on I-90 for the fairly short drive to Billings. Fortunately, we were actually only hit by an edge of the storm. The rain soon stopped and the sky mostly cleared. However, by the time we got to Billings, another storm was brewing. Since it was near sundown, the sun was shining under the clouds and a very large rainbow was visible . When we got to the hotel in Billings, Mary and Sheila's Aunt Maureen and cousin Sharon had also just arrived. They had driven all the way from Nebraska during the day. We all went to dinner at a very nice restaurant in downtown Billings. Once again too much food was eaten, but a good time was had by all.

So ends day 5. Day 6 was primarily a drive day. We went from Billings, MT to Spokane, WA (about 540 miles). Although we didn't "see" anything, we did see fantastic scenery. I-90 mostly followed the Yellowstone River on the east side of the continental divide and Clark Fork on the west side. The result was that we wended our way through numerous mountain passes and canyons. We never got much above 5500 feet, but, once again, the views and scenery were spectacular. We did stop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This is a small town on a big lake that is really quite nice. It's kind of a laid back hippie kind of place with outdoor cafes on every block of the town center where folks were sitting around drinking their iced coffees or eating ice cream (it was about 97 when we were there). Coeur d'Alene is the "gateway" to the Idaho panhandle, and the lake is a major recreation spot for the whole area around here. It is only about 30 miles from Spokane. By the way, I-90 runs for only about 62 miles across Idaho's panhandle. The hotel in Spokane is easily the nicest Hampton we have stayed at (well, there is the one in Savannah, Georgia). We got the "Family Suite" which essentially has two bedrooms. So Sheila gets to sleep on a real bed tonight instead of a fold out sofa bed. It also has a whirlpool tub which I think I am going to go try out right now.

Tomorrow is day seven. That means we will be in Seattle tomorrow evening. We plan on visiting Mt. Ranier on the way. I plan on taking lots more pictures. See you later.