North by Northwest

Virginia road sign

It's July 3 and I'm writing this from Billings, MT. We left out July 1 and have had 3 long, hard days on the road. The Virginia DOT enjoined travelers to behave this holiday weekend with this humorous sign and we have enjoyed other, similar admonitions from other states.

On I29 through Iowa, we found ourselves on the Lewis & Clark trail again, following the Missouri River. When we got to Chamberlain, SD, we stopped at a rest stop and were met with this magnificent statue honoring Native American culture and particularly their women. The statue, named Dignity, stands 50 feet tall. The diamonds in her star quilt are hinged to allow air through. She is smiling and strong as

Dignity

she overlooks the Missouri River. 

Ruthie and I have been discussing our Lewis and Clark trip of last summer. We stopped following the L&C trail at Lolo Pass in Idaho and then headed south before turning home. This time, while not specifically following Lewis and Clark, we will be heading on to the Pacific Coast as they did and not far from where they ended up. We will make the trip west in 5 days and maybe take a couple of weeks to amble back home. Meriweather Lewis was from Virginia. He and Clark took over a year and a half to make their round trip. They faced all kinds of weather, unfriendly natives, swarms of insects, waterfalls, supply shortages and all manner of challenges. I'm doing my best not to fuss about excessive fanny fatigue and dry skin from hand sanitizer. It's an amazing country and I'm grateful to have the chance to see it like this, but I'm feeling my age and not regretting a bit wanting to buy a more comfortable camper and choosing to amble once I have it.

Indiana

In addition to the endless grain fields and enormous sky, we've seen some fun things on the road. As folks moved west, Quakers in particular, took their home town names with them and used them again. 

We've seen road signs for familiar towns back home and

Iowa

other eastern communities we've recognized, including Pittsboro where I used to live and Pekin where my son and future daughter-in-law now live. But the best sign we've seen was for a saloon on a back road in South Dakota advertising Cheap Drinks and Lousy Food. Since they were literally the only option for miles, the locals had little choice. At least they were honest. 

Another South Dakota road sign read, "In wine there is wisdom. In water there

Honesty as best policy in action

is bacteria. Wobbly Bobby Beer".  It left me wondering whether to worry more about drunk drivers or drinking the water. Fortunately, we appear to have been kept safe from both.

A peculiarity of Montana is the coincidence of restaurants and gambling casinos. We noted this on our visit last year. Nearly every restaurant we visited or drove by last summer had a casino in the restaurant (not the other way around). Growing up Methodist, gambling was frowned upon so I'm no expert on casinos but I have to say eating my apple pie just around the corner from the slot machines was disorienting. But nothing beat the picture Ruthie took today as we scooted towards Billings. Do not ask. I have no clue.

 

We are off early tomorrow for Spokane via Wheat Montana. I can only hope the giant cinnamon buns are as good as I remember them. Please keep us in your thoughts as we continue. The broker emailed to say all the import paperwork was in order. The last big job is picking up the trailer and navigating safely home.