Days 71 - 74 Many Glacier Campground to Duluth MN

Day 71 - 8 August 2015 -- To Great Falls MT   192 miles

On our last morning in Many Glacier we turned over our campsite to a father and daughter who were cruising for a vacancy at 6.40am. Then we went to Swiftcurrent Lake for a last look at the view over the perfectly reflecting water.

At St Mary, we learned the Road to the Sun would be open all the way through the park. We drove to the entrance, but there was a long line of cars waiting for the 9am opening of the road.  We decided to give it a miss. 

There is a lot of Glacier we didn't see, including Waterton, the Canadian part of the park. 

Our route to Great Falls, Montana went through Blackfoot tribal lands.

The land and the houses looked poor. It was probably land no one else wanted at the time the reservation was created.

At Great Falls we went to the USDA-run Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. 

The Lewis and Clark expedition met a major obstacle at Great Falls. They had a long portage that set the expedition back about one month.

The interpretive center presented insights into many facets of the expedition, including Clark's creative spelling.

Near the interpretive center, and overlooking one of the falls, there was a fun bit of public art.

Sacagawea

It was our 45th wedding anniversary so we spent the night at a hotel.

The hotel was a far cry from spending the night in a campground.

The hotel was also a good place to reorganise and clean up.

Day 72 - 9 August 2015   To Buffalo Gap Campground - 410 miles
There were some pretty dingy looking casinos in the oddest parts of Great Falls. I'd always thought the casinos were all in Nevada and Atlantic City. Amongst other places, they are often on Indian reservations. "Native American gaming refers to casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal land in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling there, as codified by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988." From Wikipedia

From the time we left Great Falls, the landscape was remarkably flat.

The landscape was in total contrast to the mountains of Glacier NP.

But even flat landscapes can be interesting, or at least quirky

or even beyond weird and bizarre.

We travelled on two-lane roads with little traffic and speed limits of 75 to 80 miles per hour.

Roadside rests had signs encouraging motorists to follow the law ... but it was seatbelts rather than speeding that was at issue.

Near the end of the day, we crossed from Montana to North Dakota

Day 73  10 August 2015   To Bismark ND  185 miles
We spent the night at a National Forest campground at Buffalo Gap, just a few miles west of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was the least expensive campground so far, at $3 with our senior passes. Of course, with no running water and no toilets, the bargain was appropriate. Still, our site was pleasant and we had a good night.

View from the hill above the campground

Theodore Roosevelt National Park comprises three non-contiguous units in western North Dakota, all on the Little Missouri River. We visited the southern most unit near Medora ND. 
At Theodore Roosevelt National Park we saw the cabin Teddy Roosevelt stayed in when he came to North Dakota as a young man.

We also drove a loop around the park 

Cabbage white butterfly on thistle. Jones Creek Trail.

and walked on some of the trails.

Little Missouri River from Wind Canyon Trail

Herd of bison in the park. 

Prairie dog.

Badland-like landscape at Painted Canyon in the southeastern corner of the park.

From Medora we continued travelling east on I94 to Bismarck, on the eastern side of North Dakota.

There were a few oil wells scattered about, but no signs of wide-scale fracking.

Sunflowers.

Our route took us south of Minot ND.  We should hit Minot ME on the day we go from Montréal, Quebec to Brunswick, Maine.

The lights of Bismarck from the KOA campground.

Day 74  1 August 2015  To Jay Cook State Park, Duluth Mn  254 miles
More sunflowers

Akeley MN claims to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. We missed the 30 foot 6 inch fiberglass statue and the opportunity to get our photo sitting in his hand. 

Plaque commemorating the battle of Leech Lake at Sugar Point. 

Leech Lake, one of thousands of Minnesota lakes.