Sunday drive Montana style

[steelslaver]

My step daughter was invited and played in the national FFA band in Indianapolis. She ended up flying back to Bozeman MT and arriving late at night. A Uber ride got her to the home of one of the wife's friends for the night.

This morning we took off at 9am and drove west and south 102 miles on 2 lane, hit Interstate 90 at Big Timber (where they make the Shiloh Sharps rifles) and followed the Yellowstone river west 40 miles to Livingston, then up over a divide to Bozeman was another 20 miles. Had a nice lunch with wife's friend, loaded up step daughter and her stuff and drove another 35 miles west on the Interstate to Three Forks where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers meet to form the Missouri, then followed to Missouri river on 2 lane 70 miles to the state capitol in Helena, then back on Interstate 15 headed north along the Missouri for 91 miles to Great Falls, dropped step daughter off at wife's rental so she could go to her Vo-tech welding class in the morning. Then we drove 105 miles east to get back home at 7:30 pm

460 miles, mostly over 70 mph on the 277 miles of 2 lane and on the interstate often over 80 mph on the 183 miles of Interstate

Distance is just a thing here

 

[Old 44 Guy]

WOW Steel. Here in Kalifornia we can not drive that fast or attempt that speed. Gas is out of the question, Calif. is broke and needs funds so the CHP is on look out for speeders for revenue. Gas is over 5 bucks a gallon and our Governor is in China spending more. I love Montana but too old to move.

 

[swsig]

Sounds like a nice trip. Here in the DFW area we have drives like that. They're known as "daily commutes".

 

[yaktamer]

I have friends in Montana and try to get up a couple of times a year. I usually end up putting as many miles on the odometer driving around Montana as I do making the roundtrip from Arizona. To put the size of Montana in perspective, driving from one corner of the state to the other is like driving from Chicago to Washington, DC.

 

[yaktamer]

That stretch of the Missouri along I-15 between Helena and Great Falls is one of my favorite parts of the state.

 

[FlyTyinFool]

Yep.

Too much driving required.
And really bad conditions for 6 months a year.

You don't want to relocate here
No, really...

 

[mk70ss]

One of our favorite drives is from Billings MT to Cody WY

 

[raljr1]

I remember a trip in North Dakota. We asked a guy for directions. He said, "Go two sights, then turn left." We asked, " Two sites?" He said, " Yeah, go as far as you can see, twice. Then turn left."

Robert

 

[steelslaver]

That stretch of the Missouri along I-15 between Helena and Great Falls is one of my favorite parts of the state.

The stretch of the Missouri from Holter to Craig to Cascade is also supposed to have more trout per mile than any other river. It is a great float

Driving "the canyon" is not for the faint of heart in the winter months. But then neither are 99% of the roads in Montana from late Dec to March with random snow and ice days thrown in during Oct, Nov, April and May. LOL Nice fall or spring day, road dry and bare, then you go around a curve into a shaded area where the snow took way longer to melt so it stayed wet then froze at night and the ice is just starting to melt. Not good at all.

Last week we we also in Helena, there was still snow in the center ditch (we had 16" just after the middle of October) and you could see one set of tracks after the other where cars had plowed into it and that was on the straight parts.

If you hate driving on the snow and ice this is not the place for you.

I run studded tires in all 4 corners, carry a set of chains, a sleeping bag and some cans of chaffing fuel in my trunk from Oct to May. If you get stranded on some of the roads in this country you might be there a while.

PS we also are one of the worst states for car and wild life collisions. Think hitting a deer is bad, try a bull elk or as one of my wife's co workers did when she was young in west Yellowstone, a full grown Bison standing in the middle of the road at night. Did I mention loose cattle. They make a thud

 

[holo]

Our friends have a place just outside of Belt, to get to there we fly into Great Falls. Montana is a beautiful state, last year after our elk hunt we did a guide fly fishing trip down the Missouri river, what a blast. You certainly can put the miles on going place, but the views are breath taking even ride in the S.U.V.

 

[steelslaver]

distance. All my surviving brothers and sisters live in Montana. I live in the middle of the state. One sister is just 50 miles north, one brother is 270 miles east, another sister is 175 north, another brother is 250 miles south east and 2 more are 290 miles west.

 

[StrawHat]

Driving is a way of life if you live in the country. We moved to the NE portion of Ohio. 1/2 hour to the nearest grocery. Same for a good pizza. We plan trips to include as much as we can and still avoid US 90 or other interstates. Except US 6! The GAR Highway is 2 lanes and a very enjoyable drive. And, we live on it.

Kevin

 

[bigmtnman]

My best Colorado/Wyoming Sunday afternoon drive ..... North to Laramie and then southwest to Walden then south and east down through Poudre Canyon to back home. About 212 miles as I recall of Rocky Mountain vista. Even after 23 years of being out here now, I still think "Oh WOW ....look where I LIVE !!" whenever I get out of town

 

[lihpster]

Having ridden through Montana a couple of times, I wondered whether I should replace my speedometer with a calendar.

 

[Dave.357]

How many places to charge a EV.
I think you could of made it in 3 days
With careful planning.
If driving a EV take a rifle ,you may
need fresh meat before you get home.

 

[yaktamer]

I remember a trip in North Dakota. We asked a guy for directions. He said, "Go two sights, then turn left." We asked, " Two sites?" He said, " Yeah, go as far as you can see, twice. Then turn left."

Robert

Reminds me of the small, remote rural town I lived in for a while. Two best descriptions of the place:

1) "It's not the end of the earth, but you can see it from there."

2)"It's the county seat, but you can't buy shoes there."

 

[steelslaver]

The normal speed limit on 2 lane is 70 and an HP normally won't even look at you at 75 or less, the interstates are 80 and there 85 is OK.


Electric cars LOL
The only charging stations you are likely to find are off the interstate, but you best not skip any of them, Most of the towns I mention have populations under 10,000 and only 1 charging spot. There are only 8 cities in the state over 10,000

I 94 Glendive (maybe) to Miles City 75 miles, Miles City to junction with I90 at Billings 150

I90 Billings to Bozeman 140 miles, Bozeman to Butte, Butte to Missoula 120 miles, Missoula to Coeur d'Alene ID 200 miles

I 15 Dillon (maybe) to Butte 65 miles, Butte to Helena 70 miles, Helena to Great Falls 90 miles, Great Falls to maybe some place in Canada??? South out of Dillon maybe Pocatello Idaho (192 miles) then Ogden Utah 128 miles farther south

I90 south of Billings into Wyoming, good luck maybe Gillette (231 mile) or Casper (277) if you go turn south on I 25

Very little of it is all that flat.

I suggest a fair sized generator on a trailer

 

[mckenney99]

I remember a trip in North Dakota. We asked a guy for directions. He said, "Go two sights, then turn left." We asked, " Two sites?" He said, " Yeah, go as far as you can see, twice. Then turn left."

Robert

Once in South Dakota an old guy at the diner was giving us directions to a friend's ranch and he told us to go west until we came to "THE TREE" and "GRADER" then, turn right. WTH, "THE TREE"? As we headed west it quickly became obvious why he said it that way. There wasn't anything over 6 ft tall growing as far as the eye could see. We also discovered that the local authorities just parked heavy equipment wherever they finished using it, the distances were to great to keep moving equipment back & forth, so they just parked it wherever, until it was needed again, hence "THE GRADER" reference.

 

[steelslaver]

PS, just because a map shows a town don't get excited, That does not mean a store, gas, motel. I can name a lot of dots on the Montana map that are just a post office or a post office and a few buildings.
Cohegan, Locate, Moseby, Hobson, Moccasin, Two Dot, Ringling, Angela, Rock Springs, Zero, Volberg, Coalwood, Olive, Clietus, the list is almost endless. Of the appox 500 towns there are at least 100 towns with less than 50 residents and 50 with 50 to 100. Only 25 have populations over 5,000.

Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, Great Falls, Butte, Helena and Kalispell and their surrounding areas account for close to 1/3 or more of the 1.1 million in the state.

 

[Wyo]

Done that sort of drive many, many times in all kinds of weather. Sometimes nice, sometimes nearly suicidal. I still enjoy the roadtrips, though. A trip from, say, Laramie to Jackson is about that distance and covers all sorts of interesting country. Sounds like you had a fun day.