20APRIL2011 @ Billings, MT - Tom Beaudette woke us at 0515 and Felomina was at the Greyhound station ready to ride at 0600. I returned to the bed until 0830 and then ventured out to the City Brew near Grand and 15th. Great place - fancy coffee as well as my $1.50 regular and an easy internet connection. There being no Chase Bank in Billings, nor in North Dakota (nor in Wyoming, South Dakota or Minnesota for that matter), I would not be able to walk in and pay my monthly credit card bill. As I drove through and out of Billings I saw no post office, so I stopped and mailed my payment from Huntley. At the Huntley interstate interchange is a cafe/bar that simply screams "HAMBURGER". I expect that the exalted purists of Montana will state otherwise, but I consider the hamburger to be the meal one must enjoy regularly while in our state. Every state has it's "State Meal" ... Maryland has crab cakes, South Carolina has grits with shrimp, Louisiana has gumbo, Texas has barbeque and Montana has hamburger. Red beans and rice for Louisiana you say? No no no no no ... that's New Orleans, not the entire state. But I digress; it being 1100 I was drawn in and yes-yes-yes it was truly an extraordinary hamburger place. They grind fresh cut loin into a burger and present it with fries, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles and a toasted bun. We Americans have grown accustomed to chewy burgers - I choose Wendy's - but this burger texture is different, more appropriate, more tasty, more presentable, more American and more Montanan. It is as life should be - and at this cafe it is the way life is. Perfect!
At Pompey's Pillar I saw Bill Clark's "W. Clark July 25, 1806" carved into the sandstone. This is one of the few sites where any remnant of the Corps of Discovery trip can be seen; never has graffitti looked better. The National Monument was not yet open for the season but the walk in is far enough to disuade the casual and easy enough for me and several other citizens.
Cruising into Miles City at 1600 I concluded the day was over. The reports of ice on Sakakawea and the weather.com report of highs in the 30s give me pause - Miles City is a good pausing town. Good night, sleep tight.