Out of the Rockies

We left BC and got as far as Hungry Horse, east of Glacier National Park. There we camped at Lost Johnny USFS campsite and woke up the next morning having to get all the way to Billings. We ate breakfast at Blackberry Patch in Hungry Horse (recommended in the Road Tripping Across America guide), initially concerned because there wasn't a soul in the restaurant. Despite our initial impressions, the food was excellent. As we headed up US 2 across the south end of Glacier National Park, we ended up in the middle of an Airstream caravan. The views were awesome and whetted our appetite to come back without a dog and go back packing. The route follows the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad (more on that later) through the lowest pass in the Rockies at a mere 5,200 feet. Coming out of Glacier we started down US 89 down the east side of the Rockies. For miles and miles you see the snow-covered Rockies over rolling green pasture.
In Great Falls we stopped at the USFS Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Great Falls was where Lewis and Clark had to make an 18 mile portage around five water falls. The interpretive center was really wonderful. It had lots of interactive exhibits so that you could determine what you would have done in the same situation. It also had a lot of material on the Native Americans encountered along the way. Just down the Missouri River is Giant Springs State Park, which you can walk to along the sides of the Missouri. There are swallows nesting in the rocks, people fishing for rainbow trout, Canada Geese and cool breezes off the river.

Giant Springs is located right next to the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark noted it in their writings. It flows at 150 million gallons/day. The water enters from the Little Belt Mountains, quite a distance away and after 50 years emerges at the Giant Springs. It is clear (see the view of the plants growing in about 7 feet of water below, cold (54 degrees) and there are very large rainbow trout swimming around in it. The water is 400 feet underground at this point, but because it is under so much pressure, it forces its way up through the rocks.

We then headed on to Billings, stopping to have the oil changed and tires rotated (so we keep our warranty). The next morning we tried our first "Road Food" restaurant, Stella's (famous for enormous cinnamon rolls and plate sized pancakes). We didn't try the cinnamon rolls, but the pancakes were great. I get the feeling that Jean and Michael Stern, the authors really go in for pies, pancakes and cinnamon rolls and other sweets.