Big Sky Country-Trip to Ft Peck

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PeteE
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Big Sky Country-Trip to Ft Peck

Post by PeteE »

Speaking of being back...I just got back from a wild trip to near Ft Peck.
Monday, the day I left, was the day from hell.
Beginning 2 minutes from home with me and Squeeze fishtailing 90degrees twice down the middle of an icey Baker Ave in WF....
Coming to a stop across the road blocking both lanes :shock:
Thankfully it was about 6 AM and zero cars.
And Monday just went downhill from there :(

I'll do a TR in the Non Park section.

I'll have some snaps that give those who have never driven the Hi-Line a taste of what that road is like.
Lame as the pics may be, you'll get a pretty good idea of why they call Montana "Big Sky" country.
Those endless miles of countryside look bleak, but there is a beauty to that vastness that is hard to put in words or pictures.


The last pic is the road this AM. Two hours I drove on that very frosty covered road, and it was scary slick in place....
I was driving an Ford F250 Super Duty diesel towing a 16ft enclosed "toy hauler" with brand new studded tires.
White knuckled it a few times going down hill, and once as I passed a guy. :shock:

Link to sunrise leaving this AM... near Ft Peck.
Not great because I was shooting out the window and was in a hurry. 8:45min drive--436 miles today
http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/Geeze ... %2012-2014

later
I'll be posting some pics I liked in the post following this one. The slide show link above has all of them.
Keep in mind these are NOT great pictures, or even good snapshots, since most were taken with one hand, through the windshield, driving that truck and trailer rig 60-80mph. I put the self timer on 2 seconds, and then tried to get cam(on a minipod) in position for the pic.
Not easy if you don't wanna wreck 8)

pete
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
PeteE
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Re: Big Sky Country-Trip to Ft Peck

Post by PeteE »

I'll put the pics up then explain later in this, or a following post, why day1 of this trip really sucked.


Sunrise around 0740 somewhwere east of Browning on Day 1, the day from hell. No more pics from day1
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Local For Peck guy, "Joe"(not real name) and his dog. Joe's a good friend and hunting buddy of my boss who owns this property. Joe cooked a wonderful dinner of pheasant they killed that day, the rest of us contributing baked taters, corn, beans and a nice salad. Joe is quite a guy. His people go way, way back, centuries... as Joe is a Sioux. I had the best time listening to Joe and his wife tell stories around the table. The Fort Peck Reservation is just across the Milk River lying a few yards to Joe's left
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The Milk River in the afternoon of Day 2, Tuesday 12/9. It joins the Missouri just beyond that turn in the background. The Fort Peck Dam is under the sun a few miles away
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Same basic view looking down river but closer to the river. Life is harsh in this part of the country. Vegetation is sparce. The trees have a short growing season and take a real whipping from wind, snow and extreme cold in the long winters here. The river bottom farm land is good here and productive....since they have the river for water. The high plains "dry land" farmers to the west not being so lucky. I talked to an old boy in the Cut Bank Ford dealership day 1. He was a 4th generation wheat farmer. He was driving a grain truck beside his dads combine before he could reach the pedals. The old truck had a hand throttle :) Talk about "Americana", guys like this old boy are true "salt of the earth" folks imo.
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Sunrise over the Milk river on Day 3 leaving from the farm. Just 436 miles to go.
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I kept stopping because I wanted to photo the sun rise, but...I had to make miles because I didn't want to be driving down from Marias Pass in the dark. However, I want to try to get some snaps that show just how vast the country side is along the Hi-Line. And so, as I said above, I took most of these through the windshield with one hand, etc. This is bleak but beautiful country in its own way.

The road was scary for an old southern boy like me with little experience on icey roads, never mind driving an unfamiliar rig. The road here "looks" ok but it wasn't. Heavy layer of frost, and icey in places for the first two hours or so. It sucked. Going down those hills west of Glasgow was white knuckle time for me. I knew if that trailer got a loose, I was stick-a-fork-in-it done. And I nearly lost it when the rig got "squirrely" passing some guy on an open stretch of road like in the pic. After that I said screw it, and drove 50-55, or slower until the road was dry. And that took a while since it was cloudy and cold.
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Hay bales as far as I could see! Huge hay field
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An old mission church. Dunno the details
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Just endless miles with views like this.
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Every town, big and small, has their grain elevators at the railroad
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You'll understand why the Empire Builder is never on time when you drive the Hi-line. Every single siding along the entire route that I could see, and I saw a lot of sidings, had grain, oil, or freight trains like this one waiting for a spot on the tracks.
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Always impressive approaching the Rocky Mountain Front. Too bad the weather sucked. Pics end here as I was wanted to get home 8)
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One has to respect the people who drive that Hi-Line, especially those who commute from here to North Dakota. I can't imagine how nasty that road gets in the winter. I talked to a customer friend this morning who works over there...and was born and raised in Eastern MT. He laughed at me and said he knows every bump in that road having driven it 1000's of times...you still have to pay attention driving it he said in a more serious voice. No duh!! 8)

later
pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Big Sky Country-Trip to Ft Peck

Post by Nodust »

Great pictures. Makes me lonesome for Montana as usual.
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Re: Big Sky Country-Trip to Ft Peck

Post by PeteE »

Nodust wrote:Great pictures. Makes me lonesome for Montana as usual.
Thanks Nodust :) It's difficult to describe how huge the state is, the variety of terrain, and how beautiful it is....even a landscape as seemingly "barren" as the plains appear to be....a beauty that's as raw and tough as the people living there.

Looks like we will have a white Christmas here :mrgreen:
I'll be getting out for Christmas day in the park if the roads are passable for old Squeeze and me.
Plow activity will be minimal. And I doubt they will plow in the park Christmas Day, but I dunno that for a fact.
I don't expect great picture weather if it's still snowing, but if clears up a little, it could be nice for pics.
It'll be what it is as the wag said.

later
pete :wink:


Winter Weather Advisory

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
244 PM MST TUE DEC 23 2014

...SNOW CHRISTMAS EVE INTO CHRISTMAS MORNING...

.A STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A VARIETY OF WINTRY WEATHER TO THE
REGION BEGINNING TONIGHT OVER NORTHWEST MONTANA...GRADUALLY
SPREADING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REST OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. MOUNTAIN PASSES ARE EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE ALL SNOW
WITH THIS EVENT WHILE MAINLY VALLEYS WILL INITIALLY SEE RAIN OR A
RAIN AND SNOW MIX. SNOW LEVELS WILL QUICKLY FALL WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING LEADING TO A SWITCH OVER TO ALL SNOW FOR
NEARLY ALL LOCATIONS. SNOW WILL BECOME SHOWERY AND DECREASE ON
CHRISTMAS MORNING.

MTZ002-043-242100-
/O.NEW.KMSO.WW.Y.0073.141224T0600Z-141225T1800Z/
WEST GLACIER REGION-POTOMAC/SEELEY LAKE REGION-
244 PM MST TUE DEC 23 2014

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO
11 AM MST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...BLOWING SNOW...AND SLICK ROADS...WHICH
IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST THURSDAY.


* IMPACTS/TIMING: PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ARE EXPECTED
LATER TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING...CREATING SNOW
PACKED ROADWAYS. GUSTY WINDS OF 30-40 MPH WILL OCCASIONALLY LEAD
TO LOW VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW, MAINLY OVER MARIAS PASS.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: MARIAS PASS 8-12 INCHES WITH 4-8 INCHES OF
SNOW FOR THE SEELEY LAKE AREA. LOWER VALLEY LOCATIONS WILL
GENERALLY SEE 1-3 INCHES.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...BAD ROCK CANYON...ESSEX...HIGHWAY
83 BIGFORK TO SWAN LAKE...MARIAS PASS...POLEBRIDGE...HIGHWAY
200 BONNER TO GREENOUGH...HIGHWAY 83 SEELEY LAKE TO CONDON...I-
90 EAST MISSOULA TO BEARMOUTH

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW
WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW
COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

&&

$$

"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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