Drove from West Yellowstone up the Gattlin River valley, through Bozman, then northwest until we hit I-15. Continued to Great Falls. Not too difficult of a drive but a few significant passes north of I-90. KOA at Great Falls was pretty nice.
Departure from Grizzly RV Park was smoothe. Packing up and getting ready to get on the road was becoming second nature at this point. We took US 191 north through the Gattlin River valley. The route slighlty dips into Yellowstone National Park for a bit, but there are no roads that connect back to the heart of Yellowstone from here. Lots of ranches and plenty of white water rafting in this area. Traffic was fairly light and the road was wasy driving.
We stopped at the Walmart in Bozman, near the on ramp to I-90 and had lunch. This was a good example where we used the resources we already had to eat instead of eating out. Plus, it was pretty quick turn around, eating lunch and getting back on the road.
After a short piece of I-90 to the west, we head north on US 287. Lots of construction along this road which slowed us down. We were also back on the track of following Lewis & Clark as we approached the headwaters of the Missouri River. It was interesting to think that the water that we saw heading down river would soon pass by our house back in Kansas.
Through Helena and then onto I-15 north. A few passes on this part of I-15, although nothing too bad. Traffic was not too heavy. We finally made our way to our turn off at Great Falls and drove through the entirety of Great Falls to get to the KOA campground on the other side of town.
The Great Falls KOA is located near Malmstrom Air Force Base. We headed over there to take advantage of their Commissary and I got a haircut. The Great Falls KOA was pretty nice. The sites, although close together, where set in fairly dense vegatation which gave each site a great deal of privacy. And there was wifi! We opted not to have a campfire but instead to try and get an early start the next morning to see if we could get a spot a Saint Mary’s Campground at Glacier National Park rather than spend one night at the KOA outside of Glacier. I had misjudged the distances when I planned the trip, not realizing that the KOA and the Glacier National Park campsites where only a few minutes away. If I could avoid having to pack up and move, then I wanted to give it a try.