A Long Drive

We drove about 400 miles from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Big Timber, Montana. We saw many herds of pronghorn on the Wyoming portion of the drive. The landscape gradually changed as the rolling hills became larger and eventually gave way to mountains. After climbing to the top of one particularly long grade, I turned to Regis and said, “That probably cost us $20 in gas!” Our gas mileage is plummeting, and the downhill coasting does not seem to make up for all those uphill climbs.

One thing we noticed was the number of freight trains. Interstate 90 closely follows one of America’s historic transcontinental rail lines, so it wasn’t unusual to see train after train hauling everything from grain and coal to stacks of shipping containers headed across the country. The railroad and the interstate seem to share the same natural corridor through southern Montana.

It was hot when we arrived in our campground, yet cooler than it has been. I immediately took the dogs to the dog park which was all dirt. The dogs enjoyed sniffing but gave up on it quickly. But, our campsite was surrounded by grass. As soon as Clover got back and hit the grass, she started rolling around and kicking her feet up in the air. Since it got cooler that evening, I sat outside with the dogs and they both started rolling around in the grass and chasing each other. People stopped to see the dogs which led to delightful conversations. Two men were riding their bicycles across country and left from Virginia Beach, Virginia on their way to LaPush, Washington. They are considering getting a ride around Spokane to avoid the wildfires and heavy smoke. We also must travel through Spokane. Another couple shared travel stories with us. The woman had tape on her knee and I had a brace on my knee which led to a conversation about how our lifestyle does not support having parts of our body failing to keep up. That conversation made me realize I had skipped over an important part of this adventure.

What I haven’t talked about yet in our posts is that I started to have a knee issue that popped up suddenly at the end of last year. Late last year my knee suddenly seemed to pop out of place, causing excruciating pain. It slipped back quickly, but that was the beginning of months of trouble. After a few more episodes, I saw an orthopedic specialist and started physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the joint.  I got a shot in the knee and advice from the physical therapist and we took off on our trip on time. While getting into the truck at one point after a stop in the Badlands, I twisted my leg and it was painful. I could not walk without being in pain. I rested my leg and continued some medication the doctor gave me and within a couple of days I was feeling hopeful. But, while in the trailer in Rapid City one evening, I twisted my leg again and the pain was so bad it brought me to tears. I was so miserable that in the middle of the night I plotted a trip back home that would get us there by Friday. I simply couldn’t take the pain and Regis was going to have to do everything by himself. I’d been looking forward to Washington for months. The thought of reaching it and not being able to hike or walk the dogs was almost harder than the pain itself. I did not cancel any existing reservations waiting to discuss with Regis. In the morning, Regis talked me into not giving up. “I’ll walk the dogs,” he said. “You become the car photographer.” Which meant I could not get in and out of the car to take photos. I still limp and walk slowly, and I may not be able to explore Washington the way I imagined. But I am incredibly lucky to have Regis beside me. He has taken over many of the chores without complaint and keeps reminding me that the adventure isn’t over just because I can’t do everything I had planned.