April 22, 2016 - Billings, MT

We had to be up early just in case the service department was able to take our Lil’ Home (LH) in for service.  We were up at 7:30 and the shop was not open until 8 am.  The weather was very pretty this morning.

Erwin went over to the service dept after 8 am to see if they were able to work on our LH today. No, they are fully booked and told us the next available date is May 11.

Edith had a feeling that May 11 was not good and she checked with Keri. Keri replied back that she and the kids will be out of town during that time, so we went back to the service dept and got it rescheduled to May 16th.

On way to Pictograph State Park the horses were running in the pasture.  Two ranchers riding ATV were herding the horses to a different pasture.

The entrance pass to the Pictograph State Park was free entrance for vechiles with Montana tags.  We visited this place two years ago but had forgotten we visited!  

We took dirt/gravel trail almost to the top.  Then back to the paved trail, followed all the way.  The trail to the Cave is paved and wheelchair accessible.  The Cave and the surrounding area were once the living quarters of prehistoric hunters and gatherers.  The area provided many of the basic needs of early travelers through the Yellowstone River Valley.  The Blackfeet and Crow Indian tribes may have used the site.  

Pictorgraphs are painted on stone surfaces while petroglyphs are carved into the rock.  There may have been more than 30-40 images painted but due to the moisture, the build-up of calcium, snow melt some images have been “washed away”  It is amazing to know that the red pigment, derived from hermatite, was used to paint images on the stone over 500 years ago!

We went back to the LH to eat lunch, then drove up Zimmerman trail to get on Rimrocks Road then to visit Lake Elmo State Park.  Not much to see/do.  Nice hiking trail, but we did not feel like going there.  We also visited Boothill Cemetery near Airport Road.  From there we went back on Rimrocks Road to drive down Zimmerman trail.  

It got hotter and hotter as the day dragged on.  At one point it was almost 90˚.

On way back from the grocery store we stopped at Yellowstone Valley Memorial Garden to let Edith check out headstones, etc.

After getting back to the LH we discovered there was no running water. It turned out that the water pump in our LH quit working and Erwin had to use inline hose. The service and shop were closed. We had to wait til tomorrow to see if they have the right part to replace the worn out one.  When it rains it pours, you know...

For supper we had hobo burgers and pan roasted cauliflower, then strawberry/rhubarb pie for dessert.

To kill time, we went back to Zimmerman trail again because we wanted to see Billings cityscape at nighttime. Also, Edith wanted to get some sunset pictures.  We took a left turn on Rimrocks Road to find a spot for sunset photo op.  After the sunset we then headed east on Rimrocks Road to find a spot for moonrise, but the clouds were in the way.  

Billings as viewed from the top of the Rimrock at night