Road Trip, Part II (Montana)

I know this is from two years ago, but I think it's time I try to finish my thoughts on our family roadtrip out west:

• You could tell as soon as we crossed the South Dakota border that Montana's vegetation was so much thicker and lusher.  It really was night and day.  There were trees and hills and verdant ... everything, everywhere you looked.
• Again, not to ridicule the vegetation and landscape of South Dakota, but as arid and brown as South Dakota was, Montana was not.  Neither state is populated, so it's not as if we were driving through civilization.  But going through the (really flat) land of South Dakota made me feel like I was in Mad Max.  Going through Montana made me feel like I was in the kingdom of Heaven.  Seriously, Big Sky country is heavenly.
• I think it took us nine hours to go from Mount Rushmore to our hotel, which we reached after winding through a gorgeous over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-type two-lane road after we hung a left.  The road we turned onto is Gallatin Rd., also known as Highway 191, but it might as well be called The Road To Heaven.  Goodness gracious great balls of fire -- there were towering pine trees, gurgling streams, onrushing rivers with white water cresting over falls big and small.  The only other memorable scenic drives I've taken are the Pacific Coast Highway and, although it is different, I-5 going from Northern to Southern California through the arid and sometimes-desert landscape of interior California.  This drive had much more bucolic scenery to take your breath away, although I will admit the vistas overlooking the Pacific Ocean while on PCH also filled my spirit.  But my God, if you ever take a road trip to Yellowstone -- if you're even in the area and just want to drive around -- go.  It's beautiful.
• It was at this point in the trip where I began to take over all of the driving duties.  Father is too old to drive; my sister didn't want to drive; and Mother ... well, she was driving in quick spurts here and there, including I think a couple times from Rapid City to here.  But it was me.  I am the middle-aged man in this group of four, and I guess that means I take the bulk of the driving.  I still think of myself as the boy who got to sit in the back seat and watch the world go by as my older brother did all the work.  But now I am doing all the work.  Does that mean I'm a grown-up now, Father?
• As much as I loved being shrouded in nature, we came across Bozeman, Mt. on the way to our rustic hotel.  It was a neat little place of civilization just in case we need it, but I felt such serenity on the beautiful drive into this part of the country that I felt like we didn't need it.  Still, Bozeman is so cute!
• The hotel had the best of both worlds.  It was decked out in wood and did an incredible job to look as one with the natural beauty of the forest.  However, once we got inside the room, it was fairly modern -- dressers, a couple flatscreen TVs, bathroom looked great, etc.  The restaurant even served several varieties of wine and offered Chilean sea bass.  We weren't roughing it even though it did its best to look like we did.
• Partly because I ate so much for dinner, and partly because I wasn't ready to go to bed, I went down to the basement of the hotel and just read as many travel advertising brochures as I could, all the while pacing back and forth and do quick stretches -- little things that kept my body active in an effort to lose weight.  I was down there for about an hour, and no one bothered me at this late hour.

I think I'll leave it there.  I'll try and hit Wyoming if I remember.