Day 34 / 365

This was my last day on the road, and so a full day driving. The I-15 north between Wolf Creek and Cascade leads through this wonderful canyon and low lands through which the Missouri flows. It is a beautiful drive, and definitely the most scenic stretch of road I encountered in Montana. Unfortunately, there was construction on the highway all through there, and it was thus impossible to pull over for photos. But if you are ever driving down this way, I would recommend checking it out.

Here just three photos for today. Starting tomorrow, it's back to the usual 1 photo per day. I reasoned it was necessary to deviate from the single photo a day when taking a photography road trip, you can't really show all of the impressions in a single photo.

Abandoned house in a farmer's field in Montana.

A valley in Montana.

Back in Alberta, the railroad bridge across the valley in Lethbridge.

Ok so this wraps up my road trip (FINALLY!). It's been challenging updating the blog, while sorting through a lot of photos and going to cello ensemble every single night the first week back. Cello ensemble was a lot of fun though, so most definitely no complaints there. And the blog can always be updated a few days behind :)

Day 28 / 365

Was off to a late start, but the border crossing was a refreshingly pleasant experience. Maybe Sweet Grass has its name for a reason :) They performed the usual fingerprinting, but I now at least understand that it's an ID verification method that is employed on all international visitors. And there wasn't any of the usual rude questioning, only how he is quite sure that "Grizzly bears like to eat little girls travelling on their own."

The roads were pretty empty, so I am hoping that the tourist volume will still be on the low side. I always notice this when I travel to the States - the people here seem nicer and more approachable than they do in Calgary. I stopped at an outdoor gear store in Great Falls and inquired about a camera store, and the guy rooted through a phone book, located a store 2 hours away, and wrote it down for me. Then at the motel I am staying at, the lady pulled out various maps to give me travel tips. She also advised me that there have been a lot of bear sightings in the park, good thing I brought a bear scare. Oh and the swarms of mosquitoes here are crazy, Montana should be called "Ginormous Mosquito Swarm Country"!

Somewhere along Highway 89, I came across these 3 barns in a field, standing next to each other in various states of disarray.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE for a larger view.