{"id":1628,"date":"2014-04-19T23:44:51","date_gmt":"2014-04-20T05:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=1628"},"modified":"2014-06-02T08:49:17","modified_gmt":"2014-06-02T14:49:17","slug":"prairie-lights-road-trip-was-worth-the-long-winter-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/04\/prairie-lights-road-trip-was-worth-the-long-winter-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"Road trip was worth the long winter wait"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"slides-1628\" class=\"navis-slideshow\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slide-nav\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"prev\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"next\"><\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slides_container\"><div id=\"1628-slide1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-drive-in-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-drive-in-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Remnants of the Prairie Drive In Theater \u2014 Terry.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Madoc-grain-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Madoc-grain-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Red, white and blue. Old grain elevator \u2014 Madoc, just east of Scobey.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide3\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/pull-over-1-of-1-771x428.jpg*771*428\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/pull-over-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Time to pull over \u2014 north of Poplar.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide4\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Austins-1-of-1.jpg*771*414\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Austins-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A pair of ancient Austins \u2014Antelope, just south of Plentywood.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide5\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/bricks2-1-of-1-771x472.jpg*771*472\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/bricks2-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>One brick at a time \u2014 Redstone, between Scobey and Plentywood.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Trip-coyotes-1-of-1.jpg*771*434\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Trip-coyotes-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Fresh kill, coyotes \u2014 15 miles west of Jordan on Highway 200.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Glentana-1-of-1.jpg*771*469\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Glentana-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Old schoolhouse \u2014 Glentana, west of Scobey.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/mako2-1-of-1.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/mako2-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Ancient earth \u2014 Makoshika State Park, Glendive.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-marie1-1-of-1.jpg*771*462\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-marie1-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>St. Marie, the town attached to the now-closed Glasgow Air Force Base. Redevelopment efforts continue to sputter along. In the meantime, it would be a shame if no one ever filmed a zombie apocalypse movie here.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide10\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-homestead-1-of-1.jpg*771*390\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-homestead-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>I felt obliged to take this photograph. It shows an old homestead just across Homestead Road from the town of Homestead \u2014 between Plentywood and Culbertson.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide11\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-crosses-1-of-1.jpg*771*453\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-crosses-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Two white crosses, very steep dropoff \u2014 Makoshika State Park, Glendive.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide12\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Redstone-slow-1-of-1-771x412.jpg*771*412\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-Redstone-slow-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>And watch for pedestrians \u2014 Redstone again.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide13\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-pickups-1-of-1.jpg*771*417\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/trip-pickups-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Pickup starter kits \u2014 Richland, west of Scobey.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"1628-slide14\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/RR-Musselshell-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/RR-Musselshell-1-of-1-771x513.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6> <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Musselshell River \u2014 east of Roundup.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>jQuery( document ).ready( function() { loadSlideshow( 1628, 'https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/04\/prairie-lights-road-trip-was-worth-the-long-winter-wait\/', 14 ) } );<\/script>\n<p>When I launched Last Best News on Feb. 1, one of my publicly stated goals was to get out and about in Eastern Montana as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Little did I know that winter, which had been bad enough even until then, would last so long and bring so much snow and cold.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I managed to do some traveling in February and March \u2014 Big Timber, Roundup, Harlowton and a few other places \u2014 but it was all pretty close to home and didn\u2019t involve any overnighters.<\/p>\n<p>So I was thrilled last week to finally take off for a three-day sortie deep into Eastern Montana. Not even 30 miles from home, in the Bull Mountains, I ran into a wet, thick, wind-driven snowstorm, dashing the rash notion that winter was finally through with us.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, that was the last snow I would see on my jaunt, though there were a few patches of rain, none of them serious. I was gathering materials for some stories, which you\u2019ll see in the days ahead, and doing reconnaissance for stories I hope you\u2019ll see later this spring.<\/p>\n<p>I also stumbled on <a href=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/2014\/04\/after-57-years-paper-day-still-a-thrill\/\">one story<\/a> just by stopping in at the Daniels County Leader in Scobey. Mostly, I\u2019ll admit, I was just driving around for the joy of driving around, camera at the ready. As part of what I hope might become an occasional feature, I\u2019ve posted a gallery of photos to run with this column.<\/p>\n<p>What else did I see? For starters, a lot of great two-lane roads. With all due respect to former state Sen. Sam Kitzenberg of Glasgow, who never stopped campaigning to make Highway 2 a four-lane road, that ribbon of Hi-Line asphalt suits this traveler just fine the way it is.<\/p>\n<p>Ditto with all the other two-lane roads winding through oceans of beautiful country all over Eastern Montana. On the last leg of my trip, when I spent a couple of hours on I-94, I couldn\u2019t believe how much I hated driving 80 mph in a straight line.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, even the two-lane roads seemed pretty uptown after some of the detours I took on dirt and gravel roads. Two of my favorites were Soo Line Road (identified as Cooline Road in my DeLorme Atlas) between Outlook and Raymond, and Homestead Road south of Plentywood.<\/p>\n<p>On Homestead Road, I kept trying to guess which of the handful of intersecting roads was the one that would take me down to Highway 2. It had been five or six miles since the last turn when the road took a sharp turn north and continued in that direction as far as I could see.<div class=\"well\"><div class=\"dfad dfad_pos_1 dfad_first\" id=\"_ad_652\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/mjhWkW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/201703_capeair_variable.jpg\" alt=\"CapreAir_Variable\" width=\"510\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18069\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n<p>I thought maybe there was a turn ahead I couldn\u2019t see, but I hadn\u2019t gone far before I said to myself, out loud, \u201cCut your losses,\u201d then turned around and headed back to that last turn. In situations like that it\u2019s good to give yourself advice out loud. It seems to carry more authority that way.<\/p>\n<p>I met good people everywhere I went, which shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise. And though, as always, there was talk of jobs and enticing young people to come back home, I heard more than a few times that many places are blessed by being close enough to benefit from the Bakken boom but far enough away to have avoided most of the ugly side effects.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s understandable. Peace and quiet, endless vistas and knowing virtually everybody else in town are the things that keep people living in all those small towns. A Manhattanite might laugh to hear me say it, but I feel like I\u2019m wearing a \u201cCity slicker\u201d placard around my neck in most of those places.<\/p>\n<p>I was also heartened to hear how many people still like reading the dead-tree edition of the Billings Gazette. I made the jump to the Web because nobody starts a print newspaper these days, but I like holding a newspaper in my hands, and so do a lot of people in Eastern Montana.<\/p>\n<p>I want people to get on the Web and visit here, too, but I hate to think of the day you can\u2019t find a Gazette in all those towns. In a perfect world maybe it wouldn\u2019t be owned by Lee Enterprises anymore, but still\u2026<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of newspapers, I have to mention the Daniels County Leader again. The most recent issue carried a story about John Driscoll, a Democrat running for the U.S. House.<\/p>\n<p>The actual news story consisted of the usual stuff everybody else reports. What caught my eye was the accompanying series of questions about subjects like hobbies, favorite sports teams and favorite foods. There I learned that Driscoll, asked what he would choose if he could instantly acquire any talent, answered, \u201cblues guitar playing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now that is the most interesting thing I\u2019ve learned yet about Driscoll. Hell, it might be the only interesting thing I\u2019ve heard about a Montana politician this year. Thank you, Daniels County Leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I launched Last Best News on Feb. 1, one of my publicly stated goals was to get out and about in Eastern Montana as much as possible. Little did I know that winter, which had been bad enough even until then, would last so long and bring so much snow and cold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[747,56],"tags":[60,482,489,493,494,491,490,492,488],"class_list":["post-1628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photo-galleries","category-prairie-lights","tag-billings-gazette","tag-daniels-county-leader","tag-glasgow","tag-hi-line","tag-john-driscoll","tag-outlook","tag-plentywood","tag-sam-kitzenberg","tag-scobey","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}