Lesson One: Never hesitate to drive down a gravel road.
We were leaving Pompey’s Pillar along the Yellowstone River headed the Little Big Horn National Battlefield. We asked a ranger which road to take. She recommended the most direct route straight down Fly Creek road, “if you don’t mind traveling a gravel road”. Growing up in Missouri I traveled lots of gravel roads. Might as well see what one looks like in Montana. So off we went.
It was truly the road less traveled but we saw the back country and a few things that caused us to stop and gaze. It was beautiful ranch land with plenty of cattle. Someone had stuck up a scarecrow next to the road. It must have been there solely for a tourist like me to take a picture. 
A few miles along we saw a large fox stick his head out of the grass along the road. When he saw us he turned and bounded back forty yards through the field to a large bush where he disappeared. His long tail flashed above the grass and was magnificent. I can’t remember ever seeing a fox in the wild.
Further on we saw a large white bird fly off a fence post and land on the edge of a long ridge line. It had the beak of a raptor but exactly what it was I could not say. It was beautiful to watch it soar off.
Would I have seen these had I taken another road? I am not sure. But I saw them because on this day we took a different kind of route and crossed paths with these animals. You never know what you’ll see when you start off down the road. But be willing to take a different, less traveled route. Go slow and keep your eyes open. You will see things you might normally pass over without notice. There is a lot going on around us. Being observant teaches us to see beyond the narrow confines of our mind’s world.
Never be afraid to take a trip along a gravel road.
