We have breakfast at the hotel (we do like Holiday Inn breakfast) and it's great, but we're a little turned off by the family who showed up without shoes and are just walking around the breakfast eating area. The mom keeps wiping the crumbs off the bottom of her feet and then touching the buffet handles. Yum. Thank goodness we were there first and don't have to touch the foot wart handles.
We head out of there and get on Route 2. Today is mainly one lane with lots of passing slower cars on the opposite side of the road. I'm getting good at it now - basically a pro. We also see LOTS of stops and beautiful sites to stop and take more pictures. Like this one below, it's hard to read the sign but this is the NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE DOWN THIS ROAD. How crazy is that? It's like a directory...on a sign.
I also take the opportunity to take two more of our abandoned road pictures I have been thinking about. One with Gideon playing with his "guys" and one with Abby reading. I think they both came out great and am loving this series. Both kids are super kind and brave about doing it. Don't worry, we are always sure we are safe.
We stop about 100 miles on the journey to use the restroom and refill gas. On the way in the gas station there is a drug deal going on in the entrance. We breeze by it and head to the restroom where there is a woman shooting something in her arm in the stall. She leaves quickly and leaves those rubber band things that the nurse ties around your arm when she takes your blood. We brought toilet covers and protect and relieve ourselves. Adam mentions another drug deal happened while he was getting gas too. Rough stop, but we're back on our way.
The afternoon was just a lot of driving, canola fields, cows, horses and derelict towns. We had one stop at "the sleeping buffalo rock" which is a native american carving of a buffalo that has been preserved. We get there and...wow. It has been destroyed, and there is littler and cigarettes everywhere and there's a prairie dog walking all over it. I didn't take any pictures because it was really sad. We get back in the car for 2 more hours of driving. At this point, the children went a bit batty. It started with Gideon's "guys" getting married, starting a war, becoming cannibals and then divorcing. Abby eventually joined in as well with her few stuffed animals and before you know it there was a full on soap opera occurring in the backseat. I have flashbacks to our Route 66 trip where the EXACT same thing happened. At one point on this trip, it has gone further though, with Abby and Gideon acting out Adam and my fight from day 2. Very eye opening and hurtful, but I have to give it to them, it was funny.
We are ending the night early (around 4pm) to get caught up on blogs/pictures, maybe swim and rest before an early start tomorrow for Glacier National Park. We are excited to use our ticket Gideon won and take a ton more pictures. I'm also excited to hear Gideon's history lessons on the park.
Summary: No shoes, still breakfast. I am a passing master on one lane roads. Travel days are getting tougher on the brain. Ending the day at the Comfort Inn, Shelby, MT (there is a casino in the hotel...).