Day 10 and 11 - Drive to and stay in Montana

Yesterday (Day 10) we traveled from South Dakota to Billings Montana. As with all of our drives in this part of the country, it was absolutely gorgeous. But let me tell you (and warn you if you ever come this way) about US Route 212. If you look at a map of this area, I-90 will take you from Rapid City SD to Billings MT, but it does a U down through Wyoming and back up to Montana. If you have a Garmin GPS, well, she doesn't like you going out of your way although the interstate may be a much better drive in terms of lanes and speed. So, Ms. Garmin puts us on US Route 212 in South Dakota on the Wyoming border and reconnected us to I-90 about 60 miles east of Billings. I would say that technically it did save us about 60 minutes versus staying on I-90. Fortunately, we had been driving at the point of entry to US Route 212 about 90 min and something told me to top off the gas tank and feed the family and it was a good thing I did because there was no warning to do so otherwise. US Route 212 is about 200 miles of a two lane road (with very little traffic so that was good) that runs through a brief section of Wyoming before entering Montana, Custer National Forest, two Indian Reservations, and miles and miles of farms and rock formations. At least 75% of the time we had no cell service. There were no gas stations or places to eat. There were miles and miles of seclusion. At least 50% of the time we had to resort to AM Radio just to get music (where was my satellite radio when I needed it). I really wasn't worried (I know that people who know me best have a hard time believing that), but I was glad to see I-90 and diesel since I had about 90 miles to E! After leaving South Dakota around 11:30 AM, we arrived at the very first KOA ever built in Billings MT on the Yellowstone River about 5:30 PM. The area is absolutely breath taking. We decided to stay an extra night giving up a night of rest half on our way to Bryce Canyon making this Saturday a very long drive for us, but we are glad we decided to just stop and do nothing for a day to catch up on rest and relaxation. Today (Day 11) we did the Wal-Mart run to re-stock, hung out by the pool, washed clothes, played putt-putt, and hiked along the Yellowstone River. Tomorrow we will be on our way to Yellowstone for a three day, four night stay.