From Provo to Cardwell, MT - Mar 11, 2008 - Cardwell, Montana, United States

Where the h?&* is Cardwell you ask? It's on I-90 just east of Butte Montana.

The trip today started early at 8:00am. Heading north from Provo on I-15, the initial challenge is to get through Salt Lake City. This turned out to be very easy, by taking the I-215 Belt Way. The lanes are wide and the traffic is much less than going straight up I-15 close to the city centre. We stopped for lunch and gas at McCammon Idaho at the Flying J. Great spot as far as turning room and they have propane too.

Back on the road and we intend to press forward as far as possible today. There are storms coming in and today might be the best driving day. After consulting Sarah (the GPS system) and various paper maps and campground directories, we decided that Dillon Montana was doable and even better would be a little spot called Cardwell.

Several people have mentioned the "Butte Bypass" to us. It goes from Dillon to Boulder and avoids a couple of significant climbs on the I-15 on either side of Butte. Montana highway 41/55/69 stay down at lower elevations, and you're not apt to encounter the snows that you get up high at this time of year. We decided to take the bypass since the road conditions were dry and it was sunny. While it wasn't a mistake, we failed to take into account the wind. The highway is good enough, but it is two lanes with very narrow shoulders. In a cross wind, and especially when you pass an 18 wheeler, the wind buffets the motor home significantly. In one case, it actually pulled the slide awning part way out, and there was no place to pull over to fix it. For future reference, take the bypass if the weather is good, but think twice if weather is an issue.

A few minutes after leaving Whitehall, where we stopped to look at the awning, we were at the campground and ready to set up camp for the evening. This campground is okay for an overnight, being close to some water and facing some rushes; there were lots of red winged blackbirds around at sunset. According to the weather from Butte, the high wind is the result of a fast moving front. The wind is supposed to last for awhile, but tomorrow is forecast to be calmer and, east of the great divide, is another short break before the next spring storm arrives. West of the divide, it's snowing! If we get lucky, tomorrow will be less windy and we'll be far enough north tomorrow to miss the forecast precipitation.