For those who remember ancient history, we had a foster daughter named Olivia who lived with us for four years while she was on the Indian Placement Program . Her daughter Courtney just returned from her mission to Indiana so we decided to drive 1850 miles for her talk in sacrament meeting. They live in Williston, ND.
Rexburg:
We left after lunch on Thursday, March 16th and went as far as West Yellowstone. We stopped in Rexburg for a stretch and saw the new Rexburg Temple then let Diane witness the changes at BYU-Idaho campus since she attended the old Ricks college.
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| Rex burg Temple |
West Yellowstone:
We stayed at the Kelly Inn in West Yellowstone. We had a room on the ground level, which was good because there were bears looking through the windows on the upper floors.
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| Peeping bears at Kelly's Inn |
Yellowstone National Park closed for the season the day before we arrived so many of the places in West Yellowstone were also closed. We finally found the Branch Restaurant where I had one of the best burgers in a long time, which included a gluten-free bun.
On Friday (March 17th) after breakfast at the hotel we headed north to Billings, MT.
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| Breakfast nook at Kelly Inn |
Even though Yellowstone Park was closed the road through Montana passes through the west side of the park so we were able to see part of Yellowstone anyway.
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| Yellowstone Park |
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| Gallatin River in Yellowstone |
Billings:
We took a lunch break in Bozeman, MT, stopping at the mall and Barnes & Noble. We arrived in Billings about 4pm and stayed in the Kelly Inn. Does this sound like St Patrick's Day or what?
We drove to see the Billings Temple then went to Riverside Park.
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| Billings Temple |
There were a lot of Canadian Geese and ducks at the lake in the park. I didn't know we were so close to Canada.
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| Lake in Riverside Park |
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| Geese and ducks in the park |
The park is along side the Yellowstone River. Lewis and Clark passed by here in 1806. We arrived a little late so we missed them.
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| Diane in the riverbed |
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| Canoe in the river? |
We decided to try the Cracker Barrel for dinner. They provided a nice gluten-free meal.
Pompey Pillar:
On Saturday we got up early and headed to Williston, ND. We saw information about Pompey Pillar National Monument. Since we hadn't heard of it we decided we should investigate. It was closed for the season, but open to walk-in traffic, so we walked in.
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| Pompey Pillar NM |
This is a landmark on the Lewis & Clark trail. It even had the signature of Clark on the rock.
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| Pompey Pillar |
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| The visitor Center was closed |
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| Paddle your own canoe |
It was a beautiful day and a lovely walk. We decided to go to the top of the pillar (260 steps with an added 18 to see Clark's signature).
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| Steps up the pillar |
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| Cl;ark's signature covered with glass |
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| Marmot admiring the scenery |
Clark actually passed by here on his return trip to St. Louis.
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| Yellowstone River |
The eastern side of Montana turns from Mountain to prairie. There is not a lot to see except the shamrocks left by the leprechauns passing by this way.
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| Montana shamrocks |
We finally made it to North Dakota where we could see the remnants of history.
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| We made it to North Dakota |
Fort Union Trading Post NHS:
Williston was close to the forts. It is a city built around the oil industry. We checked into the hotel (Mainstay Suites) and called Olivia. She asked if Diane could accompany Courtney tomorrow since she wanted to sing for the special musical number. We went to the church to practice then went to Olivia's and Roland's house for a visit.
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| Olivia |
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| Courtney and Roland |
Meetings started at 11am on Sunday (March 19th). It was really a good meeting. Roland and Olicia gave the prayers, Courtney talked about the atonement and how she learned to appreciate it on her mission. She then sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" with Diane accompanying. I got to just sit there and enjoy it.
After the meeting we went back to Olivia and Rolands house to make Navajo Tacos for the ward. It was quite a process, but the experts had it well in hand. At 3:30 the members of the ward started to arrive. I was able to eat the chili they put on the tacos.
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| Olivia and Courtney working the dough for fry bread |
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| Roland cutting up onions |
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| This is how you fry fry bread |
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| Ward members enjoying the feast |
After the ward members left we helped clean up and talked a bit before returning to our hotel room for the evening.
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| The Ben family: Roland, Courtney, and Olivia |
We really enjoyed the visit. It was worth traveling so far to visit with them again.
Theodore Roosevelt NP:
March 20th (Monday) was the first day of spring. We have had fairly good weather on the trip. There has just been a little bit of rain, whereas last week was snow all along the way. We returned home by a different path, allowing us to see more national parks. We went through Theodore Roosevelt National Park which comes in a North and a South Unit.
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| North Unit Visitor Center |
The north unit has scattered rock deposits similar to the badlands of South Dakota.
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| Badland hills |
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| Geologic Concretions |
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| Cannonballs |
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| Eroded formations |
The wildlife in the north unit includes bison, deer, and wild turkeys,
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| Flock of wild turkeys |
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| Why did the turkey cross the road? |
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| This reminds me of home - the deer eat our tulips |
Theodore Roosevelt had a ranch in what is now the south unit (68 miles away).
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| Roosevelt ranch house |
The south unit also had wildlife.
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| Prairie Dog Town |
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| Buffalo herds |
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| Space aliens |
We were able to take a little walk along the Wind Canyon Trail, which gave us some nice views as well as some exercise.
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| The Little Missouri River |
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| Standing tall! |
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| Formation in wind Canyon |
Devil's Tower:
We continued south into South Dakota then went into northern Wyoming to see Devil's Tower National Monument. We saw it on our way to our mission in Canada and wanted t see if the Devil was still there. We arrived after 5 pm so he had left.
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| Devil's Tower NM |
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| Devil's Tower |
We went on to Gillette, WY and found a place to stay at the Wingate.
Fort Casper:
Tuesday (March 21st) we got up early and headed for Casper, WY.
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| Oil derrick in Casper |
We found the Fort Casper Museum and decided to see what there was. The museum was small, but very nice.
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| Fort Casper Museum |
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| Learning how the Mormon Ferry worked |
The fort along the river was put in place after the pioneers passed through.
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| Fort Casper |
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| Bridge |
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| Deer watching us |
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| North Platte River |
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| The Mormon ferry used for pioneers |
National Historic Trails Interpretive Center:
We then followed the pioneer trail, stopping at Martin's Cove for a break. We had been through before, so we didn't take the time to go out to the cove. It is a nice facility in the middle of nowhere.
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| Welcome to the handcart center |
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| Visitor Center |
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| This trail is shorter than to Martin Cove |
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| Sweet water Museum |
We took a back road that takes us back to the highway (do you really call it a highway?). On the way we saw where the antelope play at home on the range.
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| Antelope playing |
We also saw a view of Martin Cove across the prairie.
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| Martin Cove |
We were planning to go through South Pass, but the intersection was confusing so we ended up in Rollins and were able to return on I-80, stopping in Little America for ice-cream and popcorn. It was still light when we went through Logan Canyon so we were able to see the high river.
We were able to fill up with gas and buy groceries before it was too dark.
This was a long trip, but well worth it. We were so pleased to see Olivia and her family after so many years. We were also able to see some national parks and a little bit of western history.
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