Ted. In July of 2019 (the good old days), we were enjoying a month in Missoula, Montana when Judy said, “You know, I wouldn’t mind coming back here next year.” In three years of wandering the world, she had never said that so I immediately booked the same Airbnb for August of 2020. While our travel plans to Europe this year have been shattered, there was nothing stopping us from coming back to a town that we had quickly grown to love.
Our original plan was to fly to Denver for a family reunion celebrating my father’s 90th birthday and then fly on up to Montana. The reunion was cancelled but we still wanted to see my Dad. Also, we were now the proud owners of a 2004 Toyota Tundra in mint condition so why not just drive “Raymond” out West. That would also allow us to stop in Memphis to visit Judy’s older brother Billy and his wife, Marilyn.
On July 29 we left Georgia and drove through Birmingham, AL, stopping for lunch in Tupelo, MS and coffee in Oxford, MS on our way to a family dinner in Memphis. The brief, socially distanced meeting was good for all of us. Yes, FaceTime can keep families and friends connected during this awful time but there’s nothing like "socially distanced" face to face meet ups.
 |
| Judy, Billy & Marilyn |
The next day we crossed the mighty Mississippi River driving northwest through Arkansas, stopping only for a great lunch in Hardy. In a “small world” story, we later found out that a friend of ours (who we first met in Spain) has a brother who owns the canoe rental business right next to the restaurant.
After spending the night in Nevada, Missouri, it was time to log some serious miles. We crossed nearly all of Kansas that day and dropped exhausted into our bed in Goodland.
The next day, we rose early and pointed Raymond west again, heading for a lunch in Denver with my Dad. It was bittersweet as we had to be very careful about distancing. But, at least we saw him and were able to wish him happy birthday in person. The man is in wonderful shape for 90 and has set his sights on hitting 100!
 |
| Dad & Ted |
After lunch, we headed north and stopped for the night in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We explored the town a bit and saw the state capitol where friend Karen once worked. We then treated ourselves to a steak dinner and hit the hay.
 |
| Wyoming state capitol |
Waking up in Cheyenne, we bought some food for a picnic and hit the road once more. Our friends, Ralph and Sarah had given us a good tip early on so we had purchased a couple trays for eating takeout food in the truck. Pulling onto a side road at lunch time we enjoyed our sushi with no company on the high plains but a couple of cattle and a small herd of curious pronghorn.
 |
| High plains sushi |
Soon after lunch we arrived Sheridan, Wyoming and were able to wander the town a bit before wine and cheese in our hotel.
Our last day on the road had one more surprise. We had crossed into Montana and were driving across the Crow Indian Reservation when we began seeing signs for the Little Bighorn. Now, I have read a bit of history and proceeded to “mansplain” to Judy that the Little Bighorn River apparently flows all the way to South Dakota for I assured her the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought in South Dakota, not Montana. As we approached an exit with a sign for the National Monument, I decided to pull over to see what the fuss was about. Son of a gun, the battle had actually taken place in present day Montana. However, my hubris was greatly eclipsed by that of George Armstrong Custer who met his untimely demise at this spot. Arriving pretty early in the morning, we were able to explore the site with only minimal crowds before we headed back out.
 |
| Marker at "Custer's Last Stand" |
 |
| Where they fell |
 |
| Indian monument |
By 5:00 on August 3, our 2,500 mile journey was at an end and we were back “home” in Missoula.
No comments:
Post a Comment