Tonight, we’ll sleep in Pray, Montana, in a canvas tent the size of a hotel room. It’s fabulous here. With thick rugs, a plush and long leather couch, and fixings for s’mores in the refrigerator, the little extras feel kind and giving, whereas, in hotels, I feel slimy and taken advantage of. Dave and Evelyn are playing Guess Who, and it’s super cute. Even though she’s a year and a half shy of the six-year-old age recommendation, she’s asking good questions—well, except one. She looked at her secret card, which needed to be guessed, and said, “Ooh, a boy. Shoot. Um, Dad. Shake your head so you don’t remember I said boy.”
On paper, driving six hours doesn’t sound bad, but having done it two days in a row, it’s a little obnoxious, even with Montana’s generous speed limit of 80 mph. On I-90, I thought of you, sweet blog reader, wondering what I’d share. Would it be the bountiful amount of eagles on posts and soaring in the sky, or the excess amount of ‘roided-up Chevy and Ford pickup trucks?
The turn-off of I-90 took us to a remote location where we should have, but didn’t, make the vocal bouncy sound when driving over the speed bumps on loose gravel road. Turning into our AirBnb, a large nest with three ospreys and a palomino horse made for a friendly welcome. It’s quiet here. With a dozen campsites and only four or five inhabited and spaced apart, it’s much different than the stompers above us in the motel last night.
I’ve gotten a couple of “Good choice, Jaclynn” from Jeff and Dave, and they’re right—this place is badass. The pictures on Airbnb do not do it justice. I’m curious, with how beautiful sunset was, how spectacular will the sunrise be coming up over the huge mountain. Since I usually wake at 5 or 6 am – before forcing myself back to sleep – I’ll be sure to unzip and flap the canvas back to take a look and a picture before snuggling myself back in.
In the morning, we’ll head out early, hopefully. We plan to trek to and through Yellowstone for a full day, especially since Dave, Evelyn, and Jeff have never been. Did you see in the news that only two days ago, a hydrothermal explosion happened there? Link to article. Hopefully, that means the tourist population is heading to Mount Rushmore or Badlands instead, so we can have a traffic-free experience.
I’d like to stop writing and let my pictures from the day do the talking. My rating for day two is 4.4 out of 5 stars. Now. onto the main attraction…
Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 