Day 3 – June 30, 2003

Ride from Great Falls, Montana to Glendive, Montana

I managed to get the pictures and stories uploaded and thus caught up last night, but it was a little late, so we got a late start this morning. As we left Great Falls I noticed we were on the corner of 9^th and 9^th. This is an unuasually marked city for streets. We also managed a quick look at the falls so named by Lewis of Lewis & Clark fame. I didn’t think they were all that great, but they were pretty. We started a trek across a great, as well as great big state today. A state that is about 550 miles across at it’s widest, and today we crossed about 350 of those miles. Most of the trip we found ourselves following in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark. It seems they managed to put their mark almost everywhere we went. A river named after an old girlfriend, a city named after old Meriwether himself, a canyon, forts, trading posts, etc. I guess they must have taken a little longer than we did to get across it.

I found myself pondering the name “Big Sky State”. Is it because the sky is bigger? The dictionary definition of sky is, ” The expanse of air over any given point on the earth; the upper atmosphere as seen from the earth's surface.” I guess by this definition it would be hard to argue. I suspect some would argue that the only reason it looks that way is that there are no buildings, trees, canyons, etc. in most of the state to block the view. Still others might say that it is all the snow, or high mountains, or great fields that make the sky look bigger. I suspect that is something all together different. I think it is a feeling you get when you are here. No matter the explanation someone gives you, when you actually see it for yourself, you just can’t argue the fact that this is Big Sky Country.

We did see several deer, an abundance of cattle, sheep, and horses, as well as hundreds of miles of \crops being grown. What we also saw was prairie and grazing lands that seem to go on forever. Most of the pictures you see don’t seem to be anything, but if you were here, you’d know they are in fact everything. We weren’t expecting to pass through Jordan in this country, but you never know. At one point we seemed to be at the top of this part of Montana, so we stopped and I took a series of pictures in a full 360 degree turn. They start at picture 33 and end at picture 48. This gives you a good idea of what we passed through. Still you cannot really know the road without riding it. At one point I even managed to get a little rabbit to pose for a couple of pictures for me before it ran off.

Just as we were ending our days ride at Glendive, we passed over the Yellowstone River. I didn’t even know there was such a river. I found myself wondering what it would have been like to take a boat up there in the winter a hundred or so years ago. What wild and lively times those must have been. Well anyway it is now time to come back to the present and get some sleep for tomorrow we cross into North Dakota. I wonder what treasures I’ll witness there. Till then, I’ll see you on the byways…..