Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • fa l l 2 0 1 4 52 bILLINgS We rendezvous at the Billings airport. Monica Bennett comes from Seattle. She has a colorful Web site, www.just5moreminutes.com. She and her family travel often in an Airstream. Also enthusiastic RV-ers are Kay and David Scott from Geor- gia; they've authored a complete guide to lodges in our nation's parks. Our first evening starts in downtown Billings. • We walk around the Depot area and take in the musical sounds of "Alive at Five," starring the Clinton's. A woman with a stogie in her mouth catches my eye; she wears short shorts and her back is tattooed. • We sit down at the spacious Trailhead Spirits Brewery owned by Casey McGowan. He gets his wheat (3,600 bushels a year) from his family's farms. The distillery section consists of vast vats controlled by push button technology made by Ba- varian Breweries. • Delicious Dinner at the Lilac Café is hosted by Nick Mann (VisitSoutheastMon- tana.com) and Alex Tyson (VisitBillings.com). Nick orders Wild Boar with pasta and pronounces it "delicious." pompEyS pILLar • Here William Clark etched his name and date into the sand- stone cliff in 1806, the only record of the famous expedition. He named this spot after his Native American guide's son, "Little Pomp." The Yellowstone River flows nearby amidst thick cotton- wood trees waving in the breeze. • Long before L & C, Crow Indians engraved a sacred mountain lion and other animals (now hard to see). mILES CIty The town is quiet without the Bucking Horse events but a colorful atmosphere persists. • Lunch is at the double-roomed 600 Café, where I have chicken fried steak. • Local friendly man, Jerry, sits with us and tells us about his two "wife-times." • Miles City Saddlery, established before 1894, is the home of famous custom-made saddles (with their stamp of quality), 1,600 tooled boots, including "mucking" boots, bits & spurs, clothes. I buy a gray silk cowgirl scarf. • Kick Ass Hatter, Ken Hess, talks to us about how his hats are ordered from around the world. tErry We visit the Evelyn Cameron museum. Evelyn was a well-bred English woman who visited here in 1889 on her honeymoon. Inspired by the openness and wildlife, the couple stayed in order to breed polo ponies and send them back to The bright threads of this trip arE gENIaL pEopLE, LEWIS & CLark SpotS, thE mEaNDErINgS of thE yELLoWStoNE & mISSourI rIVErS, aND moNtaNa'S hIStorICaL paSt bLENDED WIth ItS prESENt. Billings Pompeys Pillar Miles City Miles City VALERiE HARMS

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