Tuesday, July 22, 2014 We had an easy, restful night and were on the road again by 8:15. There was rain in the forecast so we wanted to get going. Before we left this morning, Bob spotted this tire on the trailer next to us.
That’s how it looks when you have tire failure. When the tire shreds, this is what it can do to your RV and this was only minor damage. We have seen much worse.
From the edge of Great Falls and beyond, as far as the eye can see, there were fields of wheat. It was endless.
So many fields had been harvested and the wheat bales dotted the landscape.
We crossed the Missouri River and headed south.
These wind generators work great in the wide open spaces.
We entered the Little Belt Mountain area. Going down….
In the distance we could see these amazing buttes.
We hit a patch of rain as we passed through the hills and valleys between the Little Belt Mountains and the Big Snowy Mountains.
Near Billings, we ran into major road construction and were delayed 10 minutes.
From where we sat and waited, we could see the snow-capped Beartooth Mountains with an elevation of 12,000+ feet far off in the distance.
Once we got going, it was slow-moving over a new road bed. Traffic was only allowed to move in one direction at a time.
From there, we crossed through the valley between two rocky ridges.
We found ourselves in sheep territory with large herds of sheep grazing the grasslands. With the sun out, the temp rose to 77 degrees. We passed through the tiny town of Lavina, MT which could have doubled as an old western town. It had old storefronts and this grand old hotel on Main St.
The terrain looked a lot like the Black Hills. We came into an area where we were bombarded by dragonflies. By the time we reached Billings, the temp rose even higher to 84. We entered the city of Billings from a bluff far above the city. We could see the city of Billings sprawled out in the valley below.
Houses were perched on rocky cliffs. We saw the Rimrocks that flank one side of Billings. The Rimrocks rise 400′ above the Yellowstone River valley running the length of the city and beyond.
We came upon this accident just outside of town. It looked like the trailer had come disconnected and hit the guardrail. The front of the trailer was smashed in, but there was no damage to the truck or the motorcycle.
We were headed to the town of Garryowen and the 7th Ranch RV Park. We stayed here before on our way out to Glacier. This was the campground that gave out free ice cream upon your arrival. What better reason to go back! The terrain outside Billings consisted of rocky bluffs, grasslands, and rolling hills.
We climbed out of the valley and came upon this fabulous view. This is one of the clearest days we’ve had in a long time and we could see for miles.
By the time we arrived at our campground it was 2:00 and the temp was 93 degrees. I was ready for my free ice cream. We’re baaack! We checked in and picked out our free ice cream.
Our site had a nice shade tree which was great to have in this heat. Auggie loved it too!
We hung out in the AC and Auggie got a much-needed bath. He looks so good, feels so soft, and smells even better.
Around dinnertime, the winds picked up and Bob had a heck of a time grilling dinner. I decided to take Auggie for his walk a little earlier tonight in anticipation of rain. The campground sits on a hillside and we have an unobstructed view over the plains from the West. We could see the storm coming for quite awhile. We were finished with dinner when the thunderstorm arrived. We had thunder with lots of lightning and rain. The rain was sorely needed as the ground was dry and cracked in areas and the grass was crispy. As the rain moved on, the sky turned a weird yellow color with the setting sun. I took my camera and went outside. The clouds were amazing…soft-looking cottonballs. They have a special name, but I can’t recall it.
As the sun continued to set, it changed the sky from yellow to an amazing design of pink and blue. This cross sits on the hill above the campground.
The finale’ was a sky of flaming oranges and reds.
I was in awe! What a gorgeous sky! The rain cooled things off. After running the AC all day, we were able to sleep with the windows open last night. So nice!
