We Met Bruno on This Leg of the Trip

We left the 'New Orleans Hotel' and headed for the Black Hills. Out of Montana, skimmed through a corner of Wyoming, and went into South Dakota. Can I just say, the landscapes of this nation are breathtaking.

We spent the night in Blackhawk South Dakota, then headed to the mountains.

Someone recommended we take Needles Highway, a scenic road that goes through the mountains. Sometimes literally.

The mountains were beautiful. We stopped a few times so I could get out to take pictures, then we headed on to the Crazy Horse Monument.

We saw a short movie of Crazy Horse, who was a great Lakota warrior and fought for the Lakota and their land. After he died, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear created the image and he asked Korczak Ziolkowski to sculpt it. When Korczak passed away, his wife kept the project going and now his kids and grandkids are overseeing the work. They want to preserve the great history of the Native Americans and their traditions.

We loved the museum, there was so much to see.

And we got to meet Bruno. Not sure we'd be very good friends though.

'The buffalo meant everything to traditional Native life - meat for food, hides for clothing, horns for utensils.'

Then we headed out to the observation deck.

This is what it will look like when it's finished.

'A cavalry soldier mockingly asked Crazy Horse, "Where are your lands now?" And he replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried." The gesture points to those ancestral burial grounds.' 

Chuck suggested we go see this, I had no desire to visit. But now that I've been there I would highly recommend it. I would like to go back and see the areas we weren't able to get to on this visit. It's a remarkable place, honoring a remarkable people.

They had a restaurant there so we got a bite to eat before heading off to our next adventure.

Road Trip Adventure

The day before we left on our trip, Beth said her glasses were loose, so she and I went to the optometrist to get them fixed. 

We loaded up the car and took a quick selfie before heading out.

Going east on Hwy 2 from Seattle takes you through the Cascade Mountain Range and down into eastern Washington. 

At one point as you're coming down the mountain you realize the trees are gone. Eastern Washington has a very different climate and topography than Western Washington.

After a few hours we stopped at a little place for lunch. Looking at it from the outside I was a little leery about it but once we got inside, it was really cute! And the food was delicious. Banks Lake Brew. We would definitely stop there again.

With full tummies we headed out again and as usual, Beth fell asleep right away. She's been doing that on road trips since she was little!

Our first night we stayed in Sandpoint Idaho at Fairbridge Inn. It was like a mountain cabin, the rooms were nice and they had a free breakfast. I caught Beth waiting for her waffle to cook.

On the road again, still heading east. Saw this flag from a distance, and it was huge! Look at it compared to the cars.

Have you heard of Town Pump? We stopped at a few of them. They're a great place to stop for gas, and a bathroom break, drinks, snacks. Smaller than a Pilot, Flying J, and Buc-ee's (from what I hear, never been to Buc-ee's) but they're clean and have a big selection of just about anything you'd need on a road trip. 

Drove through a small town in Montana and had to stop for traffic. 

It was Montana after all! 

Okay, one more hotel. This was unlike any hotel we've ever stayed at. From the outside it looked quite normal. (We arrived at 10pm so I didn't get a picture then. I took this the next morning as we were headed out.) Just your basic hotel, right?

The first thing I do when we get into a hotel room is look out the window. Usually it's a view of the parking lot. So I pulled back the curtain, a sliding glass door? And this is what I saw -

Wait, what?!? You can see the roof in the top right corner, we were still indoors! So we quietly explored this, this... had we been transported to New Orleans?? There were pretend store fronts, lamp posts, rod iron balconies, and a reception room with a dance floor and disco ball.

You might be able to spot Chuck in this photo, he's right in the center, standing in front of our sliding door.

Come to find out, it's an event center that you can rent for conferences, weddings, or any large event. This was the Heritage Inn, in Great Falls Montana. And the place where they had the free breakfast looked more like a restaurant. It was so fun to stay there!

Well, I'll close this for now. Still so much more to share with you! Have a wonderful start to your week!