Day 14 - July 15, 2020

Amber DeBono
Jul 16, 2020
3 min read

Last night, I forgot to mention that we had no soap or shampoo/conditioner/lotion in our room when we arrived at the Springhill Suites in Billings. Usually, they bring them up for you - we had to go down to the front desk to get them. This was one of the few times we went to a hotel and the front desk person did not wear a mask (the other time was the morning staff at the Super 8 in Driggs, ID). Otherwise, it was a good visit. They gave us a little extra time in the room so Ian could attend a Zoom meeting with reliable internet.

Before we checked out in Billings, we checked out a few spots. We drove by the Rim Rocks, visited the old train depot, and strolled through some beautiful gardens. After his meeting, we set out for Mt. Rushmore.

On the way, we visited the Battle of Little Bighorn Monument. It was a good outdoor spot with a good amount of walking. I would say about 50-60% of people wore masks when they couldn't maintain a 6 foot distance. The battlefield looks so much like the areas we've already seen in Montana...it's surprising that such an ugly battle took place there.

After that it was a pretty long drive with very few exits. We stopped at a convenience store and a woman pulled in next to us. After she went in the store, I realized that she was traveling with a kitty cat! I wish I took a picture, but I thought I'd look creepy taking a picture of someone else's car. It was a very sweet black and white cat. I thought Ian and I were the only ones that traveled with a cat - I guess not!

Our next stop was Sturgis, SD. Apparently, it is a hot spot for bikers - they have an annual motorcycle rally there. We stopped in at The Knuckle Brewery. Here, very few people were wearing masks...the staff were not either. We ordered a Hefeweizen and a dark ale and drank outside away from people. Nearby, they were having a street fair...I didn't see anyone wearing a mask. It's as if there wasn't a pandemic happening there. According to the websites we visit to get updated on COVID-19, there are very few cases out here - but people are coming in from all over...they really ought to be more careful so they don't become another Florida!

While we were at The Knuckle, we realized that there was a lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore that we could make in the nick of time! We arrived about 15 minutes before the ceremony and I included a portion of the ceremony in a video below. It was nice and it was bigger than I thought...I've heard many people say that it's much smaller than you would think. I would say a minority of people were wearing masks although maintaining a 6 foot difference from others was nearly impossible - I included some pictures that give you an idea of how many people were wearing masks.

On the way to Rapid City (the location of our hotel), we called Sickies to order a veggie burger (for me) and wings (for Ian). They gave us a hard time because they stop doing take out orders at 9:30 pm - they closed at 10 pm and we called at 9:34 pm after the number on their website didn't work. Ian asked very nicely to make an exception and they relented. There really weren't many placed open and we still hadn't eaten a real meal yet - only snacks. The food was tasty - my veggie burger had fried cheese curds and jalapenos with a side of tater tots.

Tomorrow, we are off to North Dakota. We plan to stay in Bismarck, but we'll see what happens!