NJ Day 3: April 19, 2019 - Driving Across Montana

Weather has followed us across the Bitterroot Mountains. We wake to gray skies and light, cold rainfall. Today's goal is to drive 475 miles across much of the breadth of Montana. By day's end, we should be in Sheridan, Wyoming, just over its border with Montana. This will put us in a good position to experience a couple more of the '1,000 Sites' as we proceed eastward.

After rising and packing, we load the X3 under the shelter of the Motel's loading zone. The next order of business is Coffee! We climb into the car and discover a Starbucks nearby (big shock!). It is a little way past the entrance to the Interstate a half a mile north of our motel.

We find the Cafe and make our purchase. We get back in the car, drinks in hand, and drive east on I-90 toward Butte. The rain has stopped and the clouds seem to be thinning. We expect this to be a very long day, matching the first few days of our drive to Texas on our way to Florida last spring. As we leave the city limits of Missoula, we see a speed limit sign: 80 MPH! Perhaps the day won't be as long as we thought!

We are in Big Sky Country. I'm not sure what that means, but the vistas of mountains and clouds dominate. There are ranches and smaller homes along the roadway, but they seem very small.

Looking South from I-90

We proceed east, listening to the end of the novel we started two days ago. Our first stop is Butte, where we are ready to find breakfast. An internet search finds the 'Hanging Five Restaurant', just off the road. It is a cozy, friendly little place and we enjoy a fine breakfast.

Our next task is supposed to be to refill the tank, but breakfast was so satisfying that I forgot that this was the plan and we just started to drive. Happily, there is a CENEX station in Cardwell. At 40 miles away, it is well within range of what we have left in the tank. We arrive, get a full tank and clean the windshield.

Back on the road, we decide that Billings will be a good place to find lunch. It's a couple of hours ahead, so we listen to a few of my subscribed Podcasts. We then start "Dirty John". We are unsure of whether we want to continue listening, but do...

Along this stretch of road, we can look south and see the northern side of Yellowstone Park.

View South toward Yellowstone

Eventually, we approach Billings. As Amy is driving, I use the Nav System to find possibilities for food. "The Salad Connection" sounds like a great possibility. We are looking forward to a healthy lunch as we get off the Interstate. We pull into the parking lot of a strip mall and are reminded of one of the great disappointments of the Internet Age. The data base is never cleaned out. There is no "The Salad Connection" here. We leave the parking lot, then pull over to the side of the road to reconsider. We find that there is another "Salad Connection" store a half a mile north of here. Just then, a large pickup with a nice couple of women inside pulls up next to us. They ask us if we are OK (must have seen our license plates). We tell them that we are fine, but looking for a restaurant. We mention the "Salad Connection" and they recall that enterprise went out of business a couple of years ago. We thank them for their concern and the pull away.

We find another possibility: "Tao - new asian". Sounds like it could be good! And, in fact, it is! Amy has the Chicken & Vegetables & I have the Szechuan Tofu Combo. The food is tasty, the ambiance relaxed and quiet.

Satisfied, we get back in the car and head a few miles east. Here, I-94 splits off to the north and we continue on south on I-90. We are now in Crow Country. Along this stretch of Interstate is the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Just south of here are the Bighorn Mountains. From these mountains, Custer looked out to see the gathering of Native Americans against which he then took his final ride.

Bighorn Mountains

The rest of the drive takes us into Sheridan. We find the Convention Center, check into our home for the evening and settle in. We are still a little confused about what time it is. Also, it happens to be "Good Friday", so we are a little concerned about whether restaurants will close early. We head out to find a nearby Qdoba and have a fine, if fast, light grilled meal. It's good to stretch our legs as we walk the half mile back to the hotel. We are pretty tired, but the long day of driving is over and it should be easier from here on.