Billings, MT

Drove from Wenatchee to Missoula, Montana, very lovely scenery. All those mountains and evergreens. Then from Missoula to Billings, we decided to take a detour into Yellowstone for a few hours and drive around the park. We saw lots of bison, a few elk, the Mammoth Hot Springs, and Old Faithful.

By the front gate. "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people" is the quote on top.

The Mammoth Hot Springs, which smell pretty strongly of sulfur. There was tons of thermal activity while we were there all over the park.

Apollo's superman pose.

Just some lovely scenery. That river was so blue.

Kelly and Andy- our SM and incredible photographer, with bison in the background. We saw tons of them!

Bison close up. We were really close as they crossed the street.

The cast with Old Faithful erupting in the background. (Photo credit: Andy Elliott). It was SOO cold waiting, but I'm glad we got to see her go. After this we drove into Billings for the night.

The shows in Billings were a little difficult. They were early (9:30am and 12:30pm Alices) and the audiences were on the older side of high school...not exactly an easy time of day to rock and roll- at least for me- or the perfect target audience for Alice. Younger kids through middle school age seem to love it, but high school is a little bit of a stretch. The second show we had some more enthusiastic kids, but it was definitely a lesson in overcoming the audience's energy to keep going.

After the shows we got bison burgers (after being introduced to the jerky the day before, everyone was craving them) and then drove directly to Rapid City, South Dakota. My grandparents live there about half the year and happen to be in town, so I drove around with them for a bit revisiting the town for the first time in 14 years, and then we had a quiet dinner and caught up. I never get them alone so it was nice we had the chance to sit down together.

Next up is a few longs days of driving and then Sugar Loaf, NY.