My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....I feel like our travels will take us to Big Timber, Montana this year.....at least I hope they do.....

Ace.....which Johnny Cash song are you referring to ? Could it be "I've Been Everywhere" ? A true clsssic and definitely one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs.....

JCS2179.....I'm glad you found us.....welcome to our journey.....

Foy.....and then there is Stockmans Bank.....they are in every town too.....




Driving on Highway 191 out of Harlowtown, Montana is simply amazing.....it's one of those stretches of road where you can't help but roll down the windows and let the radio blare the tunes.....you've truly entered Big Sky Country and your heart pounds with the anticipation of what you know is coming your way.....cause honestly, you can see forever and you know it's going to be good.....





Everything just feels right when traveling northbound on Highway 191.....







The free roaming cattle feed in the never ending fields.....the sky is filled with fluffy white clouds and the windmills reach high up into the skies.....







I love that famed saying....."the mountains are calling".....on this day it was the prairies that were calling.....and I was so pleased that I came.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Further north along the highway we made our next stop in Judith Gap, Montana (population 140).....



A couple of interesting facts about Judith Gap, Montana.....the population appears to be growing at a rate of approximately 4 people per year.....sounds good to me. Second fact.....it's the 17,631 largest city in the United States. With these numbers in mind you can see there's not much need for a real fancy jail in this town.....



We walked here too.....just like we always do. Next to the post office you'll find an exhibit dedicated to the windmill farm that we had just driven through.....



Rather than post pictures of the informative signs, I'll just tell you a few interesting facts.....



Each windmill tower is 262 feet high.....





Each blade is 126 feet long.....





There are currently 90 windmills in this windmill farm.....





We left Judith Gap, Montana and continued north on Highway 191.....now our goal for this day was to reach the Big Snowy Mountains located in the prairies of central Montana.....

 

[Foy]

Loving the Central Montana laccolith ranges. Will be seeing the Big Snowy and Bears Paw ranges before long, Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise...........

Foy

 

[Arjan]

Love the water pics - Goldens & water.... what else do they need in life

Those wind mill look the same all over the world !

I suggest you make a pook with your travels - it reads really like "real life in the US"

Many, many thanks and please keep them coming !

 

[Sierra Valley]

I was hoping you were heading to that mountain range. Looks like a neat place on google earth.

 

[longhorn1]

If you do go South on 191, before you get to Big Timber, maybe 3-4 miles the town of Melville, go right (West) for a couple of miles to an iconic church, Melville Lutheran Church. My great grandfather helped build the church. Beautiful photo OP with the Crazy Mountains for a back drop.

 

[Ace Brown]

The Johnny Cash song was about him stealing Cadillac parts and carrying them home “a piece at a time”. Not sure of the proper title but that was the message. I wonder how he got that frame stuffed in his lunchbox.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Foy.....it's finally getting (really) hot and that's actually a big change.....

Arjan.....the summer heat is here and now the soaks in the rivers & creeks are becoming a daily treat.....almost mandatory.....

JD.....I'll try to remember that.....we are currently headed north and wishing that Canada would open their border to us. Last year I bought an annual parks permit which expires in October.....coronavirus sure did kill my 2 year plan.....no Defender 110.....no Canada, no Central America & no South America.....it was to be my last hurrah.....always thankful to be healthy.....



Ace.....you have to listen to "I've Been Everywhere".....when I wrote Yukons eulogy in February I had that song in mind.....still brings a tear to my eyes.....



Windows back down.....the tunes back up.....we left sleepy little Judith Gap behind.....



My prayers would soon come to fruition.....I've had the Big Snowy Mountains on my mind ever since we left Missoula, Montana a few weeks back.....



Now just short of intersecting with Highway 87, we took a right hand turn onto Sipple Road.....immediately made a stop.....



It was this grain elevator that stopped me in my tracks.....





When I spotted this grain elevator I just had to have a closer look.....why that's simply a work of art.....



Sipple Road.....a mix of dirt and rock.....now we're headed east once again.....the Big Snowy Mountains are calling our names.....



An abandoned ranch along the way.....just imagine the stories to be told.....

 

[Ace Brown]

I listen to all of Johny Cash’s songs. Currently have a CD set of all of them. I know “Everywhere” very well. My road song has always been Willie’s “On the Road Again”. At least since it was released.

I don’t listen to music much anymore. My hearing is bad enough that I can’t pick out the lyrics. Mostly I just have XM on as background.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace.....OK, good.....cause I wish that everyone on this site would be familiar with "I've Been Everywhere".....



We made left turns and we made right turns.....and we stopped several times along the way.....



We passed quite a bit of game.....and I emphasize quiet a bit.....



The terrain began to change as the road gained elevation.....



The wide open prairies turned into thickly forested hillsides.....



Then there was the first log cabin.....



And yet another with some of the most outstanding views that you could only imagine.....



Now I was thinking back to the two rangers that I'd met along the Musselshell River.....they said "be alert to the bears as they are everywhere". The BLM website for this area also warned of the abundance of bears.....it says this:

Bears may frequent the area; keep all food out of sight in approved containers and remove all food from area after eating. Mandatory food storage is required.

And I'd guess that this was an appropriately posted sign that we passed by as we drove along the road.....



Eventually the dirt road turned into a narrow winding asphalt road which led us to the shores of Crystal Lake.....



We did not come here for the lake.....as beautiful as it obviously was.....



There was something in these mountains that I just had to see.....we spent a night in the BLM campground adjacent to the lake. And we were up early the following morning.....that day our journey would continue.....

 

[OverlandNA]

Oooooo Montana
give this Jerry a home
give him the love of a good doggy and a cabin of his own
give him a fire in his heart
give him a light in his eyes
Give him the wild wind for a brother
And the wild Montana skies

A slightly modified John Denver verse

For anyone interested in a very well written ride report, a young fellow lived the Johnny Cash Song "I've Been Everywhere, Man" on 2 wheels.

"I've Been Everywhere, Man" Living the song on two wheels.

You know the song, right? “I’ve been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota......” It lists 93 places that the narrator has been to in four rapid fire...

advrider.com

If you go, make sure yall come back here.

Now back to the Tanner and Jerry show.

 

[Foy]

You've got us hooked, Jerry! A cliffhanger! I followed US 191 out of Judith Gap to Sipple Rd to Crystal Lake Rd and Crystal Lake (on Google maps) while eating lunch at home yesterday, and now I'm on the edge of my seat for the next installment of "I've been everywhere......." by Jerry himself.

 

[Foy]

And after some nighttime reading in my new, updated "Roadside Geology of Montana" last night, I think I know the objective!

 

[True Grip]

Awesome thread! I’ve been looking at maps too. A kayak float from Carters Ferry to Fort Benton would be cool. Lots of Lewis and Clark history on the Missouri. Wherever you take us we’ll enjoy it! Safe travels

 

[tgil]

Now back to the Tanner and Jerry show.

That made me chuckle! How true it is though! Always look forward to the next "episode"!
On the bears, we recently spent an afternoon in RMNP. I saw what I supposed to be permanent "food storage boxes" at some campsites? I didn't slow down long enough to verify this, but that is what they looked like at a glance?