On to Shelby, MT

Leslie: Tuesday, May 13, 2008

We traveled from Billings, MT to Shelby, MT. We decided to travel via a secondary road over a mountain pass. The road was good but remote. As we climbed the amount of snow continued to get deeper. There wasn’t any snow on the roads but there was serious snow (maybe 2 feet) in the grassy areas. The atlas reported this was a scenic drive and it didn't disappoint.

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Montana has huge areas of undeveloped ranch-land. There are remote homes located very far from anything else. I always wonder where the children who live here go to school as we traveled over 100 miles without coming across a single town (or even road crossing of more than three buildings).

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As we dropped into a valley after the pass I looked down and saw a very large black bear hovering over a carcass. We were moving took fast for me to capture a picture, but that sighting goes on record as our first black bear sighting.

Shelby, MT is 25 miles from the Canadian border. A gale force wind blows from the west. Although we are well insulated, our rig does rock in the wind. We had considered grilling lamb chops for dinner but the wind convinced us that it was a beef stew night. We were glad that we had packed a pressure cooker that enabled us to make a quick stew.

We had considered pushing on into Canada tonight but ultimately decided that we want to cross the border when we’re sure the tourist information centers will be open. We’ve heard that the road north from Lake Louise to Jasper may not be open yet (for the season). In case we need to go the long way around, we’d like to get information from Canadian Information Services. The road we'd like to take runs up the Canadian Rockies and is supposed to be beautiful so we really hope to be able to travel it. (We’ll catch Edmonton on our way south next fall.)

We’re not sure what kind of internet access we’ll have in Canada. We have a cell aircard from Verizon. I’ve spoken to four different representatives from Verizon about how the aircard will work in Canada. I have received a different answer each time! Basically it comes down to a matter of price. Our usage in the US is unlimited (where available). I can’t get a straight, consistent answer from Verizon what usage will cost in Canada. Because it may be astronomical, we may just look for WIFI sites (meaning that our postings will be less frequent). We will board the ferry at Prince Rupert, British Columbia in two weeks on May 29th. Later that day we get off at Ketichikan, Alaska – i.e., back in the US. So if you don’t hear much in the meantime, we’ll be back in touch then.

Diesel price: $4.299 gal.