The Nelson Reservoir was such a great stop, and it was the first time during this trip I took an extra day to just relax and get some work done.
I have to admit, it was hard to leave. I could have stayed there for a month.
Here was yesterday’s sunset, just to remind me of what I’d be leaving behind.
I think Cooper would have been able to stay a while longer, too. Before we left, I took him for one last hike and let him spend some time fishing.
No, really, this dog tries to fish.
Emphasis on “tries”. He’s terrible at it, but he will go for hours if I let him. Here’s two solid minutes of him doing his best, and not even coming close to catching a thing.
But alas, it was time to move on down the road.
My destination was a simple one. I was heading to a small town called Cut Bank, Montana. There’s a rest area in town that allows overnight parking, and it would get me really close to Glacier National Park where I could start the next day and take my time driving through there with ample sunlight.
After a lovely drive through the high plains and going through many very small and interesting towns, I arrived at my destination.
I was surprised to find there was no RV parking available here, but that’s the beauty of a class B van. I can fit just about anywhere!
Here’s a 360 view:
If you watch my videos, you’ll notice that I’m a repeat offender when it comes to allowing my dog off-leash where I’m legally not allowed to. I am respectful and if I even see anyone else around he goes on-leash, but his recall is so good I never really worry about letting him run around.
But this fine seems a bit steep! I guess I’ll keep him on leash in these parts!
Very nice grassy area to walk around, though.
And in case I thought I’d get away with it, there was a Sheriff’s office right across the street. Nothing like a Sheriff’s office out of a double-wide to remind me that I’m in the middle of nowhere.
Just down the street is the local police department, too.
A reminder of how close I am to the Canadian border. I saw a few of these trucks driving around in the plains the past couple of days.
What’s a small rural town without a courthouse?
“Downtown.”
Across from the rest stop is this nice little memorial for our Veterans.
Old movie theater.
Looking down a random side street.
Definitely lots of agriculture in this area.
School.
Cool recycling place.
This place looked closed down but still felt like a glimpse into the past.
Restuarant and casino to the far right in this picture. This little town had at least two small casinos and both of them were the busiest places in town.
Now, this is something I couldn’t help to notice. For such a small town, they seem to have a disproportionate number of auto repair shops. Just check all of these places out! These are all literally within a few blocks of each other.
Here’s a really small Chevy dealer with a private repair shop across the street.
Collision repair? Check.
Super service? Check.
Looks like it used to be an auto shop. Too much competition?
Paint shop? Check.
Brakes? Alignment? Shocks?
Check. Check. And Check.
Glass repair? Check.
Car Quest and Napa Auto Parts literally sharing the same building?
Oh come on! Now they’re just messing with us out of towners, right?!
Tires? Junkyard?
Check check.
As I walked around town, it seemed like half of the people driving by me would give me a wave. It was almost uncomfortably friendly. I ended up paying attention to every car passing me because I didn’t want to miss a wave and not wave back!
While this isn’t the most scenic or luxurious place to spend the night, this is one of the things I absolutely love to do. I love going to unique places like small rural towns and seeing the lesser traveled areas. This is the real rural America, not the tourist influenced places or what we see on TV.
I’m glad I stopped here and got to hang out in this awesome little town. Looking forward to driving through Glacier National Park tomorrow!
Here’s the route we took.
Some highlights from the drive.