CDT 2023 - Day 21 - North Bend back to Butte

Big Sky Country

"Big Sky" Montana on I-90 after Anaconda.

Yep! It certainly is. I'm not sure what exactly the deal is. I can drive through Eastern Washington and have lots of sky in the big wide open areas but it's just not the "Big Sky" like in Montana. Here the sky is like, more dimension, deeper, more spectacular. I just can't adequately describe it or explain it. Those who have traversed the state know what I'm talking about.

We rolled out of North Bend about 0730 this morning and I-90 was moving along with just light traffic. I had breakfast before I left and made my coffee to go. We rolled along as far as Ritzville before I stopped for fuel, a pit stop, and another latte and second breakfast. Wasn't it Sam from the Hobbit that had seconds of every meal? We powered right along through Spokane and Idaho without a hitch and even where there was highway construction in Montana, and there was a lot of it, everyone was playing nice and just adjusting for the construction speed limits. We stopped a couple times at rest areas and Beau got to have some mini-play dates. I've definitely had more Montana driving miles in the last few weeks than I've had cumulatively all the other times I've been here. But at 80 MPH and without the trailer the miles go by faster. ???

Rolling over I-90. How would you like to be the guy driving the FEDEX truck pulling triples?

By the way, Runningbird chewed up 31.5 miles. Did I already mention the day before she did 29. The little goat! It must be the coffee. When she called me this afternoon she said she was at 8,200 feet.