Driving South to Helena, Montana

The welcome to Montana sign is
mile or so south of Sweetgrass.







Forest fires raging in northern Washington are responsible for today's grey skies.

Rolls of hay are seen

on the hillsides.

Eric drives south on I-15.

This is one of Montana's

salt flats.

The speed limit here is 75 mph
for cars & 65 mph for trucks.

I spot a granary next to

the railroad tracks.

The windsock blowing in

the wind get the point 

across to drivers.

Oil derricks pump oil next

to farm equipment.

We drove into Shelby to
stop at  the Visitor Center.







Streets were blocked off for a parade and Eric returned to the library.

A cell tower.... I can turn

now use the data on

my cell phone.

The Missouri River Canyon 

Canoeing on the
Missouri River.

Do you see anything in this

rock formation?

I see a lamb.

We are alert for deer

on the highway.

The hills become irregular, lumpy.

We arrive in Helena.

Around Sweetgrass, Montana

Sweetgrass is a very small town, with a population of 58.  The US Customs Port of Entry ensures the town will provide services to traffic travelling north and south across the border.







The Duty Free Shop has
gasoline, but no diesel.

Glocca Morra Hotel Cafe

The gas station without a
working sign has gas
& diesel fuel.





Fuel here is expensive.  We paid over $4.00 a gallon for diesel fuel.  Selby is 35 miles south of Sweetgrass and the fuel is currently $3.88 per gallon.

We picked up our mail at the

 Sweetgrass Post Office.

It's time to head south to Helena and visit Montana's State Capitol.

The Rest Area In Sweetgrass, Montana

The Rest Area in
Sweetgrass, Montana

This building opened in 2002.

There are restrooms for travelers to use.

A Montana State Map

The brochure rack is a bonus!

I grabbed a Montana State map.

The recessed picnic
tables are out of
the weather.





Our cell phones keep picking up the Canadian cell towers.  We are very close to the US/Canadian border.

There's a telephone at the

Rest Area.

My guess is that it gets

a lot of use.

We settle in for our first 

night in Montana.

Driving South to Sweetgrass, Montana, USA

It's 9:00 am & the sky
is darkened with smoke
from forest fires.

Services for visitors to

Jasper National Park.

We are driving though very beautiful country with very few stops.  Our drive to Alaska started when we crossed the border into Canada on May 8 and as John Steinbeck mused on page 208 of Travels with Charley in Search of America,, "My journey started  before I left, and was over before I returned."  Our drive south though Alberta was focused soley on getting home, back to the United States.

We are watching
for wildlife.

 Photo taken at a scenic overlook.

I snapped a pic of a

Chipmunk.

We pass a fallen rock zone.

This scenic Skywalk
opened to the public
earlier this year.

The Columbia Icefield 

We stop for driving
instructions.

We must drive slowly for

the next 4 kilometers in

heavy smoke.

Eric drives past
hot spots that are
still smoking.

Is this an accident? 

All these vehicles are
stopped to look at
a Black Bear.

A hitchhiker headed

north.

Eric pulls to the side of
the road to take a picture
of the odometer....

50,000 miles





According to the Freightliner chassis specs, the engine is now broken in.

Eric turns onto Route 1 East.

After passing under several of

these bridges, Eric & I realized

they were built for animals to

cross over the highway.

It looks like a truck toolbox

is being used as this

 motorcycle's towed storage.

An amusement park rises
out of a farm field.

Calgary Park is open

for summer fun.

Our drive south takes us
through Calgary.

Past cows... 

The first sign with a US
destination.

Oil derricks spring up in

farm fields.

Next stop... the US
Border Inspection Station







We were welcomed back to the US by a Customs Officer.

Eric takes the ramp to

Sweetgrass, Montana.

We celebrate our return to

the US in the rest stop

in Sweetgrass.