Journeying Geographer: Day 5: Big Sky Country!

The day dawned cool and mostly cloudy in Shelby, MT. Continuing our eastward expedition, we soon arrived in the small farming community of Chester. Actually, nearly all the towns along U.S. Hwy 2 in northern Montana are small farming communities, and all are located along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad line. Dryland wheat is the dominant crop (along with hay for the beef cattle on nearby ranches). At the Chester rest area/park, which is generously provided by the local Lions Club, we met a local rancher. Bob, who is about 70 years old, farms dryland wheat about 17 miles north of town. A Lion himself, he takes care of the park. Upon learning of our Oregon roots, he stated with conviction, "trees hem me in. I like wide open spaces." Well, he certainly has that! He shared two other noteworthy bits of information. One, about 50 freight trains pass through town daily (a number we can attest to!), and two, don't go near Williston, ND. The oil boom there has created a nightmare of traffic, no available lodging, and less-than-ethical oil workers.

We ventured further east, stopping for lunch at a city park in Havre, located across the street from a primary school (2nd and 3rd grade). We watched children on recess play hide-and-seek among the forest of elm trees as we enjoyed our repast at a picnic table in the shade. The quintessential American western small town park!

At Malta, we visited the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, featuring dinosaur fossils found in the area and donated by local ranchers who discovered them. Sue, the staffer, reiterated Bob's warning about Williston, but much more emphatically. She said about 200 oil trucks per day per well rush in and out of the area, and that prices are high and lines long for food, fuel, and lodging. We already passed on the highway about half a dozen huge pieces of equipment being moved on lowboys. We assume the equipment was headed to oil wells. Each one took up two full lanes of traffic, which is a problem on a two lane highway. We had to move clear over to the shoulder and stop to leave room. When they say wide load in Montana, they mean it!

We ended the day at Glasgow. Another 265 miles, bringing our total to 1,290. We saw a couple of antelope, five deer, and many more freight trains today (mostly moving oil, wheat, and containers). The Great Plains have a reputation for being flat, and that is certainly true in some areas, but here, small mountain ranges were visible to our south almost all day, and although the topography was more subdued than in the Rockies, we still had rolling hills, small canyons, bluffs, and more variety than expected. The western U.S. (from the Pacific to the Rockies) flaunts its topography, in essence shouting, "look at me!" The Plains are more demure, playing hard to get if you will, but the beauty and diversity are there to be discovered by the observant -- or someone who is thinking geographically!