Day 10 version 2.0 (civilization is not over-rated)

We're in Billings!

I never thought I'd be excited to say that.  

I've decided discretion is the better part of blah, blah, blah and I'm not going to rip Miles City, MT (I know, I know, but hey they have to live there.  We were just passing through). OK I feel better.

We left Pierre (French for "I told you we should've turned left at Portland") just at sunrise

and headed up to McLaughlin, SD.  We got there an hour early (bouncing back and forth over the time zone change) so we hung out with some of the local folks on their ranch.  A ranch which, by the way, houses bulls used on the Pro Rodeo circuit... Can you guess where we're going with this?

Yes!  It's another episode in the continuing saga of "Mommy what's that man doing to those cows"

 Now that his ride has been selected...

Despite our pleading, they wouldn't open the chute and let John really ride Rhino.  That's probably for the best.  It's never dull with John on tour.

We were paraded into to McLaughlin (population 683) by the local Fire Department and it was awesome.  A good percentage of the town was out cheering us on as the FD led us to the local high school.  We met with the residents, had several people sign our trucks and then went in to the school for refreshments.

Dave got everyone fired up about the program, something he's very good at, and after an hour or so, we headed up to North Dakota (state motto - "You betcha we're not part of Canada, eh?) arriving in Bismarck (no, it really is named after the pastry) around 3:00 or maybe 2:00 because I swear we were back and forth between Mountain and Central time zones about 48 times.  Plus we had no cell signal for basically the whole trip.  That was an odd feeling.

Our hosts in Bismarck (look it up, I'm not joking) took us to two home visits.  Well, a home visit and a work visit.  The woman at the work visit was upset we were coming to town and she couldn't get off work.  So Tracey, the local chapter president, brought us to "K's" work.  She had no clue.  

It.  Rocked.

Here you can see Duane from NC leading her to Vivian, the local chapter's engine, so she could sign as a survivor.  She was thrilled.  We did another home visit, supporting Tracey's aunt as she fights a cancer that has metastized.  What an amazing spirit this woman has.  Our next stop was a static display in a parking lot.  We had a really nice turnout there and sold a bunch of shirts to keep fuel in the trucks.

Lastly, we gave Mia and her Mom a ride home.  Mia beat brain cancer, quite an achievement for a little girl.  She grinned from ear to ear when I asked her if she wanted to drive and kept that grin as our fleet pulled away after we dropped them off at home.

Heading west to Montana (state motto "South Dakota gets their dust from here) we got to see an awesome sunset

to go with the beautiful sunrise we saw yesterday morning.  

In our ongoing "Meet your Pink Heals Tour driver" series, I originally planned to write about Duane from NC today, since he left for home this morning.  But at the ranch outside McLaughlin this happened...

Meet Leonard from Michigan.  He's a deputy working in Corrections in real life.  I like him anyway.  He's also a volunteer firefighter in Southwestern MI.  Subtle humor, good patience and intestinal issues are what I'll always remember about Leonard.  Plus he's going to do the upholstery for us if we ever find an engine for our Pink Heals chapter...

OK, I think that's the full roundup from yesterday (did I mention I don't care for Miles City, MT?).  Also?  Bismarck probably isn't really named after the pastry.  But it should be because it's a lovely pastry.  

I'll be back later for an update on today.

Pink Heals!

Peace.