Blogs from Montana, United States, North America - page 70

Survived the night without being eaten by a bear. It was a bit chilly though, only 5 degrees this morning when I got up. Glad that I now have a car that can tell me things. I was on the road not much after 7am, adding an bit more mud and dust to the Murano. Had a good drive for the 130ish km to Glacier national park. The Montana country side is a pleasure to drive through, even the open country side and farmland which there is pleanty of (there is a reason why they call this the big sky country) is varied and interesting with its rolling hills and colours. I topped up with gas well before the national Park as I have found that the gas right near them is often at least 30c ... read more

Yesterday we traveled the Cooke City Highway. Driving south from Billings and through Red Lodge we made a 54 mile loop through the Bear Tooth Mountains. We went through Bear Tooth Pass at 10, 497 ft. elevation and then down into a beautiful mountain valley and then through Dead Indian Pass at 8048 ft elevation. The drive up to the first pass was a little scary - approximately the last 10 miles continuous switchbacks at 20 mph on a narrow road with no shoulder and no guard rails. Fantastic views if you can stand to look out the window and down into the valley. We then traversed a high plateau where we saw mountain goats, alpine lakes and summer snowpack. The second pass was much easier. The pictures tell it better than words. Although they don't ... read more

The last two weeks have been busy. On June 28 David met our daughter Sarah in Billings for a week at a dinosaur dig north of Billings. They had a great time with lots of hard work, but they both found a bone. This is Sarah’s second time at a dig in Montana and David’s first (but probably not his last). While they were digging in the dirt I stayed in Great Falls to visit with high school friends and family. I also did a lot of knitting including making a pair of felted clog slippers. This last week has been technologically challenging. We had one day with no cell phone or internet service in northern Montana for 12 hours due to a break (?) in the line. The rest of the week we have been ... read more

What's hot: The Eye Symphony—beauty unbroken as the Floonian Roadster rolls on Also hot: Paul’s driving 90 m.p.h. on unpopulated mountain prairie roads. What's not: Paul’s first speeding ticket, courtesy of the Wyoming State Police The road: Clear, hot, dry, little traffic, and now passing by us at a tame 75 m.p.h. Miles so far: About 2600. Travel lesson of the day:One person's spiritual experience can be another's Scrabble opportunity. from Kathy: We’ve all heard of “eye candy,” but this scenery is more than simple sugar. Think "eye symphony." Just when you’re sure the colors can’t be more vivid, the rocks can’t be more unusual, the boulders can’t hang at those angles without falling, the water can’t be more blue or more rapid, the curve in the road can’t keep ... read more

We reach the RV destination! On Wednesday, we made the 11 hour trek out of Yellowstone National Park to Clarkston, WA. (remind us to tell you about the “shower incident” when we return). On the trip, we went through Montana, Idaho and into Washington. We had a great time that evening at Steve (Patty’s 1st cousin) and Stephanie Heflin’s house in Clarkston, where we had cold Margaritas and great fajitas waiting for us. We had a great evening on their deck and under the stars. Our kids had a great time playing with Steve and Stephanie’s kids - Rhett, Logan and Lindsey. On Thursday morning, we left Clarkston and went 1 hour up the road Moscow, Idaho to see another of Patty’s 1st cousin’s family - Beth and Greg Papineau. We spent the day with them ... read more