Montana
September 14, 2016
“With everything ahead of us
We left everything behind
There’s nothing that we needed
At least not at this time
And now the feeling that we’re feeling
Well it’s feeling like our life is finally ours
With nothing to go back to we just continue to drive…”
“We didn’t know what we were looking for
So we didn’t know what we’d find”
“Broken” by Jack Johnson
These words speak to the heart of our Journey! Thank you, Jack Johnson for putting lyrics to how we feel on our Gypsy Adventure – Yes, we are continuing to drive and experience this beautiful country of ours.
Heading out of Cody to ‘virgin countryside’ – in search of fall’s ‘changing of the guard’ from summer to fall… the colors of the season, ripe for the camera’s eye. After getting a late start, we traveled north to Montana. The drive through Billings and then east on Hwy 94 was glorious; rolling hills, hay stacked for winter, cornfields ready for silos – we paralleled the Yellowstone River into Miles City, MT where we would spend our first night on the road again. We pulled into the Big Sky RV Park, which was not much to look at… no lake or mountains nearby, but the park was wonderful in every other way. We were greeted by the owners, Jim and Amy Asher, and were told we could pull into any site we wanted. It was off-season so there weren’t many campers spending the night. Big Sky RV Park offers full hookups, a pool, showers, laundry, and a dumpsite – all for a very reasonable price. The facilities were clean and the grounds were well manicured. It was a very quiet night, and after breakfast and a shower we were ‘wheels up’ to travel east again. On Hwy 94 we jogged north and east to Hwy 2 toward Lewis and Clark State Park, just outside of Williston, ND. Once we left Billings behind, this was all new territory for both of us; although Patti said as a child she had been through North Dakota on a family vacation.
Lewis & Clark State Park
As we crossed the state line into North Dakota, we discovered (to our dismay) that Hwy 23 was under construction and it became one of the worst roads we have traveled in our 1 + years on the road. The warning signs read: “deep tire tracks and broken pavement”. The signs DID NOT LIE! What they did not mention was the ‘roller coaster’ effect that jostled us, as well as everything in Rosalita. No great damage was done, though. The gas industry was everywhere: from the derricks, transfer pipes/stations, torn up roads, and flame night-lights (of gas burn off) and trucks/equipment… all in the name of big oil and gas money and our dependence on fossil fuels. Oh well, that is beyond the scope of this blog!!!
Finally getting on route 1804 and the entrance to Lewis & Clark State Park was a piece of cake, even though it was a much smaller thoroughfare. We dropped down from route 1804, three miles into the park, which is situated right alongside the Missouri River. I remember crossing the mighty Missouri River in my childhood on the way back to Missouri for family reunions… It is still as impressive in size and volume as I remember. Actually the Missouri Head Waters are located a few miles north, just south of the Canadian border.
From our campsite we could see the river, which actually forms Sacajawea Lake at this junction of the park. The weather was marvelous – no wind, sunny and warm. We set up camp, I took a walk and Patti took a rest to re-adjust her neck from the ‘rough-rider road’ on the way into the park. As the sun was setting around 8pm we ate dinner by campfire and watched as the almost full moon rose over the river. Our plans are to move on in the morning, if the rain and thunderstorms do not necessitate our staying put tomorrow.
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