Today is our youngest grandson's 16th birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!

First thing this morning we did our Sunday devotional . The verse for today is Psalms 102:7. The subject was being in abject distress because of loneliness, even when you are with those that you love or in a crowd. We did this one before in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1997 and in Custer, SD in 2006.

I forgot to mention that we HAVE been handing out Moon Pies per Ann S's suggestion. This morning we gave two to the very nice couple we met yesterday evening just as they pulled out of camp heading on their way to Yellowstone National Park. We had given some to a few children when we were in Monument Valley also. Thanks Ann for the idea!

Pulling out of camp at 9:00 with a temperature of 75, we headed north on I-15. There was a fair amount of smog in the valley which we hated to see because we did have a beautiful morning and this made the sky not so pretty. Shortly after we were on the road we were passed by a tractor pulling THREE trailers! Wow! Not used to that at home to say the least . We also saw an SUV loaded and then some heading north along with us. I don't think we have EVER seen a vehicle so loaded...inside, topside, and on a platform that was on a hitch on the back! Must have been on SOME vacation!

There were several large horse farms along the road as we drove north...also fruit and nut trees. We passed an arm of The Great Salt Lake. The farmlands that we went by had beautifully green, well irrigated fields with very dry looking mountains marching along their sides. We saw corn, alfalfa, hay, grain, and (we think soybeans) planted. Don L., you would have loved it...and probably wanted to plant something! It surely is a fact that water can make a desert bloom. The last time we were through here, John's knee was pretty banged up from an accident in Twin Falls, Idaho...not such a good thing. As we started climbing out of the valley we again got gorgeous views of farm land. Along the sides of the fields, the soil looked dark and rich. By the way, the speed limit was 80 MPH!! Muf doesn't like running that fast so we drove at a more moderate speed . 

We crossed into Idaho at 10:00. We hadn't driven on this particular section of I-15 before. Surprisingly enough, the drive up I-15 was very scenic and once again the land seemed to be productive. At this point (surprise, surprise since we were in Idaho!) we started seeing large potato fields. Shortly after crossing the state line we also had our second Born Free sighting of the trip. 

Our trek took us past old, crumbling walls and jagged fields of ancient lava flow. That particular sight always fascinates me. Towards the mountains we saw huge alluvial fans that had spread out into the valley below. At this point we were following the California Trail which is always an interesting historical note. As we crossed into the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, I think we were both surprised to see a great deal of prosperity which is usually NOT the case it seems on Indian lands. This reservation is home to the Shoshone-Bannock tribes . There were golden fields of grain being harvested with large combines with eight or ten large trucks lined up alongside the fields waiting to be filled by the passing combines. After crossing the Snake River, we once again passed large lava fields in a VERY wide valley.

Stopping a little below Idaho Falls for fuel we paid $3.73/gal, getting 10 MPG even though we have run the generator a time or two on this tank. John is very pleased with the gas millage. The terrain north of Idaho Falls became VERY flat and again we saw huge fields of grain growing as we drove between the fields. We even saw a very large herd of buffalo (yes Laura, I do know that the correct term is American Bison) that was on a private ranch and looked as if it numbered several hundred.
 
Climbing into the mountains south of the Montana Border we followed at this point the Nez Perce Trail as we went into the Targhee National Forest. Our elevation at this point was over 6,000 feet. Entering Montana at 2:15, we also crossed the Continental Divide once again at an elevation of 6,870 feet and a temperature of 81 degrees . For you history buffs of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, we were now traveling in the footsteps of Sacajawea as we were close to the place that she recognized called Beaverhead. She was probably able to save the Lewis and Clark Expedition by finding her tribe that she had been taken from several years previously. Lewis and Clark were able to barter for supplies and food with them because it was Sacajawea's family.


The hills here became rounded, looking quite smooth from a distance as the vegetation was sand colored and grew quite low to the ground. Taller, glaciated looking mountains loomed ahead of us. The skies were still pretty smoggy and/or hazy so most pictures I took were pretty fuzzy today. I blame the smog, not my talent...I sleep better at night that way!

When we pulled into our home away from home tonight at 3:30 with our "Small House", we discovered that we have a VERY wide "Big Yard" this evening. Our campground is Countryside RV Park and we are in Dillon, MT. This is a nice campground. The site is level, the electricity is very good and it looks as if the WIFI will be very good also according to the OOKLA app I ran to check it out. We shall see. John just drained our onboard water tank a little while ago, and put fresh water back in it...unfortunately we now have an air bubble in it for the moment so we have a somewhat noisy pump when we turn the water on. It will balance out soon I hope, but at least (you will like this Tom) we now have totally fresh water on board and plan not to hook up to the faucet tonight. He is now washing the bugs off of Mufasa's face and I am sure our gallant steed will much appreciate that courtesy. 

We drove 309 miles today.