Day 13 - July 14, 2020
- Amber DeBono
- Jul 15, 2020
- 3 min read
We started our day in Driggs, ID at the Super 8. The room was huge - it included a dining table and a view of horses. In the morning, we took a dip in the hot tub. We were incredibly impressed with this hotel - not what I'd expect from a Super 8. We drove around downtown, which was western-cute. Then we set out for Billings, MT.
First, we stopped in Big Sky, MT. It's a very cute skiing village and we stopped to share a flight of beer outside at BeeHive Basin Brewery. They had a lot of protocols in place to reduce interactions with staff. It seemed we were the only ones reading the signs though...other customers seemed to ignore the rules they designed to keep everyone safe. Anyway, when it comes to their beer - the beers were good, but weren't really our style. We drove around a little bit, but then got on the road back to Billings.
We stopped in Bozeman to check it out a little more than we did when we stayed there a few nights ago. We visited two breweries, but their outside seating was full. Sticking to our rules, we found Bozeman Ale Works, which had delicious beer and food. I got the Taos dip (yes, I know, wrong state) and Ian got grilled fish tacos. We also split a flight of beer that included some very good sour beers and a scotch ale - all from Montana. I would highly recommend it if you are passing through. They had plenty of outside seating and all staff were wearing masks.
Next stop: Billings. We left the beautiful mountain scenery behind and found ourselves in flat land. Here, we decided to check out two sites: The Sacrifice Cliffs and Boothill Cemetery. The Sacrifice cliffs were a short hike up a hill and provided us with some beautiful views of the city. According to some internet searching, the native people who got sick with small pox would sacrifice by going over the cliffs, in the hopes that their sacrifice would help their tribe. Boothill cemetery was from old west days where people were shot and buried with their boots on. Recently, local college students had been investigating it and confirmed at least nine bodies in the cemetery - which they marked with pink markers.
Afterwards, we headed downtown to check out the local scene. There wasn't a whole lot going on downtown, but we found a few good spots. We, again (I guess we had too many dry days in a row), got some beer at Thirsty Street Brewing Company. I got a flight of sours and Ian ordered a Belgian Dubbel. They had plentiful outside seating and we sat well over 20 feet from anyone. The only bad part of drinking outside - bugs can sometimes land in your beer. It happened to me today, the second time on this trip, but both times the staff was happy to give me a new one.
Next, we walked to Montana Brewing Company because we learned that they had enormous pretzels - one of my favorite foods. At this point, I just got a soda (I'm driving now because Ian's working remotely during the week) and Ian got Scottish beer. The pretzel was delicious, but even better was the conversation we had with another person traveling through - Nan. She sat at a table properly socially distanced next to us. We learned that she is a semi-retired public health nurse who flew here today to buy an RV in Montana and is planning to drive it home to California - how cool is that? She is thinking about documenting her journey and I recommended Wix...I think this blog is going pretty well so far right? We realized that, until this point, we really hadn't talked to anyone during our whole trip because we are trying to be good about social distancing. Our interaction made us realize to not neglect the awesome encounters that can happen when you travel. We hope to meet more people like her.
Tomorrow, we are headed to Mount Rushmore. We don't think there will be many stops...but you never know!
P.S. We had Sirius radio for free for the first few days of our trip. We were amused by these two songs on 1940's radio - I know, even my parents wouldn't listen to stuff that old! :)
Driggs, ID:
On the road to Billings, MT
Big Sky, MT
Billings, MT:
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