Hungry Horse-Spotted Bear-The Great Bear Wilderness

For the very longest time we have wanted to take the drive down Hungry Horse to Spotted Bear. Last week we did just that. The road is paved about 15 miles of the 58 mile trip. Once you get on the dirt it's one dusty road you can count on that. But, we think you will find the drive worth it. There is actually a road all the way round the reservoir but the east side was not open yet so we retraced our drive on the west side. Just as well, the sun setting on the Great Bear Wilderness was spectacular. Something about that name "Great Bear Wilderness" just chokes me up.

The Great Bear Wilderness in the morning. Hungry Horse in the foreground.

It took over two hours to get to Spotted Bear but we were dawdling. Stopping to rubber neck along the way.

One stop we made was Handkerchief Lake. The lake wasn't looking too pretty this day but if you go back and click on the link you can see how pretty she can be.

Wheeler Creek

The creeks are just beginning to pick up speed as the snow melts in the mountains. There are a bazillion creeks along this road. If the sound of rushing water floats your boat, your boat will sail!

There is a Ranger Station at Spotted Bear and a couple of places where you can stay if you aren't of a mind to camp. Or you can make it a day trip and sleep in your own bed.

Spotted Bear Ranger Station

The entire campus at the station is very beautiful. And, it's isolated. I imagine things get pretty busy in the middle of summer but right now it's simply serene splendor. The station wasn't open yet but the ranger was there getting things ready. It officially opens May 15th as does the east road.

Kinsey & Me at Spotted Bear

The Ranger station sits up on a bluff over looking the South Fork of the Flathead River. How pretty is that. Right?! Of course, I lend extra beauty with my presence. The old gray mare? Not so much. :) Just below where we are sitting is a foot bridge that crosses the river. I wasn't too keen on walking on it. But, neither was Kinsey.

We enjoyed a short hike and a Subway lunch. It was divine.

It turned into an all day trip. Dawdle, dawdle. For our dawdling we were treated to the sun setting on the Great Bear Wilderness.

The setting sun reflects off snow capped mountains in the Great Bear Wilderness

If you are in the area you might enjoy this trip. Again, it will be dusty so if that would bother you I'd skip it. For those who could care less and know how to wash their trucks it's very much a green light.

Until Next time,
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 15 - SHERIDAN, WY TO THREE FORKS, MT

We were up bright and early to start our push for Three Forks. I was excited because Three Forks is where I was born and I was going to get to see my parents and other relatives.

Three Forks Landscape

With a couple of potty stops and a gas stop it took us about five hours. It was a pretty drive and Kinsey did her photo whilst driving trick. It's a darned good thing I have nerves of steel!

Big Horn Mountains

We're staying at Camp Three Forks and it is very nice. Lots of green grass and shade trees. After we got set up at the campgrounds we headed for Out West Aussies. That's the name of the kennel where I was born. It was really exciting to see my mom and dad. Although, I'm not sure I really remembered them. My dad is particularly handsome and I look a lot like him.

My Daddy

My Daddy

I had a lot of fun playing and romping and hope to be able to come back again. My personal photographer was supposed to take photos of the reunion but she was kind of asleep at the switch and too busy jawboning with Kelly, the owner of Out West Aussies.

Yea! Me having fun!

Kinsey had thawed out a steak to BBQ and once again she got rained out. It started to pour before her coals were ready. Our neighbors invited her to use their Jennair so all was not lost. She ended up spending the evening over there leaving me to languish alone in our motorhome. For a woman who spends most of her time alone, alone with me, she sure is a regular social butterfly when we are on the road.

Me Languishing

We'll spend two nights here so Kinsey can get Clem ready to get stored when we get back. Tonight will be our last night on the road. I'm glad and a little sad. I'm anxious to get back to the ranch where I am free to be me.

Ciao for now!
#MollyMontana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 14 - HOT SPRINGS TO SHERIDAN HEADING HOME

Today we packed ourselves up and headed north. Sad to leave South Dakota in our rear view mirror.

Clem seems to have developed a bit of a thing. She doesn't want to turnover after sitting for a couple of days. It's like the battery is dead but after a few turnoffs and retries she starts right up. This actually started right before we left but Kinsey made an executive decision to press ahead on schedule. Once were up and running there don't seem to be any further issues. It's like a cold start problem. Hopefully, we'll make it home and then we can have it checked out.

We headed north on 16 to Custer and took it all the way to 90. It was a beautiful drive. The prairies are so green now and before long we could see the snow capped Rockies in the distance. Kinsey forgot to charge the battery in the point and shoot so, well you know. Actually, just as well, Trying to take photos whilst going 70 down an Interstate is not real smart, IMO.

We stopped in Sheridan, Wyoming for the night. We are at Peter D's. It's a nice rv park and the owners are real friendly. So, nice in fact Barb gave Kinsey a double discount for paying cash and later brought us some fresh spinach and radishes from her garden. Now That's hospitality! People have been so kind to her on this trip. The gal at Kevin Costner's The Story of the Buffalo Center gave her and a video for free.



The best thing about this place is it has an enclosed dog run and I got to play friss bee (that's how Kinsey says it) for the first time in two weeks! Golly was that fun. I miss my friss bee! I sure hope we stay here again!

After a friss bee session, a meal and a nap we decided to walk to town. Sheridan is definitely bigger than a wide spot in the road. The main street runs a fer piece as they say around here. There are sculptures all along the way and it looks like a western store paradise. Since it was after five on Saturday a lot of places were closing up. Yes, you city slickers, there are still places in this world where stores close early on Saturdays and stay closed on Sundays. Imagine that!

What was open was a Dairy Queen right on main street with a sidewalk window. Kinsey couldn't resist and got herself a Reese's Blizzard. There are benches to sit on so we did and watched the traffic go by. When Kinsey was a kid that's what one did on a Saturday afternoon. The best part for me was I got to lick the cup when she was done.

This evening a thunderstorm rolled in and it was a doozie! Clementine was rocking and rolling like a cork on heavy seas. The rain drops that fell were the size of pebbles.

If everything goes ok with Pearl's foaling we will be returning to The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in the fall. I think will Sheridan definitely be on the itinerary for a return visit.

Ciao for now!
#MollyMontana

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 13 - HOT SPRINGS, SD A VETERANS PARADISE

Today was supposed to be my day to get a great hike in. So, what happened? It rained cats and dogs. JUST SHOOT ME! We only had six full days in the Black HIlls and we've been rained out on three. For the math challenged among you, that's 50%. And, it seemed as though the rainy days were all my hiking days! No fair!

Around noon it was still raining but we venture out anyway. We went up to the VA place. It's a really beautiful campus. There is also a national cemetery. In our travels of South Dakota we have seen numerous VA hospitals and national cemeteries. South Dakota people really care about those who have served.

Veterans Hospital Hot Springs, SD

But, I think, nowhere more than Hot Springs. We ran into the lady that runs the visitor center whilst she was locking up for the day. She was a lovely elderly lady and told us many things about the history of Hot Springs. She also told us the residents really cares about the Vets, many of whom suffer PTSD. She says when one of them has a melt down in town they don't call the police. They call the hospital.

She also said the yo-yos in Washington wanted to shut the place down and build a new facility in Rapid City. How stupid is that? Close a perfectly beautiful campus and spend the money to build a new one in a regular size city. Seems to me the Vets would be far better off in a beautiful, tranquil setting like Hot Springs. But then, when did the humans in Washington ever do anything sensible?

Victorian Home Hot Springs, SD

Victorian Home Hot Springs, SD

There are some really beautiful old Victorian homes on the bluff overlooking the town. We tried to get up there but musta missed the turn. We ended up driving through a beautiful canyon just on the other side of town.

Hot Springs Park

Next we tried to find the Cold Creek Recreation Area. Still hoping for a hike. SD signs.

We found the park and little lake and it was a very pretty spot but it was still raining and the roads and trails were mush. We went back to town and walked the Freedom Trail along Fall River again. Better than nothing.

Since  was cold, cloudy and rainy Kinsey went to The Mammoth Site and took the tour. Below are some of the photos she took of the mammoth bones. This is an active dig. It seems that a few years back there was this sink hole that had grass ringing it. The mammoths fell in whilst trying to get at that grass and couldn't get out so they drowned. And, would you believe, every last one of them they dug up so far was a male?

The Mammoth Site SD

The Mammoth Site SD

That pretty much did it for us. We went back to Clementine and hunkered down for the rest of the day and evening.

Ciao for now,
#MollyMontana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 10 - BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY

Well, would not you know it? We wake up this morning to sunny skies and we are pulling up stakes for Hot Springs. Bah humbug!

Hot Springs is only about 100 miles from Spearfish. We went around the Black Hills to get down here taking 90 east and then 79 south. All along our trip we have tried to take the little green dot roads and highways. The green dots indicate scenic routes. Well, here's a tip. In our opinion 79 from Rapid City to Hot Springs is the most beautiful route we have driven since leaving home some 1,000 miles ago. This road has nary a green dot.

As we got closer to Hot Springs it got darker and darker with clouds and we thought "Oh, no!". We pulled into the KOA campground around eleven am. Not usually a KOA fan we think this one is nice. We like our spot and we can get good internet connectivity. Which is very handy when trying to write my daily blogs.

When Kinsey was in the information place at Deadwood she happened to see a brochure for a wild horse sanctuary near Hot Springs. She snapped up the info cuz she is a horse lover. When we checked-in we learned the sanctuary was only about 20 miles away so we decided to make that our first order of business after lunch.

Driving south out of Hot Springs on 71 it got brighter and brighter. The landscape was crowned by bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. They looked a lot like those clouds we love so much in Montana. You can't miss the turn off 71, there's a large monument. It's a well maintained dirt road and heads west into a canyon with the Cheyenne River running through it. The road dead ends at the sanctuary.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

What an absolutely gorgeous location for mustangs to run free. The sanctuary is over 14,000 acres and has about 600 mustangs. I've also read 11,000 acres and 500 mustangs. Which ever it's a bunch of both. I'm not going to go into all the details if you're interested just Google The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary or better yet check them out on Facebook.

Kinsey went dippy for this photo because she saw it as symbolizing what the Black Hills Wild horse Sanctuary is all about FREEDOM

They took pity on this poor doggie and let Kinsey pull up under a tree whilst she wandered. Mercifully she did not take the two hour bus tour they offer. On her wander she saw this little pinto pony that was closely watching three mares across the way. One who already had a foal and two others that looked that were very pregnant. The pony was friendly and gentle and Kinsey liked him right away. I'm sure this is because he let her love on him.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

She eventually ended up in the old homestead which has been converted into an information center, gift shop and restaurant. As usual, Kinsey got to jaw boning and before she knew it Cori offered to take her on a tour of the grounds. Turned out that sweet paint pony was a stud and those mares were his harem.  She also learned they were Choctaw ponies which were all but exterminated by the US government. The wisdom of our government being, take away the horses, take away the Indian spirit. There are less than 300 in existence I'll leave it to Kinsey to tell the whole story on her blog The Liberated Photographer. At the end of the walkabout Cory let Kinsey know about the sponsoring programs they have for the horses. If you sponsor one young enough you get to name it. Cory sent Kinsey off to look a group of yearlings that needed sponsoring. Whilst she was looking she thought about those Choctaw mares about to foal and she knew what she wanted to do.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

Kinsey went back to the center and asked if she could sponsor the foal of the Choctaw paint. Kinsey chose the bay and white paint named Pearl. Pearl was Kinsey's paternal grandmother's name. She died before Kinsey was born. So, now we are kind of expectant parents. And, the gods willing, we will have a Choctaw Pony in our family for the rest of our lives. Kinsey will get to name it and the pony will live free at the sanctuary, we will provide for it every year. We say for the rest of our lives because there is one of the original mustangs still alive and she is in her thirties. Neither Kinsey nor I are likely to out live it. Maybe Kinsey will make a provision in her will that funds be set aside to take care of it for the rest of its life. But, that's getting ahead of ourselves. First we have to focus on Pearl having a successful delivery.

Choctaw Pony Pearl

WOW! What a day!

PS: We visited The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary on May 26, 2015. As far as we know, Pearl still has not given birth. We continue to send out good vibes that she will produce a happy, healthy baby.

Ciao for now,
#MollyMontana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 9 - BEAR BUTTE - SPEARFISH

Much to our disappointment it was still raining this morning and the clouds were still socked in. We decided to go to Bear Butte even though we probably wouldn't be able to see anything. We couldn't spend another minute in Clementine or we'd go crackers.

To get to Bear Butte you drive through Sturgis, SD. For those who may not know, Sturgis is a biker's mecca. They have an annual event that draws well over 400,000 peeple. Kinsey would never be able to do this event. Crowds give her the heebee jeebees. I borrowed the below photo from Google photos.

It's still pretty quiet at this time of year but I bet it's a lot of fun when things get hopping.

When we got to Bear Butte it was raining and, much as we had suspected, the mountain was all but covered in clouds. In good news, we had the whole place to ourselves. In other good news, even though this is a state park it is managed as a sacred site and there are certain hours reserved exclusively for Native Americans. Very nice to see.

Bear Butte

There is a two mile trail up the mountain. Kinsey left me in the car as dogs are not allowed. I was able to keep an eye on her because there was not much point in going too far. Not only could you not see the mountain the trail was a muddy mess. As far along as she got the trees along the trail were covered with prayer cloths. The offerings were more colorful and elaborate than those we have found on the Blackfeet Reservation where we have spent a lot of time.

Bear Butte

Bear Butte - Prayer Cloths

Kinsey was very disappointed she couldn't see the mountain but what are you going to do? It is what it is.

Bear Butte

On the way back to Spearfish we saw signs for all kinds of trails we would like to hike but it was raining too hard and the trails were too muddy. I think we have to come back here. Even if the weather hadn't been the pits we would not have been able to do all the things we would like to do. This area is a hikers paradise!

Back at the RV park we had lunch and a nap. After our repose and even though it was still raining we took off on a walk. There are walk ways and paths all over. We headed out along Spearfish Creek. They have mailboxes with poop bags and trash cans all over. And, we never saw a piece of trash on the ground. Other cities could take a page out of Spearfish's play book. If you make it easy for people to do the right thing they are more likely to do it.

Spearfish Poop Station

 Even the "graffiti" in spearfish is in good taste.

Spearfish graffiti (aka wall painting)

Honestly, I think if we weren't so happy in Montana we might just pack our bags and move down here. It's beautiful, the people are friendly and for two walking/hiking fanatics such as ourselves, it just doesn't get any better. Kinsey is already talking about coming back in the Fall. I sure hope we do!

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now.
#Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 8 - THE BLACK HILLS

Well phooey! We today got well and truly rained out. It started in the early hours and never stopped all day.

Kinsey thought what the heck let's see what we can see. We wanted to go to the scared mountain Bear Butte. We headed that way. Here in the campground we are kind of closed off. Once we got out on the road we saw we weren't going to see much of anything. The clouds were socked in. The clouds were practically on the ground. Well, not more than a few hundred feet above it.

Australian Shepherd trying to sleep through the boredom

 We went east on 90 until we hit Whitewood and Kinsey said, "This is ridiculous!" At Whitewood we got off the freeway and turned back for home.  Also, ridiculous, South Dakota has just raised the speed limit to 80 miles per hour on some highways, 90 is one of them. With zero visibility the Dakotans were enjoying their new freedom to the max. It was scary.

On the way back we spotted a Super Wal-Mart. Kinsey went in and got some towels and rugs to help with the mess I'm making in Clementine. Somehow I seem to get very muddy.

As I already mentioned, Spearfish Campground is beautiful but it has one flaw which is particularly annoying when you are stuck inside, internet access is more or less useless. Pages load at the speed of molasses in January or it just disconnects. It's all I can do to write my daily blog entries, very frustrating. I'm going to have Kinsey look into getting our own internet connection for future travels. Kinsey doesn't have an iPhone. She was actually going to get one when she switched to Redot but was advised, for her purposes, the flip phone was better. The difference being it is more durable and has a better antennae.

Spearfish Campground Spearfish Creek really running

By three we were both about ready to go stir so we started out driving up Spearfish Canyon but it was the same story as earlier. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people on the road. I suppose it was because it was Sunday and Memorial weekend. Like us, people were determined to get out come hell or high water. Let me tell you the water was high in Speafish Creek. We got as far as Bridal Veil Falls and packed it in again.

Spearfish Creek up Spearfish Canyon

Back at the campground Kinsey decided to hook up to the cable. But, the cable outlet didn't work. Then she thought she'd maybe watch a DVD. No luck there either. She hadn't checked out the remote before we left and the batteries were dead. Nor had she removed them after last season so they had corroded in the unit. Turned out she hadn't thought to bring fresh batteries either. You can't play the DVD's without the remote. So, that was out too.

The weather channel says afternoon thunder showers. So, maybe tomorrow will be better. But, we aren't counting our chickens. The weather channel is wrong as often as it's right. We mighta got better info if we could have watched the local forecast. Now we know why it's so lush and green around here. It honestly never occurred to us that we might get rained out. Kinsey is reminded of her trip along the Oregon Coast but there it was to expected and the clouds were generally high enough you could work with it. Everybody needs moisture so we are happy for that but ..... FIDDLESTICKS!

We leave day after tomorrow for Hot Springs so if it doesn't stop we won't get to see much of anything in this part of the Black Hills.

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now.
#Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 6 - MEDORA, ND TO SPEARFISH, SD

Well we made it to the Heart of Everything That Is, Paha Sapa, The Black Hills, but, just barely. WOW! These Dakota drivers are worse than Alberta drivers, if that's possible. 85 down here is a two lane road and people were going ninety miles an hour and passing anywhere they pleased. Over double yellow lines, dips with no visibility and narrow bridges. I've been napping a lot cuz the drives have been pretty boring but I was awake to see us nearly get involved in a head on. Some yahoo started passing us right into on coming traffic. Kinsey put on the brakes to try and give him more time but it wasn't enough. If there hadn't been a tiny bit of shoulder we all would have been crispy critters. The on coming car was able to get over far enough to let the bozo by. We were three abreast on our left fender. We would have been right in it if he hadn't squeaked by. It would have been one heck of a crash.

As Kinsey is often heard to say "Thank the Lord and praise the angels" we made it to Spearfish. Spearfish is the northern gateway to The Heart of Everything That Is. For those who may not know, the heart of everything that is, is what the Native Americans called the Black Hills. It is easy to understand how the Indians named these forested mountains, with clear water running through them, the heart of everything that is. It was literally an oasis in the center of their universe. A dark beacon rising up from the grasslands that could be seen from miles away.

We checked into the City Campground. Another WOW! The park is drop dead gorgeous. Spearfish Creek, which is a big creek, runs right out our door. Cottonwoods and lush green grass are the order of the day. You can walk into town or be at Spearfish Canyon in five minutes.

Spearfish Creek

Our first order of business was to go to the Visitor Center and pick up some information. The office was "manned" by a lovely, fifth generation Spearfish resident named Misty. I don't know what they talked about but Kinsey was in there more than an hour. She got a big bonus. Kinsey has been worrying about her Memorial Day BBQ ever since she discovered she had not brought along her Lawry's Seasoned Salt. She brought along a couple of $12 rib eyes to cook and without Lawry's she was prepared to leave them in the freezer. You can't always find Lawry's Seasoned Salt.

Kinsey had found a Safeway on Google and asked Misty how to get there. She also mentioned her mission. As it turned out they were sisters in the can't cook a steak without Lawry's camp. Turned out the market right up the street carried it. I don't know how she does it but she just seems to naturally go where she needs to go to get what she wants. It's uncanny. Kinsey is now salivating for that rib eye.

We took a short drive into Spearfish Canyon, as far as Bridal Veil Falls. It was lovely. We haven't seen clear  mountain water since we came across the Rockies to the east side. After being out on the plains this had to be a mecca for the Indians.

Bridal Falls

 Lots a places to take a walk here at the RV park so that's what we did before we called it a day. It supposed to rain tomorrow so that may hinder hiking opportunities. But, not to worry there is plenty to explore.

Spearfish Walking Paths

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now.
Molly Montana

Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 4 - GLASGOW TO ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

We pulled out of Glasgow, Montana bright and early and, once again, headed into the sun. We headed out on Hwy 2 until we reached Wolf Point. Wolf Point is the birthplace of one of Kinsey's childhood heroes, Monty Montana. Monty Montana was a trick rider and roper. He could do things with a rope that would make your head spin. The first time she ever saw him was at her grammar school when she was about nine. Over the years they rode in many of the same California parades. She really really loved that guy. His smile was quick, his face full character and his hair black as shiny coal. We just drove through but we did see a small sculpture honoring him.

Montie Montana

The road continued to be pretty dull. Just more wide open space interrupted by a grain elevator or a ranch every now and again. Kinsey says it would take a certain kind of person to live out there and she wasn't that type. Not only is it isolated but the winters are incredibly harsh. Most of the time the snowfalls horizontal the wind blows so hard. We never saw a river or creek that wasn't muddy. We must have crossed over the Milk River a half dozen times and every time Kinsey said, "They shoulda named it Chocolate Milk River." Nope, weeze mountain girls. That's for certain.

Our destination was Medora, North Dakota. It was really amazing when we crossed into North Dakota the landscape instantly went from boring to interesting just like magic. We arrived in Medora about 1:30pm. Stayed at a campground called Red Trail. It's conveniently located to the park. I think it may be the only private rv park, Medora is a fairly small town.

The Landscape became interesting the moment we crossed into North Dakota

We had lunch and headed over to Roosevelt National Park. The park entrance isn't manned yet so you are supposed to check-in at the visitor center. Kinsey must have had some kind of brain flatulence because she just blew right through without stopping. She wasn't trying to get away without paying. She's of an age she has a lifetime pass. The thing is, if you don't stop you don't get a map. By the time "the brain" figured this out we were too far in to go back. She decided we couldn't get into too much trouble if we just followed the loop. That's what we did.

Roosevelt National Park

A few miles in we encountered a prairie dog colony. WOW! They were so cool!

Prairie Dogs

 I'm quite proud of myself though. I wanted to chase those critters but remained relatively calm in the face of incredible stimulus. Not only were they running all about begging to be chased but they chattered the whole time.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to get out of this car. Maybe I should just drive off and leave her?

Our next encounter was with a great big bull buffalo. I mean this dude was a bruiser and he nearly walked right over Shadow. Honestly, I think he was bigger than Shadow! Once again I was pretty darned good. I never once tried to go through the windshield. Kinsey is quite proud of me. I got a lot of "Good girls". I'm very pleased with myself. Despite what Kinsey may think, I don't try to chase things to annoy her. It's my nature. It's also in my nature to want to please her. I think eventually we are going to find our balance.

Buffalo-Roosevelt National Park

Next we came across some horses lolly gagging in the road. Once again, I sat at attention but didn't make a fuss. I don't know if these were wild horses or not. Thanks to you know who I have no information. (We found out later they were wild horses) A funny thing happened with these horses. There was a white mare with a gray yearly leading the little band. As we drew up on them the mare led them across the road to the shoulder. No sooner did she reach the shoulder than she started back across the road so we couldn't pass. They zig zagged back and forth three times before a car came from the opposite direction and they stopped on the shoulder. It was the darnedest thing.

Wild Horses in Roosevelt National Park

Then there was the landscape, quite beautiful in a lonely sort of way. Old Teddy sure knew how to pick his spots.

Roosevelt National Park

Roosevelt National Park

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now,
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 2 - SHELBY TO GLASGOW & FORT PECK

It must have been well below freezing last night. Little Shadow was covered in ice this morning. It was pretty cold in Clem too. I crawled into bed with Kinsey.

Kinsey got us up and at 'em at the crack of dawn. We were on the road again by 7:45 am. We drove east into the rising sun.

We only got as far as Chester before Kinsey had to stop. In the morning, after a couple of cups of coffee, Kinsey suffers from TB aka tiny bladder. I took advantage of the break myself. The railroad pretty much runs parallel to Hwy 2 and at this stop a train charged through right in front of us. I haven't really ever been that close to a moving train before. I wasn't scared at all. I kind of liked it. It's powerful rumble was exciting. Earlier we had seen a tanker train, carrying oil I suspect. It stretched out forever and looked like a long black snake. It made me wonder why people seem to think a pipeline would be more environmentally dangerous. The potential for a nasty spill in an inconvenient place seems huge with a train. Not to mention all the fuel burned moving it around. But, what do I know I'm just a dog.

Container Train

Our destination today was Glasgow, Montana. The drive was about 265 miles and took us four and a half hours. Kinsey is kind of a dawdler. She sets the cruise control for 60 mph even though the speed limit is 70. Since she's rubber necking all the time I guess I'm ok with that. We weren't holding anyone up. We could have stopped in the road and not held anyone up.

All the towns we passed were tiny throwbacks to another time. Many still not having paved streets. Very few roads off 2 were paved. Looked like there had been a whole lot of rain going on here because many of those roads were muddy, rutted messes. That must have made the wheat growers happy.

The prairie seems to have a beauty all it's own it stretches out as far as the eye can see like a lumpy green carpet. The view would be uninterrupted if it weren't for grain elevators. I've never seen so many grain elevators in all my live long days. It went on and on and I went to sleep.

Nap Time

Kinsey had plotted our stops on Map Quest and picked out some RV parks. When we got to Glasgow the first thing she did was look for the RV park she had down for Glasgow. Naturally, we couldn't find it. Finally, Kinsey called for directions and that' when we discovered we were looking for the wrong place. She was looking for the place in Medora, North Dakota. I suppose this sort of thing happens a lot to senior citizens.

We found our way to the Shady Rest RV park and no kidding it had been raining. The minute we entered the place we wished we could back out but there's no backing up towing Shadow. The proprietress was less than welcoming. Kinsey got out to take a look at the spot she had for us. It was a mud bog. We would have just ruined Clementine tracking in the gunk. Kinsey inquired if there were any other parks in Glasgow. She reluctantly said across the street at the Cottonwood Inn. Asked what it was like she said she had no idea. Turned out you can see it from the highway if you're looking the right way. Kinsey, trying to be polite, said she'd like to look at it but would return if it wasn't any better. The woman, in a very surly tone said, "It's first come first serve!" Like people would be lining up for that mess. Kinsey replied, "Oh, well, worse comes to worse there's a lot of room out there on the prairie." The woman didn't think that was very funny. We ended up at the Cottonwood. It wasn't muddy at all and was all around a much nicer place.

The reason we wanted to stop here was Fort Peck on the Missouri River. This is also where the Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuge is. After grabbing some lunch we headed out. Fort Peck is about 20 miles from Glasgow. The first thing we discovered was a beautiful campground we could have stayed at for less than half the cost of the Cottonwood. If we ever come back this is where we will stay.

We both needed to stretch our legs so we took off on the nature trail. Of all the incredibly lucky things, we ran into Emily, a young mother, walking her Bernese Mountain Dog and her baby in a stroller. As per my usual, I went bonkers. I wanted to play with that dog that looked like a much larger  version of me so bad and I got to. There were no people around so we were let loose. Harper (that's my new gal pal) and I raced around like nobody's business. That big girl couldn't catch me. It was so much fun. My photographer was so busy shooting the breeze with her new found friend she didn't make much of an effort to photograph my joy.

Dogs at Play

Emily suggested we visit the Interpretive Center. Of course, I couldn't go in but Kinsey said it was very impressive. Especially considering Fort Peck is out in the middle of nowhere. They had dinosaurs in there and other good stuff as you can see from the photos.

Fort Peck Interpretive Center

Fort Peck Interpretive Center

Fort Peck Interpretive Center

Kinsey spoke with the staff who said the dirt roads could get pretty nasty after a rain and they'd had a ton. This is exactly what we had feared. Shadow isn't an off road vehicle by any stretch. Kinsey is hoping the sun and wind will dry them out so we can do at least a little exploring tomorrow. We'll see.

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now.
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard