Day 12

Fort Benton - mecca of the Universe!

We left Cody in magnificent sunshine! We were sorry to leave - and we were even sorrier that we hadn't had time for another foray around the shops. Today was mainly travelling. We stopped for supplies somewhere, and bought salads for lunch from an Exxon station (though Paul opted for a Big Mac ...). After this, it clouded over and the day turned to rain and murk. We saw a MOOSE, however - and that brightened up our spirits at least!

Don't remember who this guy was, but he was obviously important enough to build a statue of at this rest area






Lewis and Clark National Forest, somewhere

Finally, we reached Great Falls, Montana. It thoroughly lived up to what I'd read about it (as not being a place anybody would want to visit). Such a pity - it should've had a great deal going for it, what with its position on the banks of the Missouri and its history. Maybe it seemed worse, because of the rain? To top it off, we opted for KFC to eat - and that really suited the surroundings .... desperate .... So, to Fort Benton, several miles to the east ...

We stopped, just before the town, to admire a striking view over the Missouri. We didn't stop long though, because there was a biting wind whipping up.

Our entrance into Fort Benton wasn't the best, as the hub drove through a red light and was reprimanded by a local, who was very cross! "Don't do it again!" Well, he hadn't seen it - the darned light was about 80 feet up in the sky!! The Pioneer Lodge was something else! We were greeted by a very nice lady, who told us that she and her husband used to run the place, but then her daughter took over, but then went somewhere else, so they were running the place again. Later, we met her husband, who told us the same story, and told us about the history of the building, and about its thick walls and that they were trying to sell it, but nobody was interested in working any longer. More than once. He also told us about his cancer and his chemotherapy and his dizziness and his diarrhoea. More than once. Our room was old-fashioned, but clean. There was a queen bed in the main room and an iron spiral staircase led to a mezzanine with two single beds. The toilet seat was made out of foam rubber and covered with plastic. WEIRD! The strangest aspect was that the only window in the room, looked out over the corridor! Still, the room was cheap...

Lewis & Clark



it never takes us long to wreck a room!

Outside, there were heaps of mozzies - which, I suppose, you would expect, being right across from the river. And who was this staggering up the road? A drunk! We felt a little uneasy, but he turned towards the lodge, and tried to get his key in the door. He failed miserably and was stumbling all over the place! We helped him inside and to his room, where he commented on the English and said he was English and German and that it was about time they won a war!!! After that, we went to bed .... We never found the statue to Shep.

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[ Introduction ] [ Day 1 ] [ Day 2 ] [ Day 3 ] [ Day 4 ] [ Day 5 ] [ Day 6 ] [ Day 7 ] [ Day 8 ] [ Day 9 ]
[ Day 10 ] [ Day 11 ] [ Day 12 ] [ Day 13 ] [ Day 14 ] [ Day 15 ] [ Day 16 ] [ Day 17 ]
[ Day 18 ] [ Day 19 ] [ Day 20 ] [ Day 21 ]

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