Mamma mia, Montana! Hello from “big sky country,” otherwise known as Montana! We (I) actually managed to successfully grab a photo of the “Welcome to…” sign as we crossed the border. This has been something we haven’t been very good at so far. Somehow, even with Google as our copilot, we managed to miss most of them.
The definition of “big sky”
As we celebrated this small victory, it became very clear how Montana got its nickname. The land is so flat and so expansive that it almost looks like it isn’t there all. Instead, the sky kisses the thin ribbon of ground in every direction, interrupted only occasionally by a lone tree or farmhouse. At one point during our drive, bands of rain in the distance fell from a cobalt-blue cloud that seemed to be as wide as the state itself. Magnificent!
These bands of rain continued across the horizon in both directions.
When it was time to have lunch (yup, PJ&J), we found a random rest stop on Rt. 94. We were greeted with a sign that told visitors to stay on the paved paths…”rattlesnakes have been observed” it said. Fortunately (unfortunately?) we didn’t see any snakes, just an adorable jumping spider trying to share our peanut butter.
Before settling in for the evening, we decided to drive another 1.5 hours (which was more like 2) to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area near the border of Wyoming. Because 300 miles of driving in one day wasn’t enough! We got to the general area with an hour of daylight left and then had trouble locating the actual canyon once there. You would think the third largest canyon in America would be easier to spot. Or at least be more well-marked with signage! After getting directions from some campers at the Horseshoe Bend Campground (where we then wished we had stayed for the night instead of the comparatively boring Extended Stay America hotel), we high-tailed it to the overlook.
Two things were immediately obvious when we pulled into the empty lot. First, the place smelled like a barn. The mountain sheep seem to like the place as much as people do and gave us anxious dirty looks when we showed up. Second, it was completely silent. The silence was so absolute that when I got near the swarms of tiny gnats, their minute buzzing symphony was loud and distracting.
The sources of the stink
When we finally got to the overlook, we were greeted with an incredible view. The canyon cliffs fall over 1,000 feet to meet the meandering Bighorn River below. Tonight, the striped walls with bands of cream, tan, red, and gold glowed in the setting sun. It was the perfect place to begin our Montana adventure.
It was also the perfect place to get the first speeding ticket of the trip! Billy fell into a speed trap right outside a tiny town in the middle of nowhere named Bridger. The speed limit drops from 75 to 25 in the space of about one city block. Cop was waiting at the 25 MPH sign. Whoops.
Tomorrow we head for the mountains that we’ve come so far to see. Thanks for dropping in!
Getting some good grizzly vibes before the trip into bear country!
It looks beyond description–yet you’ve managed to describe it so beautifully! And I love you giving a “bear hug” to your new friend…..
Let’s hope that’s the only bear “hug” I get!
Bad karma Billybob. Bad karma. You know why.
=( If you mean our Twitter feed, don’t forget that Lori is posting to it too! I took a picture of a “cloud factory” (please tell me you remember that!) a few days ago that I was going to post for you, but I was too tired.
You have an opportunity during your indefinite road trip to redeem yourself Billybob. I check every day (sometimes twice) to see if you do! ☺️☺️☺️ Have fun! I am living vicariously through you right now!!!
(Yes, I totally remember when you thought clouds came from cloud factories!)
Wait… it was you that thought clouds came from cloud factories!!
…”Nope!”
(lolololololololol)
😢
You are closing in on jackalope territory… be on the lookout!
We saw one yesterday! It was too quick. Sorry!
So beautifully written and the pictures are magnificent!
Thanks, Candy! I was an author in a former life 😉
Love your posts and pictures!!! I look forward to reading these every day! 😊
Glad to hear it, Alina!
I’m loving your adventures (well not Bill’s ticket) and the gorgeous photos. Thanks you guys for taking the time to keep us all posted!
You are welcome! Thanks for being one of our most faithful commentors! 🙂
Lori, the details you provide and how you describe everything make me feel like I’m there with you (or reading National Geographic or a travel magazine)! Well done! Beautiful pictures too!
Thank you, Ingrid, I’m glad you are enjoying the blog! I feel like I’m in National Geographic these days. So much to see and experience!
I had to look two times…saw you hugging a grizzly…HELLO. But you were smiling so I know it had to be fake..lol miss you guys!!!!😘😘😘😘
Lol…yeah…the smile was a good clue. I’ve been saying the whole time here that I don’t want to run into any and so far we haven’t! Yay! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Lori, and nice to ‘meet’ you, Bill! Looks like you’ve already had amazing adventures and you’re only one week into your grand trip. Beautiful images, and your descriptions enhance the view.
I bet it feels like SF is a million light years away!
Hi Robin! Your comment went into spam :-(. Yes, it really is fabulous. Every day is something totally new. And what is SF? ;-P
I didn’t realize Montana was so beautiful – thank you for sharing. (ps. i think the smelly mountain sheep are cute)
Yes, Montana is definitely in the top three “most beautiful states to drive through.” I also really enjoyed Wyoming and Arizona very much! The mountain sheep are awesome, just scary when they walk at you with their cold, dark eyes. 😉