When I finally reached Red Lodge Mt., the first town on the eastern side of Beartooth Pass, I was so hyped up I changed my plans and drove on to Bozeman instead of Billings.
I wanted shorter drive Thursday to Helena.
State road 78 was close to the mountains so it was hilly and winding, but the speed limit was 65, and the view of the snow capped mountains behind the open ranges was beautiful, but it didn’t take long for me to learn 65 was too fast.
I rounded a turn and 50 feet in front of me were two deer crossing the road. I immediately honked and they picked up their pace, stood on the side of the road and glared at me, then in a single bound cleared the barbed wire fence and were gone.
About 10 minutes later I went around another curve and there was a deer in the middle of the road less than 25 feet away, and when he saw me he got the old “deer in the headlights look’ and froze.
I hit the brakes hard and he moved a couple of feet to my right and I veered left and missed him by a couple of feet.
The speed limit became irrelevant after that and not just because of the deer. There was mile after mile of one lane because of construction, but I was so happy to have survived Beartooth Pass I didn’t care.
When I hit Interstate 90 I was glad to discover the speed limit was 75 mph and that there were snow kissed mountain ranges all around me.
I began to realize why Montana’s motto is “Big Sky Country.’
It was almost as if you could reach up and touch the thick white clouds that floated through the blue sky.
By the time I reached Bozeman I had covered 835 miles in two driving days, and much of it at 35 mph. I was road weary.
Thursday morning, after a really sound sleep (I think it has to do with the altitude), I set out for Helena and let me say there is a word to describe Montana, gorgeous.
Huge horse and cattle ranches turned into farms and behind them were the mountains and it was all spectacular.
I got off the Interstate and took state highways 287 and 12 to Helena and the two lane was wide, mostly straight and if the mountains hadn’t been in the way I probably could have seen Alaska.
The speed limit was 70 mph on a two lane road.
I got caught in a line of cars behind a slow motorhome once, and in Townsend it let a few cars pass but pulled back in front of me. License plate said he was from Alabama.
The driver did pull over again and let everyone pass and before I knew it I was in the Capitol City and in my hotel.
I spent the afternoon at Capitol High School and Carroll College, but more on that next week.
Today I’m exploring a little this morning but will be back in my hotel in time for the World Cup.
The window in my room is open, the sun is shining, it is a glorious day in Montana, something I think they have a lot of.

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