The wind was still blowing briskly when we turned in for the night, but this morning, all is calm.
We got an early start and about an hour later pulled off at Lethbridge to gas up. The terrain here is heavily eroded with deep gullies. Lethbridge, a fair sized city, sits on the flat prairie hundreds of feet above the highway which is descending a steep hill as you pass the turn off. The exit ramp turns sharply into another gully then climbs up the side of it to the town.
I had barely left the highway when what to my wondering eyes did appear--The High Level Bridge. Built in 1909, this railroad bridge spanning the gully ahead is, at 300 feet high and a mile long, the longest and highest bridge of its kind in the world. I would have loved to get a picture of it, but there was no place to stop and take one.
By 11:00, we were at the border. Not surprisingly, it was quite a bit larger than the Canadian Customs Station in Beaver Creek, but not much busier. There were just 3 bikers ahead of us, and in about 10 minutes, we were cleared and on our way. Perhaps in keeping with the, all-business, no-smiles atmosphere of a serious international border check point, there was no "Welcome to Montana" sign.
Montana is different from Alberta. There is actually a small, completely isolated cluster of mountains that pop up to the east of the highway within spitting distance of the border.
We are now on I-15 headed south. Just past Great Falls, the Interstate begins following the Missouri River upstream towards its headwaters. Until now, I had no idea that it starts off flowing north towards Canada. We followed it for miles and must have crossed it at least a dozen times so far.
Tonight we have reached Helena, the state capital.
Day 10
Fort Macleod, Alberta to Helena, Montana
Daily Mileage: 301.9
Total Mileage: 2,597.8
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