Daily drives home were calculated at four hours plus whatever stops we made.

Because of the dogs, the horrendous heat wave and parking a camper where there isn’t any (& can be cause for divorce), we only stopped for gas, a quick lunch or bathroom breaks.

Reminiscent of road trips of my youth, I read billboards and fantasized what each stop would entail.

Leaving Deer Lodge we missed the Old Montana Prison & Auto Collection Museum. At midday we passed the road side Montana Grizzly Encounter, which interested me, but not Larry. And lastly there was the Lady of the Rockies. I love Mother Mary and read about all her worldly apparitions, past and present. What recovering Catholic can resist seeing her 90-foot steel statue overlooking Butte, Montana? I saw it, a white speck on the mountain ridge as we drive past Butte on I-90.

Billings, Montana has been a nighttime stopover for as long as I’ve lived west of the Mississippi. Knowing I/we have an old coworker/friend in the area makes stopping so much better.

After Billings, we spent the night in Evansville, Wyoming. Where is Evansville? Adjacent to Casper, the friendly ghost, Wyoming. Look for the stinky refineries.

Speaking of stinky, they started operating before 5am filling the morning air with petroleum and sulfur. I think this way the locals get used to it before waking.

Today is the last ‘leg’ home, leaving us plenty of time to get back to normal life on the front range and for Larry to get himself checked out.