Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
Most of what you will hear or read about actually happened somewhere in my life. Some time you will hear about my experience … my strengths … and my hope as I continue to grow as a person.You will discover that I have made mistakes along the way but trying one day at a time to live a better life and sharing a little of it as we go here.
Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
Strangers to Neighbors in Big Sky Country
Some journeys surprise you not with where they take you, but who you meet along the way. During our 15-day "America's Beautiful Tour," what began as a standard cross-country adventure transformed into a story of coincidence that defies all odds.
The early days of our tour carried us from Florida through Atlanta to St. Louis, where we stood beneath the magnificent Gateway Arch, necks craned to appreciate its impossible height against the clouds. The Cathedral Basilica offered moments of quiet reverence before we continued north. Soon, the landscape transformed dramatically as the Badlands of South Dakota rose around us like another planet—jagged spires painted in golds and reds that seemed prehistoric in their beauty.
We wandered through Wall Drug with its Western charm, gazed up at the enormous face emerging from Crazy Horse Monument, and took in the presidential visages of Mount Rushmore. The winding roads of Needles Highway led us to Wyoming's Devil's Tower and eventually to the natural wonders of Yellowstone. But the most extraordinary moment happened not among these famous landmarks, but in a small Montana bar called the Grizzly Lounge.
There, 2,347 miles from home, a casual conversation with two couples revealed an astonishing truth—all six of us were from the same area in Florida, with some living just minutes apart. We shared knowing laughs about local landmarks, discovered mutual connections, and ended the evening sharing dinner like old friends. It was a perfect reminder that sometimes the best travel stories aren't about places, but people, and that home might be closer than you think, even when you're halfway across the country.
Join us next time for more adventures from our cross-country journey. If you've ever experienced similar coincidences on your travels, we'd love to hear your stories in the comments below!
Welcome to Larry's Sort of Fun Stories, the place where everyday moments turn into tales worth telling. And this one. It starts with a bus, a big one. We planned this trip for months. It's the America's, the Beautiful Tour by Tours, by Nona, 15 days on the road from Florida to the wide, open spaces of the West. It was all on a bus Long miles, new sights, one big adventure every single day.
Speaker 1:We rolled out of Florida early on a Sunday morning. The bus was humming along as we headed north. We'd love to have a cup of coffee, but there was no eating or drinking on the bus. But we did have the promise of adventure ahead. By nightfall we reached Atlanta for a quick overnight stop, just enough time to stretch our legs, grab some dinner at the Drury and rest up for what was coming.
Speaker 1:Next Day two took us to St Louis, where we checked into the Drury Plaza Hotel right in the heart of the city. And you can't come to St Louis without seeing the Gateway Arch. Let me tell you pictures don't prepare you for the first moment standing at its base, looking up, way up, at 330 feet of gleaming steel against the sky, it's like the whole thing is daring you to believe how big it really is. Before we left St Louis, we made one more stop at the Cathedral Basilica, a masterpiece of mosaics and marble. That felt like stepping into another world. It was quiet, reverent, a place that makes you slow down even on a busy bus tour.
Speaker 1:By day four the landscape started changing and oh my, what a change it was. The Badlands rose up around us like another planet Jagged cliffs, colors painted in layers of gold, red and ash. It was the kind of place where you half expected to see dinosaurs wandering through the valleys. We drove through the winding roads that cut through the rocky spines, each turn revealing another postcard view, and then, like a switch, the padlands fell behind us and we were in the town of Wall. South Dakota Welcomed us in. That night we dined at the famous Wall Drug home of free ice water and a five-cent cup of coffee. Inside it was part restaurant, part museum, part carnival, all wrapped in an old Western charm Bison burgers, homemade pies, walls covered with photos and history. You could spend hours just wandering from room to room. History you could spend hours just wandering from room to room.
Speaker 1:The next morning, day five, the bus rolled into the Black Hills and stopped at the Crazy Horse Monument. It's still being carved. The face is enormous and it's slowly emerging from the mountain bigger than Mount Rushmore will ever be. The Visitor's Center told the story of the sculpture and his dream to honor the Lakota leader on horseback. Looking at this enormous mountain, you felt small and a little odd. By afternoon Mount Rushmore the big one, washington, jefferson, roosevelt, lincoln, staring right across the black hills like silent guardians. We snapped pictures, walked the trails beneath the carving and ended the day with a great dinner at the K-Bar S Lodge Big timber beams, wide windows Looking out over the pines, good food and even better company. It felt like a scene from an old western movie.
Speaker 1:Day six started with a van tour through the Needles Highway. Narrow roads Snake through towering gigantic spirals so close in some spots you could practically touch both sides. Tunnels were carved through solid rock, open to a jaw-ending view of the Black Hills. In the afternoon the bus headed for Wyoming and the mysterious Devil's Tower rising 867 feet straight up. It looked like something from another world and that's probably why it starred in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Speaker 1:We had lunch at Irma's Hotel and Saloon in Cody Wyoming. It was built by Buffalo Bill himself A polished bar, old West decor and the feeling that you were sitting in a little piece of history. From there the road climbed toward Yellowstone. The eastern entrance offered us the most breathtaking vistas of the whole trip Lakes reflecting mountain peaks, forests stretching as far as the eye could see. And then, with perfect timing, we reached Old Faithful Lodge just in time to watch Old Faithful erupt, steam and water shooting skyward as cameras clicked all around us. And finally the bus rolled into West Yellowstone.
Speaker 1:For the night we checked into the Kelly Inn, grabbed a bottle of wine and shared a 20-piece box of nuggets, because sometimes on a trip like this you just keep it simple. Picture this 2,347 miles from home in West Yellowstone, montana, the second day of the tour, in the heart of the big sky Country, but yesterday A box of McNuggets and fries in the hotel room. Tonight, oh, tonight, we're going on the hunt to find some real food. As the bus was leaving Yellowstone Park, the skies opened up. Rain, hail, the whole show.
Speaker 1:By the time we'd cleaned up in the hotel it stopped. The air's fresh, the sky's clear, the night's young and we're ready to walk. Gps says it's a seven-minute walk. Two blocks, turn left and then the famous Three Bears restaurant. After a day on the bus, our legs were beginning to move, but when we got there, it's early, the doors are locked, a guy's out front sitting on a log smoking. He points to the side door and he says the Grizzly Lounge is open. You can grab a cocktail while you wait, inside rustic wood walls, a bar shaped like a big L, the smell of cedar and the adventure in the air.
Speaker 1:We slid onto a couple of bar stools. Dominica looked around and asked the bartender deadpan. So is this a watering hole? The bartender doesn't finch, but the two couples at the bar? They laughed like they'd just been told the best joke they'd heard all week. We ordered a couple of beers, waiting on what our friends promised would be the bison skewers worth writing home about.
Speaker 1:Then comes the small talk. Turns out the two couples flew into Bozeman, montana, for a bucket list fly fishing trip, and then they asked the question when are you folks from? I of course gave the easy answer Florida. No kidding, we're from Florida too. Then came fist bumps all around. But where in Florida? I said Orlando. You ever hear of Claremont? Now it was our turn to crack up. We're from Groveland. So here we are six strangers in a Montana bar who lived practically down the road from each other. One couple had lived in Groveland, sold their place on O'Brien Road Yep, that's the one that's now called Mother Earth Spiritual Center and they had moved to North Carolina. The other couple well, he had done concrete work at Trilogy before the lawsuit.
Speaker 1:When the three bears finally opened, jeff the fly fisherman waved us over. Come on, let's grab a table together. We ate, we laughed, we traded stories like old friends. At the end of the night Jeff picked up the entire tab. So here's the takeaway Always ask strangers where they're from, because sometimes home is closer than you think. Well, that wraps up today's story from West Yellowstone. But buckle up, because this is a 15-day road trip that has just begun. Next time, on Larry's Sort of Fun Stories more adventures, more laughs and maybe even a few surprises along the way. You won't want to miss it. On Larry's Sort of Fun Stories.