Ogden, UT to Helena, MT

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This was just a plain old drive until you drop day for us. I know there are some of you out there that can bite off more than this for a day, but this is about our limit.

I've driven this route several times in the past, but always in the late fall, after the leaves had fallen off the trees and the grass had turned brown. Travelling at this time gave me an appreciation of what really happens on the plains north of Salt Lake and in the passes of Idaho and Montana.

While the country reminds me of parts of Alberta, the mountains are quite different. In the high passes the trees, bush, and open spaces look like it is an enormous groomed garden. The fresh green patches of grasses look like fresh mown lawns, but they are up to a mile or two wide in places. When you look close you can see that the grass is pretty tenuous as small shale patches show through in places.

Les made a comment that the people who live on this land must be pretty independent folk and I agree. It must be hard work to make a living up in those hills, but there are a lot of large ranches and some nice homes and barns tucked into pretty valleys on the edge of the greater valley that forms the pass.

In parts there is a railway winding its way through the hills and I wish I could have seen a train on the line, but no luck. As we approached Butte, MT there was a train heading south to the pass, so I guess I missed that opportunity.

We got to Helena in our planned time and settled in. Les planned to get up early in order to get to the morning mass in the magnificent cathedral in Helena so we tried to get to sleep in good time, but failed. We just don't do the early to be thing very well.

Tomorrow, home. We are looking forward to that. Not to have the trip ended, but to get back to our normal lives in the great town of Cochrane.

You'll see that there are no pictures today - just a lot of driving on this day.

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