Just to step back to Hixton, Wisconsin KOA for a minute. We forgot to mention that there was an archeological dig on the property with a US State Parks Board notice that states that it is a protected area and apparently you can still find fossils in the sand pit. There is a large tarp covering the site to prevent anyone from falling in.
We rose very early today to find that Jamestown was socked in with fog and extremely gray skies. It started misting just after we left the gas station across from the hotel.
We travelled the straight and narrow and as we passed by the town/village? of Gackle we spotted bare trees black with birds and cormorants perched throughout the branches. It made for a unique effect reflecting in the lake the trees stood in and it looked like silhouettes in the water.
As you may know Kim and Mauvereen have decided to rename the United States of America to Road Work. We came across two massive machines that stretched to both sides of a double lane pouring and smoothing concrete over raised green bars that looked like miniature picnic tables for 3000.
The fee for excessive speed in a road work area here in North Dakota is $80.00. This is a far cry from Illinois and Indiana.
Just outside of Mackenzie, North Dakota we came across a field of sunflowers. Because of the fog and rain the flowers had their heads bowed down. The effect looked like a massive flowing green mattress.
We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park rest stop at the Painted Canyon. Absolutely stunning from every vista. As we went down the hill and met with the highway again, Mauvereen pulled over so Kim could get pictures of a herd of bison grassing on the side of a hill. The Parks Board cares for this rest stop and has a great gift shop as well. We resisted the temptation.
More highway, and more highway. We stopped in Glendive, Montana to see the dinosaur museum there. The building has the head and front legs of a T-Rex bursting through the brickwork. This museum had a unique view point as they are expressing the view that maybe evolution did not occur as the scientist say, but that there is a strong religious reason for things that have happened in this era. We still enjoyed the many casts of dinosaurs and explanations the museum held. It had a gift shop. We resisted.
Billings loomed in our sights with about 40 miles to go, and so did an enormous sheet and fork lightening and thunder storm. We went from 34C to 17C in 45 minutes. The winds and rain were brutal. The sky was black and the cars and trucks spewed water and steam behind them from the hot pavement.
We made it into Billings and rolled into the Best Western Clock Tower in downtown Billings. We went in search of food and found Jake's Steak House. We sat in the bar area and had fabulous pot stickers, and burgers. We watched as part of the storm collided with wind and dropped buckets of water. We made it up the street during a break in the storm and headed back to the hotel for a night of trying to recover from car lag, too much food, and feeling like we are continually moving.
Next stop: Spokane, Washington
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