Tuesday 8th Apr Harlowtown, Montana. 9:10pm

[uploaded late: no internet yesterday]

Day one of the drive. We set off from the farm around 6.30am - just
on dawn. The trailer didn't seem too happy at first: maybe it was
cold; maybe it just didn't like the country roads. We quickly started
to beat the sat-nav: the ETA for Spikefish (the far side of South
Dacota) started out as 14:30, but we eventually passed there about an
hour earlier than that.

South Dacota started out like Iowa: fallow corn fields, waiting for
spring poughing and seeding. But the farmscape gave way to grassy
uplands after a while, with a major river crossing at the Missouri
marking a big shift in the scenery. Stopping for gas, we worked out
that we were managing about 7 miles per gallon. Ouch!

South Dacota turned into Wyoming, and it was my turn to drive. As the
road got higher and higher, the snow beside the road was more and more
widespread. Then we encountered sleet, and eventually a little snow.
This passed quickly, and soon the sun was shining again on dry roads.

The photos tell their own story of the journey, really. [note: limited
internet access may mean photos don't get up loaded until later]
Around tea-time, we crossed into Montana. This offered more of the
same scenery, but just on dusk we started to encounter deer beside the
road, and sometimes in it! They're quite a hazard, and a good reason
not to drive at dusk...

So now, we're in a motel in Harlowtown, claiming to offer internet
access... but evidently not from our room!

Stats of the day: 869 miles. Fuel purchased: 127.3 gal, costing $433.

2514 miles to go.

Listening: Sting, Eric Clapton, U2, Beatles, Madness.