I was driving with my left leg and my right leg was on top of the icebox in front of the passenger seat when I entered Montana. 153827 miles. [State #45 on this trip; #47 total -- the countdown to #48 was well under way!]
I was driving with my left leg and my right leg was on top of the icebox in front of the passenger seat when I entered Montana. 153827 miles. [State #45 on this trip; #47 total -- the countdown to #48 was well under way!]
Soon after entering the state, I pulled over at a rest area and stuck the Montana sticker on the car. 
Took another picture of the back side of the car. The car now had forty-eight stickers from 47 states and Washington, D.C., plus six more "miscellaneous" stickers. a few hours after leaving the rest area, I was stuck behind a slow-moving camper/trailer. On the back of the trailer was a small map of the United States (including Alaska, but not Hawaii). All the state borders were painted on the map. Several of the states (including Alaska) were also colored in with different colors for each state. I took out my camera from the glove compartment and took a picture of the back side of the R.V.. These people were doing the same thing I was doing! They had been to all states West of the Mississippi river except Oklahoma (and possibly Hawaii -- that one wasn't shown). Also painted were the states of Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida (thirty total states). When I finally passed the R.V., I looked at the driver and smiled. He looked back at me and his expression was something like "Why the hell are you smiling at me?". I started laughing, then floored the accelerator. As I went in front of him, I saw him in the rear view mirror pointing to the bumper stickers on my car (either that, or my driving).
I did not have anything to see on this day -- my intention was to drive as far as I wanted towards Glacier National Park, which is near the Canadian border in North-central Montana.
When I stopped to gas up, I also found a Montana postcard, and wrote it immediately. This postcard was the largest postcard I had bought on this trip so far. It was cut in the shape of Montana, with a picture of a mountain. I couldn't wait to see the real thing myself.
I looked for a AAA office in Billings, but couldn't find any, so I kept driving...
I checked in at a motel in Butte that night. Glacier National Park was a 1/2-day drive from here.
Miscellaneous:
| Town: | Sidney, MT |
| Town: | Circle, MT |
| Town: | Amsterdam, MT -- See below |
| Town: | Belgrade, MT -- Both Amsterdam & Belgrade are practically across the street from each other -- reminded me of Buffalo and Bison in South Dakota! |
| FANTCZ | ND | Pontiac TransSport van |
| I FLOS M | CA | Chevrolet |
| SIGN LDY | MT | Ford Explorer |
| DATZLYF | MT | Pontiac Grandam |
| $33.30 | Chase | Super 8 Motel | Dickinson, ND |
| $11.49 | CB | Gas ($10.70) & postcard ($0.79) -- "CENEX" | Miles City, MT |
| $2 | Cash | Lunch -- Burger King | Billings, MT |
| $13 | CB | Gas -- Conoco | Bozeman, MT |
After leaving the motel, I started driving North towards the Canadian border.
I arrived in the capital city of Helena at noon. I was hungry, so I exited from the freeway. Besides looking for a restaurant, I was also looking for the state's Capitol building. I had seen so many of them that I knew I would recognize this building as soon as I saw it -- if I saw it. Almost all other state Capitol buildings that I had seen on this trip had gold-plated domes. Either the Montana state Capitol does not have a gold-plated dome, or I simply did not see it! This was another one of the ways I kept myself occupied on this trip -- whenever I went to a state's capital city, I would look for the Capitol building and compare it to all other Capitol buildings I had seen. As far as state capitals are concerned, I liked Boston's building best. Of course, nothing could compare to the national Capitol building in Washington, D.C.!
I ate at a Taco Bell, then continued driving North. Then I saw it.
A car passed me that had a license plate with the word "ALASKA" on it. It was an orange plate with black letters. Inside was a family of five. When I saw that car pass me, I suddenly had the urge to go to Alaska. At first, I thought it was impossible -- driving to Alaska meant crossing the entire width of Canada. Then I thought, since I crossed the width of America just to drive to Texas, why not cross Canada just to drive to Alaska? The words "WHY NOT?" kept coming out of my mouth. I decided to go to Alaska -- "The Last of the Wild Frontier".
To go there, I needed maps of Alaska and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.
When I realized that -- "Yukon Territory map" -- I was even more enthusiastic about going to Alaska. I would be passing through a place that at least partially extends North of the Arctic Circle. There was a AAA office in the town of Great Falls.
For the first time on this trip, I actually got all the maps and tour books I wanted. I also got city maps of Calgary, Fairbanks and Anchorage. Continued driving North -- towards the Last of the Wild Frontier.
Thirty-four miles South of the Canadian border is the town of Shelby, MT. I checked in at a motel there, then looked at all the maps and tour books again.
Later at night, I went to dinner at a McDonalds nearby. When I came back to the motel, I parked the car in front of the entrance. Immediately after turning the engine off, I heard a "TIK TIK" again. After going back to my room, I realized what I was getting myself into -- I would be crossing the second largest country in the world to go to the largest state in this country, via some of the roughest terrain on the continent -- all this with a car that was making a "TIK TIK" sound. That was not good.
License Plates:
| CMON RIK | MT | Chevrolet |
| FINE CAR | MT | Cadillac |
| R KARAVN | MT | Chevrolet Lumina van |
| AERO ENG | MT | Ford |
| DOUNOME | MT | GMC Truck |
| $35.36 | Chase | Capri Motel -- paid last night upon check-in | Butte, MT |
| $5.67 | CB | Two quarts oil & Chap-stick -- CONOCO | Butte, MT |
| $2 | Cash | Lunch -- Taco Bell | Helena, MT |
| $10 | CB | Gas -- CONOCO | Great Falls, MT |
| $4 | Cash | Dinner -- McDonalds | Shelby, MT |
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I checked out of the motel and got in the car. I had already decided the previous night not to go to Alaska. When I started the engine and started driving, I noticed a definite change in the car. The clutch was very tight, and every time I had to shift gears, I had trouble doing so. I started driving West towards Glacier National Park, thinking I'd have the car looked at in the next major town of Missoula, MT. On the way to the park, I stopped by the McDonalds again for lunch.
It was a dull drive through a flat landscape -- for about the first hour. Then I suddenly saw the mountains in the distant horizon to the West. 
These mountains did not look as impressive as the ones in Colorado, but they were good enough for me!
1:20 PM Entered Glacier National Park.
The road that goes through the park is called "Going-To-The-Sun Road". That's the kind of road it is -- full of sharp climbs that make you feel as if you really are going to the sun! There are spectacular views of ice-topped mountains, lakes and waterfalls. I also went on one hiking trail to a lake shore. All that made me decide on a 5-star rating. I was very impressed, since this was certainly an excellent alternative to Alaska.
After more than half of the park was seen, the road started to go down. As I continued driving West on that downward road, I looked to the right and saw something that was white.
My first reaction was that this was marble! Then I saw the park map and saw that there was no such attraction in this general region. There were a lot of people stopped there, which was also strange, because whatever this was was not a regular attraction at this park! I stopped to see what all the fuss was about. When I stepped out of the car, I finally saw why everyone was stopping -- this white thing was an ice cave!
There was a sign next to the cave that said "Do not enter cave. There is a danger of it collapsing." That was the kind of sign that everyone reads, but ignores. This cave was at an elevation of 6,400 feet. I had asked a park ranger earlier today what is the elevation above which the snow lasts all year. The ranger had told me "8000 feet". Here was an ice cave that had lasted all these months until August and it was 1600 feet below the year-round snow level! I walked inside the cave, and had my picture taken as well. I could also see some of the ice melting.
This was the last place on this trip to receive the highest rating in my system.
Rating for Glacier National Park = 
.
I left the park limits at 4:40 PM.
Immediately after leaving the park, I stopped in the small town of West Glacier, MT as a much-needed rest stop for the car. When I tried to start the car again, it would not start. I was stuck again.
I called a AAA tow truck for a 150-mile tow to the town of Missoula. I thought that a large town such as Missoula would have a few repair shops where I could take the car. Since I was a "AAA PLUS" member, the first 100 miles would be free. For the next 50 miles, I would have to pay.
The truck arrived at 5:45 PM, and we went to Missoula. We arrived in Missoula a little late (9:00 PM), thanks to a lot of road construction along the way. The tow truck driver drove straight to the motel I had made my reservation at, and he dropped the car there. Fortunately, there was a repair shop next to the motel, and I would take my car there the next morning.
Since I could not drive to any restaurant at night and there were no restaurants within walking distance, I had a pizza delivered from Pizza Hut. This was a whole pizza, and I saved whatever I did not eat for my breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow.
License Plates:
| CARY VAN | VA | Dodge van |
| WHATAZOO | MT? | Isuzu Trooper |
| THE BOY | MT | Dodge Ram |
| CATBAY 1 | MT | Oldsmobile |
| HIKERS | MT | Jeep Cherokee |
| $8.24 | CB | Cokenstuff -- EXXON | Shelby, MT |
| $3 | Cash | Lunch -- McDonalds | Cut Bank, MT |
| $5 | Cash | Snacks | West Glacier, MT |
| $51 | Cash | Towing charge -- 140 miles; first 100 miles free | Missoula, MT |
| $9 | Cash | Dinner (delivered) -- Pizza Hut | Missoula, MT |
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1:20 PM Entered Idaho = State #46 this trip; State #47 Total; 154771 miles. There was a rest area at the state boundary, and since I had been driving for two hours continuously, I stopped to take a break. When I left again, the same problem with the car started -- the clutch became very tight and it was extremely difficult to shift gears. I considered going back to the repair shop, but finally decided against driving three hours back, then driving three hours more to come back to this point.
2:58 PM Yet another crossing of the 45deg. Latitude. 154847 miles.
An hour later, I checked in at a motel in a no-name-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere called "Challis, Idaho".
I got hungry in the evening, so I left the motel to look for a restaurant in town. Challis does not have any restaurants. I bought my food at a gas station, and it tasted miserable.
License Plates:
| ART BUGY | ? | GMC Safari van |
| SKINK | MT | Subaru |
| $148.60 | Chase | Car Repairs | Missoula, MT |
| $87.36 | Chase | Motel bill -- two nights at Travelodge | Missoula, MT |
| $10.50 | Discover | Gas | Hamilton, MT |
| $4 | Cash | Snacks-cum-dinner -- gas station | Challis, ID |
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I entered the one and only sightseeing attraction in Idaho -- Sawtooth National Recreational Area. It was nice, but I was very preoccupied with the car, so the rating is somewhat unfair: . There were many colorful mountains and even more colorful valleys, making this one of the better "National Recreational Areas" in the country.
After leaving Sawtooth National Recreational Area, I arrived in the town of Hailey, ID. Since the problem in the car involved moving parts, I thought I should top off all the liquids in the engine before driving any further. The brake fluid was already at its maximum, so I bought oil and coolant at a Chevron station in town. I put in the oil, then got some water from the gas station. I mixed the coolant and water according to the directions on the coolant container, then put the coolant in. I let the car rest for a little while, then continued driving again.
For a while, everything was perfect -- the clutch was normal, the gear shift was normal. It stayed normal for the rest of the day.
3:02 PM Entered I-84!!! (This was the first time I was driving on a freeway since the afternoon of August 2; the longest length of time on this trip without driving on any freeway = 95 hours.)
One and half hours later, I checked in at a Comfort Inn at Boise, ID. There was a Dennys restaurant in the same parking lot as the motel, and I walked there for my dinner. Later at night, I drove around town, looking at all the lights of the capital city of Idaho. I could not find the Capitol Building anywhere. After coming back to the motel, I watched some T.V., then went to sleep. Little did I know that the next day would be the single-most significant day on this entire trip...
Miscellaneous:
| Town: | Bliss, ID |
| Town: | Paradise Valley, ID |
| HNEY DO | ID | Mitsubishi |
| MASSAGE | ID | Mercury |
| MS ROAR | ID | Acura |
| $34.24 | Chase | Northgate Inn -- paid upon check-in | Challis, ID |
| $13.10 | CB | Gas & Snacks -- "Stanley Stop" gas station | Stanley, ID |
| $8.88 | CB | Coolant and Oil -- Chevron | Hailey, ID |
| $8.25 | CB | Meal-of-the-day -- Dennys | Boise, ID |
| $9.43 | CB | Cokenstuff -- 7-11 | Boise, ID |
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Continue on to August 7