Day 3: Billings to Hill City, SD

The kids have really been enjoying the swimming pool at the places we have camped.  Even though it is 8PM, as soon as we pull in they throw on their swimsuits and head out.  Gaston has been flipping them up in the air and Bud has had 2 excellent belly flops.

We ate a hearty breakfast at the Billings KOA and were on the road by 9:30.  I had my first taste of driving the Four Winds.  I was reluctant to do so, but Dad just coaxed me along and it went fine.  No driving in town though.

We stopped at the Little Big Horn Nat'l Park around 11.  It is a Nat'l cemetery, so there was a mix of people buried there who served our nation.  These are always fascinating to me.  I love reading the tombstones and imagining who the people were.  There were several Indian Scouts buried there.

We toured the museum.  Wild Thing's favorite section was the diorama with the battle scenes.  I really enjoyed the pictures, especially of the Native Americans.  We caught a bit of a ranger's presentation on what happened at Custer's Last Stand.  Then we were able to drive along the ridge where Custer was killed.  Gaston was impressed that they placed tombstones as close as possible to where the bodies were found, so you got an idea of where the battle was most intense.

We continued through Montana - man, that is a big state!!  We finally made it to Sheridan, Wyoming and stopped at the Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.  I forgot to mention it was about 95 today.  We saw a teenage girl in the parking lot wearing neon purple furry slipper boots.

We took a quick detour through Deadwood, SD, an old mining town that has preserved a lot of its rustic look.  Legoguy even noticed that there were several casinos where you could play Slapjack.

We FINALLY made it to the Hill City KOA!  This place is really heaven on earth for kids.  I will write more tomorrow and hopefully post some pictures.

Notes from the road:
1.  I think several of us hit some emotional turbulence today, good and bad.  I am really impressed with how well everyone is doing.
2.  I fear the RV bathroom.  Even when we aren't moving.
3.  I literally saw the sun rise and set on an amazing portion of our country I had never seen before.