Things I learned on my trip from Denver to Montana

LissyJo, my sister, is afraid of "Grandma's Fireworks" and hides under the dash when she is confronted with them.  Apparently she was afraid of lightning as a child.

Drew, my brother, is a little tyke who was obsessed with dollar pancakes as a child and would demand them from waitresses.

My father used to call any horse with more than one color a "two pieces".  This link on equine coat color at wikipedia is for him so he knows whether he's looking at a piebald or pinto.

Firehouse Brewing in Rapid City is not as exciting the second time round.  Perhaps it was my starvation the first time, or the lack of 3/4 of the beers I asked for the second time.  My food and beer were good, they just weren't as good as what I had in Denver.

I like the print "Dakota Nation" by JoAnne Bird.  I also like Paul Goble's prints.

Riding in a closed environment with grandma for 3 days after she's been sick makes everyone else sick.

Eating with strangers on the train is the best.  I got to talk Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, hear a story about a dead body, and meet two very fun travelers (both female and neither with a ring, in case Kyle is looking for a singles opportunity).

I'm very very lucky.  How else to account for missing so much hail it looked like a snow storm in the 30 miles leading up to Hot Springs, SD, and missing the 7 inches of snow at Sidney and Williston?

Eryn says "All Star Grill and Pub" in Hot Springs has her favorite wings of the trip.  I learned that it's possible to survive on a long tip on just wings and Shirley Temples.

All Star Grill and Pub was advertising Monte Criscos.  I assumed this was wrong.  It's a Monte Cristo.  However, the Crisco message board implies that if you go the recipe from them, it might just be referred to as a Monte Crisco.  By the way, if you eat Monte Cristos, I dare you to look up the calories.  That's some serious food.

In Hot Springs, it is not outside the realm of reason to tour the Mammoth Museum during the morning, and then go to "The Flood and Fossils: Record of the Lost World" at the 7th Day Adventist church in the evening.  I missed a practical theologian debating evolution with a scientist and presenting "evidence you cannot miss!" by just a day.

It is possible to find a geocache without a GPS if you just search the rest stops.

"Wild horse sanctuary" seems like an oxymoron.

You can be a friend of E470 on Facebook.

The Fall River County Republicans are illiterate, otherwise they wouldn't refer to the "Fall River County Republican's Lincoln Day Dinner."

Mammoth Springs has a merit badge program for scouts.  That's for Ming's benefit, should he ever find himself near Hot Springs.