Alaska 2010 – May 23: Hardin to Great Falls, MT

The rain had stopped, thankfully, so we began our last leg to Great Falls where we would finish our preparations for Alaska. (Please see the next blog posting re Great Falls.)

Billings, the next big town west of Hardin, is located in the Yellowstone River Valley. It’s a spectacular setting and the best view is from the airport (Airport Road/Hwy. 3) on the plateau above the valley.

 
We continued up Hwy. 3 to the junction with US 12 at Lavina. This community was once a going concern but, like so many of its sort, has settled into disrepair and resignation.

 

Evidently, Lavina’s true purpose is attracting travelers passing through the junction of MT 3 with US 12. There’s a gas station/convenience store and cafe.
We turned left and drove west on MT 3/US 12 to Harlowton, where we turned north on US 191 toward Lewiston.

Soon after this turn, we went past a wind farm located near Judith Gap. These behemoths are the perfect choice for tapping Montana’s wind energy. (Up near Great Falls, we saw an entire railroad train carrying only wind mill blades. Each blade was so long, it required 2 flatbed cars!)

 

  
To give you an idea of size, remember that each of the three blades used one-and-a-third flatbed railroad cars. the vertical pole has to be transported in sections due to its overall length. These amazing structures fascinate me with their grace and elegance. They’re so stunning in relation to their surrounding landscape. (And, no, I’m not broaching any discussion about threats to birds or other wildlife posed by the rotation of these blades.)

Here are some more photos from our “run” from Hardin to Great Falls:

I couldn’t resist sharing with you our Montana “get-away cabin”! She’s a beaut! We can’t to spend our summers here (joking!!).

 

Further on, we passed the community of Belt, MT, just southeast of Great Falls. It had received several inches of snow just 3 weeks before. The Little Belt Mountains, south of it, had received 3 feet!! My husband, Richard, lived in Columbia Falls, MT, back in the 1970’s-early 80’s. He says it’s not uncommon for there to be snow on Memorial Day Weekend or even July 4th! (We are definitely not in the Rio Grande Valley* anymore!)

(*We began this trip from our home in Mission, TX, in the Rio Grande Valley.)