Last night at our campsite we saw more than the average number of dogs. We were camping at the KOA in Billings, Montana, (the very first KOA in the country and still the corporate headquarters) and the place was just swarming with dogs. Not muts...dogs! Pretty dogs. Yappy dogs. Huge, Marmaduke type dogs, Golden Retreivers like Ginger. The most glaring hint was the huge motor home nearby with a license place reading, PETSHOP.
It finally occurred to someone in our group that there must be a dog show nearby. We talked to some of the dog owners and learned that there WAS to be a dog show, but that the Sunday evening tornado had totally obliterated the venue. So here were all these dog owners, with their dogs, waiting to find out whether event organizers could come up with a new location and if the "show would go on." I took some pictures of some of the dogs next door to add to the blog for the day.
As we rode out of Billings today, we saw first hand the devastation left by the storm. It was much worse than we had imagined. Numbers of stores and facilities were just torn apart. And it was much closer than we thought. Sunday afternoon when the storm came through the women sat in the women's bathroom, and we in the men's at the KOA for nearly an hour while winds and rain came by. Little did we know that a really devastating storm was so nearby. The headline in the Billings, Gazette on Monday morning was, "Total Disaster". I think they were referring to their arena (where the dog show was to be).
Today we rode from Billings to Roundup, Montana. As you might imagine, Roundup got its name from being the place where all the cowboys brought their cattle before they were driven down to Billings. Driven as in Cattle Drive...not driven as in big trucks. I read a little history, and the invention of barbwire and some possessive land-owners killed the Roundup aspect of the town about 150 years ago, but it is still a real western town. Bars names? The Tumbleweed and The Branding Iron.
Tomorrow we continue our trek across Montana and head up to another western town called Winnett. We were going to ride there today, but decided to stop in Roundup for a bit of a rest. Joe was having some painful twinges above one of his knees and we figured that rest was more important than miles for today.
Cindy has agreed to write a blog soon about what it is like to be the support staff for our ride. So stay tuned. She is a much better writer than I am.
Glad to hear you are still Treking along the Dog Gone trail! The tornado sounds like it was a real surprise, along with the hail and snow. No global warming - right! Enjoying your pictures and stories immensely.
ReplyDeleteWe returned late last night from our mission trip to Zaragosa, Mexico where we finished the interior of the parsonage we built last summer. That included wiring, plumbing, insulation, sheet rock, paint and kitchen cabinets - all in less than ten days. I call that a miracle. Pastor Eddie and his family are ready to move in. Pictures will be posted on my site in a few days.