Montana… through the windshield

[MT Matt]

I’m on the road to the Midwest for my annual trip to sell fishing lures. Already scanning Craigslist for potential tractor parts stops. 😂

I packed up in the rain on Friday. Woke up Saturday morning to 4” of snow, closed the gate and headed out.

Headed northeast to Conrad, which is in north-central Montana. Dawn had spent Christmas with her mother there and my Christmas with them was a few days late.

Going over Rogers Pass wasn’t a peach. The wind blowing 30 mph created a whiteout.

I was driving 25 mph at the top and down the east side until getting out on the flats. But at least the road was plowed pretty well.

I took off early Sunday morning from Conrad  at -9 degrees. At least the sunrise was beautiful.  The shortest route across the state is diagonal from Great Falls to Billings.  Right through a member’s old stomping grounds.

Eddie’s Corner was where Gary Yaeger’s (Old Binder Guy) wife used to work when Gary and Sharon were a young couple. This is near Moore, Montana.

This is the land coming into Eddie’s  corner. Gary had said Sharon’s parents farmed the land on the left side, north of the highway.

Headed south from there is Judith Gap and a large wind farm.

The mountains create a perfect funnel and the wind is always blowing here.

I believe these are part of the Crazy Mountains near Harlowtown.  I’m glad the 30-40 mph tailwind was pushing me east.

The highway comes into Billings along a ridge above town.

It’s our largest city at 120,000. Not much to look at but there you go, ya saw it.

I-90 rolls southeast from Billings. I cut across Highway 212 to Belle Fouche, South Dakota before getting back on I-90. Saves a lot of miles if the weather is decent.

About a mile off I-90 is Custer’s battlefield. The rectangle on the ridge line is the monument where the battle ended. Hard to fathom this happening almost 150 years ago when you can just drive right by it today.

The landscape is mostly rolling hills with scrub pines in this area.  Pretty poor part of the state.

Right before you leave Montana is Alzata. Not the most eastern town in Montana but pretty close before crossing into Wyoming. Not much but a bar and the last chance to buy gas. Or maybe the first, depending on direction of travel!

I slipped out of Montana right at sunset. That covered close to 800 miles. I’ll be glad to be back on the farm in two months!

 

[IHandJDman]

Never been to Montana, thanks for the pictures and descriptions.

[twostepn2001]

Thanks for the trip across Montana Matt. Been a very long time since l was there, mid 80's probably when l drove OTR. 

[MT Matt]

20 minutes ago, twostepn2001 said:

Thanks for the trip across Montana Matt. Been a very long time since l was there, mid 80's probably when l drove OTR. 

You’re welcome. Probably hasn’t changed too much!

[dale560]

20 minutes ago, MT Matt said:

You’re welcome. Probably hasn’t changed too much!

How long have you lived in Montana? The picture of billings I have seen or heard of old supper club up on the bluffs. Never been out there though.

[MT Matt]

My parents moved me out here in 1983 from Minnesota when I was 11. I left for 25 years to finish college and worked in Springfield, Missouri. Came back home in 2018 after Dad passed away.

It looked like there was a supper club at the base of the bluffs in Billings. The airport is up on top. I’ve only been on that road a few times and never stopped. Usually drive through on I -90. 

[CRVB91]

What beautiful pictures, unfortunately I have now had to add somewhere else to my "want to go" list! Hope you had a great late Christmas! 

[Kevin in ky]

Enjoy your pictures I too would like to see that in person but in all honesty you probably brought me as close as I’ll get,thank you for sharing 

[cobfly]

Big Sky! Have to admire the indigenous ones living out there.

[Powered by IH]

Rhode Island… through the windshield:

[Shell1066]

Boy it's been 20 years since I was out there on wheat harvest. Went right thru a lot of that area.  Judith gap, Eddies corner. Billings. Cut north of billings in Broadview. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.!!

[pms1961]

I recognized Billings.My oldest son lives there.

[Big Bud guy]

That 3rd picture looks like it was taken just south of of Brady.  

[dale560]

7 hours ago, MT Matt said:

My parents moved me out here in 1983 from Minnesota when I was 11. I left for 25 years to finish college and worked in Springfield, Missouri. Came back home in 2018 after Dad passed away.

It looked like there was a supper club at the base of the bluffs in Billings. The airport is up on top. I’ve only been on that road a few times and never stopped. Usually drive through on I -90. 

Thanks for posting pictures. I live about 500 miles north east in North Dakota. I want to drive out one day and look it over. 
 My dad was adopted in 1944 from Fargo ND. His birth mother relocated to billings and eventually married the man who had a couple of night clubs in billings. The skyline club rim rock or as they named it the Bella Vista at the bluffs was what they owned until he passed away. 
Kind of a bucket list item to drive out and look area over where she lived. Here is picture of night club before it burned.

[Wes806]

Thank you for the pics MT Matt. Drove OTR back in the 80's thru there. Nice to see it again. Have a safe trip and good luck on your lure sales.

[barkerwc4362]

Wife and I drove that route coming back from Glacier headed to Mount Rushmore in 21.  We stopped in Billings to stay at the KOA.  We were pulling a 24 foot pull behind camper.  This was in early June so no snow.  We took the shortcut that starts at the turnoff to the Custer Battlefield and ends up back on I-90 before we got to Rushmore.  Would not have wanted to go over that pass pulling a camper, especially with high winds.  It was bad enough going over the pass near Breckinridge, Colorado on Colorado Highway 9.  It was mid-May of this year and it had snowed the day before.  The road had been plowed the day before but there was still some snow on the road.  We were pulling a 12,000lb 36 foot fifth wheel behind the 2500HD diesel.  Think top speed was like 30mph max going through the switchbacks.  Wife said it was 25 degrees at the top.  I don't know I was concentrating on the road.  Don't want to do that again!  We had no problem, but conditions were not good.

[bkorth]

Coming in to  Billings at night is quite a sight looking down at all the lights and Eddie's corner is where all the cattle pots meet up in the fall when headed to Great Falls, Fort Benton,etc. Been there done that, lots of memories up there. "Meet you at Eddie's Corner for  breakfast ".

[hardtail]

Our biggest city is 120,000 another reason why Montana is perfect

[MT Matt]

3 hours ago, Big Bud guy said:

That 3rd picture looks like it was taken just south of of Brady.  

Yep. You know I-15 pretty well!

[Big Bud guy]

Just now, MT Matt said:

Yep. You know I-15 pretty well!

We do a lot of business in Conrad and go to Great Falls fairly often for regular stuff.  And on top of that we haul all our durum to Great Falls and barley to Power which this year is going to be 180,000 bu total.  Hauled 70,000 bu durum in October and November.  That tree line on the east side is an irrigation ditch.  There used to be some sort of irrigation district there.  So I am familiar with that stretch of highway.  Almost a year ago just north of Brady going north I witnessed a SUV swerve into a snow plow that was in the left lane and lay both outfits on their side.    

[MT Matt]

3 hours ago, dale560 said:

Thanks for posting pictures. I live about 500 miles north east in North Dakota. I want to drive out one day and look it over. 
 My dad was adopted in 1944 from Fargo ND. His birth mother relocated to billings and eventually married the man who had a couple of night clubs in billings. The skyline club rim rock or as they named it the Bella Vista at the bluffs was what they owned until he passed away. 
Kind of a bucket list item to drive out and look area over where she lived. Here is picture of night club before it burned.

I didn’t see that name that I remember but I’ll pay attention closer next time. 

[td9inidaho]

Great falls, been there, and through a few times. Let's not forget to famous tiki lounge 😂😂, mermaids included. Missoula, Billings, butte,great falls, all the way to fargo, made a trip or two that way I must say 

Mark

[MT Matt]

1 hour ago, barkerwc4362 said:

Wife and I drove that route coming back from Glacier headed to Mount Rushmore in 21.  We stopped in Billings to stay at the KOA.  We were pulling a 24 foot pull behind camper.  This was in early June so no snow.  We took the shortcut that starts at the turnoff to the Custer Battlefield and ends up back on I-90 before we got to Rushmore.  Would not have wanted to go over that pass pulling a camper, especially with high winds.  It was bad enough going over the pass near Breckinridge, Colorado on Colorado Highway 9.  It was mid-May of this year and it had snowed the day before.  The road had been plowed the day before but there was still some snow on the road.  We were pulling a 12,000lb 36 foot fifth wheel behind the 2500HD diesel.  Think top speed was like 30mph max going through the switchbacks.  Wife said it was 25 degrees at the top.  I don't know I was concentrating on the road.  Don't want to do that again!  We had no problem, but conditions were not good.

If you took Highway 212 across from the battlefield to South Dakota, there are a couple pretty steep spots. Lots of truckers roll that way instead of going through Wyoming on I-90.  I don’t like to travel on 212 in the winter if it has recently snowed because it isn’t a priority to be cleared off like I-90. I don’t want to have trouble out there. Many places with no cell service and many miles to anything. 

[MT Matt]

4 minutes ago, td9inidaho said:

Great falls, been there, and through a few times. Let's not forget to famous tiki lounge 😂😂, mermaids included. Missoula, Billings, butte,great falls, all the way to fargo, made a trip or two that way I must say 

Mark

Dawn and her mom were talking about the mermaids when I was in Conrad the other day. Guess it was quit the place at one time!

[New Englander]

Almost 40 years ago I flew fairly regularly to Helena. There was a near ghost town called Marysville that was worth driving to. Apparently there are others in MT too. There was one meeting in Anaconda where we were picked up, crew included, and driven mile up the Great Divide for a little fishing in a pond full of hungry Cutthroats. FA packed a picnic lunch and Chairman taught us how to manipulate a fly rod. The man was expert! He'd drop a fly on top of a fish if he wanted to.