Long Lost Friends under the Big Sky

Until July, I had never been to Montana.  We have friends, Hilarie and Craig, who have lived there for at least 22 years and every year in their annual Christmas card they have invited us to visit, and every year we have said, "some day".  Well, that day came!  We knew once we began this road trip that Montana had to be on the list!  We contacted our friends, whom we have not seen in over 25 years, and said, "remember that invitation to visit?  Is it still open?"  and they replied with an emphatic, "yes!".  We were going to Montana!

Montana is beautiful and the Big Sky moniker is appropriate!  Driving from South Dakota into Montana and all the way to Bozeman is a mesmerizing drive along I-90.  It still amuses me that after spending most of my life living along the I-10 corridor that I am seeing its northern, less populated, more beautiful (in my opinion) equivalent up close and personal.  I continue to be amazed at the vast amount of land in our country and its varied landscapes.  We have also been blessed with abundant blue skies as a backdrop.  As a person who would rather sit in a crowded, germ infested airplane than take a long road trip, this venture has certainly surprised me.  Yes, there have been days that I feel road weary and my backside is numb from all of the sitting but on a whole the beauty outside the windshield has completely distracted me!

Beautiful windshield time

I can't tell you how many times we have said, "how far do you think that is?"
Heading to the mountains!

If you have not seen someone in over 20 years there is bound to be a bit of  uncertainty heading into a visit.  How have they changed...how have we changed, will this be awkward...will we still like each other?  Hilarie and I met back in college before we even knew our current spouses.  We worked together at a department store in Baton Rouge.  When we met our husbands-to-be, they also became friends and the rest is history.  You know those cute quotes that say a real friend is one you can go ages without seeing and pick up like it was yesterday?  It is true!  We were all back in our 20's, fresh out of college and newly married again!  I sat in amazement, they had not changed and I am sure neither have we.  I thought to myself, " Wow!  Our 20 year old selves sure did have good taste when it came to making friends".  After the obligatory catching up on our kids, careers, moves, parents, and siblings we relived old memories and made a few new ones.  We have promised not to wait another 20 years before we see each other again.

As luck would have it Bozeman, MT also happens to be the home of Marathon Girl and her family.  She recently had her 3rd child and her parents, our very good friends, Bob and Donna, of anniversary trip fame, were there to help with the growing family.  We were able to meet the new little baby boy, share some delicious pizza (outside and from a "safe" distance) and see where the Marathon family lives.  They have a great house with that big Montana sky as a backdrop.  

Getting 5 people to look in one direction and smile at the same time
proved to be a challenge but still pretty cute with a little help!

One special night in Bozeman was spent having dinner at Hilarie and Craig's house with Bob and Donna as special guests.  The night proved that we definitely have great taste in friends!  Aside from the good food and the stunning big sky, the company was the best!  We sat outside, ate, drank, shared stories of times spent together, marveled at the sky and laughed until it was too late.  It turns out all three couples were married in 1978 within 7 weeks of each other.  We are all still married!  The summer of '78 was a good year for marriage.  I hope you too are able to make lasting friendships like these, they are priceless.  

And be careful about inviting us to visit....we may just take you up on it!

Some of the many colors of the Big Sky 
taken in our friend's back yard!

Socially distant photo

Not so distant photo...we held our breath!

We watched a storm come and go!

I think we found the pot of gold here.

Rushmore and Custer

 Way back in July, I left you in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Another place that pleasantly surprised me.  We drove in very late to a historic hotel in the middle of town.  What a cute, quaint downtown.  The hotel was the Alex Johnson and it was old, classic, historic and therefore also had small, old rooms with lots of charm.  We managed 2 nights there.  We "stored" our bikes with the desk and hoped they would still be there upon checkout and they were.  The other highlight, while I'm apparently doing a hotel review, was the rooftop restaurant and bar.  I had told TJ that one place we would not be going on this Covid trip was to any bar.  I was lured by sunset and the fact that it was a rooftop bar...outdoors.  We claimed our table in the corner of the patio and stayed for a drink and the sunset and it was lovely.  If you ever find yourself in Rapid City, SD, stay at the Alex Johnson.

Goodnight Rapid City

Rapid City is the launching grounds for what was an iconic American West day.  We began with Mount Rushmore....something I have always wanted to see.  It was as awesome as I expected!  What a marvel.  We counted our blessings as we drove right into the parking lot and walked a short distance right up to the main entrance stopping at the state flags of Louisiana, Wisconsin and Texas for our family members.  It is bigger and brighter than I even dreamed it would be.  So impressive!  We were able to sit and just look for a while and then we followed a path around the base which gave us views of each face from its best angle.  I am sure my photos do not do it justice but never the less, I took about a hundred.  What a huge endeavor!

"I see it!"  Getting closer!

Up close and personal with Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.

And from the other side.

A little background information for those who are interested, like me.

We came, we saw, and we continued on to Custer State Park.  Back and forth, up and down through one of the most lovely state parks I've seen.  Custer was steep, full of switchbacks, one lane tunnels and a few bison.  Custer State Park was like the icing on the cake.  It was beautiful and full of adventure!  I knew nothing of it before our trip but we visited at the recommendation of our daughter, Rachel who said it was one of her favorites.  I must agree!

Driving through one of the natural bridges this was the view!

Wildlife traffic jam

Yes, that is my inspection sticker on my windshield looking at that beast!

The wonders of Custer State Park

I love this park!

Drive through, Custer State Park style

Waiting in line for the drive through

It even has a water feature!

Back in Rapid City, we had dinner with President Reagan, none of us wore a mask 
but we are pretty sure we didn't infect each other.

One other cool feature in Rapid City is they have a statue for each president in their own unique poses, just like the one above, all through the downtown area.  It is definitely a presidential hot spot!  We sure have seen a lot of presidents on this trip so far!  Love 'em or hate 'em, there have only been 45 of them in over 230 years.  It seems a perfect year to visit some of them and put history in perspective in this election year.  

Plan B is Pretty Good so Far

When it became very obvious that summer in Nova Scotia was not going to happen this year, TJ and I began making Plan B.  There have always been parts of the U.S. we have wanted to see but never put forth the effort to see.  If I think about it carefully, I have been to all but 7 states.  Those states, other than Alaska, are concentrated in the north central west part of the states.  There are places we needed/wanted to experience.  Also, thanks to some friends, or friends of my kids, the National Parks suddenly seem like places I need to see before it gets too late, if you know what I mean.  Plan B was shaping up nicely.  We figured since we were so far north visiting our kids and grand kids in Wisconsin, why not continue the road trip and visit a few new states, national parks and long lost friends while avoiding summer in Houston.  All plans, of course, with appropriate care and caution to keep our social distance and stay healthy.  Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to visit these places for the reasons we ended up visiting them.  Thank you Covid for making us think outside of the box and allowing us to experience some of the most breathtaking spaces in our country.

Badlands National Park

We left Madison, Wisconsin and the grand kids and headed west on July 20th.  We drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  To get to Sioux Falls we had to drive through Minnesota which checked off a new state for me.  We crossed the Mississippi River up north which I found interesting having been raised only miles from it in the state of Louisiana.  It is a mighty river for sure. 

The mighty Mississippi, welcome to Minnesota

We continued on to Sioux Falls and were pleasantly surprised.  It was only an overnight stop but we managed a lovely dinner and a post dinner walk to see "the falls".  South Dakota so far is winning me over with its beauty.  Driving long distances lost its allure to me many moons ago after 40 something drives to and from Nova Scotia.  I am totally over long distance driving, so the fact that I was more than willing to take on this adventure was proof enough that desperate times require desperate measures.  Funny thing though, driving through new places that just happen to be beautiful did not feel as mind numbing as the 40 something drives over the same highways through the same states year after year.  Thank you Covid.

Downtown Sioux Falls

"The" Falls

Our minds are not numb yet!

 The next morning we headed to a rest stop of all places!  I had read about this sculpture of a Native American woman and just had to see it for myself.  The name of the sculpture is Dignity.  It is magnificent!  She stands 50 feet tall and is framed by the Missouri River in the background.  The rest stop is also one of the stops for Lewis and Clark on their westward expedition.  I felt like I was walking on history.  Best rest stop EVER!

She is magnificant!

A sacred stop and well worth the trip.

This was not mind numbing at all!  Look at how blue the sky is....
how green the grass is....
how straight the road is....you can see forever!

Our goal for the day was Badlands National Park.  We/I wanted to arrive with plenty of time to see the park and then take a break for dinner and go back for sunset.  I am very lucky to have a willing co-pilot!  He is the best partner a wanna-be photographer could have on a road trip.  If I want to stop for a photo, he pulls over and off we go.  If I want to break for dinner and go back to the park and sit and wait for sunset, he is more than willing.  There are not many people who would do that.  We stopped a lot of times in the Badlands!  The park was surreal!  What an amazing geologic phenomena.  I could sit and look in wonder for hours.  How does a place like this just pop up after miles of green grass and flat land?  We stopped, we hiked, I took lots of photos and we sat with our mouths wide open in awe.  South Dakota for the win!

I go out on the edge and he documents it.

Lifetime Senior National Park pass.
Totally worth admitting I am 63.

Yellow Mounds

Everywhere you look the colors and formations amaze.

Jagged and smooth

Wall Drug...the "See Rock City" of the west!

I wish I knew this family so I could send them this great 
photo of their picnic dinner.  I love it!

Thank you TJ for partaking of the golden hour with me!

Not spectacular but still memorable.

We left after sunset and drove another hour to Rapid City, South Dakota.  Yes, we were tired.  It was a day full of visual delight.  If you ever think of going to see the Badlands, do not hesitate.  I still look back and thank God for the opportunity to see such an incredible place.  I can only imagine what the native Americans thought when they came upon that "land bad".  What do you do with such a place but sit in awe?  It was the first time we got to use my National Park lifetime pass and I already felt like I got my money's worth.  

Last night, coincidentally, we watched a PBS show about the National Parks narrated by Ken Burns.  I highly recommend it.  I had tears in my eyes by the end because the beauty that has been preserved by the National Park system is a national treasure worth saving.  Having only seen a small portion of the parks I look forward to another and another.  After only two days of our westward adventure, I can say I am so glad we took a leap and did this.  I will take a break here in Rapid City, South Dakota because it deserves its own post to be written on another day.  Stay tuned.