Day 15

Day 15 - Monday, July 6th 2009

Keyhole State Park, WY to Billings, MT

Heading out from the eastern side of Keyhole State Park we had a couple of options for getting to Devil's Tower National Monument; 1) Wrap around the southern portion to the west side of the reservoir and drive northeast along paved roads, or 2) go straight north along the unpaved McKean Rd for approximately 8 miles. We chose the unpaved path and were rewarded with growing glimpses of the Tower as we approached, along with quaint farms and countless heads of cattle. We took our time circling the monolithic remains of the innards of a volcano that had been carved out over millions of years,

enjoying the scenery and the sight of two pairs of climbers attempting to conquer the summit. By the time we returned to the car it was nearing lunch, so we parked on the side of the road near the entrance to the park where there were prairie dog towns on both sides and ate our PB&Js while listening to their barks.

Following a stop at the Devil's Tower Post Office to send off some more postcards, we were off to Montana.

One thing that has struck me during this trip has been the accumulation of spare change. After two weeks on the road we were nearly swimming in it, so when we stopped in Sheridan, WY for a quick snack and pulled into a Wendy's I saw an opportunity. Using 10 quarters, 5 dimes, 4 nickles and 6 pennies we paid for our snack, much to the chagrin of the register attendant.

Tara and I pulled into The Battle of Little Bighorn National Monument as dark clouds were building to the west and a Ranger talk was about to begin. The talk was given by a Native Crow. The Crow were a major tribe in the region at the time of the battle (the battlefield resides in the Crow Reservation), but since they were long time enemies of the Sioux, they did not participate in either way in the battle. The talk did a great job of mixing the accounts of the battle from what has been found through archeology and the tales that were passed down by the Warriors who fought that day. At the half way point in the Ranger's story the storm blew through, first with a great dust cloud, then with rain, lightning and thunder, which only added to his presentation.

Following the talk we walked through the visitor center and continued on to Billings. We checked in to our Holiday Inn, another priceline.com steal, and inquired about local restaurants. We were guided to the Rib and Chop House which we greatly enjoyed.

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