West of Calgary, Alberta

Tonight we are in a campground with internet service, so I can share today's adventures.  No pictures, though.

Well, this morning we left Cut Bank, a really small town in northern Montanna, drove west to Browning, then north, The trip north on US 89 was terrible.  About 25 miles of the road was under construction, which consisted of rubblising both lanes and digging up the shoulder.  I drove down the middle of the road, moving over and slowing to a crawl when we met oncoming vehicles.  Fortunately, there were very few of those.  There was no place to turn around, so I had no choice but to keep going.  When we got past the construction, we ended up on a mountain road on the east side of Glacer National Park that was full of 15-20 mph turns, so it was slow going.  The plus was some beautiful scenery.  A picture or two later.  

We crossed the border into Canada and continued north.  Now it really feels like an adventure!  By this time we were back in the plains, green grass and Canadian ranches.  Although it was rainy and cloudy in Montanna, the weather cleared the farther north we went.  By the time we reached Calgary, it was sunny and warm.  We got to Calgary just about rush hour.  Canadian rush hour has just about as much to recommend it as does the US version..not much!  

We went west from Calgary to Cochrane, Alberta, which is on the road to Banff.  We are at a very nice campground.  We are going to spend tonight and tomorrow here getting some rest.  Then we are going to Banff.  I have wanted to see that for decades, hurray!

By the way, two days ago we stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs.  The fellow from a camper two spaces down from us came over to find out if we were going into Canada.  We shared what we knew and chatted for a while.  He was from Rapid City ans was named Jim.  He is on his way to Alaska also, but by a somewhat different route than us.  However before you get there, there is only one route.  We agreed to be on the lookout for each other.  An example of a small world, eh, Brian?  I mentioned you to him, but he only knew of the Presbyterian church in the center of town.

Cut Bank, Wyoming

So, we have had two long days of travel.  We awoke in Buffalo to find the perfect bird in the grass outside the RV.  He is a beautiful yellow and eats dandelion seeds for a living.  Ohio needs these birds!

After we left Buffalo, Wyoming, we headed north into Montana.  We stopped at the Little Big Horn Battlefield Park which was quite a visit.  We listened to an hour long description of what happened to Custer over two days in June 1887 that was presented by a Crow Indian Park Ranger.  He explained how descriptions from the surviving Indians and archeological research have pieced together what happened.  I didn't take any pictures since we were run out of there by a rain storm.
We traveled through Billings to Bozeman where we spent the night nestled among Aspen trees.

Montana is a beautiful place with an amazing range of landscapes that range from planes to snow capped mountains.  I90 runs along the Yellowstone River valley for 60 miles or so.  The valley is really wide and fertile.  It is delimited by mountains on either side, making a beautiful drive.  This is the rainy season here, so the land that is normally somewhat arid is very green. It also means that we have driven through a lot of rain and the tall mountains are buried in the clouds.

Leaving Bozeman, we continued west through the intermountain valleys and turned north to Helena and Great Falls. You go from mountain ranges and canyons to the great plains by the time you get to Great Falls. 

For those of us who live in St. Louis or have lived in Kansas City, the far end of the Missouri River is in Montana.  This is as far as Louis and Clark got if I remember correctly.  So here is the Mighty Mo, Montanna style.  We followed the river through a canyon and into the plains.

Well, tomorrow we enter Canada where internet service is expensive and limited, so this is the last post for a while.  When we reach Alaska, I will update you with what we saw.

What's in Wyoming? Bugs and moutains connected with grass!

May 27th.   We packed up, checked over the RV. and left Sturgis this morning after saying goodbye.  First there was the family picture,

then the goodbye on the steps picture.

Westward Ho!  It's such easy driving when you can see only two or three other vehicles and the speed limit is 80.  Its been a sunny day after two days of rain.  But, in eastern Wyoming its bug season.  All those little black spots in the photos are bugs that suicided on the coach.  OOPS no bug pictures, perhaps that's just as well.  Found the buggy picture

We stopped in Buffalo, Wyoming (no buffalo) which is on the eastern side of the Bighorn Mountains.

 

 

 So, now there are only 2973 miles left to get to Anchorage.

Stopover in Adams, Wisconsin

We spent three days with Steve and JoLynn.  Steve took me fishing...always a good time.  This time he arranged a guide, Mike, and we went Muskie fishing.  With Mike's help, I caught one

Stopover in Sturgis

We've been parked in Brian and Laura's driveway since Saturday, enjoying a visit with the grandkids.  Jordan had her first horseback riding lesson today.