Havre, MT

So much for a shorter day today. It ended up being another long one. Not quite as bad as yesterday, but still 10 hrs. We went almost straight up from Dickinson along part of the badlands and caught the northern route into Montana. The scenery though ND and MT this morning was even more amazing than what we saw yesterday. Unbelievable! I think this is the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life! Not that I'd want to live there! It looks to be pretty harsh country, especially the parts we traveled through mid-day. The temperatures hit 100 and the wind whipped through there like crazy. I can't even imagine what that would be like in the winter. We got stuck in road construction for an hour which made the day even longer than it should have been. That drive though was AMAZING! It felt like driving along the top of the world. When you'd come up on top of a hill it looked like you could see the ends of the earth. Take out the fences and few roads and buildings and it looked like I imagine parts of heaven.

I can't say as much for our mid-day drive. There were parts that were really flat, dry and desolate. There was even cactus growing where we stopped for lunch. You don't expect that in Montana. I'd love to come back some day and explore these western states some more. Probably not in the summer or winter though! LOL! Fortunately the temperatures are supposed to moderate tonight and tomorrow. I don't know if I could handle another day like today. Tomorrow REALLY should be shorter though. It looks like we've got about 180 miles to go to my sister's house outside Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Yes, tomorrow is our crossing day. I suspect we'll be crossing fairly early in the morning.

I'll save other thoughts for another day. I'm absolutely bushed and feel like I could drop off to sleep right here. My fingers aren't being cooperative either so I keep on having to go back and retype. I hope this post makes sense. I can't wait to have a day or so to rest with my sister! The kids are looking forward to meeting their Uncle Harry. They've heard plenty of stories of his cooking! We ought to ROLL out of there if he still cooks like he did last time I was there!