Spokane, At Last

Are we there yet? Almost.

We're still on Tuesday and left Hill City. Went through Deadwood. Did you know this is known for the grave site of Wild Bill Hickok? Into Wyoming and the Big Horn Mountains. The only thing we saw at all in Wyoming were rolling hills, cattle and mountains. Pretty, but a little boring.

Then as we crossed into Montana, I remembered that a friend of mine, Vicki, and her husband, Mike, moved from three doors down from us in Pennsylvania to outside of Billings about four years ago. We were going to be outside of Billings real soon. So I called a friend back home that I knew would have their phone number and I called Vicki. (What did we do before cell phones? Try to find a phone booth, I guess) She said she was home and they lived in Hardin. We were about twenty minutes away. We got directions and said we would stop but that we couldn't stay long because we had some time to make up. It was about 6:00 p.m. We did a lot of sightseeing and stopping already that day, but I couldn't be this close and not visit. When would I ever be back this way again? Never is my guess.

We were so glad we stopped. Vicki and Mike had cheese, crackers, fruit and wine waiting for us. We talked and talked and so much enjoyed their home and company. It's funny that Bob never was in their house that was practically next door to us, but now that they live half way across the country, he find that he really enjoys them. The location and home are just beautiful. They built a log home on 60 acres with the Big Horn River as their back yard. They have 5 horses, 4 goats, 3 cats, 2 lamas, and 2 dogs. Their furniture was all handmade out of logs and wood and leather. It felt so peaceful and calm. They are actually on the edge of the Crowe Indian Reservation. They love it. Mike says he can't even get Vicki off the reservation. I wouldn't leave either!

Taken from Vicki and Mike's back deck

Well, you probably guessed already. We spent the night at their home. There was no way we could get back in that truck and keep going after the wine and the sun went down. Best night's sleep we've had.

Wednesday, July 22, and we're back on the road. This is it. We're going to make it to Brandon's by evening. I can't wait. We're getting numb butts by now. The U-Haul is not the smoothest ride.We cross the Continental Divide into Butte, and then finally into the panhandle of Idaho. We're finally into Pacific Time and it's 5:30 p.m. when we stop in a little town called Wallace. It's a historic old mining town and all the shopkeepers dress in old vintage costume from the mining boom years. We thought maybe there was a festival or a celebration of some sort, but we were told they dress like that every day.

We liked Idaho. The small panhandle area was very pretty. I told Bob that I knew there was a lake resort town called Couer d'Alene, right on the border of Idaho and Washington. I saw it listed in our RCI time share catalog. We were going to go right past it so I wanted to check it out. Oh my gosh, was it ever nice. The lake was beautiful and the resort condos sat right on the edge of it. I made a note to myself to check on the possibility of booking one of these condos some time. It would be a great place to stay when we visit Brandon. It's only about 20 miles from his small, two bedroom, apartment.

At 8:30 p.m., we pulled into Brandon't apartment complex. Brandon got home ten minutes after us. We were exhausted. And it was sooo good to see Brandon. The guys unloaded the mattresses from the U-Haul and we crashed.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip Cross Country. I know my descriptions and pictures don't do it justice. We live in a beautiful country with a fascinating history that means so much more when you see it for real. We said we would never drive this trip again, but we are so glad we did it once. Everyone should that has the chance.