Home on the Range

We left Dickinson, ND early this morning, ready to finally get to one of our destination states.

Not quite Yellowstone yet, but nearly.

Road construction in North Dakota is interesting.

To get back on the main highway this morning, we went through sections of "under construction" road that were just dirt. Completely unpaved. It was like an obstacle course, weaving between cones and going back and forth from pavement to... nothing.

In general, dirt roads seem to be pretty common in the last few states we've been through. And I'm not talking about dirt lanes or mountain trails.

I'm talking streets.

In the middle of towns.

With names like 4th Avenue.

No pavement.

Jason loves this.

Welcome to Montana

We continued following I-94 West to our first destination in Montana, a little town called Rosebud. If the last census is accurate, the population of Rosebud is 67.

Fine by me.

On the way, something wild happened.

Suddenly, the sprawling hills and flatscapes we'd been driving through were replaced with rocky pillars and sharp, flat-top formations, covered in grey and red striations.

They were not there.

And then they were.

Like they just popped up out of the earth.

I later Googled it and found out these rocky hill things are called hoodoos.

I couldn't stop looking at the landscape around us for the three-plus hours we were in the truck. This is a good thing, because working was impossible in certain areas where cell coverage disappeared, so it gave me something to do.

Stare.

And attempt to take pictures through the truck window.

Some aren't bad.

Farm Life

We settled in at Holmes Farm, a 4,000-acre working farm and ranch that raises Angus beef.

It's not exactly "right off the highway" like the majority of our stays so far.

Remember the dirt roads I mentioned?

Yea.

This one sits about two miles down a dirt road, and it's not just their driveway.

It's THE ROAD.

And it was so worth it to venture off the main path.

We met the owners, who are amazing, genuine people. We bought beef sticks and sausage, and they gave us homegrown vegetables and an electric hookup.

Yay, power.

The property is stunning. Fields of hay bales, cows, and that hoodoo background.

I tried to get pictures of the cows.

They didn't really want to cooperate.

Yesterday's Battery Experiment

Worked.

Two 12-volt batteries seem to be the sweet spot. All the things we run overnight did not drain two batteries, and we fired up the generator with no problem.

Jason now wants a third battery.

Of course he does.

Tonight

There is a lovely breeze rolling across the fields and into the camper.

Windows open.

No AC.

No neighbor's generator.

No train.

This is my jam.

Ask me again in the morning when the farm equipment starts running at 6am...