Today was another moving day…a long drive from Great Falls, MT to Casper, WY. But before I get to that, I want to comment on last night's stay. I posted a few photos today that I could not load yesterday because of an challenged WIFI at the hotel, so I added them to this batch. Our hotel was located on the Missouri river which was right in our back yard, with lush green lawns and mature trees for shade. This was by far the best location of our hotels this trip. We would go back there in a heartbeat.

So, on to today. We left Great Falls at 7:40 AM and 66 degrees. The sky was overcast for most of the day, so the photos are not bright and the mountains that we followed for a good part of the day on our right were obscured by a heavy haze that was likely caused by a wild fire just west of us. The first stop we made was for gas before leaving the city. This gas station had everything…gas, food, a laundromat and a casino.   So you could wash your clothes, fill your tank, fill your stomach, and empty your wallet, all in one stop. We only fed the tank then were on our way.

We drove for much of the day through foothills with flat land to the left and rolling hills and mountains to the right. There really wasn’t much farming going on in this part of Montana with the exception of hay, which seems to be big business in these parts. We saw some golden wheat fields, a lot of yellow hay fields with large bales scattered all around and some stacked in neat rows waiting for someone to come and get them. As we moved further south, the land got drab in color with fields filled with sage bushes and rocks strewn all around. No one was farming these fields, not even for hay. And there were times when the topography to our left was very desert like and to our right was green and lush, and so we knew there was a river running through it. We saw fields that were threatening to be desert and fighting to be green. And no one seemed to care.

Much of this area is ranch land and we saw lots and lots of cows, some young and others looking ready to be "harvested" but thankfully, not knowing their fate. In one field we saw antelope. And in many fields we saw grazing horses…never in the same fields with the cows. Not sure why that is. Maybe someone can enlighten me. All I can figure is that horses are smarted than cows and maybe they are intimidating. Who knows.

Billings, Montana was an interesting city. It is located in a valley along the Missouri River and the road we were driving was located high above the city with many points to stop and view the great expanse of homes, industries and tall buildings from the cliff above.  

As for the roads, it was amazing to me that the speed limit was 70 mph on 2 lane highways and 80 on the interstates. At times I felt that the car was ready to take flight…I know that feeling from my days in the cockpit. That car was ready to fly!!!

At 1:30 PM we left Montana and crossed the state line into Wyoming. The last part of the drive was rather drab and uninteresting. The ground was a tannish yellow, trees were sorely missing, and there seemed to be nothing in the landscape interesting enough to photograph. After being in the car since before 8 AM, the last leg of the trip was a long one. We arrived around 4:30 PM and were happy to check into our hotel. Tomorrow, Colorado.