Bucket List Trip 2016~Day 10~ Belle Fourche, SD, Theodore Roosevelt National Park to Glendive, MT

As we ate our fabulous breakfast, we could hear thunder in the distance and thought it was east of us.

The weather radar did show some rain going into North Dakota,

while the weatherman was called for occasional showers. 

So I thought the rain would be moving right on through.

We have stayed in lots of hotels and none have offered a full breakfast from 5 am to 10.

They had a full coffee bar all day including several flavors.

We must have loved this place as we were the last to leave for the day.

When is the last time you saw a working mill downtown?

We began to notice the dark sky.

 Of course it was not a sandy beach we were approaching.

Just the way the sun behind us was shining on the surface of the field,

 and the rain clouds hanging in the background.

 Mr. G kept himself entertained by choosing a mark and then clocking the distance.

One hill top was about 24 miles away.

 I can't imagine how far children travel to school.

I wonder if some still live near the school during the week like the lady back at Badlands said she had to do when she was a child, except they stayed the entire school year and went home for the summer.

 And then the rain started happening.

Just as we were about to get on I94, the rain got harder.

I checked the radar and noticed their would be a break in the rain in about an hour.

 We were ready to stretch our legs a bit, and Mr. G needed a break from driving in the rain.

So we found this place.

Since it was barely 50°F I chose their soup kettle for $5.50.

I had a good friend that lived north of Fargo, ND and he had told me they creamed most all their dishes,

like creamed peas, corn, you name it.

This was Chicken Tortilla Soup. I had never had a creamed version.

This soup had lots of bite size pieces of chicken and just enough hot for me.

It was fabulous. Added some shredded cheese and corn chips. Yum.

I've got to try to make this sometime.

 Stopping for lunch did help.

By the time we got to the visitor's center, the rain had paused!

The radar hadn't lied to us.

Mr. G & I took turns passing the camera back and forth.

So some of these he took & I was too tired to mark them.

 About half way around the loop, the sprinkles started to tease us.

The dampness with the wind made it hard to keep windows down so we could take pictures.

 YES! Tell my Grandson I shot a turkey today!

 There were several prairie dog towns.

They are cute, but I know they could be pesky like our ground  hogs.

 Little Missouri River

 Pleasant Valley Ranch

 The sky cleared just a bit at the end of our drive making colors pop a bit.

 I thought it looked like a turtle.

 Mr. G thought it looked like a bulldog face.

 Took about an hour to drive through.

Loved it! Even with the sprinkles.

Got back on I94 and headed west.

 

 It had started raining again making this picture actually darker.

I had to lighten it so you could see the sunflowers.

The largest crop of sunflowers on both sides of the highway we had seen so far.

You could see sunflowers forever.

 This isn't what I expected a Montana farm to look like,

 but the picture is to show the red graveled road that intrigued Mr. G.

 Mr. G was so happy to reach our destination tonight!

 Yellowstone River

Our motel is on the river although we can't see it.

It's an aged motel, but refurbished where needed and very clean.

We quickly went to a grocery store deli and picked up some chicken to take to the room and 

of course watch Thursday night football.

It's 56°F now and will only go down to 47°F tonight.

The rain was supposed to have been gone after yesterday. Weatherman was wrong.

I hope we get that promised sunshine tomorrow and 70s temp.

One local gentleman said they needed the rain, so I shouldn't begrudge.

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Travel today was simple and long straight roads including

Belle Fourche, SD highway 85N, Belfield, ND, I94W to Medora, to Glendive, MT

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Follow along on our trip as I will try to post daily.

Just use the "Newer" button below to find out what happened on Day 3.

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