Day 4 Red Lodge Montana

For those of you reading this that know Fredericksburg Tx. take it and pump some steroids into it and that is Red Lodge. It's about an hours drive from Billings toward Yellowstone National Park which I will get to on another trip. We got there and I promise I saw 300 plus motorcycles there. Turns out there was a poker rally going on raising money for some cause.

DownTown Red Lodge Montana


First thing was food. We went to a place called Bogart's. Had a combination of Mexican and American food. They had four flavors of hot sauce on the table that ranged in heat from mild enough that a baby could have to hot enough that it could melt your teeth or dentures should you wear them.

After eating we wandered the tourist shops and I of course bought some refrigerator magnets. Most of the shops were fun and different unlike some towns you go to and the same thing is in each shop just with a different name out front and often differing prices.

Done with wandering around town we got in the car and headed for the mountains. Beartooth Mountains to be exact. Long drive of switchbacks and the usual thousand foot drop with no guardrail on my side of the car. But the view made up for it. The mountains here in Montana are different from the others I have been in. The ones in Virginia are older and are more rounded and not as tall. The ones in Peru much like the ones in Colorado are tall and rough with little vegitation on the face. The Montana mountains have a more gentle slope that allows for more trees and then above the trees light grasses and small brush grow.

To say the view was wonderful would be an understatement. Each corner we turned gave a new perspective to the beauty. Broad sweeping valleys with a variety of trees and scrub in them and as you looked up the slopes to the tops. As we got higher to where we were above the tree line we stopped and got out to walk in the open fields of grass were there were still some large patches of snow. There are also small mountain lakes. I am sure they were quite cold since they are pure snow melt!

We drove through the various areas in the mountains both in Montana and down into Wyoming enjoying the sights and each others company. We did resist the urge to do naked snow angels in the remaining drifts. Snow balls were discussed and after giggling the decision stayed.

Getting back to Billings dinner was at the local Cracker Barrel. I have now been in them in four states and yes the food is exactly the same as is the decor down to the last decorative "old" looking item carefully screwed to the walls. First time I have had to send my food back though. The chicken fried steak must have still been a little frozen when they cooked it as it was raw in the middle. It was kindly replaced and dinner was good after all.

Went back to Carolyn's house and watched the Friday night line-up of TV.

Day 2 & 3 Around Billings

Started the day with espresso coffee. Not your usual coffee you say Andy? No it was not! I was now very awake and ready to run a marathon and I hate to run!

After getting dressed in record time, due to the COFFEE, we went back to the corral to meet the horses in the daylight. This time I had shoes on.

Kane came up and greeted me like an old friend. Maybe it was recognition or the apple I had I don't know which. But he did seem genuinely interested in talking with me. Another horse, a mare, decided that I was her new boyfriend glued (should I use the word glued when talking about a good horse?) herself to me for the length of my visit. Carolyn said that was not normal behavior. The mare even went so far as to put her head under my armpit. So I could hug her I guess. At least she did not try to hold hands! It was even funnier as she then followed me all around and if I tried to walk past her she would put her head into my chest and not let me pass. So I had to shove her head hard to get past her.

We fed the horse and chatted with them a bit longer and then headed back to the house.

Carolyn, who has asthma, was not feeling as good as she'd like so we went to her Dr's and she got taken care of. So we spent the rest of that day just taking it easy and hanging out.

After starting out on Friday with normal coffee we went to a couple of museums in Billings. One an art museum and the other a western museum that showed some of the history of the Billings area. Ate lunch at a nice place on Historic Montana Ave had soup and a sandwich that were both good. The rest of the time we sat and talked and relaxed.