The Song is 500 Miles not 700

Goodbye and temporary good riddance to the feline diva. Not only did she demand control of the tuneage her caterwauling simply left me unbridled. With her out of the way....I mean loving left in the care of Grandma...we were up and out of the house bright and eary. Our first stop was Alexandria for one of the first "Minnesota Marvels" on our agenda. I wanted my picture taken with "Big Ole". According to regional lore, Big Ole and friends were the first to discover America.  They tell their story on something called the Kensington Runestone. According to Sous-Chef we know this to be a fake but fun "story".   Anyway he was much too big for me to get my picture taken with him, but we were able to get these.

Big Ole, Isn't he handsome?

Me reading the sign

On our way through North Dakota, we decided to stop and have lunch in Jamestown with the buffalo. I made some new friends and I got my picture taken with the world's largest buffalo (look real close and you'll see me by his right front hoof). We tried to have lunch with real buffalo but lady at the National Buffalo Museum said they were hiding on the back 40 of the 200 acres they live on.

Can you see me by his right front hoof?

Our next stop was the rest area near the Painted Canyon in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The painted Canyon is part of the Badlands which can be found throughout North America. In some areas they've even found real dinosaur bones. We didn't see any wild animals during our brief stop, but we were warned they live there. It was getting late and we were pressed for time so after a quick photo-op at the state line we headed straight for Miles City.

Did you know Miles City is home to Violet Beauregard of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the world famous "Bucking Horse Sale". I got all excited thinking maybe I'd get me some two-stepping action, but alas it wasn't meant to be. However, Sous-Chef had a hot date with a real cowboy last night. I didn't get to go along, but I'm told he was a fine gentleman (he even opened all the doors for her and helped her in and out of the pick-up). After showing her his fancy tripped out horse trailer they went out for a nice dinner and fine conversation; it was like meeting old family for the first time.

Well, the thunderstorm has cleared so it's time for a quick breakfast and a trip to the cemetary to pay respects to Sous-Chef's family. After a quick photo-op downtown we'll be off to Billings.

~MB~