05 June 2015

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS - DAY 1 KALISPELL TO SHELBY, MONTANA

Well, at last, we are on the road again. Kinsey has been running around like a chicken with its head chopped off getting ready for this trip to The Heart of Everything That Is aka The Black Hills (Paha Sapa). To read why we wanted to visit the Black Hills click here.

Taking 2 East we headed for the Great Plains. At Marias Pass it was 30 degrees. By the time we hit Browning it was snowing. Did not expect that. Was hoping to see the incredible site of the Rockies thrusting up off the plains but they were completely shrouded in clouds.

We were glad we weren't going to St. Mary this spring. It had to be snowing a bunch up that way. We were also glad because in Browning where you turn to go north on 89 MDOT signs announced there was construction going on up that way and the delays would be such that they advised using an alternative route. Trouble is, if you are driving a motor home there is no other route. If you live in snow country it is a source of never ending frustration that just when you are able to get out and about they start tearing up the roads.

The green rolling hills of the plains are just beautiful. We passed a wind farm where not a single blade was idle. They were those really huge windmills. The blades move slowly and nearly made me seasick watching them as they crisscrossed one another in big lazy loops. Saw lots and lots of horses but no foals. We pulled over in Cut Bank for a stretch and I nearly dove through the window after a ground squirrel.

There was no shoulder so Kinsey just shot out the window as she drove.

Kinsey didn't want to beat herself to death on the road the first day so we stopped in Shelby, Montana. Stayed at the Shelby RV park. It's new and next door to a Comfort Inn and casino. We don't care much for casinos. I'm too young to gamble and Kinsey isn't a gambler. It's right near a veterans memorial and under a huge flag that flies 24/7. Montanans are a very patriotic bunch.

Veterans Memorial in Shelby Montana

Old Glory flying 24/7

We walked into town which is mostly several blocks of a main street. It reminded Kinsey of towns she grew up around in California in the fifties. The town was dead as a door nail (how is a nail dead?). Many towns in Montana are pretty much closed down on Sundays. Driving through rural Montana is like taking a trip in a time machine. We like it!

Main Street in Shelby, Montana

Koty came along to watch over us. Many years ago when Kinsey was shooting on the California Coast and Lakota Sunrise aka Koty was still with her, a friend gave her this stuffed toy husky and Kinsey has carried in Clementine ever since.

Koty watching over us


Ciao for now.
#MollyMontana

©Kinsey Barnard

2 comments:

judyb said...

This reminds me of our family road trips way back! Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip goes!

Walker said...

Some of these rural Montana towns, and I'm sure they are all over America, are like taking a trip in a time machine. It's one of the reasons I moved to Montana. I was looking for a return to the simpler times I knew growing up.