Glacier National Park Day 6
Glacier National Park
Day 6 - September 12, 2006 - Lethbridge, Alberta to Billings, MT
We were up at 6:45, showered, packed, had our little breakfast, checked out, and were on the road by eight o'clock. The skies were clear and it was 57°. We left Lethbridge on Canadian Highway 4 heading south to Sweet Grass and the US/Canadian border. We saw several flocks of Canada geese also up and about early this morning.
Again, we're traveling through wheat country, a flat endless carpet of golden grain. We followed the railroad tracks dotted with many sidings and huge grain elevators and storage silos. This is truly "the bread basket" of Canada! At 9:10 we entered the customs and US border station and at 9:11 we were back in the USA! The border agent asked us where we were from, how long we had been in Canada, and if we purchased anything and then wished us a great trip home. Some cars were stopped for inspection, but we were waived right through. Imagine that!!!
Driving south on Interstate 15, we entered more semiarid pastureland with many oil pumping rigs and holding tanks. There were a few RVs on the road and several grain trucks, but for the most part we drove for miles without seeing another vehicle. We were back on the Lewis and Clark Trail crossing the Marias, Teton, and then the Missouri Rivers. We made a restroom stop at the Teton River and paused to read the narratives about Lewis and Clark and their travels through this area in 1804-1806 exploring the new acquisition of the Louisiana Territory Purchase.
We stopped at Great Falls for gas and to wash the windshield. We left the interstate here and traveled south-east on Montana #3 and US Highway 87. This is a well maintained two lane road winding through wheat fields, prairie grasses, and an occasional ranch. On this, and most other two lane roads the speed limit is 70 mph but there was little traffic -- mostly big pickup trucks.
At 12:30 we stopped for our picnic lunch just past the intersection of Highway 191 and Highway 3 at Eddie's Corner, in the middle of huge wheat fields. There seemed to be lots of traffic on this road, huge double grain trucks, and a few more Montana pickups all heading south towards Billings. We turned south again at Lavina, still on Route 3 for the last 45 miles into the city. We saw several herds of antelope and gliding hawks along the roadway which was also the path of Chief Joseph as he led the Nez Perce on their Trail of Tears to surrender in 1877.
When we pulled into the Comfort Suite building in Billings there was a sign at a neighboring bank that said 3:20 and 91°! Whew, no wonder Montana is burning up with these continuous hot, dry winds! We checked into our room, turned up the air conditioning, and checked the mail for the day. This is a very convenient place to stay with many quality restaurants, gas stations, and even a place to wash the little red car!
Our next task was to get gas and wash the car. By the time we finished washing the car it was 96° on the sign at the bank. One would think that by almost 5 o'clock it would begin to cool off. I worked on the pictures; we did not have many today, and Gennie got the maps ready for tomorrow's journey home.
We were ready for dinner at 6 PM when our son Eduardo called from Austin. He gave us a brief rundown on his job, how it was progressing and what a challenge it is. All positives for him. We then walked across the street and had dinner at the Outback and when we walked back, the temperature was down to 81. With the smoke filled air from the surrounding fires, we had a beautiful red sunset in the western sky.
I finished working on the journal, prepared the pictures and even got a chance to read today's edition of the USA TODAY.
| Miles Traveled | Gallons | Avg. Price | MPG |
| 193.8 | 6.87 | $2.969 Prem | 28.21 |
| 229.5 | 7.52 | $2.989 Prem | 30.52 |
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