I'm up early again, eager to hit the road becuse I figure that I'm going to have a 600-650 mile trip. I can't get all the way to Glacier today, but I want to be within "striking distance".
I head out of Jamestown on the old "Appendectomy Trail"...oh, they call it the "Old West Trail here but, for me, it'll always be the Appendectomy Trail. As I head out of Jamestown, I'm checking my vital signs and keeping alert for any mysterious "pain". Soon I'm rolling through Carrington where I stopped last year for "tests". Then, in an hour or so, I'm back in Minot where I had my appendectomy last year. You know, as far as I may travel from Minot, I will never forget it because there will always be a little piece of me that remains there.
At Minot, I'm heading west on Route 2 across the northern part of North Dakota into Montana. It's not a particularly exciting drive, but the roads are good and the speed limit is 70. Around mid-afternoon, I cross over into Montana and immediately hit a major road construction jam...ten miles of construction, and they're using a Pilot Car to get us through (shades of Alaska and The Yukon)!
I'm hungry so I start looking for a place to eat...no luck...this is rural Montana, and there are no "franchise-type" restaurants to be found. Around 2:30PM or so, I spy a McDonalds and stop in for two Bacon Cheeseburgers...they're actually good because I am famished.
Around 7:30PM (or so I think), I arrive in the town of Havre. I'm debating tent vs. hotel but, somewhere along the way, I've crossed into Mountain Time, so it's really 6:30...tenting it is. I check into the local campground right in downtown. It looks nice with plenty of shady secluded camping spots. Those spots are, unfortunately, for RV's only. Tent campers get a spot on the lawn between the Conoco Station and the Casino...a terrible spot with fumes, noise, light, etc.
I head across the street to "Uncle Joe's Steakhouse" for cocktails and dinner. Their wines by the glass list is decent, and I have a glass (several, actually) of a good Malbec from Argentina. My favorite "travel meal" is on the menu tonight, so I'm having the large cut of Prime Rib...excellent. Bartenders and waitresses are friendly, so O have a nice conversation as well.
After dinner, have a fw beers at my "camp site" before bed. It's a terrible night's sleep...loud noises, exhaust/gas fumes, bright lights...you name it. I sleep restlessly...fitfully until morning.
Still no upload capability...I'll repost with photos ASAP.
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