So, another day on the road. Only day 2 of what will eventually be 12 days of driving. Today was just over 300k on what was yet again, very straight roads.
We are hardly giving the car navigation system a workout!
A friend asked us to post some pictures of the drive but as you can see, it is difficult. Now and then we get a bend in the road and maybe a little bit of undulation in the road but otherwise, as Di said to her, it is batshit boringly flat.
We headed out at a perfectly reasonable time of 10.00am towards Billings which is still in the state of Montana.
Our first surprise was just how windy it was. The navigation system was giving us real time wind warnings and we spent a lot of our time trying to avoid tumble weed that was streaming across the road. We also noted just how fuel in-efficient the car was being as it was constantly fighting the heady gusts of wind.
They say a picture says a thousand words…….
The prairies are well known for their openness and big skies and let us add in their very uncomfortable winds. We reckon they must replace these flags on a regular basis.
Whether you drive through the prairies in Canada or the USA you will certainly come across these old grain silos. The original ones were made of wood (like this one) but eventually got replaced by concrete silos and metal silos. Many of the wooden ones burnt down due to spontaneous ignition.
We were looking for the quintessential red painted silo, but we didn’t find any. It was also hard to find any that didn’t have Trump election banners plastered all over them.
We have been struggling with this rattling noise coming from the back of the car which has been driving us batty. We originally thought it was our plug-in fridge of which the fan might be rubbing. After stopping a couple of times and rearranging stuff in the boot it dawned on Fraser that it was our number plate that had come loose. Out came the trusty kitchen knife and with a good firm quarter turn, our problem was solved – well for the moment, anyway.
As there isn’t going to be a lot to write about, we thought we should do what we did with the blog for the canal boat and go into a bit of the history of the places we stay in each night. Having said that, there was also so much to blog about on the narrowboat and when it comes to history, it is unlimited. Let’s just say that our stop last night in Shelby had nothing remotely exciting to say about it except that it was a rail town initially and still is.
Billings however does throw up a little more interesting stuff to write about. When you approach the town, you are on the ridge of an escarpment and the city is on the valley floor and has a very substantial footprint. Guess you can do that considering how much space is out here.
Billings is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Billings was nicknamed the “Magic City” because of its rapid growth from its founding as a railroad town in March 1882. The entrance to Yellowstone National Park is 100 miles away. Billings is not the capital of Montana – that goes to Helena.
We have always wondered why the State capitals in the USA seemed to be obscure towns. They were usually chosen based on central locations rather than population size. This decision was made to ensure that legislators and citizens from different parts of the state wouldn’t have to travel long distances to reach the capital.
Doth complete your history lesson today from the State of Montana. Next will be the exciting State of Wyoming which we cross into tomorrow. We know you look forward with bated breath to our next posting………….
We have planned to hole up in Best Western hotels most nights as they have a constant quality to them and allow dogs. They charge on average is $20 a night for Toque. We have to sign a pet policy saying no dogs on beds or furniture (best of luck with that one), pick up after your dog (no-brainer), and always leashed. They also provide an area where they can do their business complete with pooh bags. They also usually put you in a ground floor room with easy access outside. As we were down the end of a long-secluded hallway tonight, Di snuck her out with her ball, and she raced up and down the carpeted runway burning off energy. Two lots of other guests came out and got involved in the game with her and she brought a smile to their faces. She is travelling well and spends 90% of her time sleeping in her crate but needs the opportunity for some physical activity at the end of the day.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 