At least for today. 764 km (about 462 miles) of driving in 8 hours was enough. We left Glasgow, Montana earlier with the thought we might try to make it to Fargo, North Dakota but decided to call it a day in Grand Forks, ND.


Montana never seemed to end. Although the countryside we drove through was beautiful, it is monotonous when driving for hours through it.

Driving through the massive Fort Peck Indian Reservation was interesting – many small communities with housing in varying states from decayed to new could be seen. The reservation is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, and apparently has a population of about 10,000. It is also the ninth largest reservation in the United States. It also has it’s own “sovereign” government with its own jail system and courts. There must be an upcoming election as we observed quite a number of signs for folk running for “Tribal Council.”

There are no trees. There is no bush or forest to get lost in, at least the part we drove through, until approaching the border of North Dakota. To us, it was humorous to see a billboard sign advertising a campground near the border of Montana and North Dakota – advertising the amenities that included laundry – and trees!

Imagine that! A campground with trees! When we drove past the campground, there didn’t seem to be that many trees, but there were some. I suppose they would be welcome shade on a hot sunny day.

One thing we’ve missed are Tim Horton’s. In Canada, Tim Horton’s Coffee Shops are almost everywhere, and they offer pretty good coffee (although I prefer Country Style). With all due respect to my American friends, American coffee is not very good. Here’s a tip: Pick up a big tin of Maxwell House – it’s inexpensive but good coffee. Use a good sized tablespoon for each cup of water. Most coffee that I’ve had while traveling through the US over the years is thin and really lacks the zip of how we make it in Canada.

Stay away from powdered “coffee whiteners.” Half and half cream is much better.

Driving these roads after dark can be a bit tense. Several times we saw deer standing right on the shoulder and passed several carcasses of deer and antelope that had been hit by moving vehicles. One of the reasons we decided to stop at Grand Forks instead of continuing on to Fargo.

Plus, we were hungry. But Grand Forks is pretty dead on a Sunday evening – and the only place we could get a decent meal (we didn’t want fast food) was at a place called “Whitey’s.” It wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, but it filled our bellies for now.

Tomorrow, we might make Chicago. Both Colleen and I have traveled this route crossing northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana along highway 2 over to Sault Ste. Marie, but we’ve never traveled from or into Ontario via Chicago before.

Hopefully we’ll be there tomorrow evening and wondering what the traffic will be like. Likely quite a bit different than that which we’ve met with driving across the northern plains.

Popularity: 16% [?]