Pacific Northwest

I was excited to get started on the next journey. We made a dead head from Iowa over to Lindsay, Nebraska, to pick up a load heading for Athol, Idaho. Yay! I hadn’t been to Idaho in several years, and Hubs hadn’t yet been. The drive ahead was going to be beautiful! And I would be getting to go back into South Dakota!

We picked up a crate and some pipes. 👇🏻

We meandered through Nebraska during the early hours of this trip, getting into South Dakota by evening. The cold weather had definitely set in everywhere, being January. ❄️

By the next morning, we were surrounded by a winter wonderland that was just beginning. 🩵💙🤍

As we drove on through South Dakota, we passed by 1800 Town, which I wrote about the last time we ventured through the state. (“A Prairie State Of Mind”)

On and on we went, enjoying the wide open spaces, eventually watching the beautiful sunset. By the time we reached Rapid City, we decided to stop for the night. We were breaking up the trip into manageable days. Both for our sakes and for Jax. I’d say he was more than ready to stretch out somewhere besides the backseat. 😂👇🏻

I really appreciate the hotel chains who are so pet friendly. We have paid pet fees anywhere from $20-$30 per night, with a couple of times being free. We usually go ahead and lay one of our own blankets over their bedspread, just to keep hairy traces of Jax at a minimum.

The next morning we rose to the continental breakfast provided in the dining room, and prepared ourselves for another day of discovery. Without much more of a drive we crossed over a small corner of Wyoming into Montana.

Some of what I have dedicated my drive time to is researching the different Native American tribes that inhabit reservations we pass through. That morning we found ourselves first on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Their heritage includes people who migrated to the Great Plains to escape the encroachment of white settlers. They became fierce nomads, following the buffalo herds for food, and shelter, as well as ceremonial rituals.

A further drive took us into the Crow Reservation on the way towards Billings, near the location of the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn, and Custer’s last stand. Their sobering history is an important one. They maintain a strong cultural identity today, with many members speaking Crow as their first language and preserving traditions like the Crow Fair, a large annual gathering. The tribe also operates the Little Big Horn College and has a government council with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. They have historically been known for their horsemanship, and horses continue to be a part of Crow culture and identity.

The drive through Montana created a beautiful show of scenery for us. Big Sky Country is one breathtaking view after another, inviting you further down the road. There are vast open spaces, and expansive skies, wildlife and many historical areas where you can pull off the road to read details of life long ago, and take a chance for a panoramic photo. 

Just as beautiful was the drive from there into northern Idaho. I have memories of winding through mountains, following a river, making stops on the side of the road to pick huge blackberries.  I hoped for Hubs to have just such memories from our trip.  We were not disappointed. Minus the blackberries, because the empty vines were naturally blanketed in snow this time of year. But the drive will live forever in our hearts. 

We found a cute little hotel in Coeur d'Alene, which was as close as we could get to our tiny destination and still have a hotel to check into. All three of us were glad to unload and settle in for a couple of days. Poor Hubs was beginning to feel run down after driving across so many states. He felt a flu coming on, so he got bundled up and went into hibernation. Jax & I played quietly and got caught up on some episodes of Hallmark Mystery shows. 

Monday morning woke us and we set out for the delivery in Athol. We dropped the load at a small section of their rail yard. 

Afterwards we made a short dead head into Spokane, Washington, to get a very small load of steel rails to take from there back to Billings, Montana. 

I was personally content finding a little snack of huckleberry pretzels. I would've been happy with huckleberry anything. I knew I couldn't wind up a trip to the Pacific Northwest without something.