The Hitchhiker's Guide to Montana

Montana is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. Trust us. We've now covered about 1500 miles in the state of Montana and there's plenty more to see. Most of it seems to consist of wide open fields, hills, mountains, cows and horses as far as the eye can see. In fact, according to reliable sources there are two and a half times more cattle than there are people in Montana. Our drive through the state has taken us through some scenic stretches that are vast and lonely. This includes an approximately 20 mile jaunt on a gravel road in the middle of Nowheresville through unfathomably huge ranch lands where cattle and horses rule and the sight of another vehicle is rare.

If there's one thing we've learned here, it's that you almost always fill your gas tank at every opportunity because who knows when the next station will appear? 

Getting Close to Glacier

We are about 3 hours away from Glacier in the town of Great Falls, MT. It's been another long day of driving, but the scenery has been breathtaking and filled with cattle and horses. We are anxiously awaiting the moment when we arrive at St. Mary's campground tonight! We'll post some pictures of the Montana scenery when internet access becomes less sparse. It will probably be a couple of days before you hear from us again.

Udder Madness!

We are working our way across Minnesota and North Dakota on 94 W today. Tonight's goal is Montana. We passed through Fargo but were, sadly, unable to find the briefcase of money.  The scenery is mostly agricultural with large fields and cows, but there have been some interesting diversions along the way. We have learned that North Dakotans are very interested in creating wildlife likenesses on a grand scale.

We saw these pretty lakes all over the place in Minnesota. No wonder they call it the land of 10,000 lakes.

In ND we saw giant, golden fields of sunflowers everywhere.

In Salem, ND we located Salem Sue, the world's largest cow sculpture weighing in at 12,000 lbs.

We also saw the "Geese in Flight" sculpture which is the world's largest scrap metal sculpture.

Wagons West!

After cutting a 600 mi swath across the Mackinac Bridge, the upper peninsula, and northern Wisconsin yesterday and spending no more than 10min on interstate highways (photos below are indicative) we are ready to kick it into top gear for today's slated 11 hour jaunt across North Dakota into famed Big Sky country.

The Upper Pennisula

Not much up here -- essentially a big pine forest on a lake.  Nonetheless, we found a Subway.  Starvation averted via avocado.

We've decided to abort on Duluth and booked a Hampton Inn outside of Minneapolis for the night instead.  Hotel options are not so good tonight in Duluth (busy time of year it seems) and this way we actually get a little farther west before end of day.

Wrapping Up Fountain Point

Our fantastic, annual visit to Fountain Point in Lake Leelanau, MI has officially ended. As usual, it is hard to leave, but we are worn out! The last few days were a frenzy of water skiing (yes, Aubry finally got it down!), ping pong, volleyball, tennis, Cherry Republic, kayaking, swimming, and Oberon fueled, marathon Texas hold'em.

Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor is a required stop each year. This is where we load up on our cherry themed treats. We love you, cherry sours!

There is also the group shot - easily one of the biggest challenges that faces us during the week. Thanks to Lynn for organizing this unruly crowd!

Now we are officially headed West! We will begin our trip with a drive through the Upper Peninsula. Hopefully we'll end up in Duluth, MN tonight.

Mid Week Update

It's looking like Fountain Point might succeed in breaking us again. After a few days of swimming, tennis, ping pong, running, water skiing, volleyball and sun exposure we're beginning to feel sore muscles and a little weary. The only thing that keeps us going is all of the delicious food the Knapps keeping making us!

There's an annual Wimbledon tradition that includes dressing in white and sipping mimosas on changeovers. Ray and I got to participate for a bit this year. Here's a shot of the pros:

Today we spent some time on the water. Ray is trying to teach me to water ski but I am progressing slowly. It's clear my technique needs some work!

Ray has clearly had some practice...

At least I still remember how to knee board from last year!

We have also contributed to making some of the delicious food in our spare time. We made some cheesecake squares on Monday.