Retirement road Trip 2011: Day 7, Thursday, 9/1

403 miles, camped Osen's RV Park in Livingston, Montana.

As circumstance would have it, I was actually camped at this very same park during my 2009 road trip.

What a change in weather.  There was a very loud, but little rain, thunderstorm last night.  It sure cooled things off, because it was only 59 this morning.  In fact, as I traveled toward Montana, the temperature now is only about 60.  In fact, I have a jacket and long pants on.  Feels like Fall.  Of course, its September 1st so Fall is just around the corner.  Speaking of September 1st, today I really feel like I'm retired.  All of my Potsdam teacher friends went back to work today and here I sit in a campground looking at the mountains that surround Livingston, Montana.

I left Spearfish, SD about 7:30.  I decided to take RT 212 for about 150 miles as it cut diagonally across the corner of Wyoming.  There was almost no traffic on it and you could run along at 65.  I picked up I-90 again near Hardin, Montana.  In fact, the junction of I-90 and RT 212 is right where the Little Big Horn Battle took place.  That was General Custer's famous disaster.  Kathy and I visited the battlefield back in 2002 and we found it very moving.  I would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

They call Montana "Big Sky County" and you can see why, especially in Eastern Montana.  With few trees and very gradual rolling hills, it seems like you can see forever.

I saw quite a bit of dry-land wheat farming.  That is the practice of growing wheat with out the use of irrigation in an area that does not see much rain.  There was also a lot of open range cattle grazing, and I actually saw some sheep grazing too.  OK, thats the daily farm report.  :-)

I'm meeting up with long time friends Dave and Ann Wright.  Dave taught science at Gouverneur High School back in the late '60's and Kathy met Ann when then attended Potsdam State together. Dave and Ann live in Wisconsin, but are visiting friends in Livingston at the same time I am here.  Depending on what plans we make, I may get to make a daily update in the blog, or I may have to wait a and combine some days.  When you travel with Dave Wright you never want to etch any plans in stone.  That being said, I have some fantastic adventures with them over the years.  I have climbed two 14,000 mountains in Colorado with him.  Kathy and Ann climbed one of them with us.  Dave and Ann joined Kathy and I on a trip around the Canadian Maritimes in 2007.  I have kayaked in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Meat Cove in Nova Scotia with Dave.  In 2009, I kayaked with him on Lake Superior off the Apostle Islands National Seashore in Wisconsin. That is only some of the trouble he has gotten me into.  We'll see what this trip brings.  :-)

Later.........