Notes from the road 7/17

Dickinson, ND to Missoula, MT.  Probably the most incredible day of driving I've ever done.  I was already loving the drive through broad rolling grassland when about half an hour into the trip I went over a hill, and the view went from this...

to this...

It's pretty commonplace to refer to a view as "breathtaking," but I had never experienced it as an actual physical phenomenon until that moment.

From there it just kept getting better.  As I crossed into Montana, alternating plains and canyonlands along the Yellowstone River gradually gave way to increasingly forested hills, and eventually the distant glow of snow on mountains.

As I drove through the green valleys and over one particularly spectacular pass near Butte, covered with a lifetime of rounded red boulders, the rain unfortunately limited what must have been stunning views of the mountains around me.  Still, with the cloud cover only intermittent, it made for some of the most surreal lighting I've ever seen.

I arrived at my sister's house in Missoula just in time to grab a beer before heading downtown where some of the guys were catching the wave on the river, then over to a party for a welcome change from road food. After a good night of sleep, I got up for a nice walk by the stream, and am about to head out for a hike.  I could stay here for a long time, but while staying put for a few days is nice, if my next drive is anything like yesterday, I can't complain too much about moving on!