In the birthplace of a campground dynasty
On any given day, in our self-contained home on the road, we learn about the limitations. And the pleasures, of course; else, why bother. Today, as we rolled south and east through Montana, I had ample time to note some details.
I now understand why satellite radio, by name Sirius XM, might be worth the price. In the heartland, where cattle are everywhere and the trucks are all white and F150, the musical playlist on local radio stations is a niche. And there is nothing except that niche and some particular talk radio themes. I can accept neither for more than a few minutes, so I soon returned to listening to those voices in my brain. An uptick in intellectual content, for the record.
We decided to err from the usual interstate routing, and the roads narrowed to “us and them”. The scenery came up as A plus, although the various rivers are running fast and furious, from where I sit. Best not to fall in. There were wild deer, everywhere; no wonder these people take their rifles along. Supper on the sly.
In one service station, as I tried to scrub bug jam from the windshield, I noticed something untoward. Three speedy Tesla charging stations. Is this how we shift the focus from oil to electric? Good move! No I haven’t seen any of the rumoured Tesla trucks, but they will come.
As we passed through Laurel, MT which is just beside a huge railroad yard, I noticed almost two dozen old wooden boxcars on a lot. Now, I can’t be sure, but these might be part of the makeshift village that provided much needed housing, a half-century ago. According to the article I found online, insulation was created by splashing water on the outer surface and depending on the created ice layer as protection against the winds of winter.
Our cell data allocation gave out this afternoon, taking our phone GPS with it. That lonely blue searchlight, on a map with no names, reminds me to find a solution, immediately.
As for where we sleep tonight: in a campground on the edge of Billings, MT which proudly bears the label of “the first KOA”.
