Our destination upon leaving Missoula was Gillette, WY. We could’ve made it in one long stretch, but how could we resist stopping at the first KOA ever?
The drive itself was pretty interesting. We passed pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, a bison farm and the “world famous” Anaconda smokestack. We passed through some chain-up areas in the higher elevations, which thankfully we didn’t need because I don’t think the RV was interested in auditioning for Ice Road Truckers (although we did see some beautiful snowy peaks in Livingston).
Where We Stayed: Billings KOA – Established in 1962, the park was an older design but well kept. Sites were slightly narrow but nothing like we had in Bozeman. Overall, the park was a bit of a letdown if you were interested in finding out anything about the KOA. Besides a sign on the building, there was nothing about the history of the location and the employees didn’t have any knowledge to share either. The shop only sold a few items branded as the first KOA, but their beer selection was great for a camp store, containing brews from all the local places we drank in Missoula plus a local one from Billings. If the history lesson was a disappointment, the dog park definitely left the four legged members of the family smiling – tons of room to run and well manicured (and clean!) grass.
Where We Ate:
Shanghai Village – In general, we don’t usually cook on our one night stops. Take out Chinese is usually the answer on those nights.