Today was our longest driving day-about 9 hours. We left on time and made good time all day, stopping occasionally to stretch our legs, and get more gas and food.
North Dakota is a beautiful state. The scenery changed a lot as we drove through it. From the east, there are huge farm fields and trees and kind of looks like a flatter Wisconsin, then the trees go away except by rivers and instead of farm fields, there is just grasses-the prairie. Next there are still grasses, but there are lakes everywhere and even the train tracks run through the middle. We stopped at a rest stop in the middle of this and there were signs that said it was a large wildlife preserve (which explained why there weren’t cottages ringing all the lakes). We didn’t see huge numbers of birds but I imagine the spring and fall migrations have huge numbers of them flying through. We then drove through some oil fields with the pumps working away.
Then suddenly, there are badlands. Just like in South Dakota but without all the people and traffic. It was beautiful and a completely different landscape from the flat grasslands just a couple miles earlier! We again passed the southern part of Teddy Roosevelt National Park-(last year we planned on camping there but cut our road trip short because everyone but Jeff had gotten sick over the course of the trip and he was the only one who hadn’t yet. He did get sick the day after we got home so it was a smart choice). Someday, we will make that park a destination instead of a pass through stop!
We entered Montana and drove a long, long, time. Montana is big! It really is big sky country, and a beautiful day for a drive. We saw a lot of cattle, bales of hay, and range land. One ranch had barn quilt signs at all the gates and we saw those signs for at least 10 minutes.
Near the end of the drive, we finally got to some mountains. Not quite the big ones with snow still on it, though we finally could see those in the distance. But big enough where there are signs to put chains on the tires and the road weaved through a pass in the mountain range. There was evidence of a recent forest fire, the tree trunks were all black, and there was new plan growth underneath. We talked to some other campers from around the area and they said the fire was about a month ago.
Then we passed that area and about 20 minutes later we got to our campsite at White Sandy Campground in Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest. It is on the Missouri River so there is a beautiful lake on one side and lot of big hills on the other. Lewis and Clark actually paddled right past the campground where now there are jet skis and boats floating around. The campsite is big, but not private as the trees around it are young and there isn’t any underbrush. It is a pretty dry area so beyond the young trees planted, there is just grasses and small shrubs. And there is a prairie dog village with a hole right at the edge of our campsite.
When we got there, it was extremely windy-about 20 mph, with gusts to 40. It got chilly once the sun set so we went to bed early. I woke up at midnight and the wind was completely gone and it was completely silent and peaceful.
Kline Road Trips 