We left the Yellowstone Koa by going north back to Bozeman and then traveling east to Billings, Montana. We had such a great time in Yellowstone Park that a few thoughts still linger on our minds. One that always brings a giggle of mirth is the reaction to John's "Banjo" tee shirt. It shows a boy and his dog paddling in a canoe. The Boy says, "Paddle faster, I think I hear Banjos!" IT refers to the movie Deliverance when the heroes come upon some strange mountain people. One boy in the group seemed a bit daffy in the brain but he sure could play the banjo. Anyway, John decides to wear this tee shirt the day we go to see the falls. As we go down the switch back trails, people come up with continuous regularity. As I am following John I get the reaction from people who notice the shirt. They were often cracking up with laughter or asking their friends if they had seen the shirt. We never had a shirt that had brought so much merriment. He has had it for some time now and it has chlorine spots here and there so I have thrown it in the dead shirt pile, but John seems to find it and put it back on. So I guess it will be worn until it is in shreds!
Another interesting discovery was how the human body changes in the ability to do things as you get older. On our ride around Yellowstone Park we would often stop at rest stops where the scenery was showcased or at pleasant streams. We stopped at one area where there was a stream and little lakes here and there where there were water lilies growing on the water. By one area there was a log that had fallen across the steam such that if one had good balance it would be possible to cross the stream by walking across on the log, like Robin Hood and Little John. Well, big John wanted to try it but we thought maybe he should practice on a log that had fallen on the ground near us. The log was the same length as the one across the stream so it served as a good measure of skill. Now, John should be good at this because he practices walking a straight line as part of his exercise routine each morning just in case he is stopped by the cops and is asked to walk a straight line. So he takes a couple of good breaths and hops on the log. He has his arms out for balance and clear concentration is seen in his expression. He walks a fourth of the log and falls off, to try again. After several tries he makes it to the middle of the log then falls off. It is clearly evident that he would fall into the icy, cold river if he tried to cross the water. Just then, a family with young boys appears, and John offers the challenge to one of the boys who is about twelve. The boy takes one look at the log and one look at John to see if he is serious. Then he hops on the log and merely dances the length of the log. No problem! Ok, thinks John, "Now, let's see you go across the river." The kid looks at his Dad who simple shakes his head. The boy shrugs his shoulders and sets off to chase his brother. That's it for John. He puts the log to rest.
So now we were making out way to Billings, Montana. Since we had spent four days in our tent, we decided to dip into our American Advantage frequent flyer miles Piggy Bank, and got a room at the Ramada Inn in the middle of the city. The Garmin Girl led us right to it and we checked in got our apples and headed to our room. The pool was on the second floor so we got in our suits and headed for the pool. I lay down in the shade and fell asleep as John did his laps. I didn't realize I was so pooped and the nap felt great. We saw a restaurant walking distance called Jakes, and we thought we would try it. It is actually a chain as we saw other restaurants in other cities, but we were eager to have a good steak and it looked like it had ambiance. We were not wrong. The meal was great as they had the best steaks hotel and John picked up a local paper to see what was happening in the town.
We got back to our room and John turned to the sports section and read all about the Big Sky Games that was due to start the next day. He said it was like the Olympic trials to be held at Montana State College. The torch bearer of the opening ceremony was Jackie Joyner Kersey who had been in four Olympics. She was voted Woman Athlete of the Decade and she has won countless Olympic medals in Track and Field. The Games would begin with the running of the Montana Mile. There were 11,000 people entered in the games. The games covered from Archery to Pickle-gall! We would have loved to go to the festivities but we only had one day in Billings.
The next morning I went down to the workout room where there was an elliptical machine and two treadmills. I was hoping to do some running and to watch the Tour de France on versus, but after trying the only sport worth watching was the woman's soccer semifinals. John was back at the room using the computer to organize accommodations for the rest of our trip since we changed our plans and now were going east through South Dakota. After an hour workout, I met John at the pool for a refreshing swim. We packed up and went next door to the Family Kitchen Restaurant for breakfast.
While we waited for our order, we struck a conversation with a couple next to us who were just finishing their breakfast. They asked us if we had seen any caribou in the park and we replied that yes driving out there was a heard grazing in the pasture. They said that was great because the wolves that were introduced into the park several years ago, had almost totally decimated the deer and caribou population. Sharon, the lady, said that she had read where a wolf that had been tagged was recently captured. They were able to trace where Colorado, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and back to Yellowstone. Some of the hunters in the hunting shops were hoping for an open season on wolves. It seems like the wolf experiment of re-establishing wolves in their habitat has exceeded its expectations.
After a hearty breakfast we were off driving toward Sheridan, the home of the WYRODEO.
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