There comes a point when, no matter how badly you want something, you know that it’s wiser to give it up. Going ahead with our trip to eastern Montana, after negotiating three snowy weather systems in two short weeks, would have been pushing our luck.
So with high winds and snow still coming down on the way forward, and snow settling on the road behind us, we reluctantly turned homeward.
The tires had sat frozen and immobile for two bitter cold nights, so we eased ahead a few feet and held our breath. So far, so good. We could have cried, turning back, but it was a relief not to drive into more snow blowing sideways.
I could have cropped this photo so the antenna wouldn’t show, but the icy snow on the forward side of the antenna says something about the chilly air.
Here is one of the many views of the Clark Fork (one of my favourite rivers). It is visible flowing beside or under the highway off and on for many miles.
On our drive eastward, little snow covered these lower elevations. Now it made for scenic winter postcard material. In some areas, the water was warmer than the air, resulting in fog along the river.
You can tell where the river goes.
Snow had covered these hills that were bare when we had driven through a few days earlier.
Some snow was still on the roads. As the day warmed up, big transport trucks lost clumps of ice that had collected on them. In the stretch of road below, the eastbound lane is closed and the westbound lane is taking two-way traffic. You don’t want to catch an edge or a clump of ice. The one in the photo below is one of hundreds of clumps we had to avoid.
I wondered what these cattle were “grazing” on. Not much grass poking out from the snow. Winter is hard on many animals.
As we neared the upcoming MacDonald Pass, my knuckles gave the snow some competition for whiteness. I knew I had a good driver beside me, but with so much construction and lanes restricted by cones and ice (and I don’t mean ice cream cones), I was nervous all the way to the top of the pass.
And relieved to be going down to a lower elevation right afterwards. Only two passes left to negotiate before we got home.
October 18, 2019 at 3:29 pm
I’ve been caught driving through storms but not when on holiday. Scary and disappointing. The river scenes are lovely though.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:20 pm
They are white-knuckle drives sometimes. But you’re right, Montana is so beautiful.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Tough driving, no question.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:21 pm
You have to pay attention to so many things, especially towing a trailer.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:19 pm
Beautiful!
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October 18, 2019 at 4:21 pm
It is! That’s why we love to do this trip every year, but it has never been as bad as this for weather.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:22 pm
Yes. And so bad so early in the year….
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October 18, 2019 at 4:23 pm
We were really surprised, and had delayed our departure because of it, but we didn’t expect two more systems to follow so quickly.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:24 pm
Your trip was one for the record book. Your photos show how challenging the driving conditions were. I hope your next trip goes much better.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:25 pm
It has to be better. Can’t get much worse … or can it?!
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October 18, 2019 at 4:26 pm
For this time of the year, I probably haven’t seen it this bad. Now I live in Ohio where winter usually doesn’t make an appearance until January.
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October 18, 2019 at 4:28 pm
That’s more like it!
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October 18, 2019 at 4:28 pm
Scary driving photos, but the photos are beautiful.
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October 18, 2019 at 5:32 pm
The driving was a bit stressful, but the Captain kept it together. Just a bit burnt out by the end of the day, but otherwise fine.
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October 18, 2019 at 5:42 pm
Although, this was a rough trip…the silver lining is the fabulous photos you got from it!
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October 18, 2019 at 5:44 pm
That’s right, Carol. We got home safely and saw some beautiful sights. Montana is such a scenic state and the people are really good there. We had a lot of good interactions with them. It’s just too bad we had to cut the trip short.
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October 18, 2019 at 9:52 pm
Such incredibly beautiful scenery made even more beautiful by the dusting of snow. You really captured the chill in the air with these photos. Glad you got home safely.
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October 18, 2019 at 11:21 pm
That’s just how I feel about it all too. Thanks, Sonja.
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October 18, 2019 at 10:20 pm
The photos are great but I wouldn’t want that experience! Good to know the drive had a happy conclusion. 🙂
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October 18, 2019 at 11:22 pm
Thanks, Lynette. A bit of nail biting, but otherwise it turned out fine.
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October 19, 2019 at 3:32 am
Beautiful scenery, but the driving takes a lot of concentration. So glad you made it home safe. You have some nice- and some bad things to remember.
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October 19, 2019 at 8:18 am
It was an adventure all right!
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October 19, 2019 at 7:18 am
What a fantastic landscape! Off the road, that is. With these road conditions, and those you described in your earlier posts, I’m glad you’re home safe and sound.
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October 19, 2019 at 8:17 am
Me TOO! Tnx, Pit.
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October 19, 2019 at 2:48 pm
These are also just beautiful photos. Did the snow come earlier than expected? I am guessing so. So sorry it was anxiety-producing!
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October 19, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Yes, they had their first bad weather blow in at the end of September, way earlier than usual, and then it kept coming every few days. Oh well, we just had to make a bit of a plan change.
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October 21, 2019 at 9:30 am
Wow. I suppose they don’t salt the roads there? I mean, it is a main thoroughfare through their state(s). How long was it before you escaped the winter wonderland? I’m sorry you had to abandon your trip. Was there any place else you could’ve stopped to visit on your way back? That scenery on the drive is awesome.
P.S. I’m not having to re-sign in to WordPress every single time I comment on someone’s blog. I’ve sent a question to the WordPress forum as to why this is occurring. I don’t know if I’ll ever get a response.
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October 21, 2019 at 10:35 am
They use a liquid on the roads. I think it might be some kind of urea compound. Good that you don’t have to re-sign in any more. I think they have glitches from time to time.
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