Thursday June 8th 2017

Today was moving day to Butte Montana. I was packed and on the road by 10am. My goal was to get the travel over before the forecast severe thunderstorms moved in. It was a trip of about 150 to 160 miles.

The first half of the trip was fine the road had a few small hills but was had a wide shoulder and passing lanes when necessary. The second half of the trip wasn’t that great. The road got narrower and the hills increased. I had one steep climb and decent that was seven percent going down and that seemed less steep than the climb. I was down to 40 mph at the top with a trailer truck and several cars lined up behind me.

I also had to stop for a cattle drive across the road. Several men on horseback supported by four dogs moved the black herd across the road. Then decided to drive 2 of the animals back to the original side. I’m sure there was a method to the task, but I was stopped for a good five minutes and I wasn’t the first car in line.

Once I reached Interstate 90 the real work began. I had to cross the Continental Divide again. This crossing was a several mile stretch of five and six percent climbs. In a couple of the steeper areas I slowed below 50 but topped the divide around fifty five. The decent into Butte didn’t loose as much altitude, but it still had a couple of curves along miles of six percent grades. The transmission got a workout.

Today’s drive was the most mountain work I’ve had to deal with so far on my Rambling Road Trip. The length of the climbs and the number of different climbs I had today is what makes the travel day standout. I’ve crossed through passes at higher altitudes on other travel days.

Site 90 at the Butte MT KOA.

I arrived at the campground in Butte a little after 1PM. I beat the weather to my destination. Getting everything setup was a bit more challenging than normal. The bouncing around I did on some of the roller coaster roads knocked a couple of things onto the floor and the power supply for my satellite dish bounced loose. After I found the satellite power problem, the dish couldn’t find the satellite. It is blocked by a tree. I can live with the strong local channels.

The weather went downhill around 3PM. Very strong winds have been buffeting the RV. I’ll be here for a week before I move on to Glacier National Park. This is a big mining area with several related museums and exhibits. The weather is also taking a turn for the worst. The high was in the eighties today. The weekend and the days into next week are forecast to be cooler with showers and full blown rain. The first good day is next Thursday when I move on to Glacier.