Blogs from Billings, Montana, United States, North America
Day 3 - Badlands/ Mt Rushmore/ Billings, Montana
Published: May 14th 2012North America » United States » Montana » Billings
May 13th 2012
We all slept great last night and started the day off with bacon and eggs cooked outside. What is it about food cooked outdoors that just tastes so good? a quick drive through the Badlands with opportunity to stop a few times and view some wildlife we are not used to. The Prong Horn Antelope are beutiful but this time of year they are shedding thier winter coat so most of them looked a little shabby. Lots of praried dogs and a couple of wolves spotted in the fields. We drove to Mt. Rushmore since Joe had never been there so we could snap a few pics. My favorite part of this area has always been Hill City. Just love that little town. The drive after that was somewhat boring until we got into the higher ... read more
August 19th 2011
We drove west from Deadwood to Billings, Montana which is about a 300 mile drive one way. Billings is a city of about 110,000 and there really isn't much to see there. Our main reason for driving over there was to see the Little Bighorn Battlefield which is located about 60 miles east of the city. Anyway, we decided to see what Billings looked like since we were so close. We went to the local zoo which isn't much to brag about. It contained a grizzly bear and a tiger along with some other smaller animals. It does contain a wolverine and that is the first time that I've ever seen one of the ferocious little animals. There were a number of ducks waddling around and we saw a few squirrels running throughout the zoo. There ... read more
August 9th 2011
We will be leaving Billings, Montana soon. We had nice restful night. Hopefully, no motion sickness for me today. I have figured out how to post some photos. I posted some last night, but they are not attached to the right blog entry, so I will fix it tonight. I guess I need to keep my entries "public" because some of you are having difficulty viewing them. I will fix that tonight too. Watch for my next blog this evening...problaby tomorrow morning for most of you...this time zone thing has me all whacked out. HA! ... read more
August 8th 2011
Before leaving Wall this morning, we ventured over to Wall Drug. It’s quite an adventure. It is almost overwhelming at home much there is to see. We did not look through every portion of the shops because we plan to come back through there later on in the month. We departed Wall, with intentions of getting to Bozeman, Montana. We didn’t get started though til very close to noon MST. Today we only traveled 376 miles, bringing our total miles to 1,889 miles. We didn’t make it to Bozeman. We arrived in Billings around 7:45pm, MST. We are staying at Yellowstone River RV Park & Campground. It’s a little pricier than ot... read more
May 11th 2011
This is my last blog; Bob and I have decided to retire from RVICS, and spend our time with our grandkids (and their parents!). We have missed being involved grandparents, and we feel like the kids are growing too quickly to just spend a few weeks with them in the summer. Therefore, Southwest Bible Camp in Glenwood, NM was our last project. I’d like to spend this blog reviewing the 31 projects that we’ve done, in 27 different camps, and with countless dedicated people, some with RVICS, some at the camps, and some with other volunteer organizations. We have received way more blessings than we’ve given, and for sure more than we’ve deserved. It’s been four years that we couldn’t even dream would be so wonderful. While we’re excited about being home fulltime, we will ... read more
July 11th 2010
This morning we leave for Billings, Mt., with a stop in Gillette, Wy, for fueling. We stopped at a Flying J, and do not recomend large Rv's using this as a fuel stop. Fuel island is jammed up to the front of the store, where there is also car parking, and a back-up is required to exit the fuel in an Rv over about 30'. While at the fuel stop, Leta thought she saw steel cord showing on both of their Rv's front tires. After a period of time discussing what to do about the problem, Shelby got out and took one more look, and realized it was muddy water in the treads that appeared to be steel belt cords showing the rubber of the tires. The front tires were wearing irregularly, but it was ... read more
Day 19 - July 4, 2010 - Billings, MT
Published: July 10th 2010North America » United States » Montana » Billings
July 4th 2010
Headed out from Sturgis, SD to Billings, MT. Right at the start, Jack had a warning light for his transmission pump on his tow vehicle, but cleared as transmission warmed up. In Gillette, WY we pulled into the Flying J for fuel and Aleta noticed steel belts showing in the left front tire. NOT GOOD!! Began to determine what to do, could not travel with steel showing on both front tires!!! After much nashing of teeth and much discussion, I went out to take another look at the tires. GUESS WHAT, no steel after all!! Aleta, Shelby, and Jack saw the metal, but it turned out to be dirt and water lodged in tire tread marks. After much relief, we continued on to Billings, MT. Once there, we stopped at the Flying J, enjoyed a bar-b-que ... read more
Goodbye Canada, hello Montana!!!
Published: October 5th 2009North America » United States » Montana » Billings
October 5th 2009
Back in the U.S.A!! After another long day of driving, we finally made it to Montana. We got up early and got on the road. The conditions from Edmonton to Calgary were crappy. When it wasn't snowing, it was raining!!! We stopped right before the border and I got my blizzard from Dairy Queen!!! I had a Smarties Blizzard just for Niki :) For those that don't know, Smarties are like m&m's, only better! I have to say, it was yummy goodness!!! We make our way to the border and they were really busy. After waiting forever we pull up and the guy tells us to turn off the car and pop the hood. I should say right away that the customs guy was a jerk! When Jamie gave him the keys, he told Jamie to ... read more
Missoula to Billings, Montana
Published: September 6th 2009North America » United States » Montana » Billings
September 6th 2009
We left Missoula today after 2 PM Nat had business. It is our 3rd day on the road! Nat had planned for us to stay at Best Westerns on our stops, but the first night we got a motel room, we found them to be much cheaper!! We have saved $72 combined and we have been shopping too lol awesome. Before we left today I googled Devil's Tower lol and it said 3 hrs & 3 min. LOL 5 + hrs later we're in Billings and no sign of Devil's Tower lol ok, maybe tomorrow lol When we were leaving Missoula, we were looking for Southgate Mall, some guy in a moose suit was on a motorbike LOL he followed us for a bit, I think he was advertising something lol it was good for a ... read more
June 29th 2009
Firstly, yesterday's blog has been updated with photos. That being said, we made it today into Billings, Montana. It was about a 715 mile drive from Alexandria, Minnesota this morning. Most of the drive was flat farmland throgh North Dakota, much like we had seen for the past two days. Once we near the last 30 miles of North Dakota and into Montana the landscape started to look a little nicer. There were rolling hills, some interesting looking rock formations, and still a whole lot of nothing. We still haven't turned the radio on and we gained another hour today so we got into our motel pretty early, around 7:15ish. Tomorrow we finish our drive through Montana and into Glacier National Park.... read more
