Steve saw antelope for the first time. (NOT the first time; just the first time in a long while.) They were grazing in a field by the side of the highway. At this point, we broke into song, singing "Home On The Range."
We stopped in Livingston for lunch. We found a great sandwich shop called the Pickle Barrel. The sandwiches were yummy, but I wondered why I didn't get a pickle when the shop name is the Pickle Barrel. They didn't even offer me one. I would have enjoyed a crunchy kosher dill. I'll have to ask them the next time I stop in.
What? No pickles?
Some of you might have seen the movie "A River Runs Through It," which is about growing up in Montana. But did you know about "Liquor Runs Through It"? I guess it's about drinking in Montana. We saw this poster in the liquor store across the street from The Pickle Barrel.
Livingston looks like a cool town that is trying to keep its historical heritage alive. A lot of the old buildings look like they have been restored. Some even have advertisements painted on the sides of the brick buildings, just like in the olden days. I thought that was neat.
Downtown Livingston, Montana
On the way out of Livingston, we happened upon an old radio station, KPRK, with the space-age architecture! A sign out front said the building is listed on the national register of historical buiildings. Steve & I were glad to learn this because the listing will protect the station from being torn down.
Before we got to Billings we had another amazing piece of good luck. Each year a group of auto enthusiasts stage a road rally to Glacier, driving their amazing cars at high speeds along the highway. For more information on the cars and the race, go to: http://www.goingtothesunrally.org/. We managed to see 5 of the cars pass us at high speeds but didn't really get a chance to get superior pictures.
Today's journey to Billings was fairly short: only about 225 miles. This gave us plenty of time to meet up with Jeff's family and to pick up the stained-glass windows.
Meeting Jeff's family was a lot of fun. Seventeen (!) of us met for dinner and then bowling at an alley in Laurel, a small town west of Billings where Jeff's dad lives. I had a wonderful time. It is nice to finally have faces to go with the names I've heard for so many years.
Jeff and his great-niece Ava
What a treat to see my in-laws again after a long hiatus! We're still trying to get them to travel back east for a visit, but no luck yet. I can feel them being worn down, though, so we can still hope! They are such a delightful and boisterous group, and there were no fewer than 4 new kids I had never met. We invaded the local Pizza Hut and did more laughing and telling of stories (only some of Dad's were factual...), and as Deb mentioned we then herded the group to the local lanes for some heavy duty bowling. What a hoot! We took over 3 lanes with 5 people on each lane, bowling 2 strings apiece. I haven't had that much fun in ages; I miss them so much and wish they were closer.
We picked up the stained glass window that Dad made for Jeff and me and it is every bit as beautiful as the photos had shown. Can't upload any pictures here as it's pakced tightly to protect it for the rest of the journey. For those who don't know the story, I had designed a 12 foot tall stained glass window when we were living in the old house. It was a vertical mural of the scenery between our porch and the water. I broke it into 4 3-foot designs and sent them off to Dad for him to turn into stained glass creations. The result is no less than stunning and Jeff and I can't wait to get them framed and hanging in the stairwell to our master suite, in front of the tall southern-facing windows.
Tomorrow morning we will meet up with Jeff's family again for breakfast, and then Steve & I will hit the road again, bound for Little Big Horn, Devil's Tower in Wyoming and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
-- Deb
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