Friday 12 July 2013
We stopped at the Bighorn canyon visitor center in Lovell, just to see what there was to see, and to soak up some calories in the shady picnic area. Overheard the docent telling some people that they had come this far, and certainly shouldn’t miss Bighorn canyon, which was only half an hour away.
Well, okay. We didn’t want to arrive in Billings too late to find a motel, so I got on my cell phone and booked a room at the Best Western Clocktower Inn. Blind shot, but I guessed, correctly, that the clock tower moniker suggested a central location, rather than boondocks. Now, with a guard against late arrival, we drove out to see the canyon.
Open desert country, pretty enough in its way, but hot. The canyon is of course down and out of sight from anywhere not close by.
We liked the varieties of lichen, each competing for its little place in the sun, but with many places in the sun not being desirable enough to occupy.
As to the canyon, there are many views, but this is arguably one of the better sights.
There are, of course, a few small animals visible to the alert eye. This robber fly has just caught a moth.
How often do you get a nose-on view of a robber fly?
Jacky doesn’t like heights, so the fence is an important prop for this shot.
We stopped at a number of points, did a couple short hikes, then declared victory and drove to Billings.
Without a map, Billings gets a bit confusing. We pulled over into a shady spot and pulled up street maps on our cell phones. That, with a note of the motel address, got us sorted out. Walked out to the old train station area, which is fairly yuppified. Nearby warehouses are in the middle of conversion to expensive loft apartments and streetfront businesses.
We ate and dined and called it another good day.
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