July 21, 2009
Never mind Glendive! We got there and went to the campground. There were RVs there, but the office was locked. We waited around for a few minutes and no one came, so we left. Next biggish town on the map was Dickinson, ND, so we headed there. But Bill said he felt pretty good driving, and Bismarck was only 100miles down the road, so we headed there. Now instead of staying in a place for a few days, taking everything down, packing the truck, and driving elsewhere for a couple more days, we will stay here for a week. We are both kind of pleased about that. And this KOA is the nicest one we’ve stayed at.
After Spokane, they got steadily better. Hardin was the best at the time J But this one is better than that. The Rvs are in a separate area from the tents. The sites are big and clearly marked. There are trees everywhere. It is green and quiet. We woke up to the sound of the birds this morning, not a train or road noise. And, we are adjacent to a covered picnic area, which means that if it does rain, we can go sit there, instead of all jamming into the truck!!
I like the scenery in North Dakota better than Montana, too. Once we crossed the border, the landscape changed and there were all these little hills sticking up. There was very clear stratigraphy, visible even from the highway. I am sure that geologists have a name for these things, but I don’t know what it is. As you move east, these pretty much disappear and things get flatter, as I thought they might. Having lived in Illinois for several years as a kid, I remember the flat Midwestern landscape.
The weather is supposed to be pretty nice here for the next several days--mid-70s today--in July!!! Then low 80s. Friday will be the most unpleasant at 86ish. But the nights cool off nicely. The sky was full of puffy white clouds when we arrived.
We were tired last night so we ended up in the tent early. I fell asleep and Bill processed photos--he’s falling behind J We have given back two more of the hours we gained when we moved from NH to Portland in 1987, so we’re now on central time. Today we plan to go into town. Bill needs to talk to someone about getting the gas gauge fixed on the truck.
