Go west young man, go west!

June 26 – We left around 9:30 on our way to Billings, MT.  We were barely on I-90 when the ceiling panel above the dash behind the TV started sagging on the driver side.  Two self-tapping screws were in the piece.  We were stopping shortly for diesel fuel so we figured we’d pull out of the way after and screw them back in.  Of course, that was not to happen!  They would not stay up so we used packaging tape as best we could to hold it up until we stopped for the night.

We were only about 70 miles to Billings where we were camping for the night.  It was a nice Good Sam Campground, Billings Village RV Park.  Not too large but very well kept.  All the spaces were back in but we were unhooking anyway.  You could tell a lot of the guests were summer residents.  We had several places in the area that we planned to visit.  Before we headed out we attempted to put the screws back in the ceiling to no avail, so off we went.

Bill wanted to check with the Ford dealer and see if he could get the little clips to re-attach the bottom piece of the car bumper.  They took us in immediately but with no guarantees as they didn’t have the clips on hand.  Next door was a Burger King so we told them we’d walk over and have lunch while they gave it a shot.  When we got back it was parked in plain site and the piece looked back to normal.  Bill went to pick up the keys and pay and they didn’t charge him.  They said they attached the clips that were still there but it was missing some so once we get to ID he will have the dealer there order them.  What nice people!

Pompeys Pillar

We headed northeast about 30 miles to Pompey’s Pillar National Monument.  Pompey’s is a sandstone outcrop on the bank of the Yellowstone River and rises 150 feet.  It is unique as it’s the only major sandstone formation in the area and has been an observation point for 11,000 years of human occupation.  Markings, petroglyphs and inscriptions have transformed the formation into a living journal.  Once we

William Clark inscription

completed viewing the movie and touring the VC we walked out to the formation.  I thought we’d just see it from the ground but there is a boardwalk WITH STEPS that you can go up and see some of the markings and inscriptions.  It was 101 steps to the level where we could view the enclosed inscription of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,

The steps

July 25, 1806.  That is the really important one for most people.  Then Bill dropped his sunglasses and they fell under a rock at the edge of the boardwalk.  Luckily I was able to squeeze my hand in and barely get hold of them.  Saved us a trip to the store!

Heading back into Billings we detoured about 10 miles to Pictograph Cave State Park.  We paid our entrance fee and checked out the small display area in the VC.  Then it was head out for a 1 mile loop trail to view the caves in 95 degree heat.  Luckily our safari hats were in the car.  The first of the trail is pretty much straight up hill to the main cave that was discovered in 1937.  Over 30,000 artifacts have been found

The best Pictograph we saw

with some dating back 9,000 years.  The more rain there is the more moisture is present in the cave and the more pictographs can be seen.  Of course when we’re there it’s the driest it has been in ages.  We did see some but not many of the 100 that are seen when it’s super wet.  Photos were tough to get but we got a few.  We completed the loop as we really needed the exercise but boy, it was hot and we were rather disappointed.

We did a drive around Billings.  It’s not a very big city and the airport is above the city on a plateau.  We drove past it on our search for Boot Hill but the map we had wasn’t marked the clearest and we did not find it.  Bill wanted to see the grave of Yellowstone Kelly.  We drove down the plateau on the main drag and passed the Montana State, Billings Campus.  Then we zipped over to Sam’s.  I told the owners where we are volunteering that we’d stop there for them for some campground supplies and I wanted a few things for us also.  It was late afternoon and they had food samples that were great.  I don’t think our Sam’s serves that late in the day or that large of portions.  We both had ¼ of a hamburger, 1/3 of chicken sandwich and a nice piece of the chicken quesadilla with sweet tea to wash it down! 

Once we put the groceries away I remembered that we were supposed to stop at a

RV Repair

hardware store for larger screws.  I got directions from the office and it was 4 right hand turns to Ace is the place.  They didn’t have the exact screw, of course and not the beige color either but at this point I really didn’t care.  I got white.  I got my Dewalt out and put it on to charge but we could not get a bit or screw to puncture the piece.  We think it’s fiberglass with the cover on it matching the rest of the ceiling.  We debated on buying an impact drill but I talked Bill into asking our new neighbor if he had one we could borrow.  I had determined that if the screw was long enough we could screw it through the fiberglass and catch the edge of the cabinet.  The neighbor ended up being the one to get the screws through and we put in 4 instead of only the 2 that were up.  It appears to be solid as a rock now!

With the big snack we had at Sam’s we just had some small leftovers and a piece of jello pie, so no major cooking or cleaning up.  The WIFI here is great and I got 2 days posted and caught up pretty well on my email.