Riding from Great Falls to Ft. Benton to Denton to Lewistown to Grass Range, Mt.

When I left Great Falls I was entering the Great Plains, and I had expected it to be relatively flat. I was definitely wrong. The terrain is characterized by rolling hills, with mountain ranges and buttes on the horizon. And it was punctuated by the ocassional deep canyon that would suddenly appear before you, providing a fast descent followed by a long climb. Earlier, when I had been in the mountains, I had given myself plenty of rest before and after long climbs. But I hadn't realized that I would encounter so many hills on the Plains, and after the first three days of this my leg muscles were as sore as they have ever been.

There were lots of deer, both white-tailed and mule deer, en route, but whenever I would stop for a photo they would run off.

Ft. Benton is a scenic old town. In the late 1800s this was a bustling little trade center, because it marked the furthest point of steamboat travel, upstream, on the Missouri River. There were miners flooding in to the gold fields, homesteaders, ranchers, trappers, and so forth, all coming through Montana on their way to make their fortunes; Indians coming into town to trade furs; and of course gold and furs being shipped downriver, to St. Louis. There is a nice old hotel in town, the Grand Union dating from the 1880, but it was booked solid with tourists; I put up my tent in the town campground, and then returned to the hotel for a good dinner.

Denton is a very small community. When I arrived in town the motel looked closed (and if it had been open I don't know if I would have wanted to pay to stay there) and the one restaurant had closed for the day. I pitched my tent in a picnic area near the town pool, ate some trail mix, and slept quite well.

Lewistown is a relatively good-sized town, with several motels and restaurants. After cooling down for a couple of hours over an early dinner (salad bar; fruit cup; milkshake) I checked into a cheap motel and slept for about 12 hours. Reading an historic roadside sign the next day, I was very surprised to learn that Lewistown was NOT named for Lewis of "Lewis & Clark," but was named for a Major Lewis who commanded the local fort in the 1850s. I also read that Lewistown is the geographic center of Montana, so I was relieved to find out that I would soon be getting into Eastern Montana, which people have told me will be flatter.

Grass Range is very small town. Its "Main Street" could be renamed "Only Street." But I met my cousin Elin there, and Henny (wife of another cousin), and we enjoyed a good lunch before driving south to Billings.

Note: A few photos will eventually follow. Due to technical problems I cannot get the posted immediately.