The West

“Those roads provided breath-taking views. There's something special about an empty road going on and on and on to the horizon where the sun burns the world away into a dancing, shimmering heat haze that reflects the crystal blue sky, literally blurring the line between heaven and earth.”        Dave Gorman

“Did you see that antelope?” my husband, Bucky asked.

“No, where?” I said, lifting my eyes from my phone. 

I realized then just how much of my time was being spent looking at a screen rather than at the world outside. My  Candy Crush game could never be more exciting than seeing an antelope acknowledge our presence then bound effortlessly into a coulee and disappear. Some call the antelope “speed goat”. Speed is indeed an apt name as this athletic animal can run at speeds up to 60mph.  Perhaps their horns resemble those of a goat. I find the pronghorn to be one of the West’s most gorgeous creatures. 

With my phone tucked snugly in my seat pocket, the wonders of Montana, Alberta and British Columbia appeared.

Montana watering hole!

“If these walls could talk”

It’s hard to spend any time in Montana without seeing cattle, horses, miles of fence, churches and barns. Old homesteads sitting on hillsides, their wooden frames being claimed by the very land their occupants once cleared, abandoned and beckoning their stories to be told.

                                    Mule Deer

Chinook, MT

Havre, MT 

The Canadian border is a mere 44 mile drive, through quiet ranch land, from Havre to Wild Horse, MT. Here we were greeted by an attractive female border agent whose petite stature was enveloped by her official blue jacket. I was surprised by the layers of delicate gold necklaces she wore and her discrete but evident nose ring. Was it a display of Canadian liberalism or an example of western freedom. Wild Horse is a long ways from Ottawa!

We were asked the usual entry questions but nothing about our possessing fruits or vegetables. As we drove away I thought of how delicious my recently purchased lime would taste immersed in my end of day cocktail.

Alberta is Canada’s largest oil producing province. With that said, every town we passed through is evidence of this. Mud covered white pickups, tandem tanker and large gravel haulers line the gravel in front of restaurants and lodging. Towns and businesses exist to support the oil fields.

While some pump sites are visible from the highway, most are far off the main road which provides to our view huge vistas of seemingly endless wilderness. However, this woodland is periodically punctuated by muddy side roads leaving the highway and signage indicating oil field locations. I have to imagine things appear quite different  looking down from above.

Interesting rig

Smoke from the wildfires now burning in BC have created a haze over green hills and valleys and could be clearly smelled. Cool air and a steady breeze helped.

Mile 0 of the AK Highway, Dawson Creek, BC
2900 miles from Ripton, VT, and now only 1616 miles to Talkeetna, AK