Back in the US!

I love Canada – its people, its devotion to preserving its natural beauty, its love for casinos and whiskey – but I was happy to get back to the States.

I lied at the border crossing, though. Or lied again. I still have contraband bourboun but now I also have a live animal. I haven’t seen him since Banff but Mighty continues to evade the trap so I assume he’s still in the car. Every 5 minutes or so I stomp my feet to be sure he doesn’t try to climb up my leg. I look like a lunatic.

Ok, the drive. My cousin Lisa Senters is the boss of me. She devised a scavenger hunt of sorts of strange places I must see as I drive through Montana. I didn’t do very well but here are the results so far.

Task 1: Picture with a penguin in Cut Bank, the coldest place in the US. The roads were closed because of snow so fail.

Task 2: Lunch at Sip n Dip, a bar with mermaids in Great Falls. This is where I learned that my Verizon plan was screwed up and I wasted almost 2 hours on the phone with them. So, the best I could do is photo proof I went but I didn’t go in. Half point. It was WAY sketchy.

Task 3: Stuffed wolf in general store in Stanford, MT. By the time I got there, it was closed but here’s a pic of the cute little store.

Task 4 (she’s relentless): Medusa’s head made from hay in Hobson. I never found it. I found Hobson but no hay head. So instead I give you the ice piled on my fender which, in my opinion, is Medusa-like.

Today I’m driving from Billings to Cheyenne so if anyone else wants in on this, have at it! I’m doing my best to avoid the killer storm and the snow it is dumping but the sub-zero temps are a huge challenge, both for driving and for camping.