This road trip had a basic game plan–but nothing was written in stone—except getting to Amarillo, Texas to see the Cadillac Ranch.
Day Two was a great example because there was a five-hour detour thanks to a missed exit.
Jerry Sutherland
Billings was the start of the game plan, but it had some missing parts by the time the day ended. Billings is a place where you can head in many directions and hit some very interesting spots.
Little Big Horn is just down the road on a nearly deserted four-lane highway. It’s the kind of place that draws you in, but the old Plymouth was on an 80-miles-per-hour mission to shorten the time on the road so Custer’s last stand would have to wait.
That all blew up when the exit to Cheyenne went past without a whimper so now the old Belvedere was severely off course. That could have been a huge problem but veering off course put the Belvey on a new course to some very interesting spots.
Devil’s Tower was one of them. I know exactly where it is now and happily ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ now has more meaning because now I know that the bald Wyoming prairie has some decent tree coverage in the Devil’s Tower area.
The aliens still don’t make any sense.
The Plymouth’s gas mileage took a severe hit on Day Two thanks to massive winds and the 80-mile-an-hour clip. It said, “I can handle this speed but you’re going to pay for it at the pump.”
The next highlight on the I-missed-an-exit tour was Sundance, WY. This place is known for its invasion every year by Hollywood egos. It’s not far from Devil’s tower—that would be a good place to imprison guys like Robert Redford but give him credit. He put Sundance on the map.
Sundance is where things started to not make sense because the Plymouth crossed into South Dakota. That seemed a little askew because it was a state over from where the Plymouth should be.
There was an upside. The Black Hills were just down the road—so was Deadwood. That made it easy—live with the massively wrong direction and see the Black Hills. This is a remarkable area because you go from almost desert-like prairies to a mountain environment.
The old Belvey wasn’t very graceful through the twists and turns of the road out of Deadwood—but it is 61-year-old technology. It’s not going to carve the turns like a brand-new Vette.
This is a strange road because it goes from snake-like to dead snake-like. You get to a road that makes Saskatchewan look like the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s straight for the next 190 miles—you could put your ’64 Buick Electra on cruise control and take a 2-hour nap.
Despite the straight-line geography this is a very cool area because it’s full of real West scenery. You don’t have to imagine Wild Bill Hickock being here—he was here.
The last part of the run ended in Wellington, Colorado so this was a four-state 12-hour run.
It was worth it—definitely worth it.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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