Finally left Rapid City at 7:56 after spending about 20 minutes chasing after a car wash that didn’t turn out as advertised. So with 7 days of bugs (including yesterday’s grasshopper herd) on the bumper and windshield we headed Northwest on Interstate 90.
Our first stop was in Spearfish, South Dakota, near the Montana border. Since it had been days without my morning mocha I stopped at the first espresso hut I saw. Mistake. Another 3 out of 5 and several miles later a Starbucks. Anyway, a slow drive through the town revealed a lot of old historic buildings and homes. Spearfish, by the way, got its name because Indians came to the area to spear fish. The town grew up around the 1876 gold rush.
We then headed North on Highway 85 to Belle Fourche. This would have been a good town to explore except for major road construction, so it was get out of town as quickly as possible. Among the town’s many claims to fame is that, according to the U.S Coast and Geodetic Survey, it became the geographic center of the US after the admission of Alaska and Hawaii.
Leaving Belle Fourche we took Highway 212 in a generally Northwest direction, passing through the very Northeast corner of Wyoming and then a series of small towns in Montana. Next we entered the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and the town of Lame Deer and then the Crow Indian Reservation. It was in the Crow Reservation that we stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
A very interesting place to visit and it probably would have been more interesting had it not been in the mid 90’s (with no shade.) There are some excellent displays covering the battle between American Indians (Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho) and U.S. Army (7th Cavalry.) Extensive surveys of the battlefield have allowed the Park Service to accurately detail how the battle progressed. Overall, this is a 10 out of 10 and well worth a visit.
Leaving the battlefield, Interstate 90 took us the rest of the way to Billings. On the way we hit a rest stop for a quick picnic lunch (remember it was mid 90’s) with bunch of uninvited crickets.
Arriving in Billings I was a little surprised to see Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips refineries on the outskirts of town. For some reason I thought refineries were in places like Texas or Louisiana. The desk clerk at the Fairfield directed us to a great car wash and we now have a bug free Honda. Great dinner at Cracker Barrel and end of a great day. 348 miles today.
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