What do you call a guy who sets off on a 3,600-mile road trip in the dead of winter to drive the Rocky Mountain chain from Alaska to southern Colorado? Bear in mind that this is the same guy who goes kayaking with his Australian shepherd - in the ocean.

Crazy doesn't quite sum it up, because there was a fair amount of planning up front. Adventurous is probably closer to the mark, because these are the undertakings that lead to stories - for your buddies and for your future grandchildren. "That's nothing. I once drove the Alcan in December with a dog and two cats."

Hey, it's got to be better than sitting in an office attending a budget meeting or deciding annual employee raises. Who's the crazy one now?

Day 11 - Christmas: Lethbridge is the Tucson of Canada. As one of the southern-most towns, it sports swimming pools¹ and year-round RV parks. The night I spent there, the ground was snow-free and the temperatures ranged from 33 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit.²

It may seem strange to those who live in the lower 48 that southern Alberta is a mild climate, but when you've come from more than 61 degrees north latitude, the 49^th parallel is quite mild - and very sunny. But don't ask me. Ask the geese who were hanging out on Oldman River³ that runs along the west side of town. Canada geese don't hang around out of national pride. They're here because the climate is mild - at least today.

I always do a walk-around of the truck and trailer before pulling out. About a third of the time, I see some small thing that needs to be secured or that I forgot to lock up. Today, I noticed that the previous night's winds had wreaked havoc with the trailer's awning.⁴ It was so bad that I had to manually un-roll the awning about two-thirds of the way before the little strap fell out that you normally use to hook into and pull the awning out. 

I was one of literally a handful of vehicles heading south to the U.S. border on Christmas morning. The drive was great. Little wind, sun and divided highway most of the way. I got gas at a station in Milk River that was open.

The border crossing itself went smoothly. It's interesting that when you cross into the U.S., they want to know if you have poultry⁵, fresh fruits and vegetables or game meat. When you cross into Canada, they want to know if you have alcohol or tobacco. Interesting priorities. This helps explain why Canada has the fifth lowest rate of heart disease, compared with the U.S. at 17th.

Once across the border, two things happened. The mountains got closer and the wind picked up - a combination of a head wind and a cross wind. Along with the hills, the gas mileage dropped to about 6 miles per gallon. Heading into Great Falls, the winds got very strong, but be time I got into the Big Belt Mountains north of Helena⁶, the strong winds remained aloft and the driving was much easier. Some lenticular⁷ clouds were forming above some of the peaks in the area, which means that a significant change in the weather will occur in 18 to 36 hours.

The temperatures were very mild for Montana in the winter - about 54 degrees in Helena. A fellow driving a pickup with the license plate "SCRUBY" said that there was a foot of snow on the ground in Bozeman, though. Scruby had a beard and long hair in a pony tail. He is what I would describe as a Tom Matovich⁸ type - a very friendly hippy vibe.

Coming into Helena, the drive along the Missouri River was scenic, although several stretches are now lined with houses. It was so warm, I saw someone fly-fishing and two kayakers floating down the river.

The mountains in this region aren't very big, but they offer up a pastoral mix of grassy meadows and stands of timber. The herds of cattle look as picturesque as an ad in Cattleman's Quarterly and the fields of baled hay look like they were paid for by the Montana Tourism Bureau.

Beef is what's for dinner around these parts. Some restaurants even offer local beef, darn-near fresh off the hoof. One of those places in the Oasis in Manhattan, a small town just west of Bozeman. For over ten years, I've had "Christmas in Manhattan" on my to-do list. This year I finally made that dream come true as I got off the interstate highway to drive through Manhattan on the two-lane highway. I'll be back in a day or so for a fresh steak when the restaurant is open.⁹

So it is that I find myself in Bozeman on Christmas Day. There's snow on the ground that is already being melted by the Rocky Mountain sunshine. The days are much longer. And I have a few friends in town that I want to catch up with. Since the trip is about enjoying the journey, I think I'll stay a few days to rest up before the final push into Colorado.

As Merle Haggard says, "Turn me loose. Set me free. Somewhere in the middle of Montana."¹⁰

Days 12 and 13. 
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¹ Years ago, I was traveling through southern Ontario and noticed that at least two out of every five houses had a swimming pool in the backyard. Warmth is relative - just ask your hypothalamus.
² After I leave Canada, assume all temperatures are in Fahrenheit. I'm getting tired of spelling that out. On a side note, if that show, "The O.C.", was produced in Canada, it would be called "The 0C."
³ Yes, that really is its name. No, I didn't sing the song.
⁴ I am not a fan of awnings on trailers. They are nice in theory, but they are prone to problems such as this as well as an occasional jam in the mechanism. In the Rockies, the wind can blow so hard that more times than not, I find myself having to close the awning back up before the wind rips it off at the moorings. Never walk away from a trailer with the awning open.
⁵ The whole bird flu thing, which is strange because it has killed, what, 20 people? The regular flu kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. each year.
⁶ Hand basket.
⁷ Lenticular means lens-shaped. The clouds in the right side of the photo are starting to turn lens-shaped. Always heed the warning of these clouds as the jet stream is passing through. If it was been warm, then the jet stream is moving south and bring cold weather and possible snow behind it. If it has been cold, the jet stream is moving back up north and the weather should warm up soon.
⁸ Tom was a long-time resident of the Bozeman area. Many people recognized him by his green hat with the snakeskin band. Tom was raised in Columbus, Mont. in a family that had originally settled in the Missouri Breaks. If you've ever seen the Duckboy-brand western postcards, Tom is in the "Montana Double Date" card - he's the one on the left. Check it out at www.duckboy.com. Tom was a very independent person as are many who are native to Montana. Other states talk a lot about being independent, but Montana walks the walk more than any other state. These people value their civil liberties and are wary of big government where it attempts to limit personal freedoms. While driving into Great Falls, I saw an American flag flying upside-down. There are religious and conservative people in Montana, they tend to take the attitude of "I stay out of your business, so you stay out of mine."
⁹ This coming from a guy who eats either wild salmon or game meat. For me to eat beef says that this is the place to get beef.
¹⁰ I actually heard this song years ago as I was driving through a September snow storm near Big Sky, Mont. What's strange is that it was being broadcast by an AM-stereo station out of Las Vegas, Nev. The atmospheric conditions of nighttime and the snow storm allowed me to pick up the signal from 800 miles away.

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