Mining Country

This morning we toured through the town of Glendive a bit before we left, doing a few travel errands.  It is a nice small town with an obvious mining heritage - the 1800s architecture could have been a prototype for any cowboy western.  But it seems to be thriving based on the number of  businesses and schools and the well-maintained  housing.  Railroads, coal mining, and oil and gas exploration are definitely spurring growth here and as we continued into Wyoming. 

We finally turned south as we left the town of Miles City, Montana and on to our destination in Wright, Wyoming.  In addition to all of the industry, huge ranches and farmland are certainly the norm.  No wonder that John Deere suppliers are everywhere!  We also noticed that haying is done not only in fields but also in the median of the highway - we were trying to think where that could even be possible in Vermont.

In Kinsey, Montana we were able to view the Yellowstone River one more time - and it is magnificent.  Dick liked this part - can you tell?  Nothing like Big Sky country to free the mind .

This evening in Wright, we were amazed at the quality of the inn here - fairly new, great internet, and a wonderful steakhouse attached.  It appears to be a home away from home for numerous engineers and oil/gas and mining workers.  There is a sign posted on the front door to "please remove your muddy boots" - I think we were okay keeping on our sandals and sneakers.  Our steak dinners were awesome, complete with fresh peas, an Oregon Pinot Noir, and  a lovely view from our porch-side table.