Day 25, July 31st
This morning we got up early so Louie and Lynnae could spend some time in the pool before we left. They were so excited about going on the slide again. But, much to their disappointment, the slide wasn’t turned on until 9AM. So I got them back to the room for showers, then off to the complimentary breakfast. We packed up the car in record time and headed north to I-90 to turn westward.
It was a beautiful drive, and we decided to stop in Deer Lodge, Montana to tour the old state prison located there. It was worth the price of admission, especially for a history buff like me. The original parts were constructed in 1879, and the prison was in use until 1979. We were able to tour portions that were built by prisoners themselves at the turn of the century.
After the prison tour, we took a quick walk through the Auto Museum attached to the prison. The first exhibit was not even a car, but a horse drawn carriage. It moved from there onto the first cars, then each decade from there. There were over 150 vehicles on display.
A quick tour through the gift shop and we were outside. I looked across the street and saw a shop for gold and jewelry panning. I pointed Louie and Lynnae in that direction. Lynnae picked out a bag containing gold, and Louie selected the bag with sapphires. The owner of the shop showed Lynnae the correct way to pan for gold, and his assistant helped Louie with looking for the stones. We spent about an hour there while the two of them searched for treasure, and I received an education about gold and the art of panning and a little advice on investing.
Back on the road again, we are still heading west and getting hungry. I started to notice a shake in the steering wheel, and a familiar thumping of the tires. When we found our next meal (Missoula Montana at a Cracker Barrel), Louie and I checked the tires and found what we feared, a repeat of the front tire out of Amarillo. This was the right rear tire and it too suffered the same demise as the left front tire.
I drove carefully to Spokane Valley to our hotel. We checked in and watched a little TV before bed. I went through the phone book for a place to get a new tire (or two). I decided on Costco as I had been told they carry Bridgestone/Firestone. I programmed the address into the GPS for the morning.
By this time, Lynnae was fast asleep and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I fell asleep while Louie watched the weather forecast.
Mileage: 449 miles, average 32.1 MPG, total travel time 12 hours.
Tags: Travel
Lisa
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