Day Four -- To the eastern edge of Montana

Tonight I'm on "motel row" at the edge of Glendive. I was going to drive into North Dakota, but my destination for tomorrow is an easy hour's drive from here, and there are no sizable towns where I would have a choice of motels -- or even have found a motel. I might have had to drive past where I want to go tomorrow: Theodore Roosevelt National Park.


It felt like I drove a lot today, but I covered just under 250 miles. After Billings I was clearly in range country. Lots of rolling hills and cattle. Few towns to stop in for lunch. I tried to stop in Rosebud to grab a bite. I left the highway when I saw the fork & knife symbol and followed the road. I passed by a little town but didn't see any commercial district or any way to get there. A few turns later and I was back on I-94 -- still looking for lunch.


I left the highway again at Miles City and found myself on a strip of motels and fast food joints. Time to be daring, I thought, so I followed the signs into the city center to look for a local eatery. Bars and stores, but no cafes or restaurants. So I ended up back on the strip at KFC. So much for local color.


In Big Sky Country you can see the rain falling miles away. It was raining off and on along my route. Good for cleaning the Montana wildlife off the windshield. Unfortunately, it was raining when I arrived in Glendive, where I'd planned to visit either the local museum or the Makoshika State Park. Looked like a museum day, but I found my way to the park first, so that's where I went.


I paid my fee but found that the visitor center was temporarily closed -- just until 3PM. Oh, well. I proceeded into the park without any more information than was in the brochure I'd picked up days earlier. I only made it to where the pavement ended and decided not to risk the gravel. It was still raining and the parking lot was empty. Didn't want to risk getting stuck. I enjoyed the scenery but didn't spend much time out of the car. The best part was when I went around a sharp curve to see two whitetail deer crossing the road and climbing the slope right in front of me. I stopped and stared at them and they stared back.


After snapping a few damp photos, I returned to the visitor center and got lots of information from the enthusiastic park ranger. Makoshika is the largest state park in Montana. It is a treasure trove of dinosaur fossils. Some of them, including a triceratops skull, are on display in the visitor center. I wish I could have spent more time -- in better weather. But it looks like the weather will be better tomorrow when I get to North Dakota.


I realized today that I'm not getting any pictures of the scenery along the road. When I drove though southern Utah seven years ago, I pulled off at every turn out and took photos of the fabulous scenery. On the highways I've been traveling there aren't any places to stop for photos. I have to keep a lot of the scenery in my mind. But anyway, here is a picture of one of the rock formations at Makoshika. Don't you just want to climb down there and start looking for dinosaur bones?

Day One - Oregon to Idaho

It was a two mountain day today. As I drove over the Marquam bridge, I caught a glimpse of Mount St Helens, a bit covered with haze but looking very big. Then as I entered the Columbia Gorge area, I saw Mount Hood.

I find I keep comparing this trip to the one I made seven years ago: Weather about the same, sunny with a few clouds. More traffic, but then last time I left the day after Labor Day not on the holiday itself. Aches. Hmm. I don't remember my shoulders or elbows aching after a few hours of driving. I guess the body is seven years older. Will need to be sure to work out the kinks at rest stops.

The drive through the Gorge is always ... gorgeous no matter what the weather. The magnificent geology formed by the Missoula Floods. Boggles the mind how massive the rush of water must have been to carve out this scenery.

My itinerary was planned not for the shortest route but to travel places I'd never been before. The new stuff started just a couple of hours into the trip, when I got to Biggs, crossed over the Columbia and headed east along the river on route 14. Two-lane road with not much traffic. Very nice drive. This called for driving music. I pulled out a tape by Off Course, a Japanese pop group from the 1980s and played it -- loud, YES-YES-YES -- over and over until I got back into traffic.

When I started planning this trip, I had to figure out whether I should drive my 9-year-old car or get a new one. One of the factors that went into the decision was whether I would be able to listen to my 25-year-old Japanese pop music tapes if I got a new car, which would probably be equipped with a CD player. (I do have other tapes, but I am especially fond of the Japanese ones.)

Along route 14 I was for a while behind a truck that appeared to be hauling scrap paper. Little pieces of paper were blowing off the truck and scattering every which way. How terrible, I thought. Polluting this wonderful scenic area with garbage. After quite a while driving at a distance behind the truck I saw something roundish and white in the road. It appeared to be ... an onion! So that was it. The truck was hauling onions (Walla Walla was not far away) and the "paper" was onion skins. Never mind.

Tonight I am in Post Falls, Idaho, spending the night at the home of my friend Janet's mom. Very wired lady. She plugged me right in and I could check email and update the blog. Right now Chris (Janet's mom) and other scattered family members are chatting online -- as they do almost every night.

First day in 60 (or more) that I'll be on the road. I'd better get to bed to be rested for Day Two.