It was a spectacular day for a drive, and Montana is known as "Big Sky" country for good reason. We had great weather today, in the 60's most of the day (after leaving Deer Lodge), although very windy.
We went through several sets of mountains, and the vast and seemingly endless plains between them. We guessed the term "Big Sky" comes from the 360 degree vistas framed by mountains all the way around. They are dwarfed by the enormity of the land, and the unobstructed sky. When the white clouds are contrasted against the deep blue of the sky, it is simply awesome.
The first part of our journey today took us through the natural wealth producers of Montana--Copper mines in Butte, including the phenomenal Berkeley Pit; granite and ore producing mines in Bozeman; and the huge petrochemical industry of Billings. Interspersed with this, however, are endless cattle ranches, and we probably saw more Black Angus cows today than in our entire previous lifetimes! We even saw some herds of wild antelope grazing along the road in the fields.
The Rockies extend through this area, and we went through several ranges and over quite a few steep passes. We must have passed at least 6 or 7 "chain up" areas heading into the mountains, with subsequent "chain removal" areas on the other side of each. We never realized there were so many mountains out there!
After leaving Billings and proceeding east, we came over a rise and saw what could have been a scene from an old time Western movie--endless rolling plains with hills in the distance. We were heading towards Hardin, where we will spend two nights. It is 15 miles from Little Big Horn, and it is easy to picture the 7th Cavalry galloping over these plains, or similarly bands of Indian hunters riding their ponies in search of buffalo. 
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