Ya Gotta Go With The Flow...

We left Great Falls, Montana, in a rainstorm. There's been a lot of that lately! Zipping south on I-15, we followed the Missouri River until it went a bit east near Wolf Creek, and into Holter Lake. We continued south into Helena, Boulder, and Butte, until we ended up in space C2 of Countryside RV Park in Dillon, Montana. The Missouri, however, continued on to its headwaters near Three Forks, Montana, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri.

The mountains in the distance appear to have snow on them, but it is just a collection of clouds!

Rolling into Butte, Montana, we noticed that it is an extensive city that just about fills the valley it started in.

We needed to stop just west of Butte for fuel at a Flying J truck stop. Diesel was $2.78 per gallon here, and $2.62 across the street at the Mom and Pop shop! Unfortunately, the onramp back onto the interstate left something to be desired.

Countryside is a quiet, primarily overnighter, park. The wind was kicking up a bit, and the temp had plummeted to the 40's, so we stayed indoors most of the evening.

Then things started to get interesting: we decided to disconnect the car and go into downtown Dillon. Well, maybe not....as we drove away from the rv park, we noticed some unusual shifting patterns in the cars transmission. We kept on for a few miles with no change. Uh-oh. It's Saturday night in a small town. No stores or repair shops open. So back to the park trying to decide what to do.

Leaving Countryside on Sunday morning, holding our breath, the car towed fine, so we headed south again. Somewhere near Lima, Montana, we pulled off onto a roadside rest to talk about our options. We had reservations at an rv park near Teton National Park, and planned to take a tour of the park tomorrow. After an hour of back and forth, we reluctantly decided to cancel the Tetons and go straight home. So off we went again.

In Pocatello we merged onto I-86, heading toward Twin Falls, Idaho. This is potato country. Thousands of acres of potatoes as well as a lot of sugar beets.

At a rest stop near Blackfoot, Idaho, we came across some very interesting lava formations. According to the sign, molten rock was forced upward for 30 to 50 miles through fissures in the earth, where it has cooled into the hard lava seen here. This area of eastern Idaho is primarily a lava plain lightly covered with layers of windblown soil. Eventually these lava formation will be covered with soil and vegetation.

Just a bit west of American Falls, I-86 nears the Snake River, and follows it closely for miles.

West of Pocatello about 50 miles, we found Village of Trees RV Resort, whose only address is: Interstate 84, Exit 216, Declo, Idaho. Still, it's a nice park with wide gravel roads, good utilities, and lots and lots of trees! Plus, it's located right along the Snake River!

Tomorrow we're rolling again, hopefully into Nevada if all goes well. Wish us luck!