Today was the first leg of our trip up to Valemount, BC, Canada for a forest disease conference.
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This is the longest road trip I've been on since I moved to Colorado, and I'd forgotten the wonders of watching the landscape slowly morph through space and time. Even the seeming monotony of the Wyoming and Montana plains undulate and change.
After traversing most of Wyoming we picked up one of the two people who traveled with us. He had driven west from South Dakota to join our journey northward.
Just over the border into Montana we stopped at the Bighorn National Monument. This is the site of the of Custer's infamous last stand. The beautiful scenery as the landscape unfolds from the top of this hill adds to the historic significance of the site. Recently they added to the monument, recognizing the natives who fell as as well.
In our brief stop we walked to the top of the hill and saw the two memorials, one to Custer and his army, the other to the Native tribes who fought Custer.
Throughout the day continued northwards, slowly working our way towards the west as well. We traveled through Great Falls, MT, where Lois and Clark were forced to being their overland journey, stopped by the falls which named the town.
In the evening we reached Shelby, MT to pick up thee last member of our traveling group, and then successfully made a smooth border crossing at sweetgrass. The sunset provided a colorful backdrop for the mountains of Glacier and Waterton National parks, which span the border in an international peace park.
