Another State Capital!

Leaving Billings was a quiet affair 'just like Sunday morning'. We headed West on the I90 and then North on Highway 87 for a journey that would take around three-and-a-half hours. As we progressed, passing the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers and climbed into the mountains towards Helena National Forest, the weather worsened and whilst we didn't see a lot of heavy rain, there was a lot of low-hanging cloud......reminiscent of our Welsh holidaying! At one point we came face to face with a white-tailed deer that stood its ground in the centre of the road, until we stopped, when it ran for the hills! We made a couple of stops in some (very) small towns and ordered 'coffees to go'. Small town America is fascinating and one wonders how communities of less than (say) three-hundred people live out their lives in such isolation and facing such hard winters. (Montana is a big state with a total population in the order of only half-a-million!) Anyway, we got to Helena, Montana's State capital, and played 'find the hotel'! Our 'confirmation e-mail' gave the address of an 'ex-Holiday Inn', which thankfully wasn't our final destination. We eventually found our bed for the night and its a really neat place....brand new, great staff and our room is ideally situated. So it might have been a grey day, but Helena is giving off good vibes!! During our drive, we heard lots of R&R music and whilst Freddy Cannon's "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" is at the forefront of my mind, I just couldn't include this track, being so far North....so I've gone for another of Freddy's Golden Oldies.....