Day: 11

North Dakota does exist.

Well, today without a doubt was the longest/most boring drive of the trip (so far).  Montana once you leave the mountains is mind numbingly boring. And this is coming from a person who has driven every east-west road in Nevada by himself with no radio/music.  At least Nevada is interesting to look at.

I drove from Helena to Butte, then got on I-90 to Billings, then I-94 to North Dakota.  570 miles. Had some flurries at the start, then it was just clear.  So just cruising the whole way, so boring.  Until the border. What looked like fog/rain, was actually freezing rain.  This came most clear when I came across a SUV with a tailer that was now on the other side of the road, upside down, crushed.  While carefully and very slowly pulling away from that, everyone on the road, myself included was having the same issue of vehicles not going where planned. Only had to go 24 miles to find a hotel on a road that was a solid sheet of Ice.  So that wasn't fun.  When I got to the hotel, the front of my truck was a frozen waterfall.  Complete mass of ice. So I was glad to be off the road. And glad I had no need to open the hood since that would be impossibly without and ice-pick.

No pictures today, I took a couple in Butte of the giant mine pit, that was it.  Go to Google maps and look up Butte MT. While the satellite view is impressive, turn on the terrain view and you get an idea of the hole they have dug.  Several towns are no more because of it. I think this is the first day where I didn't have something to stop and visit, which definitely makes it more boring.