The ride across Montana was long, hot and without rest stops. After four hours of driving, I pulled over at a parking pull off to give Donner a break and it quickly earned the title of the worst rest stop on the entire trip.See photo below. The scenery along the 200 mile drive, however, was quite nice and it made up for the otherwise drudgery of the drive.
We pulled into a Little Bighorn Battlefield, the site of Custer’s last stand, at 3:45 and they closed at 4:30. Because dogs are not allowed out of the vehicle at this memorial, I cut my visit short to about 15 minutes and took in only what I came here to see, the actual site where Custer and his men died.
After returning to the Defender, I drove the 12 miles or so to a Campground of America (KOA) right off the highway and settled in for the night at a cozy campsite. I think this is the only campground I ever visited where they had covered picnic tables for the tenters, probably out of pity for us. It is situated in the vast open plains of Montana. We arrived just as a terrible wind storm hit and I had little bit more difficulty setting up the tent. When I encountered a similar wind storm in Alaska in 2013, I had to enlist the help of two fellow campers to set up the tent. But since then, I have learned well the technique of setting up this marvelous tent alone in all conditions and it is actually enjoyable in doing so in the wind, once it is set up.
Tomorrow, finally, Yellowstone. Unfortunately, the weather is not expected to cooperate. Rain tomorrow, then the temperature plummets to the teens with snow forecast.I think I need to find a Walmart on the route to Yellowstone tomorrow to pick up some warmer long johns. Also, i need to buy other clothes since i mistakenly brought with me some of the new pants i bought over them last year when i gained some weight as i recovered from my three surgeries. I must have lost a lot of that weight in 12 days since the pants are way too loose and beginning to fall down. On the 2016 trip, i lost 25 pounds in the first 50 days.
That’s it for tonight.
Ed and Donner are, from cold and windy Montana.
