May 14, 2013 - Long (make-up) Day

Mon 5/13 48 degrees We headed west on I-94 this morning. We saw much more farmland. As with IA, some of these fields are hundreds, if not thousands, of acres. And the equipment they are using – holy crap! Some tractors have 3 wheels on each corner. How would you like to buy those tires?? It was interesting because not only is the equipment huge but it must be very expensive and much of the equipment looked new. A lot of John Deere green out there! And of course there were many more wind turbines. As we crossed into North Dakota, it was more...

Sep 10, 2012 - Bismarck, ND to Glendive, MT

We did some driving through some beautiful farmland in ND then close to the Montana border we past Medora (famous for pitch fork steak and a musical/comedy program) and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We had been to both of them on our trip to Alaska and decided not to stop. Around Medora we saw beautiful painted rock formations but most of the drive was farmland, big hay fields and open ranges for cows. It looks very dry here. We have heard a few stories about the effect of the oil boom in ND. In fact the campground we are staying at...

Aug 14, 2012 - Glendive

We arrived in glendive yesterday, left menoken a day early. This is a dive, but the only place to stop before a long drive to great falls. We are now in mountain time. We are fortunate the campground had a spot for us as it poured rain all evening once we were parked. This area is booming economically because of the energy industry. The campground host says they are completely filled with workers who are building apts, etc for the energy company workers.

Oct 5, 2011 - Glendive

Oct 5 Today was a straight shot across Montana to Glendive. Started out cool but ended up being 88 in Glendive. Most of Montana is miles and miles of pasture land and cattle. At one point we passed cattle being herded by several cowboys on horses. Only, place you see trees is when there is a creek or river. The middle of Montana is home to the Yogo Sapphire. As we leave Lewistown we enter hill country, lots more trees, smaller fields, but then it is back to more grassland. After checking in to the motel we had lunch at a little family...

Aug 7, 2011 - Glendive, MT - the flat tire

Glendive Park and CG, Glendive, MT. Another day with a quirk. Sat. eve Tom noticed passengers rear dual soft. Actually, tire pressure was 0 on Sunday. He managed to get enough air into it w/his air compressor to get to a gas station in town for real air..We went on the highway and stopped frequently and it wasn't holding so next “Flying J” said we don't have any services, Go to next town, Glendive, they have tire services. They do but it is Sunday and no one is open. In the meantime we have been in touch w/USAA roadside service and they...

Jul 20, 2011 - Glendive, MT

We left Billings around 0810 and we drove to Glendive, Montana which is about 30 miles from the North Dakota border. The drive was about 220 miles and the road was good and traffic was light. The terrain is a combination of flat and rolling hills with large bluffs on both sides of the road for roughly fifty percent of the road. Most of the flat sections are cultivated and growing an assortment of crops with corn seeming to be the largest single crop. The weather was great and the temperatures dropped slightly as we traveled east. The...

Jul 20, 2011 - July 20, 7th Stop (We are back on the road)

When we dropped the truck off Tuesday morning, I hoped they might get to it that afternoon. However, on our way to breakfast Wednesday morning, we stopped at the shop (9:45am), they told me to stop back after breakfast and it might be done. We did and at 11:00am they replaced the water pump, which died. Kay and I drove it back to the KOA and started packing up. We got going at 12:00pm and drove 197 miles to Glendive, MT where we are in an RV Park. The head winds were between 35 and 50 mph, so our speed averaged 55 and my mpg only 9.8. On...

Aug 2, 2010 - Makoshika State Park and Bison

Another day of driving through incredible fields of straw/hay/alfalfa fields and a few wind farms. We stopped briefly at the northern section of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park - interesting 'Badlands' formations and our first bison herds. Athena thought they looked interesting - she kept trying to smell the air when we stopped for pictures. Arrived in Montana where the speed limit for two lane country road was 70 mph - and people pass on double yellow lines!! Makoshika State Park in Glendive doesn't take reservations and when I called...

Jun 25, 2010 - ON TO MONTANA - Makoshika State Park

Today drove 98 miles In case you missed them, I have posted pictures of the golf course on yesterdays notes. We have moved on to Montana, short drive so we had time to tour the Makoshika State Park. Still badland scenery but at the same time very different. We had a great JEEP ride, on dirt roads which was fun. Found out that the Yellow River is loaded with agate stones, but found out that the water level is so high that you cannot look for them. Saw a sample at the state park and they are pretty stones, but interesting before they are cut...

Jun 17, 2010 - Heading Westward

We got a decent start this morning with the intention of travelling about 8 hours. That started to change early when our GPS carried us the long way around to get on our route to Norh Dakota - that or we were too stupid to follow it correctly. But all wasn't lost since we got to see the beautiful countryside of Minnesota. It was pretty country full of smaller farms and little towns. After about an hour delay, we finally hit 94 North. After noticing it clouding up a little, I asked our oldest son to check the weather for Fargo, ND...and just...

Jun 11, 2010 - On into Montana

It is Friday and we are up early with cold and rain again. Looks like we will be driving into the wind again today. After a breakfast of sausage and eggs, we are both showered and ready to meet the challenges of the day. Rain and wind and wind and rain all morning. The gas mileage is really taking a hit driving a flat surface down the road into a 30 or more steady wind with a gust now and then thrown in just to keep it interesting. The real thrill is when you pass a big truck going the other way. Whoomp, a wall of air hits the front and can...

May 18, 2010 - Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Chateau De Mores

We headed back into ND from Glendive MT, about a 50 mile drive, to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Chateau De Mores in Medora, ND. What a delightful day, a picnic was packed and the weather was in the 70’s. A real heat wave, you know. The Park was nice, the video not so great, but the exhibits were very good. Roosevelt’s ‘Maltese Cross Cabin’ is adjacent the visitor’s center. His cabin is a three room cabin, with his ranch managers sleeping in the high pitched loft upstairs. That cabin will be open to view after Memorial...