Day 08 - Great Falls, Montana to Red Lodge, Montana

We left Great Falls, Montana this morning with little thought of seeing much more then the rolling farmland we had seen the previous day. Boy, were we wrong!

We did start the day with the rolling farm land but within only about 20 miles we unexpectedly dropped into what I could only think of as a big crack in the earth. Instead of going up or having the hills rise above us we rode down into a valley with the flat plains above.

We saw a sign

for an overlook at Sluice Boxes State Park which gave a view of a deep an lovely canyon. After getting back on the road the number of conifers increased and we found ourselves not on the straight plains roads but rather winding through beautiful forests and hills beside a tumbling river.

Reaching Interstate 90 which cuts through the southern portion of the state we found ourselves in a mix of plains and mountains. At one point we traveled though a fire along the highway (sorry no pictures).

Turning south on MT 78 toward Red Lodge, Montana and our stop for the night we rode happily on a winding road with a view of the Bear Tooth Mountains over which we plan to travel tomorrow.

The view with the clouds and the sun peaking through was awesome.

Arriving in Red Lodge we met up with a friend we met online a year ago. He had planned on riding out to the Shasta Rally last year but was stopped by snow on the passes near his home. It was great to be able to ride near him and finally meet! We had a good visit and good food then parted for the evening.


 

Tonight I booked the Yodeler Motel with a European style steam bath in the room…I thought it would be interesting? But turned out I couldn’t breath well and had to shut it off…sigh. Oh well…