Mary Kay

03:01 pm: Road trip
So when I last wrote about my road trip I was in Kellogg, Idaho. I spent the next day driving east on I-90 through Montana to Billings. Yes, all day and that wasn’t all the way through Montana. I stayed at the Best Western Clocktower Inn in downtown Billings, all the places near the highway being full. And expensive. Apparently I’m traveling the same week as all the riders headed for Sturgis. Which explains the full and expensive hotels. And all the motorcycles I’ve been seeing. Harley Davidson is really a way of life in these places. Every largish town I passed through on I-90 had a huge Harley Davidson dealership just off the freeway.

Further random thoughts while driving I-90

I’ve been to Spokane twice, but once I flew in and once I drove in from the south. So I’d never been further east on I-90 than Ellensberg (a very nice little town – I recommend it.). Driving out of the rain shadow is startling. Five minutes ago the outside temperature was 71; now it’s 84. Previously the scenery was craggy mountains densely covered with heavy dark green forest. Now, it’s low rolling swells covered with scrub a particularly repulsive shade of brown. (Later on, the scrub adds sage green but it’s still pretty grim.)

Hey! As you’re headed east out of Seattle, exit 136 is Huntzinger Road!

After Seattle’s radio stations left me, I drove in silence for a while and then played ELO’s El Dorado. I associate that album with a love affair that ended in a particularly unpleasant way and so I haven’t listed to it much. I had forgotten how much I liked it, especially the title track and another called, I think, “Illusions in G Major”. Liked the whole thing so much I played it twice. The title track 4 tines. Huh. Wonder what Jeff Lynne is up to these days? (I wrote this early in the trip – and I spent a lot of time thinking about why I don’t listen to or own more ELO, because, you know I like them. I discovered it was because someone I respect once made slighting remarks about them in my hearing, implying that they and their listeners were shallow and immature. That’s really stupid MK—it’s just one person’s opinion and you don’t even remember who it was. I hereby order you to buy and listen to more ELO.)

Baymont Suites advertises free wifi. But the only place I could get decent reception was in the lobby. Grumble grumble.\

They had a pretty good breakfast spread though. I had 2 pieces of toast and a boiled egg with my Diet Pepsi. Which is a lot for me.

As it turns out this is rather common with budget inns. After trying out a variety my favorites are now Holiday Inn Express and Best Western. Always had good strong wifi signals – and free. Though both hotels cost a little more than other budget inns.

The scenery on the long drive through Montana was definitely preferable to what I used to get on those long drives through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. More rolling and more green and cool mountains.

I was thinking, though as I drove along, that it looked more like sheep country to me than cattle country and obligingly just over the next hill there was a herd of sheep. Only one I saw in Montana though.

After my night in Billings I stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield and took the tour. It certainly was a festival of arrogance and stupidity. Custer got pretty much what he deserved, but he took a lot of folks with him who didn’t have to have died that way. When I visited Culloden in Scotland the energy was so bad I couldn’t walk out onto the actual battlefield. Didn’t have that problem here, but was short of time.

So I got back on 90 and kept going east (and south) until I hit I-25 which I was to take south through Wyoming. I need more energy to write about Wyoming so I’ll cut off there.

Tags: road trip