Road Trip to Texas: Day 3

Woke up at 7 am at the “equine hotel” in Billings, Montana - though the name oversold it a bit. In reality, it was just a barn with stalls for horses, and we parked our trailer out front, plugging it in for the night. But it was just what we needed, so all was good.

Once packed up, we hit the road again. Today’s drive was the longest leg, from Billings, Montana to Lamar, Colorado. Montana’s landscape felt endless, with open spaces of straw-colored plains stretching out beneath a bright blue sky, and horizons dotted with distant mountains.

After two days in the car, I was feeling a bit off, maybe even a bit of an existential crisis creeping in. I found myself reaching out to my mom and friends for support, grateful for my little “village” who help ground me, even from afar. And as we drove out of Montana, the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains quickly brought me back to the present. Here I was, on this incredible journey - how could my worries even compare?

We tuned into “106.9 FM Classic Country KWYO” as we cruised south along Route 87 through Wyoming, and Robin shared stories of his ranching days. Hearing him talk about cowboy life only fueled my own dream of one day joining those ranks.

The light dusting of snow turned to a decent coating as we made our way through Wyoming. I couldn’t get over the vastness of these ranch lands, picturing the long treks cowboys would make to herd cattle across these plains.

In Casper, Wyoming, we stopped to pick up some Zesterra to prevent ulcers in the horses. The store was huge, and if Robin hadn’t kept me on track, I probably would have wandered around all day. One quick stop for a breakfast sandwich (which tasted about as processed as it looked) and fuel, and we were back on the road.

Feeling pleased, I convinced Robin to let me take over the aux with a big American road trip playlist. We drove on toward Colorado, listening to classic American hits. Every so often, I'd queue up a song that got an approving grunt from Robin or a nudge to turn up the volume. Some songs would spark stories about the artists or memories Robin had, and I was in awe of how much he knew. Listening to him is like an education in itself.

As we continued south on Route 25 out of Casper, the snow melted, and the temperature shot up to a warm 12 degrees. The sun was beating down, and I ended up in just a t-shirt—hard to believe it was snowing a couple hours ago.

And then, classic road-trip chaos. While busy writing my blog, I missed a turn, which landed us in the middle of Denver’s traffic-packed freeway. The radio was off, and the air felt tense as I quietly took responsibility for the detour. Lesson learned!

After the sun set, we made a quick food and fuel stop in Limon. We tried McDonald’s first, but they were out of Quarter Pounders. So, Robin suggested we hit up Arby’s again. Traumatised from the mound of sliced beef I had yesterday, I opted for a chicken wrap, which was much better.

Finally, we got back on the road, with over 100 miles still to go before we’d reach our stop in Lamar, Colorado. Driving through Hugo, Colorado, I caught glimpses of old western buildings and a neon-lit bar, giving off the town’s quirky character even in the dark.

We rolled into the horse hotel in Lamar around 9:45 pm, but since it was late, the check-in was DIY. After a long day, we were a bit lost trying to navigate the setup. Just then, a truck pulled up, and the owner’s son, fresh from a Halloween party and still a little “festive,” came to help. A few back-and-forth calls later, we finally got someone on the line to sort things out and settled the horses in.

Exhausted, I finished a bit of journaling and crawled into bed, ready for tomorrow’s journey. Texas is finally on the horizon!