Christine, ND
After leaving Billings, it wasn't difficult following directions to Fargo. Leave Billings on I-90, merge unto I-94, go to Fargo. Pretty much a straight line! We continued to follow the Yellowstone River valley through cattle country in Montana - rugged countryside difficult to farm except for hay to feed the cattle. Judging from the young calves we saw, it was a very good calving season.
Stopped in the big city (?) of Forsyth, MT for breakfast which pretty much consisted of shopping at the local IGA (Wegman's it wasn't) for bananas and yogurt. When we hit Glendive, MT, we left the Yellowstone (which continued north to meet up with the Missouri River). From there it was a relatively short drive to the North Dakota border. I-94 and the railroad pretty much run side by side all the way thru North Dakota.. Along the way, you could see all the small towns (some of which no longer exist) marked by grain elevators. I think I read somewhere that the towns were originally set up approximately twelve miles apart because that was the distance old steam locomotives could go before they needed more water. The modern diesels hauling a hundred or more cars no longer have that restriction. The western part of North Dakota is where the badlands are and there is a huge park highlighted by the town of Medora - location of the ND Rodeo Hall of Fame and a huge tourist attraction.. It's pretty quiet during the winter, but in warmer weather this whole area attracts tourists by the droves. Scenery is fantastic as we drove through the countryside, mostly rolling hills.and canyons..
Weather was warmer and the fields were pretty much all brown. It wasn't until we got near Bismarck (quick, what's the capitol of ND?) where the ground was still snow covered, even though the elevation was starting to go down. Temperatures went down along with the elevation which was kind of the opposite of what we had experienced near Yellowstone. Mother Nature does some funny tricks at times.
Stopped in Dickenson, ND for lunch and gas before getting back on I-94. This is a great area for automated driving - set the GPS and speedometer (80 mph) and sit back. Of course, that's pretty much what I do with Vi doing all the driving. I take pictures, admire the scenery, read the map (not really necessary) change discs on the audio books, and sometimes look up local information. Talked to Melanie and made arrangements to meet them for dinner in Fargo. Good cell phone coverage and we were able to text to update them on our arrival times.
Even though the countryside was pretty much snow-covered, it was also evident that the fields were to the saturation point with lots of standing water in the ditches and low-lying fields Doesn't look they are going to be getting out in the fields any time soon.
Stopped at Costco in West Fargo and then met Ken and Melanie at TruBlu for dinner. Connor joined us and we had a great meal and good conversation. Always fun to catch up. After dinner, we drove out to Ken and Melanie's where we continued the conversation (of course accompanied by some wine).
Enough about yesterday. This evening is Karen's birthday party at a local restaurant - she doesn't know we're here, so we hope it's a pleasant surprise :-).
Stopped in the big city (?) of Forsyth, MT for breakfast which pretty much consisted of shopping at the local IGA (Wegman's it wasn't) for bananas and yogurt. When we hit Glendive, MT, we left the Yellowstone (which continued north to meet up with the Missouri River). From there it was a relatively short drive to the North Dakota border. I-94 and the railroad pretty much run side by side all the way thru North Dakota.. Along the way, you could see all the small towns (some of which no longer exist) marked by grain elevators. I think I read somewhere that the towns were originally set up approximately twelve miles apart because that was the distance old steam locomotives could go before they needed more water. The modern diesels hauling a hundred or more cars no longer have that restriction. The western part of North Dakota is where the badlands are and there is a huge park highlighted by the town of Medora - location of the ND Rodeo Hall of Fame and a huge tourist attraction.. It's pretty quiet during the winter, but in warmer weather this whole area attracts tourists by the droves. Scenery is fantastic as we drove through the countryside, mostly rolling hills.and canyons..
Weather was warmer and the fields were pretty much all brown. It wasn't until we got near Bismarck (quick, what's the capitol of ND?) where the ground was still snow covered, even though the elevation was starting to go down. Temperatures went down along with the elevation which was kind of the opposite of what we had experienced near Yellowstone. Mother Nature does some funny tricks at times.
Stopped in Dickenson, ND for lunch and gas before getting back on I-94. This is a great area for automated driving - set the GPS and speedometer (80 mph) and sit back. Of course, that's pretty much what I do with Vi doing all the driving. I take pictures, admire the scenery, read the map (not really necessary) change discs on the audio books, and sometimes look up local information. Talked to Melanie and made arrangements to meet them for dinner in Fargo. Good cell phone coverage and we were able to text to update them on our arrival times.
Even though the countryside was pretty much snow-covered, it was also evident that the fields were to the saturation point with lots of standing water in the ditches and low-lying fields Doesn't look they are going to be getting out in the fields any time soon.
Stopped at Costco in West Fargo and then met Ken and Melanie at TruBlu for dinner. Connor joined us and we had a great meal and good conversation. Always fun to catch up. After dinner, we drove out to Ken and Melanie's where we continued the conversation (of course accompanied by some wine).
Enough about yesterday. This evening is Karen's birthday party at a local restaurant - she doesn't know we're here, so we hope it's a pleasant surprise :-).
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