Gillette, Wyoming

We left Billings with about 1/4 tank of gas.  Joan wanted to fill up immediately, but I figured we'd be on Route I-90 East the whole way and we could stop later.  Now I would like all of you to look at a map of the United States and focus on the lower right corner of Montana and the upper right corner of Wyoming.  That's where we drove today and if it looks like there is nothing there, you would be correct.

Actually, the Wyoming portion of I-90 is entirely within the Crow Indian Reservation and the three exits we passed had no services.  I don't get it....casinos, but no gas stations? 

The gas pump light was now lit up on the dashboard, and Joan was preparing to dial Triple A for service;  I tried to shield it from her because I'm the guy, right?  I dropped the speed and kept the RPM's low and hoped for the best.  We were lucky to cross into Wyoming away from the reservation and drove into the only gas station on fumes!

Arriving in Gillette, we did some exploring of the downtown area  It had one tall building -- a bank -- and a Main Street of small shops.  Although I did get a chance to have a little chat with our 16th President.

We then drove out of the city to see the coal operations we had heard about and then drove to the Rock Pile Museum to see two interesting videos on the coal operations in the area.  Strip Mining at its best!  We were impressed by the size of the equipment used.