Day 5

This was another full day of railfanning, starting with Mike & me going west to Belgrade by 9:00 AM. This was our first train of the day. It was taken just across the highway from a bird preserve, where two artists had set up their easels and were painting.

We chased this MRL local with engines 301 & 403 for a couple of hours. Here it is going into Logan, MT from the west end, eastbound. Doug, Mike, & Nancy perched on the edge of the road at the top of a ridge to get this shot.

It's finally made it into Logan, and began switching; luckily it was near this photogenic water tower! We heard on the scanner the crew joking about how nice it would feel if they could cool off in the water dripping from the tower. It was probably about 120 degrees out there in the yard with all that metal equipment. Diane remembers getting off the train here with Doug & Nancy in August, 1961 to catch the bus to Helena.

After a brief stop in an antique store in Belgrade, Doug, Diane, and Nancy went back to the hotel for naps. Mike shot this about 4 PM at Muir, MT, just coming out of the Bozeman tunnel, eastbound. It was shortly before the late afternoon thunderstorm which cooled the air down from 102 to 80 degrees in 20 minutes.

Here's the fun stuff! This was one of a couple of bison at a ranch outside of Logan. They must have wondered why we went by them several times today as we went back & forth between Logan & Trident & Three Forks.

Since we are celebrating the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase this year, and the expedition of Lewis & Clark, it was only appropriate that we visit the rivers they named which flowed into the Missouri. Note the warning about rattlesnakes! Luckily we didn't see any today.

Here's a more scenic shot of the Missouri headwaters. Just after this we tried to photograph a white pelican (yes, really!) which flew overhead, but the shot wasn't in focus enough to post.

Today's funny image is a whale we spotted from the interstate east of Bozeman. If this were Louisiana, we'd think it was a Mardi Gras float animal. Here in Montana, it sure looks lost.

Tomorrow, we drive back to Casper. Have a good day!