Dillon, Montana-September 16, 2011

Today is the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Ivan. We will never forget it. But, we are in beautiful Dillon, Montana. It was cloudy when we arrived but the Big Sky blue is showing through. The wind is kicking up. It's part of Montana apparently. We crossed the continental divide today at 6393 ft in altitude. Our next coach will be a 400 hp Cummings!! Pardon me for a blonde moment but when we went across the Rockies, I realized why they are called that. They are just a bunch of piled up rocks! But the 6 or 7 mountain ranges we crossed today are sweeping vistas of beautiful open land for as far as the eye can see or at least to the edge of the foothills which are massive distances away for the road on both sides. We went through an area of evergreen trees that are so green they are black. It's an amazing sight. Not a single inch of useful land is wasted. There are gigantic hay fields for as far as one can see and up and across the foothills. I simply cannot describe what a sight it is. We are used to hay fields being flat, but these roll with the conture of the land. It is just breathtaking to round a bend or crest a foothill and see all that wonderful green laid out in front of you. The farmers apparently draw their irrigation water directly from the river. They are watering voluminous amounts of water. It reminded us of all the parched areas of the country we have already seen. I have struggled for words to describe all this beauty. I am out of words, but for one..........unimaginable. We did speak with a really nice man while fueling up this morning. He lives in Montana. I asked how the state functions without sales tax. Property tax. Ah-ha. He said all of those massive houses we saw yesterday belong to corporations out of state. Ah-ha again. The ordinary people live in little houses and pay through the nose for the privilege. Ah-ha again. We saw those houses in town so we understand what he is saying. I so wish I had a way to share this with you. We just love it.