Thoughts about our trip

My wife and I just got back from a 4,000 mile trip in our little Subaru, which got between 27 and 36 miles per gallon at Interstate speeds. One of the eeriest parts of it, in some respects, but rewarding, was visiting the grave of the almost-14-year-old Charles Rightmire in Superior, Mont. He was my father's brother and none of us had visited the site in years so it took us most of the morning to find the grave. What surprised me was that in the county courthouse in Superior I received a copy of his death certificate in about 30 minutes or less and it cost only 50 cents. I don't think that would have happened in one of our larger counties.

We also had lunch in the Space Needle and saw a unique art show in Seattle, met a horse in San Jose, had a joint birthday party with my wife and 4-year-old granddaughter in Santa Barbara, and had another in San Juan Capistrano while waiting for my oldest son to run a boat race from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico.

We also had dinner one night on the way back on the sidewalk cafe (Las Vegas Blvd.) in the Paris Casino in Las Vegas. I only lost two dollars in the casino before they called our seating. We were across the street from the big fountain that went off three or four times while we were there. We watched the tourists roam the streets, mostly in touristy-type clothing and enjoyed the food which wasn't anymore expensive than eating at a much less fancy place in Billings.

All in all, it was a good trip, although I had not realized until now just how empty central Wyoming is. I think it's emptier than most parts of Montana (although I wouldn't take a bet about the area south of Fort Peck lake).