2004/06 Yukon trip - Getting there - Crossing Montana |
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From the Badlands we headed north to Williston and then west across northern Montana on Hwy 2. We’ve driven this road many times in the last two decades: Wolf Point, Malta (where the campground is right next door to the main railroad line), Glasgow (which has the bridge that’s only slightly higher than our trailer), Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, and Browning (on the Blackfoot reservation). This day we pulled off just past Havre, and crossed the farm fields to the Fresno reservoir. This is a Bureau of Land Reclamation campground, with few rules, so it’s noisy with music, power boats, and jet skis, but it’s free and has a great view over the water. For free entertainment, there was a windsurfer, who’d obviously just bought the equipment, but not yet taken the classes. There was no wind, but he’d teeter then totter, and then crash into the water. Then he’d laboriously climb back up for a repeat performance.
Saturday 26th June
We woke to a wet and windy morning, and headed west on highway 2 through Shelby, Cut Bank, and the Blackfoot reservation at Browning. This is the classic Montana “big sky” country, with fields planted in stripes against wind erosion, and snow-capped mountains on the horizon. We crossed the mountains just south of Glacier National Park, across Marias Pass, and then headed down to Columbia Falls and Whitefish, and north through Eureka towards the Canadian border. We loaded up with gasoline to put off buying at Canadian prices, and then crossed the border at Roosville into British Columbia. At the border, there was a camper ahead of us being emptied and searched, so we were lucky enough to get through quickly.