Yellowstone Art Museum

"Billings has one of the most dramatic city entrances I have experienced. You come off the flat prairie landscape into the huge Yellowstone River valley. Downtown Billings has plenty of interesting antique and secondhand shops for treasure hunters, but the real treasure is YAM (Yellowstone Art Museum). This converted jail -- with its very handsome, modern glass addition, along with the thought-provoking, yet accessible exhibitions -- was a very pleasant surprise. Billings also has a hip strip along the railway tracks that has numerous galleries, restaurants, cafes, clubs and a theatre. Sound like Calgary's Inglewood?

To properly appreciate Billings, stay overnight at the 22-story Crowne Plaza hotel in the middle of downtown. A room on the east side will give you a panoramic view of the Yellowstone River valley, as well as the railway yards and refineries. The morning sunrise filtering through the smoke of the refineries creates an apocalyptic, surreal image that remains etched in my memory."

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