Wednesday 12 June 2013

Day 17 St Mary to Great Falls, MT

June 5

St Mary to Great Falls, MT

Beautiful day to travel, on the road by 9:30 am already 14 degrees.  Interesting landscapes from ranch land to the mountains in the distance, even a cinder cone.  We didn’t travel far today since Yellowstone was too far so Great Falls looked like an interesting place to stop.  After getting set up we headed to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Centre.  Amazing feat, crossing this land on foot and blazing the trail for others to follow trying to find the northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.

Lewis & Clark


The mighty Missouri River flows through Great Falls.  Today there are hydro electric dams on the river but a 100 years ago there were 5 major water falls that Lewis and Clark had to portage 18 miles to get around them.  We drove by the Black Eagle dam and then up to the Ryan Dam.

Ryan Dam

Back at the campsite, the hot tub had been turned on so we got to relax with a drink before checking our route for tomorrow.  Managed to call Mark tonight in the hospital in Tokyo Japan.  He is doing better and they will be able to fly home Sunday.



Stats:
Mileage:   314 km
Fuel:  Great Falls $3.88 gallon diesel; gas $3.54 gallon
Weather:  Sunshine; High 23 degrees Lo 5 degrees
Animals:  Deer, eagle, prairie falcons, rabbits, 2 white pelicans and lots of gophers
Campsite:  Great Falls KOA

Montana Stats:
Nickname:  Treasure State
Flower:  Bitterroot
State Bird:  Western Meadowlark
 

 

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