Day 22 The first comment of the morning was from J Gar… You need to take me somewhere with a “no smoking policy.” Needless to say, he did not appreciate the nostalgia of the Little Irma Hotel. We left the rodeo capital of the world behind and began our trek out of the mountains and eastward. We travelled for an hour before encountering the Bighorn Mountains of Central Wyoming. I knew I would like it, but it exceeded my expectations. At 9,000 feet there is a high meadow that extends for over ten miles. Really breathtaking. On the other side of the mts, the Great Plains awaited us and stretched as far as the eye could see. Our next stop was at the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This one was for me. I have read about this battle most of my life and to be able to stand at the site of Custer’s Last Stand and imagine the Sioux and N. Cheyenne surrounding me was worth the drive. The kids enjoyed the brief movie that explained the battle, apparently it was more entertaining than my monologue in the RV. We left Wyoming behind and headed North into Montana. Truly the “big sky country.” We are now at the ” Cow Capital of the World” in Miles City, Montana.

http://youtu.be/I_bU7aG4gMI

http://youtu.be/1_LP894z8XU

Day 21 was titled by the town of Cody as “Fast Cars, Fast Horses and Freedom.” We made it through our night at the Little Irma Hotel. Julie will be posting a few items on trip advisor for this establishment. I will spin it positively as say the staff was “quirky.” We realized that the restaurant was the focus (and a cash cow) and the staff gave us a look that suggested “oh..you are actually staying at the hotel.” The restaurant was one of those events where you knew you had messed up. We were encouraged to order the buffet at $24 each and after agreeing we found out the dessert choices were chocolate pudding or red jello. As my mother would say, “well…you didn’t need dessert anyway.”

Back to Day 21. On a positive note..the hotel was located in the middle of the activities. We walked outside of our hotel, used our RV supplied chairs and watched a great July 4th parade. Big difference was a lot more focus on horses, which, except for the additional deposits left in the road, really turned out nicely. I do have one comment…Alabama is not alone in the lack of progressive thought…one tee-shirt read on the front..” Protect our Guns and our way of Life.” On the back it read… “The lion does not need to know the opinion of the lamb.” Then we all sang with the marching band..God Bless America. Hmmmm

After the parade we had a quick lunch and took a nap before heading out to Stampede Park for an afternoon of rodeo. This was a professional rodeo with a $400,000 purse and 7 events. The kids really enjoyed the barrel racing and the clown. They were a little concerned for the calf when the cowboy roped him, threw him to the ground and tied his feet. After explaining the alternative for the calf (veal tenderloin) the kids were ok. The clown put on a great show as well.

We ended the day with a spectacular fireworks show at Buffalo Bill Park. The whole day really worked out well.