The 290 mile drive from Garryowen to Great Falls was
uneventful……as in no mishaps…..and long. Montana is the fourth largest
state after Alaska, Texas and California. It is definitely BIG.
Scenery-wise, there was the southern-to-central section of
rolling grasslands and hills, then dry brown sections which looked like Arizona
and New Mexico, then lush green farmland with lots of cattle. There
seemed to always be mountain ranges on the horizon which added visual
interest. They were all too far away to get good pictures of them.
 |
| Could be Arizona....... |
The one word that keeps coming to mind in trying to describe
this landscape is “lumpy.” Lots and lots of hills…..not big hills, but
big enough to cause problems for farmers and anyone who didn’t know exactly
where he was. They look like the kind of hills described in a story about
General Custer when he left his regiment to go off chasing a buffalo with his
hunting dogs in Oklahoma. He thought he’d be able to easily see his
regiment when he got to the crest of the next hill (and the next and the next)
but they all obscured what was around them. He got well and truly
lost.
Once we got to areas that were being farmed it got greener
and prettier. In the farmed areas there were lots of pastures with
cattle. In the dry brown areas we saw no animals in spite of the highway
signs warning of elk and deer crossings. (They were just like the moose
crossings in Maine and Quebec……not a single moose to be found.) We did
see a number of pronghorns hanging out in a field with big round hay bales but
we were by them before I could get the camera turned on.
4th of July crowds at a rest stop near
Harlowton. Many miles from an interstate, we did not expect to see a rest
stop of any kind, let alone an official one. It was a welcome find.
We ate our usual mini-lunch while driving (crackers, chips,
banana, etc.). This time I forgot that I’d left Goblin’s carrier open so
he could go in and out at will. All of a sudden here was this large,
furry…..very furry…..cat trying to join in. After sitting on the crackers
and investigating everything he finally decided to go back to bed. (It
works better to let him do things on his own rather than push him.) Our
lunch thereafter consisted of broken crackers with a side of fur.
Square Butte from Hwy 87 southeast of Great Falls.
This is an easily recognized landmark, featured in many paintings by C.M.
Russell, noted western artist.
The Highwoods Mountains east of Great Falls. The trees
don’t start until halfway up which is probably how the mountains got their
name. There’s a wind farm in a section below the tree line at the left
end which looks really huge as it sits on the slopes. (Missed getting a
picture by a couple of seconds.) Montana’s wind farming is a growing
industry. It looked to us like there was a lot of space which could be
used by wind turbines but, of course, we know nothing about how reliable the
wind is here. From what we’ve observed, though, there’s a never-ending
supply. We go out with our wide-brimmed hats in calm air one minute and
wish we had our ball caps the next as the wide-brims are being blown off our
heads and almost out of our hands. Sometimes it’s so bad we can’t even
keep our ball caps on.
Never thought we’d see an oil refinery this far north.
Calumet Montana Refining is across the road from Walmart. Per
Wikipedia, it handles about 9800 barrels of crude per day, producing
gasoline and asphalt primarily for local markets in Montana, Washington, Idaho
and Alberta.
Walmart was the busiest place we saw all day. After
getting here we still had to get groceries and visit the local Bed Bath and
Beyond to get a new coffee maker. Ours decided it would get to within a
gnat’s eyelash of dying this morning. It was kind of it to wait until we
got to a big enough town where we could replace it. Great Falls isn’t too
big (around 60,000 people) but it’s almost 60,000 times bigger than the last
two places we’ve been which didn’t even have grocery stores.
Another big thing going on around here, unfortunately, is
fireworks. There are fireworks stands every couple of blocks and even one
set up in Walmart’s parking lot. No fireworks are allowed in our RV park
which is good, but the noise outside the park is steadily increasing and the
whipping wind is a concern. I did remember to buy earplugs at Walmart
today. They may come in handy.
We’ve caught up with the mighty Missouri again as it runs
through the middle of Great Falls. Couldn’t figure out if this bridge was being
torn down or about to be repaired or what. It certainly wasn’t usable
except maybe for fishing.
Tomorrow, after spending the morning doing laundry, we’ll
visit a couple of the most recommended sightseeing spots.
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