Day 12 - Miles City, MT to Big Timber, MT

This was a  good day for travel. We got hitched up and on the road by 9:30 ... one of the earliest starts of the trip.

Leaving site #21

The Route
We started out on I-94W, connected with I-90W at Billings and stopped 227 miles later at Big Timber.

Along the Way
We enjoyed constantly changing terrain today. Smoke from the Washington forest fires, however, limited our ability to see much in the distance.

Rugged terrain

Wheat fields

Yellowstone River

Mountains and trees

Fire damage

We stopped at a visitor center/rest area near Rosebud (mile marker 113) and got some helpful information.

Pompeys Pillar is just east of Billings. It was a meeting place for Native American tribes who camped and hunted in the area. They left their mark on the stone in the form of symbols and images. William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition left his signature on the stone when he camped there in 1806. The signature can still be seen at the Pompeys Pillar National Monument and is the only remaining on-site physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Pompeys Pillar

Carol checks out a dugout canoe

William Clark's signature

The Campground
We're staying at Big Timber/Greycliff KOA. It's a nice facility with attractive sites and one drawback ... noise. 

There's an active train track on one side and I-90 on another. This important and extremely useful information doesn't appear in campground directories.

Site #66

Day 11 - Medora, ND to Miles City, MT

Today was a nice, relaxing travel day. 

We got up around 8:30, entered the blog posting for yesterday, and slowly started the process of connecting the trailer.

Progress was slow because we had an enjoyable conversation with a recently retired couple from Iowa. They camped next to us. They're traveling with a new Nissan pickup truck (just a week old) and a sleek T@b teardrop shaped trailer. It was fun to share experiences and destination plans.

We also had a nice visit with a young couple from Bryant, Arkansas who camped next to us on the other side. They have two young children and are recent full-time RVers. Recent is the operative word here. They picked up their brand new trailer yesterday! This morning proved to be a bit intimidating because it was the first time they had hitched up a trailer. We shared some suggestions.

The discussions with our neighbors were a treat. We had no regrets for a late departure.

The Route
We traveled 138 uneventful miles on I-94 to Miles City, MT.

Along the Way
The weather was quite warm (94°) with a constant breeze. It was hazy.

Farm fields and ranch ranges covered gently rolling hills. The sights captured the essence of the classic western song "Home on the Range".

CC's Family Cafe
We stopped for a late lunch at CC's Family Cafe in Glendive, MT. We picked the place because there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. We learned why and learned a lot.

CC's is a local favorite. They have a large selection of down home cooking options. Our choices were delicious.

We noticed they displayed pictures of many Miss Montana Scholarship winners and asked why. It turns out the contest is held in Glendive. Local businesses are given the privilege of displaying the pictures on a rotating basis.

The stop got even more remarkable when we saw the couple that sat next to us at the Pitchfork Steak Fondue last night. What a small world!

Glendive has a population of about 5,000. It's the agricultural and ranching hub of eastern Montana. In January 2015 it was the site of a major oil spill from a pipeline which also contaminated the drinking water.

The Campground
There are very few camping options along I-94 in middle and eastern Montana. We took what was available when it was time to stop driving.

We're at Big Sky Camp & RV Park just outside Miles City. It's small (24 spaces) and rugged. We brought our own ambiance, so it will work just fine.

Another Conversation
This was quite a day for talking with strangers. We drove into Miles City to get a sandwich for dinner and stopped at an Arby's. Out of the blue, a man sitting next to us asked how far we had driven today and a conversation began.

His name is Steve. He's a 73 year old rancher. His ranch of 2,000 cattle is nearby and he loves to talk! We learned about his family, his youth and his ranch. He's a really nice man who could probably spin some great tales over a campfire. He assured us everything he told us was true. It really didn't matter. He and the stories were entertaining and a great way to end the day.

Day 10 - Medora, ND (Day 2)

Today we wandered around Medora (which didn't take long), relaxed and attended the Medora Musical.

It was a cool last night. The temperature was 37° at 7:30 this morning.

The Campground

Camper traffic is slowing down

Burning Hills Amphitheater
We took a short, curvy drive up a hillside to see where the musical is performed.

These horses were grazing nearby.

The set

About Medora
It's a small tourist town just off I-94 about 25 miles east of the Montana state line. In the early 1960s, Harold Schafer, head of the Gold Seal Company of Bismarck, invested large sums into restoration of Medora. It's a well kept town proud of its history and connection to Theodore Roosevelt. We drove slowly around all of the streets in about 15 minutes.

Some Sights

Pacific Avenue is the main street

1930 Model A Ford

Pitchfork Steak Fondue
Medora offers many fun experiences for tourists. The "Fondue" is one. It's served buffet style on a terrace next to the amphitheater. Dinner starts at 5:30.

Those are real steaks on real pitchforks.

We guessed that about 700 were served.

The fondue crew

This was an exceptional experience. We shared a rib-eye steak and selected from an excellent buffet. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable. It's hard to believe they do this every night, all summer.

As you might expect, dinner ends in time for everyone to attend the musical.

Medora Musical
The musical started at 7:30. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary. They'll entertain over 100,000 people this summer, performing every night from June 5th through September 12th.

Every performance includes a featured attraction. Ours was the Black Bear Group, an acrobatics team from China that displayed feats of daring, balance and even a touch of comedy. They were outstanding!

The stage

Many of the sections moved side-to side.

The center section could move back as well.

Chet Wollan ("Cowboy Chet") performs

They always involve the children.

The musical was full of country-western music, dance, humor and Medora pride. It was corny in some spots and very patriotic in others. We had fun and leave with a grand memory.

Day 9 - Killdeer, ND

We drove to Killdeer after visiting the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's a 140 mile round trip and Killdeer is far from a tourist attraction. 

So, why go there? Joanne Curry, Carol's friend from swimming, grew up there. We thought it would be fun to capture some memories for her while we were in the area. In addition, we camped near there and had a nice diner at Buckskin Grill in 2010. We were curious to see how it might have changed in 5 years.

The Route
We took I-94 east to Dickinson and went north on ND-22 to Killdeer.

Observations
New technology has made it feasible to recover oil from the region and has made quite a difference. The Bakken oil boom has brought tens of thousands of new jobs to the area. North Dakota currently has the highest employment rate in the U.S. We saw traffic, noise, dust, temporary housing, extended stay housing, drilling, pumping equipment and support services all over the area.

Route 22 is being widened to handle increased traffic between Dickinson and Killdeer.

We followed this truck much of the way.

We arrived late on a Sunday afternoon. Killdeer wasn't as sleepy as we remembered. Many oil workers were out and about. The few bars and restaurants we saw were busy.

We tried the Buckskin Grill and initially thought it was closed. 

The windows were dark and we couldn't see anyone moving around. Four workers walked by and right through the swinging doors into the bar. We tried it and found the place was really busy. The dining room was closed. The bar and grill hadn't changed.

They have an interesting menu.

Carol had a grilled chicken sandwich and Dick had a Long Island Reuben. Both were delicious. Without asking, we ended up sitting one table away from where we sat in 2010 ... go figure.

Views from the grill area

The bar

We took a short drive through the town before leaving.

The school may be familiar to Joanne.

We arrived back in Medora after dark.

Sunset on the way home.