Day twelve: Leaving Montana

When driving across Montana, this is something you think you will never see. It's such a big state with so many different kinds of landscapes that it's mind boggling. Yet, it seems to me to be a true American landscape with many iconic images. I selected to drive across Montana, so I could visit the Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the other side in North Dakota. I'm happy I did it so that I can say I did it - twice - along the prairie top on my way out west and along the mountain and butte bottom on my return east. I don't think I'll drive it again anytime soon. And, the TRNP was worth the visit.

An iconic image in Montana: trains moving across the wide open landscape.

Rural barnyards with windmills.

A Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermaphilus lateralis) in Glacier National Park - not a chipmunk as the stripes might suggest. Note that this little mammal has no facial stripes.

Old churches and cemetarys out in the middle of nowhere are evidence of long ago thriving communities.

Old silo under a leaden Montana sky. These are everywhere and always near railroad tracks.

Wide open prairie land along the northern tier of the state and mountains and buttes all along the southern route - definitely a place to visit. Have a plan and give yourself time.