Now an interesting addendum to our cabin in the woods on a snowy/rainy night. We headed to bed leaving the bathroom light on as a nightlight. Shortly after midnight a knock sounded at the door. Do we answer it or just continue sleeping? I have to admit that I was a bit nervous and slid down under the covers. Eventually the door was answered and standing on the porch was a man in his mid 40s so wet and almost freezing. He apologized for the disturbance but desperately needed a drink of water. He looked like he was ready to die. Giving him a blanket and an extra jacket he slept in our car. He had been attempting to walk from Cooke City to Red Lodge after being robbed and his truck breaking down. Checking the car the next morning I am pleased to say that nothing went missing and he left the blanket and the jacket.

      I also failed to mention that while dining at the Borscht Bowl in Grand Forks I made a comment to the waitress that there were a lot of places to sample various types of food and she agreed." Lots of food but you can not buy shoes" she said. We laughed.

 

Thursday September 12, 2019 - Top of the World Motel to Casper, Wyoming

        We drove to Red Lodge as the sun was bright and warm and the road was opened. The road made switch backs and climbed up to nearly 11,000 feet giving scenic views that are  hard to verbalize. This scenic route is one of my favorites. I would recommend this road for those who do photography and have the spirit of adventure. The road is narrow so take your time and use the viewpoints. We continued along 212 until we joined up to I-90 continuing east. I made an error and headed south on 25 instead of staying on 90. My plan to get to Mount Rushmore was now going to be delayed. The ride south through the rolling hills with golden-yellow grass caused some discussion  as we saw pronghorns grazing in the fields. There was a time when they were wild. Are they now being raised  like cattle? Or maybe they are used in canned hunting. I would have to be really hungry to shoot one of these beautiful animals. We arrived in Casper at around 4pm and found a lovely Motel 6. We spotted it from the highway but needed to put up our exploring antenna to actually get to it. This motel was very well maintained and had a number of disabled rooms with amenities. We chose to spend 2 nights here and after all the business was taken care of we headed to Red Lobster. Casper is a spread out city with slightly more than 55,000 residents.

Friday September 13,2019

       Today was a sit around day, rest and read and did some typing.