Billings, MT (day 1)

Billings, MT

August 3: Post 3 - I arrived in Billings early enough to go to the City Hall (or what I thought was the City Hall) to get a zoning map. I found the building without any problems. It was actually the library, with a city office annex in the upper floors. I must have written down the address for the Planning Department, because it was in the annex, but they had to send me to the county courthouse to get a zoning map. This was right across from City Hall a few blocks down. The photo, as you can tell, is of City Hall, which I didn't have to go into at all. I didn't get a picture of the front of the courthouse (sorry), which is where the GIS department was that could print the map.

They were going to have to run one fresh, so instead of waiting I went out to find the Skypoint art installation (or whatever you call it) and got some pictures. It looks interesting, however, I gather people are rather confused as to it's point. It does come in handy at blocking out the sun at the intersection, but is difficult to see as a whole because there are buildings and trees and skyways obstructing the view. The picture I posted is probably the clearest one I got.

After finishing with Skypoint, I went to look for an Art Gallery that was listed nearby. I found it but, as expected, it was closed. It's on the list for tomorrow. Then I headed back to the GIS department. Although the printing was supposed to only take about 20 minutes, it was still going when I got there. I think I waited another 30 minutes or so, but it finally finished. Someone said they had just installed new software. From my experience with various Microsoft products, I understand.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my first day in Billings, Montana.

Anyway, after that it was time to find my hotel and retire for the night.

TTFN

Addendum: OK, I forgot about this. Along with many other cities (Great Falls - Buffalo, LA - Angels), Billings (or maybe Montana) is doing a painted animal art project. Here is a horse. I didn't get a picture of the Bighorn Sheep off to the right. It's nice, but I'm starting to get sick of them.

Lewistown, MT

Lewistown, MT

August 3: Post 2 - The weather was nice Monday morning. The road - not so good. I was taking state route 87, a basic two lane route. Unfortunately, for about six miles it turned into a dirt/gravel bypass while they were rebuilding the main road. I still need to take a look underneath to see if anything got badly dinged from the loose rocks that I heard hitting the car. No red lights went on, so it looks like nothing critical was hit.

Finding the town hall was a bit amusing. The directions weren't quite correct, but my map led me to the right area, only I didn't see anything marked City Hall. I parked at the Community Center and was about to go inside when I got some help from a passing shuttle bus. He directed me to the Fire Station building next door. When I looked at it more carefully it turned out the left side was a fire station and the right side was government offices. I even found a window for Planning. However, they directed me to a building that really needed a pant job, and didn't really look in use, in order to get an actual zoning map. When I walked over, I did see a sign hanging above the door that indicated it was a government office. Once there I got a map without difficulty, but Lewistown really seems to want to keep their office a secret from outsiders.

The other thing I want to see in Lewistown was the county courthouse. This is a really nice official looking building with a copper dome and everything. I took pictures all around and discovered a fountain on one side. It also seems to still be in use as a courthouse.

I stopped by an art "museum" which mostly sold arts pieces from local artists and artisans, but did have a few galleries showing local artists. After lunch I headed on to Billings. Much less drama on this leg of the route.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my weekend in Great Falls, Montana.

Tuesday July 28, 2009 Post 2

Kansas City


My time in Kansas City, Kansas was brief. I found the Rosedale Arch, a Veterans Memorial right off the freeway. Although there was a road right up to the monument, I got confused on a turn and ended up at a school just up the road, so I parked and walked to the Arch. This is a replica of the famous French arch, set away from any major traffic or other noise, at least while I was there. It did suffer from being near a school. There were signs of graffiti that had been mostly removed. Some of the stonework in the park area had broken off and the blue trash buckets really didn't fit the rest of the area. But it was still effective, if hidden away.

Downtown was very simple to get to from there. Just straight up 17. I went through what
looked like a manufacturing area on the way to downtown and also on the way out. City Hall
is right next to the County Courthouse (this one isn't called Historical), another building called the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (I couldn't get in, so I'm not sure if it's an office building or a museum), and a Catholic Church. Then there was the gambling joint opposite the City Hall. Plus, the walk light on one intersection didn't work and on another, the "Don't Walk" sign was so old the center letters were mostly gone and the read light behind them was quite visible.



City Hall - I didn't check the year, but it looks like a function 1980s building. Other than the odd gambling place next door, this looked like a civic center.



County Courthouse - I think this covers a large area, maybe including KC, Missouri. Nice old-style architecture.



Soldiers and Sailors Memorial - I really wanted to get in here. Either it had closed by the time I got there (about 4 PM) or isn't generally open.



Catholic Church - The sign says Saint Mary Saint Anthony Catholic Church. I didn't know a church could be named after more than one person.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time in Kansas City, Kansas.

TTFN,

Ted