billings, montana

So---it's actually Monday night, June 2nd right now. We didn't have wireless at the Dude Rancher...so just pretend that you received this post yesterday :)

Montana's geography is absolutely stunning. It's so dramatic and beautiful. The fact that they don't have billboards and huge signage for the businesses really makes an impact. It is tranquil and relaxing to drive through.

Most of it feels very rural and Western as you might expect--but Billings is like a mini-Seattle. They have Loft Apartments, restaurants with Tapas, beautiful Interior Design galleries. We were really surprised.

We thought The Dude Rancher motel would be somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. We thought it would be very rural--wouldn't you? But NO. The Dude Rancher is in the most urban, financial district-type environment?!! It was across the street from the local newspaper of all places. There was NO GRASS anywhere and you had to pay for all the parking. Crazy and unexpected!!

I liked The Dude Rancher. It was ultra-kitch with high style. The carpeting had branding like cow branding patterns on it. It had wood paneling--crazy wood western furniture. Dave, however, hated the Dude Rancher. To be fair, it was dirty and it hadn't been maintained in two decades. To me, that was part of it's charm.

I think Dave's main objection was because the doors didn't really open with our key. That created a problem--exacerbated a (self-imposed) problem---Dave really, really, really likes pizza. Yesterday was no different. And he does not have personal control when pizza is involved. So--consequently, when he was not able to open the door with the key, he ended up throwing himself into it with all his weight, which, did open the door, but caused him to be really concerned about it for our entire visit.

I understand, because along with it's urban setting, it came complete with suspicious people standing outside wearing wife-beaters and smoking cigarettes in the middle of the night. I felt OK because the dogs were with us and we could chain the locks.

The doggies are having a really fun time. They love the car, and they smell all the smells, and then at night it's playtime with their Kongs and their rawhides. It's like the most amount of quality time they've had with us for a long time.

In baby news, I'm feeling fine. I have really swollen ankles, and really bad heartburn--but I'm fine.