03-02-2020, 05:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-02-2020, 05:27 PM by KoltClassic.)
Sports fandom has no upper boundary. I’ve always enjoyed stories of fans or their sport of choice trying to visit every stadium in their lifetime, dedicated dozens or hundreds of trips to various locations to complete a personal journey to check every box on their list. I was recently on a road trip brainstorming some ideas about media pieces that I could write ( and also attempting to stave off boredom in any way possible ) and I thought it would be an interesting idea to see what a road trip to all cities with an NSFL team might look like. What I’ve written below is part one of what may or may not become a comprehensive guide to traveling between every NSFL team in a somewhat optimized route. And when I say written, I do mean written. While pretty much all of my references here are from Wikipedia or local town or park websites, I promise you I read every single damn one of these town Wikipedia pages and tried to summarize them to the best of my ability. Also, I started adding pictures about halfway through. I'm not sure if they are useful or not, but they helped to break up the monotony of all of these damn words. Without further adieu…
Summary Information
This trip is long as hell. I became MapQuest’s first user in a decade by using their route optimization tool to chart a course for me. Side-note: remember when you had to physically print out a map to get to your location? Truly the dark ages. Sadly, MapQuest’s tool only allows for 10 points of travel, but I made the educated guess that Yellowknife was likely the most reasonable start and end point as it is in the absolute middle of nowhere. According to MapQuest, the fastest round trip path is as such:
Yellowknife -> Denver -> Chicago -> Philadelphia -> Baltimore -> New Orleans -> Austin -> Phoenix -> Santa Ana -> San Jose -> Yellowknife
This gives us a total mileage of 9725 miles or 15651 km.
?Like I said, this trip is long as hell.
The first leg of our trip is one of the longest, and also likely one of the least scenic. We’ll begin in Yellowknife, home of the Wraiths, and end in Denver, home of the Yeti.
Yellowknife -> Denver: 2,168 miles ( 3,489 km )
36 hour drive
The first major city that you’ll encounter on your way to Denver is Edmonton, the capital of Canada's Alberta province. The problem is that Edmonton is a 19 hour drive from Yellowknife. According to the City of Yellowknife’s “How to Get Here” page: From Edmonton, it's a 19 hour drive north along the Frontier Trail, MacKenzie Highway and Yellowknife Highway through 1500 kilometers of forest and wilderness, where you may catch glimpses of bears, bison and other wildlife. Given that Yellowknife averages 157.6 cm ( or 62 inches ) of snow per year, I’d probably not start this road trip near the wintertime.
Much of the first leg of your journey will take you through the North and South Slave Regions of the Northwest Territories. The communities here are mainly First Nations, the predominant indigenous peoples in Canada south of the Arctic Circle ( the indigenous peoples in the Arctic region are known as Inuit).
On your way to Edmonton you’ll pass over the Mackenzie River, the longest river system in Canada. You will travel through Enterprise, a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories that has a population of 106 as of 2016. After passing through Enterprise, you will follow the Hay River southwest until you reach Meander River, a settlement in northern Alberta that is part of the Dene Tha’ Band, another First Nations government. The Hay river area has been in use by First Nations as far back as 7000 BC., though buildings of the Hudson’s Bay Company were erected in the area in 1868.
After Meander River, your journey will continue southeast past Hutch Lake until you reach the town of High Level. Hutch Lake is actually a man-made lake that was created as a long-term water source for residents of High Level. At a 2016 population of 3,159, this will likely feel like a big city to you at this point. While you’re in High Level, why not visit the Mackenzie Crossroads Museum and Visitor Centre, which houses the “Northern Trading Post”, he primary exhibit in the Museum which features an outstanding collection of over 16,00 food and medicine containers, donated by local residents. These, plus other artifacts in use during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, are showcased in a typical Trading Post/General Store setting with living quarters attached. There’s also a Tim Horton’s and a KFC nearby.
Following your visit to High Level, your journey continues west to Fort Vermillion. Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilion began as a trading community for the North West Company, a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821 that was a primary competitor to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort was established by Alexander MacKenzie, a Scottish explorer known for completing the first east to west crossing of America north of Mexico in 1793, beating out Lewis and Clark by 12 years. Fort Vermillion is home to legends such as the late “Rugged” Kenton Randle, a bareback bronc rider who represented Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
After Fort Vermillion you’ll get to another very desolate leg in your journey. You’ll pass nearby a couple more hamlets, including Red Earth Creek ( which has an airport apparently ), but it looks like you’ll have to enjoy the comforts of nature for quite a while on your trip south on the Bicentennial Highway. You’ll encounter Utikuma Lake, which is Cree for “big whitefish”. You’ll also drive through Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park and birdwatching area. There are a lot of warnings about bears on their website, so maybe don’t stay there too long. After that you’ll drive through designated Natural Areas of the Saulteaux and Hondo tribes and over the Athabasca River. Soon after you’ve got a straight shot down right into Edmonton. You made it!
Welcome to the second largest city in Alberta! Don’t worry, you’ll be in the largest city soon enough. The earliest known inhabitants of the now Edmonton area arrived as early as 12,000 BC, and Europeans arrived in the area in the mid 18th century. The town was incorporated in 1892 and saw rapid growth after the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in 1905. Edmonton is the northernmost city with a metro population of over 1 million in North America. While you’re there, why not see some sights? See an Edmonton Oilers NHL game, or got the the Royal Alberta Museum, which has over 10 million objects for display! Edmonton is also a major hub for the Canadian National Railway System, which I’ve recently learned is a lot bigger than I expected:
![[Image: UQz0isb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UQz0isb.png)
But we can’t say for too long, we’ve got places to be! Continue south on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, past the Edmonton International Airport ( but don’t buy a plane ticket; this is a road trip after all)! After 33 km of driving, you’ll encounter Leduc, Alberta. Spoilers: Leduc has a lot less to do than Edmonton. Leduc is best known for housing the Leduc No. 1 oil well, the site of Alberta’s historical oil strike on February 13, 1947. So let’s keep driving!
Eventually, you’ll spot signs for Red Deer, Alberta. Red Deer became the 3rd Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people in 2016; you’re seeing the big cities now! The Red Deer river was initially called Waskasoo Seepee by the Cree people, which translates to “Elk River”. This was changed to Red Deer River by British traders who thought elk were European red deer. Red Deer has been home to some famous athletes, including former or current NHL players like Ron Anderson and Glen Wesley ( I don’t watch hockey so I’m unsure of how famous these guys actually are ). Keep on driving…
What’s that in the distance? Could it be Alberta’s largest city and the third-largest municipality in Canada behind Toronto and Montreal? You bet it is. Welcome to Calgary, Alberta, voted the most livable city in North America for the past two years by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The home of the 1988 Winter Olympics, Calgary is also host to and NHL team ( the Flames), a CFL team ( the Stampeders ), and the Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League. Designated as a Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012 alongside the Niagara Region, Calgary has a number of cultural attractions including the Glenbow Museum and the Arts Common building, host to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Various films have been shot here, including Inception, The Revenant, and Brokeback Mountain. The city is the hometown of the Hart wrestling family, trainer of WWE Hall of Fame member Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
By this point you’re probably saying to yourself “well that was fun, but what I’d really like is a lot more wilderness and straight road driving”. You’re in luck! Once you leave Calgary, you’re about to encounter a whole lot of nothing until you reach Montana. Imagine the frame of mind you’ll be in to be excited by a minor city in Montana. Don’t worry, you’ll be there soon.
The last major stop in Alberta is Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge is the third-largest city in Alberta ( it must have recently surpassed Red Deer I guess ). While inhabited primary by First Nations prior to the 19th century, the economy of Lethbridge developed in the late 19th century by drift miners. This made it an important asset during World War I, when it was producing more than 300 tonnes of coal a day. Some cultural attractions in Lethbridge include the Lethbridge Viaduct, the longest and highest steel trestle bridge in North America, and Fort Whoop-Up, a center of illegal activities during the late 19th century.
The next notable stop on your journey will be the Sweetgrass-Coutts Border Crossing on the border of Canada and the United States. You brought your passport, right? Originally built as a port of entry for coal deliveries, this border crossing is now the busiest port of entry in the state of Montana and is open 24/7.
![[Image: fj3oowj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/fj3oowj.png)
Welcome to America!
Just like you imagined it, right? Like I said earlier, you’re going to be really excited to see a Montana town in several hours.
The first city you’ll encounter is Great Falls, Montana, population 58, 505. Great Falls was the largest city in Montana from 1950 to 1970, when it was passed by Billings. After being passed by Missoula in 2000, it is now the third largest city in the state. Great Falls is named for a series of waterfalls nearby that the Lewis and Clark expedition had to portage around. All of the waterfalls have hydroelectric dams on them nowadays, giving Great Falls the nickname “the Electric City”. Great Falls was the home of Walter Breuning, the former oldest man in the world.
Leaving Great Falls, you’ll encounter some places with simple, interesting names. Moccasin, Eddie’s Corner, Straw, and Buffalo to name a few. Why not stop in Harlowton, Montana, the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana that was founded in 1900 as a station stop on the Montana Railroad. Harlowton is famous for the Big Nose George robbery in 1878, when “Mexican John” JV Salazar was robbed of his horses, food, and guns by horse thief “Big Nose George” George Parrott. Continue along the Musselshell River to Lavina, Montana. There are 187 people there as of 2010 and probably not much to do there to be honest. Just keep driving.
Once you go far enough south on Highway 3 you’ll find Billings, Montana. Billings is the largest city in Montana with a population of just under 110,000 as of 2018. Nicknamed the “Magic City” due to its rapid growth as a railroad town, Billings is currently undergoing economic prosperity with the largest oil discovery in U.S. history ( though the growth rate is slowing with the declines in oil prices in recent years ). It is at this point that I’m realizing that I’ve been writing this thing forever and we are still two states away from Denver. God help me.
Anyway, back to Billings. Fun fact: In July of 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through Billings. William Clark inscribed his name and date into Pompey’s Pillar, which was later designated as a historic landmark in 1965 and a national monument in 2001. Billings is home to the world’s tallest load-bearing brick building, the DoubleTree tower, which is 256 feet tall. But that’s enough about cities for now, let’s get back to the journey!
Hop onto west interstate 90 to carry on. Very soon after Billings, you will enter the Crow Indian Reservation. This is the homeland of the Crow Tribe of Native Americans in the State of Montana, the fifth largest reservation in the company. This reservation is home to approximately 7,900 of the 11,000 current members of the Crow Tribe, 85% of whom speak Crow as their first language. You’ll soon see Garryowen, Montana, a private town located at the southernmost edge of where the Battle of Little Bighorn occurred. Garryowen currently has a population of 2. Yes, you read that correctly. As of the 2010 census, 2 people are counted in this town’s population. And no, I don’t know how that works, but I’m glad I chose to look that town up.
The southern border of the Crow Indian Reservation is also the Montana and Wyoming border. Eventually in traveling south through Wyoming you’ll make it to Sheridan, a town just southeast of Garryowen that has a population of 642. Fun fact about Sheridan: the community has formed a Main Street Improvement Team that provides free Wi-Fi in town and has their own Web site where information can be found. Really groundbreaking stuff coming out of Sheridan, let me tell you.
As you come out of a stupor of your ~20 hour drive at this point, you might look up and realize that you’re surrounded by very beautiful scenery, and likely have been for some time now. You are right next to Bighorn National Forest, a U.S. national forest that is over 1 million acres.
![[Image: 03-14-18-Shell-Falls.jpg]](https://thesheridanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/03-14-18-Shell-Falls.jpg)
But we’re not here to view the wilderness, we’re here to drive! Back on the road with you. There won’t be much to see city-wise until you reach Casper, Wyoming. Contrary to my hopes and dreams, Casper was not named after the Friendly Ghost, but was rather the former site of Fort Caspar, which was built as a checkpoint for those on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails in the mid-19th century. Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming with a population just above 57,000. Home of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, the city of Casper received a large number of visitors on August 21, 2017 during the solar eclipse, as it was in a position along the eclipse’s path of totality.
We’re nearly there. Probably only a couple hundred miles or so. When I originally thought of this idea of a road trip through the teams’ towns, I did not expect it to be such an undertaking. I thought, “Hey, this could be fun! Maybe a couple blurbs along the way to give it an authentic feel! That’d be really neat.” I didn’t expect this to be such an undertaking. I’m at such a point of sunk cost that I can’t stop writing. Think of all the money to be gained! The thought of pockets of league money to spend on all the best equipment fuels my writing. The tunnel vision is setting in. Every word I type is another spin on the ticker of my bank account. Keep hitting the keys, keep typing.
Next up, stop in Glendo, Wyoming! Much like a lot of other towns in Wyoming, Glendo was in the path of totality for the 2017 solar eclipse. Whoever wrote these wiki articles seems to think that that is pertinent information for every town in the state of Wyoming. Godspeed to you wiki writer. South of Glendo you will drive by Y-O Ranch, Wyoming. Y-O Ranch is a CDP, or Census-designated place, a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. Essentially, they are the counterpart to incorporated communities and include places like resort areas, retirement communities, and colonias along the Mexico-United States border. Near Y-O Ranch is a place called Chugwater. Looks like we found the birthplace of the hydro homies on our road trip. The etymology of the town’s name is disputed, with some thinking that the name comes from an account of a bison hunt when bison were heard “chugging” from the nearby stream. You can stop by Chugwater Chili Corporation while you’re there an pick up a packet of chili mix.
Continuing south, you can exit the highway to view the former Quebec 01 missile alert facility site. Once an active alert military facility site during the Cold War, it has since been decommissioned and is now the only accessible Peacekeeper Missile Alert Facility left in the world. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m actually learning a lot of pretty neat stuff while writing this article.
In no surprise to anybody at all by this point, you follow your compass south along interstate 25 yet again. You will inevitably reach Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming and the most populous city in the state. Known as the “Magic City of the Plains”, Cheyenne is the 354th most populous metro area in the US with a population of 91, 738. Famous singer Neil Diamond is from Cheyenne, which is pretty neat. The city hosts a weeklong festival called Cheyenne Frontier Days during the last week of July, which includes the largest outdoor rodeo in the United States. Cheyenne has been home to one professional sports team in its history, the Cheyenne Warriors. Folding in 2013, the Warriors were a part of the American Professional Football League and the Indoor Football League.
Cheyenne is very close to the southern border of Wyoming, which means, you guessed it, you’re almost in Colorado. And once you get into Colorado, you’re almost in Denver. Which means you FINALLY get to see the second team on your trip, the Colorado Yeti. I won’t dive too deep into Denver’s fun facts or stats. It is the 19th most populous city in the U.S., nicknamed “the Mile High City” due to its official elevation being exactly one mile (5280 feet or 1609.3 meters) above sea level. If you’re not looking to see a Yeti game, why not see a Broncos game. Or a Nuggets game. Or smoke some weed. Do whatever you want, I’m not your dad.
And with that, we come to the end of the first part of our series. Give yourself a pat on the back! You made it through a 36 hour drive that was likely cold and boring and mostly devoid of interesting things to see if you aren’t into nature. Hopefully you can relish of the comfort that you learned a thing or two today. But don’t get too comfortable: your journey has only just begun ( insert maniacal laugh here ).
The next leg of our journey:
Denver -> Chicago: 1,005 miles ( 1,616 km )
15 hour drive
Summary Information
This trip is long as hell. I became MapQuest’s first user in a decade by using their route optimization tool to chart a course for me. Side-note: remember when you had to physically print out a map to get to your location? Truly the dark ages. Sadly, MapQuest’s tool only allows for 10 points of travel, but I made the educated guess that Yellowknife was likely the most reasonable start and end point as it is in the absolute middle of nowhere. According to MapQuest, the fastest round trip path is as such:
Yellowknife -> Denver -> Chicago -> Philadelphia -> Baltimore -> New Orleans -> Austin -> Phoenix -> Santa Ana -> San Jose -> Yellowknife
This gives us a total mileage of 9725 miles or 15651 km.
?Like I said, this trip is long as hell.
The first leg of our trip is one of the longest, and also likely one of the least scenic. We’ll begin in Yellowknife, home of the Wraiths, and end in Denver, home of the Yeti.
Yellowknife -> Denver: 2,168 miles ( 3,489 km )
36 hour drive
The first major city that you’ll encounter on your way to Denver is Edmonton, the capital of Canada's Alberta province. The problem is that Edmonton is a 19 hour drive from Yellowknife. According to the City of Yellowknife’s “How to Get Here” page: From Edmonton, it's a 19 hour drive north along the Frontier Trail, MacKenzie Highway and Yellowknife Highway through 1500 kilometers of forest and wilderness, where you may catch glimpses of bears, bison and other wildlife. Given that Yellowknife averages 157.6 cm ( or 62 inches ) of snow per year, I’d probably not start this road trip near the wintertime.
Much of the first leg of your journey will take you through the North and South Slave Regions of the Northwest Territories. The communities here are mainly First Nations, the predominant indigenous peoples in Canada south of the Arctic Circle ( the indigenous peoples in the Arctic region are known as Inuit).
On your way to Edmonton you’ll pass over the Mackenzie River, the longest river system in Canada. You will travel through Enterprise, a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories that has a population of 106 as of 2016. After passing through Enterprise, you will follow the Hay River southwest until you reach Meander River, a settlement in northern Alberta that is part of the Dene Tha’ Band, another First Nations government. The Hay river area has been in use by First Nations as far back as 7000 BC., though buildings of the Hudson’s Bay Company were erected in the area in 1868.
After Meander River, your journey will continue southeast past Hutch Lake until you reach the town of High Level. Hutch Lake is actually a man-made lake that was created as a long-term water source for residents of High Level. At a 2016 population of 3,159, this will likely feel like a big city to you at this point. While you’re in High Level, why not visit the Mackenzie Crossroads Museum and Visitor Centre, which houses the “Northern Trading Post”, he primary exhibit in the Museum which features an outstanding collection of over 16,00 food and medicine containers, donated by local residents. These, plus other artifacts in use during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, are showcased in a typical Trading Post/General Store setting with living quarters attached. There’s also a Tim Horton’s and a KFC nearby.
Following your visit to High Level, your journey continues west to Fort Vermillion. Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilion began as a trading community for the North West Company, a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821 that was a primary competitor to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort was established by Alexander MacKenzie, a Scottish explorer known for completing the first east to west crossing of America north of Mexico in 1793, beating out Lewis and Clark by 12 years. Fort Vermillion is home to legends such as the late “Rugged” Kenton Randle, a bareback bronc rider who represented Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
After Fort Vermillion you’ll get to another very desolate leg in your journey. You’ll pass nearby a couple more hamlets, including Red Earth Creek ( which has an airport apparently ), but it looks like you’ll have to enjoy the comforts of nature for quite a while on your trip south on the Bicentennial Highway. You’ll encounter Utikuma Lake, which is Cree for “big whitefish”. You’ll also drive through Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park and birdwatching area. There are a lot of warnings about bears on their website, so maybe don’t stay there too long. After that you’ll drive through designated Natural Areas of the Saulteaux and Hondo tribes and over the Athabasca River. Soon after you’ve got a straight shot down right into Edmonton. You made it!
Welcome to the second largest city in Alberta! Don’t worry, you’ll be in the largest city soon enough. The earliest known inhabitants of the now Edmonton area arrived as early as 12,000 BC, and Europeans arrived in the area in the mid 18th century. The town was incorporated in 1892 and saw rapid growth after the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in 1905. Edmonton is the northernmost city with a metro population of over 1 million in North America. While you’re there, why not see some sights? See an Edmonton Oilers NHL game, or got the the Royal Alberta Museum, which has over 10 million objects for display! Edmonton is also a major hub for the Canadian National Railway System, which I’ve recently learned is a lot bigger than I expected:
But we can’t say for too long, we’ve got places to be! Continue south on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, past the Edmonton International Airport ( but don’t buy a plane ticket; this is a road trip after all)! After 33 km of driving, you’ll encounter Leduc, Alberta. Spoilers: Leduc has a lot less to do than Edmonton. Leduc is best known for housing the Leduc No. 1 oil well, the site of Alberta’s historical oil strike on February 13, 1947. So let’s keep driving!
Eventually, you’ll spot signs for Red Deer, Alberta. Red Deer became the 3rd Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people in 2016; you’re seeing the big cities now! The Red Deer river was initially called Waskasoo Seepee by the Cree people, which translates to “Elk River”. This was changed to Red Deer River by British traders who thought elk were European red deer. Red Deer has been home to some famous athletes, including former or current NHL players like Ron Anderson and Glen Wesley ( I don’t watch hockey so I’m unsure of how famous these guys actually are ). Keep on driving…
What’s that in the distance? Could it be Alberta’s largest city and the third-largest municipality in Canada behind Toronto and Montreal? You bet it is. Welcome to Calgary, Alberta, voted the most livable city in North America for the past two years by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The home of the 1988 Winter Olympics, Calgary is also host to and NHL team ( the Flames), a CFL team ( the Stampeders ), and the Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League. Designated as a Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012 alongside the Niagara Region, Calgary has a number of cultural attractions including the Glenbow Museum and the Arts Common building, host to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Various films have been shot here, including Inception, The Revenant, and Brokeback Mountain. The city is the hometown of the Hart wrestling family, trainer of WWE Hall of Fame member Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
By this point you’re probably saying to yourself “well that was fun, but what I’d really like is a lot more wilderness and straight road driving”. You’re in luck! Once you leave Calgary, you’re about to encounter a whole lot of nothing until you reach Montana. Imagine the frame of mind you’ll be in to be excited by a minor city in Montana. Don’t worry, you’ll be there soon.
The last major stop in Alberta is Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge is the third-largest city in Alberta ( it must have recently surpassed Red Deer I guess ). While inhabited primary by First Nations prior to the 19th century, the economy of Lethbridge developed in the late 19th century by drift miners. This made it an important asset during World War I, when it was producing more than 300 tonnes of coal a day. Some cultural attractions in Lethbridge include the Lethbridge Viaduct, the longest and highest steel trestle bridge in North America, and Fort Whoop-Up, a center of illegal activities during the late 19th century.
The next notable stop on your journey will be the Sweetgrass-Coutts Border Crossing on the border of Canada and the United States. You brought your passport, right? Originally built as a port of entry for coal deliveries, this border crossing is now the busiest port of entry in the state of Montana and is open 24/7.
Welcome to America!
Just like you imagined it, right? Like I said earlier, you’re going to be really excited to see a Montana town in several hours.
The first city you’ll encounter is Great Falls, Montana, population 58, 505. Great Falls was the largest city in Montana from 1950 to 1970, when it was passed by Billings. After being passed by Missoula in 2000, it is now the third largest city in the state. Great Falls is named for a series of waterfalls nearby that the Lewis and Clark expedition had to portage around. All of the waterfalls have hydroelectric dams on them nowadays, giving Great Falls the nickname “the Electric City”. Great Falls was the home of Walter Breuning, the former oldest man in the world.
Leaving Great Falls, you’ll encounter some places with simple, interesting names. Moccasin, Eddie’s Corner, Straw, and Buffalo to name a few. Why not stop in Harlowton, Montana, the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana that was founded in 1900 as a station stop on the Montana Railroad. Harlowton is famous for the Big Nose George robbery in 1878, when “Mexican John” JV Salazar was robbed of his horses, food, and guns by horse thief “Big Nose George” George Parrott. Continue along the Musselshell River to Lavina, Montana. There are 187 people there as of 2010 and probably not much to do there to be honest. Just keep driving.
Once you go far enough south on Highway 3 you’ll find Billings, Montana. Billings is the largest city in Montana with a population of just under 110,000 as of 2018. Nicknamed the “Magic City” due to its rapid growth as a railroad town, Billings is currently undergoing economic prosperity with the largest oil discovery in U.S. history ( though the growth rate is slowing with the declines in oil prices in recent years ). It is at this point that I’m realizing that I’ve been writing this thing forever and we are still two states away from Denver. God help me.
Anyway, back to Billings. Fun fact: In July of 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through Billings. William Clark inscribed his name and date into Pompey’s Pillar, which was later designated as a historic landmark in 1965 and a national monument in 2001. Billings is home to the world’s tallest load-bearing brick building, the DoubleTree tower, which is 256 feet tall. But that’s enough about cities for now, let’s get back to the journey!
Hop onto west interstate 90 to carry on. Very soon after Billings, you will enter the Crow Indian Reservation. This is the homeland of the Crow Tribe of Native Americans in the State of Montana, the fifth largest reservation in the company. This reservation is home to approximately 7,900 of the 11,000 current members of the Crow Tribe, 85% of whom speak Crow as their first language. You’ll soon see Garryowen, Montana, a private town located at the southernmost edge of where the Battle of Little Bighorn occurred. Garryowen currently has a population of 2. Yes, you read that correctly. As of the 2010 census, 2 people are counted in this town’s population. And no, I don’t know how that works, but I’m glad I chose to look that town up.
The southern border of the Crow Indian Reservation is also the Montana and Wyoming border. Eventually in traveling south through Wyoming you’ll make it to Sheridan, a town just southeast of Garryowen that has a population of 642. Fun fact about Sheridan: the community has formed a Main Street Improvement Team that provides free Wi-Fi in town and has their own Web site where information can be found. Really groundbreaking stuff coming out of Sheridan, let me tell you.
As you come out of a stupor of your ~20 hour drive at this point, you might look up and realize that you’re surrounded by very beautiful scenery, and likely have been for some time now. You are right next to Bighorn National Forest, a U.S. national forest that is over 1 million acres.
But we’re not here to view the wilderness, we’re here to drive! Back on the road with you. There won’t be much to see city-wise until you reach Casper, Wyoming. Contrary to my hopes and dreams, Casper was not named after the Friendly Ghost, but was rather the former site of Fort Caspar, which was built as a checkpoint for those on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails in the mid-19th century. Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming with a population just above 57,000. Home of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, the city of Casper received a large number of visitors on August 21, 2017 during the solar eclipse, as it was in a position along the eclipse’s path of totality.
We’re nearly there. Probably only a couple hundred miles or so. When I originally thought of this idea of a road trip through the teams’ towns, I did not expect it to be such an undertaking. I thought, “Hey, this could be fun! Maybe a couple blurbs along the way to give it an authentic feel! That’d be really neat.” I didn’t expect this to be such an undertaking. I’m at such a point of sunk cost that I can’t stop writing. Think of all the money to be gained! The thought of pockets of league money to spend on all the best equipment fuels my writing. The tunnel vision is setting in. Every word I type is another spin on the ticker of my bank account. Keep hitting the keys, keep typing.
Next up, stop in Glendo, Wyoming! Much like a lot of other towns in Wyoming, Glendo was in the path of totality for the 2017 solar eclipse. Whoever wrote these wiki articles seems to think that that is pertinent information for every town in the state of Wyoming. Godspeed to you wiki writer. South of Glendo you will drive by Y-O Ranch, Wyoming. Y-O Ranch is a CDP, or Census-designated place, a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. Essentially, they are the counterpart to incorporated communities and include places like resort areas, retirement communities, and colonias along the Mexico-United States border. Near Y-O Ranch is a place called Chugwater. Looks like we found the birthplace of the hydro homies on our road trip. The etymology of the town’s name is disputed, with some thinking that the name comes from an account of a bison hunt when bison were heard “chugging” from the nearby stream. You can stop by Chugwater Chili Corporation while you’re there an pick up a packet of chili mix.
Continuing south, you can exit the highway to view the former Quebec 01 missile alert facility site. Once an active alert military facility site during the Cold War, it has since been decommissioned and is now the only accessible Peacekeeper Missile Alert Facility left in the world. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m actually learning a lot of pretty neat stuff while writing this article.
In no surprise to anybody at all by this point, you follow your compass south along interstate 25 yet again. You will inevitably reach Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming and the most populous city in the state. Known as the “Magic City of the Plains”, Cheyenne is the 354th most populous metro area in the US with a population of 91, 738. Famous singer Neil Diamond is from Cheyenne, which is pretty neat. The city hosts a weeklong festival called Cheyenne Frontier Days during the last week of July, which includes the largest outdoor rodeo in the United States. Cheyenne has been home to one professional sports team in its history, the Cheyenne Warriors. Folding in 2013, the Warriors were a part of the American Professional Football League and the Indoor Football League.
Cheyenne is very close to the southern border of Wyoming, which means, you guessed it, you’re almost in Colorado. And once you get into Colorado, you’re almost in Denver. Which means you FINALLY get to see the second team on your trip, the Colorado Yeti. I won’t dive too deep into Denver’s fun facts or stats. It is the 19th most populous city in the U.S., nicknamed “the Mile High City” due to its official elevation being exactly one mile (5280 feet or 1609.3 meters) above sea level. If you’re not looking to see a Yeti game, why not see a Broncos game. Or a Nuggets game. Or smoke some weed. Do whatever you want, I’m not your dad.
And with that, we come to the end of the first part of our series. Give yourself a pat on the back! You made it through a 36 hour drive that was likely cold and boring and mostly devoid of interesting things to see if you aren’t into nature. Hopefully you can relish of the comfort that you learned a thing or two today. But don’t get too comfortable: your journey has only just begun ( insert maniacal laugh here ).
The next leg of our journey:
Denver -> Chicago: 1,005 miles ( 1,616 km )
15 hour drive
![[Image: 5fKn9dY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/5fKn9dY.png)
