Day 19: Havre, MT to Zurich, MT

The weather caught up with us yesterday afternoon in Havre.  The fairgrounds seem to have been bypassed by most of the weather, but all around us were dark, ominous clouds, flashes of lightning and roaring thunder, pretty much from the moment that we pulled in until mid-evening, when things finally started to clear out.  At one we point there was a brief heavy downpour at our campsite, which subsided into intermittent showers the rest of the afternoon.  We just managed to squeeze in our supper between rain showers.

Today was a tough day for Alea.  We awoke to thinning fog as the sun rose, but even then it was clear which direction the wind was coming from.  And the wind only increased in intensity as the day wore on.  Adding to her trials were narrow shoulders and more truck traffic than we've seen in quite a while.  Partly that is due to it being harvest time.  We've seen no end of harvesters and balers and all manner of other farm vehicles being transported from field to field.

Our most dependable travel companion on US 2: the railroad.

On the plus side, the weather has warmed up and our prospects are that the lows will only be in the 50s for tomorrow.   And we should be having clearer weather for a while, but the temperatures look like they will be fluctuating day to day.  We definitely seem to have happened upon a much more verdant part of Montana, as the last two days of rain wouldn't account for the amount of greenery that we've been seeing.

Narrow shoulders, but a more verdant and varied landscape...

We stopped short of our intended destination today (Harlem, MT) and instead opted for Zurich Park, which is located 1.5 miles north of Zurich, MT.  We're the only ones here, but there are a number of campsites ($10 with power), a community hall, picnic area, playground and ballfield.  The area is heavily shaded and there are plenty of trees to block the 10-15 mph wind coming out of the east.

Camping beside the Community Hall at Zurich Park.

We currently have about 710 miles to cover before we reach Fargo, ND, at which point we'll be taking some time off to visit with Alea's brother Joe in Grand Forks.  At a 50 mile-per-day pace it will take us about two weeks (which would be around September 2nd).  But for the next several days, suitable campsites look to be spaced about 40-45 miles apart, so we are slowly getting closer to being back on our original schedule, where our goal was to reach Fargo on September 4th.