Day 1 of Our Wild West Adventure (Part 1 of a 6 Part Series)

July 18, 2019September 9, 2019Travel & Adventure3 Comments

by Cindy Baker

Day 1 of our Wild West Adventure – Flying from Memphis, Tennessee to Billings, Montana provided incredible views of the majestic Rocky Mountains, abundant rivers, canyons, and so much green everywhere. I always prefer the window seat on an airplane for this very reason. We were so excited to be away from the heat and humidity we are used to and to explore Big Sky country where you can see for miles and miles. It is absolutely gorgeous!

We spent our first night in Billings and found the town to be quite charming. The city’s tag line is “Montana’s Trailhead,” and although we did not hike that day we could see that there are many trails in the shadows of the Rimrocks and along the rivers and streams. Billings has hundreds of acres of city parks and 47 miles of walking and biking trails that surround the city. Seven miles of these trails are along the beautiful Yellowstone River. You can get a complete map of Billings’ trail systems at VisitBillings.com/goplay.

Montana is known for fly fishing, so we saw lots of fishermen and women in the many creeks and rivers all throughout Montana and Wyoming. Remember the movie “A River Runs Through It?” Call the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (406-247-2940) for information about fishing access sites and licenses. There are many other outdoor activities, a zoo, shopping, restaurants, and more. If you are a beer drinker there is even Montana’s only walkable Brewery Trail in the heart of downtown Billings. In fact, almost every town near Yellowstone has several micro-breweries.

Mountain Streams like this one are all throughout Montana.

Insider Tip: You can even stop by the Visitor Information Center to borrow a bike for the day or find a bike rental location close by. You can borrow the bike for free, but a credit card is required to guarantee the return of the undamaged bike.

Great Restaurant: Lunch at the Montana Club restaurant was absolutely delicious! https://www.montanaclub.com/billings-restaurant-steak-prime-rib-seafood-burgers-happy-hour/

Jack Daniels Steak Bites – Filet Mignon sauteed with peppers and onions, glazed with Jack Daniels Brown Sugar Sauce and topped with Skinny Onion Rings. What?!!

Montana has a lot of Native American culture, which is really cool. The Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations are located near Billings. How did the Crow get their name? The Crow reservation, established in 1851, originally had the tribal name of “Apsaalooke,” which in their native tongue means “children of the large beaked bird.” Over time this name was misinterpreted, turning the tribe into the “Crow.” The Northern Cheyenne Reservation, established in 1884, has some tourist attractions such as a historical buffalo jump, burial sites of Indian Chiefs, Custer’s last camp before the Battle of Little Big Horn and St. Labre Indian School. There are also cultural centers and three museums.

Insider Tip: When in a reservation always ask before taking a picture, since some cultural traditions may not welcome this in all areas.

The Yellowstone Kelly interpretive Site is at the top of Sword’s Rimrock Park and overlooks downtown Billings. Luther Sage “Yellowstone” Kelly was one of the most notable frontiersman, American veteran, and warriors of his time. You can visit YellowstoneKelly.org to check out the 24-hour live stream video. Probably the most famous of all Western explorer/settler stories is the story of Lewis and Clark (1804-1806). Captain William Clark spent three years with Lewis exploring this region. Clark and his men passed through Billings in July 1806 on their way to Pompeys Pillar, where his signature remains carved into the pillar to this day. Other notable people of history include Preston Boyd Moss, who started the Billings Gazette and Billings Utility Company, Frederick Billings, who made a name for himself during the gold rush and ended up getting this town named after him, and my favorite “Calamity Jane.” Martha Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, was known for chewing tobacco, heavy drinking, and acting out in general. She spent a lot of time in Billings at a log cabin on Canyon Creek from 1893 – 1902.

Motorcycle enthusiast? The number one motorcycling road in America, according to American Motorcyclist magazine is about 60 miles from Billings: U.S. Highway 212, better known as the BearTooth Highway. Many hotels even have bike washing stations. We tried to drive up to see the views the day we stayed in Billings, but when we got near the top it started hailing! Yes, in July. We don’t see hail in July in Memphis; that’s for sure. So even though we decided to turn back early that day we went back over the mountain pass on our way back to the Billings airport from West Yellowstone at the end of our trip and were amazed at how high up we were (it climbs to 10,947 feet above sea level) and how beautiful the scenery is. Over 950 alpine and glacial lakes, the snowed covered Beartooth Mountains, green valleys. These mountains boast 20 peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation (including Granite Peak, Montana’s highest at 12,799 feet). There really are no words. I have climbed 14,000 + footers in Colorado, skied the Swiss Alps, and been on the Italian Riviera, but the views from the BearTooth Highway might outweigh them all. Named “the most beautiful roadway in America” by On the Road correspondent Charles Kuralt, it is definitely worth the drive!

Insider Tip: If you are renting a car, get one with four-wheel drive built for climbing steep hills. A small economy car won’t cut it. Also make sure the brakes work!

Our view going over the mountain pass on the Bear Tooth Highway

Red Lodge: To get up to the mountain pass from Billings on the BearTooth Highway you have to go through a quaint little town at the foot of the mountain called Red Lodge (elevation 5,555). The main street downtown, called Broadway, is lined with cute locally owned gift shops, art galleries, antique shops, boutiques, a bookstore, a candy store, and over twenty eateries. It sort of felt like we were walking around a movie set.

Insider Tip: Plan on at least two ½ hours driving time to get from Red Lodge to Yellowstone – more if you plan on stopping a lot. The road is very steep and winding.

The pictures on the wall on the left are of veterans – World War II I think.

Wow! He must have been moving really fast when he hit that wall! Ha Ha 🙂

Stay Tuned for Part 2: Our first day in Yellowstone National Park! I would love to read your comments below!

To see a short video of Day 1 Check it out here:

Jazzing It Up In The Big Easy

December 30, 2018June 27, 2019Travel & AdventureLeave a comment

When I think of New Orleans I think of food, culture, jazz, and the people. My church here in Memphis hosted a shelter for folks from New Orleans who had come to us after Hurricane Katrina, and I will say that the people I met were some of the most friendly, resilient, and grateful people ever. Recently my husband and I spent some time there on our way to a cruise, and we had a fabulous visit. The city of New Orleans has been called many nicknames: The Big Easy, The Crescent City, Most Interesting City in America, and several more. It sits right in a crescent of the Mississippi River, and even though we could feel the humidity in the air there was always a slight breeze to offset it. We did find it indeed a very interesting city full of art, music, culture, and delicious cuisine.

**You have to try the Beignets at the famous Cafe’ du Monde in the French Quarter!**

Folks here in Memphis like to think of our city as the real music city (even though Nashville tries to claim that), but New Orleans has it’s fair share of a variety of American music. Whether you’re into jazz, rock, or even classical, there is something for everybody. We enjoyed live Cajun music and food at a family style place called Mulato’s.

Fun Family Restaurant with Live Music

**Shopping is abundant. There is an outlet mall at Riverwalk, but we liked window shopping at quaint little shops like this one**.

New Orleans has evidence of French, Spanish, Haitian, and Cuban influence. There is a lot of tradition, such as their famous Creole cuisine served in restaurants made of century-old architecture and in its wild and crazy, traffic-stopping parades where I am told marchers scale rooftops to dance. I have never seen this, but Mardi Gras is a big deal in this city. New Orleans people are strong. This city has endured tremendous tragedy, yet it still celebrates with style and flair.

Jackson Square is a historic park in the French Quarter. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, because it is the site where the 1803 Louisiana Purchase took place. Today a thriving open-air artist colony exists, with artists painting and displaying their work just outside of the iron fence.

Next time you are craving some Cajun cooking, drop on by the Bayou in NOLA, and see why New Orleans truly is a most interesting city. Have you been to New Orleans? Drop me a comment and tell me what your favorite part of your visit was.

Cozumel in December

December 27, 2018June 27, 2019Travel & AdventureLeave a comment

This past December my husband and I had the chance to cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, and I got to do something I’ve always wanted to do – swim with the dolphins! Knowing that my friends back home were in the middle of winter made it even more fun to enjoy the warm ocean breezes and sunshine. Although there were lots of vendors near the port, they did not act too pushy or make us uncomfortable. Bring some cash, and always be ready to negotiate. Most vendors will take a lower amount than what they initially ask for.

There were so many colorful homemade souvenirs!

There is something for everybody there. Whether you want to relax on the beach, snorkel, take a tour by catamaran or jeep, see a show, or just go shopping. Because it is a popular cruise ship destination, our ship and another ship were on different ship times since they came from different ports. This caused some confusion with the departure times of some of the excursions, and we were told that our VIP package had been canceled. We rebooked on a different tour but saw someone holding up the sign for our first one when we arrived. When I asked about it, the vendor said it was not canceled after all and that we could pay the difference and upgrade to our original booking. The great thing about that was that no one else knew about this, so we got a private excursion! We got to interact with the dolphins as much as we wanted and then watch a wonderful sea lion show!

After the sea lion show we walked around a park called Chankanaab. There were so many cool things to see – even animals and birds. We snorkeled near the reef and saw some beautiful brightly colored fish. It was awesome! Don’t miss this popular vacation spot. It is worth the trip!

Jammin in Jamaica

June 20, 2016June 12, 2020Travel & AdventureLeave a comment

When my husband and I traveled to Ocho Rios in Jamaica we really didn’t know what to expect. It sounded exotic to us, and we were up for some adventure. Well, we are certainly glad we chose to visit. Ocho Rios is a port town on the north coast of Jamaica. Formerly a small fishing village, it is now a large resort area with a cruise ship harbor and a busy bay beach with hotels lined up along the shore. The surrounding parish of Saint Ann contains a rainforest, as well as many rivers and beautiful waterfalls. Dunn’s River Falls is a 180m mountain waterfall with lagoon pools, surrounded by trees. My husband and I actually climbed this waterfall with a guide on a group tour. It was slippery and scary at parts, but it was so cool! How many people can say that they have climbed up a waterfall? If you go there, I would recommend trying this adventure, but be sure to pack water shoes with good grips on the bottom.

Waterfalls in Jamaica — Waterfalls like this one were in abundance.

Rivers in Jamaica — There are lots of rivers in Jamica.

Cruise ships in Jamaica — Several cruise ships visit this port town regularly.

Whether you are into the rum and reggae music scene, or are looking for outdoor adventures you will find it all here. One of the coolest things we did was to see Ocho Rios from the top of the 700 foot Mystic Mountain. There are different adventure tours for all ages, where you can experience the forest’s rich ecosystem, sparkling river streams and take in some pretty spectacular views. The Rainforest SkyExplorer is a state-of-the-art chairlift that takes people up the mountain, but we opted for the zip line! The view above the treetops was awesome. We traveled right through the canopy and could see the tropical seaside rainforest below. When we got to the top, we road the Bobsled! So many times these sorts of rides are disappointing, because they do not really go fast enough, but on this one I found myself having to put the brakes on. We were flying! It was such a thrill to drive these custom designed, high-tech sleds down a 100m long gravity-drive through the rainforest. It was just like Jamaica’s Olympic team’s sleds. Remember the movie “Cool Runnings?”

Mystic Mountain in Jamaica — **The view from the top of Mystic Mountain**

Zip Line in Jamaica — **My Zip Line View!**

Rainforest birds in Jamaica — **We saw some very interesting Rainforest birds.**

Hummingbirds in Jamaica — **Lots of hummingbirds**

There are river rapids trips, caves, beaches, golfing, water sports, Dolphin Cove, parks with waterfalls and gardens, bicycle tours, Jeep tours, Catamaran boat rides, great jerk chicken, and shopping!