Day 7 -- Rollercoasters and Red Lodge

If you could find Rexburg, Idaho yesterday, you can probably find Miles City, Montana, which is where we find ourselves, after a long day!

We decided last night that we could cut off some miles, and do some sightseeing if we cut through Yellowstone National Park instead of going around it. Our plan was to go from the West entrance directly to the NE exit, and stay on the north end of the Park. Once we were in the park, we learned that the road we were going to take was closed, so we had to go around, and it ended up taking 4 hours! It really was fantastic scenery, very mountainous and green. We were stopped a couple of time by buffalo crossing the road.

We then headed up to I-94 via Montana Route 212. This is called the Beartooth Highway, and believe me Roller Coaster Highway would be a better description. I don’t understand how someone who hates roller coasters, like Carl, can be in 7th heaven on a road like this, and someone like me who loves them was white-knuckle all the way. The road wound through Beartooth Pass, which was 11,000 feet, and then back down. In some parts it was not paved. The scenery was BEAUTIFUL, as we wound back and forth between Wyoming & Montana, but very scary. Hard for me to look down.

Once we finished with the theme park part of the ride, we traveled on 212 towards I-94 via the town of Red Lodge. This had special nostalgia for Carl, because in 1966 his beautiful 1953 Jaguar was wrecked by an older (70ish) woman driving without a license. He wasn't badly hurt, but had to spend a week sorting things out, so he remembers Red Lodge very well.

We had decided to stay in Forsyth, Montana , about 100 miles east of Billings, and called ahead to book something that looked promising. When we got out of the car, we took one look at the place and cancelled our reservation. I’m not sure what was worse-the condition of the motel, or the two good-ol'-boys sitting outside, but we decided that going 45 more miles to Miles City was the wiser choice. So, here we sit in the Holiday Inn Express, and lo and behold, the Mariners are on TV here (and winning as I write this).

Tomorrow we are off to the Dakotas, both North & South.

• New Out of State License Plates seen: Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Florida
• Days till we see Lucy: 6
• Days till we see Toby & Beruria: 13
• Days till we see Paige : 29