Sunday, June 22, 2014

I Think I Saw A Nimbostratus

In Crow Agency, Montana, where Interstate 90 meets U.S. Route 212, you'll find the Little Bighorn Battlefield.  You can see a portion of it in the photo above.

We turned off here and took U.S. Route 212 East through Montana, across the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations, through towns named Lame Deer and Epsie.

We went through Custer National Forest before crossing the very northeast corner of Wyoming and dropping into South Dakota.  We passed through Belle Fourche, stopping to get Chinese take-out for dinner (don't expect anything spectacular...it's South Dakota), then headed through Sturgis before stopping in Rapid City for the night.

The landscape in this area is arresting.  Green hills spreading for miles.  Herds of horses running playfully, nudging each other with their noses, bumping their large bodies together as they frolicked.  Droves of cows huddling together near ponds and in pastures.  Calves suckling their mothers, larger cows lounging in the grass or scratching against posts.  And clouds everywhere.  It really helps to know your cloud formations in this part of the nation.

We really loved this route.  It shortened our drive by 55 miles.  Well worth getting off the interstate and taking a different, beautiful route.  We don't come up to this part of the country too often, but when we do we usually do the east-west routes across the southern portion of each state.

The road was excellent, the traffic was non-existent, and the scenery was varied and interesting.  My kind of shortcut, and something we'll definitely do again.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: Ed Breaking Bad In The Lap Pool

2012: View From The Bridge
2011: Small Place, Big Flavor
2010: La Vita รจ Bella
2009: He Looks Much Better Here Than On The Penny
2008: One Of The Few Places In Iowa NOT Under Water
2007: We Need A Manager On Register Three Please!
2006: Mobile Misses
2005: Idaho?? YOU Da Ho!!

3 comments:

Decorina said...

Montana is just stunningly beautiful. Your photo is equally gorgeous. Reminds me of good times driving.

Melanie said...

Missoula is home...got to love Big Sky country. Keep an eye out for Eagles nesting-they are everywhere this year.
Have fun and enjoy.

The Daily Rant said...

DECORINA: Montana is stunning. And thanks for the photo compliment - but it's not hard to get a great photo in this state.

MELANIE: I think we saw some! Do they build nests on top of telephone poles? Because I saw some pretty majestic birds in some pretty big nests. Maybe they were Eagles?