Yesterday was one of those days. Sweet and sour. Bao's expression says it all.

Sixty miles north of Helena, massive roadwork. No more highway, just rocks and gravel. One-way traffic for ten miles, and you had to wait for a Pilot Car to guide you. And then after we got through that, I realized I'd left both my blue topaz ring and my turquoise ring in the motel room in Helena. I tried to pull off the road and call the motel, but there was no shoulder for miles and miles. And then when I finally did manage to pull over, my cell phone didn't work. Out of service. We drove back to a cluster of shops called Augusta, and the lady who ran the bar and grill let me use her phone. I got through to the motel and was told they'd found the rings and were keeping them for me. So I had to drive 80 miles back to Helena (through the road work again) to get them. And then back towards Browning, through the road work for the third time.

I might add that during all of this, Bao didn't say a word. I hate to think what a husband would have said.

We finally got to Browning. It's an Indian reservation. There's only one motel and it was packed, because the Indians are having a pow-wow this weekend. And dogs. Stray dogs. Big dogs. Vicious dogs. Hundreds of dogs, all running loose. Just throw rocks at them, said the motel manager. Bao had the runs but was too scared to squat. And the internet connection didn't work.

We were out of there at first light.