Hwy 52 North Dakota, I-94 Minnesota to Wisconsin

Yesterday I was too tired for posting anything. I just fell into bed and slept until 6:30 AM. Whew!

Today we made it from North Dakota into Wisconsin.

It was still cold. We saw frozen lakes and snow covered landscapes in between snow free areas. 

Gone are the wide open grass lands.

We are back to farm land and cities.

So far we escaped the snow that followed us from the west. 

But - it was just a lull in between, more snow waits for us towards the east. I checked the weather forecast: 

snow and rain showers for tomorrows stretch.

At home: cold, snow, rain and wind.

Spring will not arrive before the middle of April, they say!

Did I ever complain about the heat we had in California?

In and Out - not what you think

Rural Montana on the way towards the Albertan border.

While Peter went into the customs office to do the paper work for the trailer I had plenty of time to watch sparrows doing their home construction. I is amazing where they choose their nesting places.

Definitely adapted to the man made nesting opportunities.

Everything works.

An opening in the siding....

...or behind a sign.

"Is there someone watching me?"

***

Finally we were back on Canadian soil. 

Hallmark of the prairie - grain storage

Worn out barns or grain bins, and the view for

hours and hours and hours of this...

wide open spaces.

***

We made it to Calgary on Tuesday.

(Peter will have a posting about that.)

After a restful night we woke up 

to an approaching snowstorm. That turn in the weather,

and the forecast for more snow over the weekend, 

made us turn quickly south back into the US - today.

But the snow is following us slowly....:((

Are we able to outrun it?

Up and down, migrating towards the north.

From "potato" country Idaho to the "land of cattle" Montana we rode.

What a stretch!

 Up and up - over 6800 feet (2100 m)

 The weather turned bleak and considerable colder
after we crossed the Monida Pass. 

Mostly grey skies and wintry landscape.

then - down and steep down we went.

 Finally we saw the end of the mountains 

when we crossed the Mississippi River and 

were heading towards Great Falls.

Exhausting. 

***

But I saw more signs of spring: migrating birds.

Have you ever tried to take photos through the window 

of a car driving about 70 miles an hour? Challenging, I tell you.

But I got some shots where you can see what I saw.

 Ducks and swans having a break in an ice fee patch of a river.

Look and you will see! Hawks in a tree. :))

As we go north so do the Canada Geese

Calves and Clouds along I-15

The morning started out bright and cold 34°F but warming up to 54 °F. (1 °C /12°C)

When we turned out of the state park I watched a couple of calves 

frolicking among the sage brushes.

 It looked like one was calling to the other to "hurry up - breakfast is ready"!

And soon a whole bunch of "youngsters" were galloping towards the fresh hay.

Young calves and lambs are sure sign that spring is not

too far away. Other signs:

 Willow tree branches are turning yellow.

Or is this all "wish-thinking"?

Towering, snow capped mountains frame the area around Salt Lake City, UT. 

A view of the sky line 

and on to "man-made" mountains.

Contrasting views

***

Another occupation was to observe the clouds in the sky. 

The morning started out with mostly cloud free skies.

Around noon there were lots of cumulus clouds over the mountains.

In the sky above Marsh Valley 

we saw this "UFO" cloud and 

 other weird cloud formations over the mountain ranges.

When I checked the internet I learned that these clouds are: 

lenticular Altocumulus (Mountain Wave Clouds). 

This will probably be the best weather we got for a while, snow is in the forecast.

Tonight's temperatures will plunge down to 27°F (-2.7 °C).

Not too bad considering the temperatures once we get into

Montana. There, we will see a 

HIGH of 27 °F, and a LOW of 12 °F (-12 °C)

WHAT A CHANGE!

Just another 24 hours and we are back in the "freezer".

No wonder we Canadians love the desert so much.

That's for today.

I-15 Nevada and Utah

Today we rode I-15 through Nevada into Utah.

This will be the last day enjoying the warm desert 

temperatures. 

 Higher and higher we went through the

Virgin River Gorge. This is a spectacular drive, either

way, with the towering walls and the river meandering 

in the bottom. 

 Virgin River with blooming Tamarisk on the banks

 Towering walls enclosing us all around.

Later the colours changed to more reddish hues.

The hallmark of Utah.

 These suburbs blend nicely in with the natural colours.

Good planning! 

Partly cloudy conditions make the mountains

more colourful.

A glimpse over towards Zion National Park.

The snow covered mountain range is 

coming closer and closer.

I checked the weather forecast this evening.

 Up to Idaho we will still have somewhat cool weather, 

but from Montana on towards Canada 

 "temps" will be downright frigid.

Time to change shorts and T-shirt 

for "longjohns" and a warm sweater!

Am I looking forward to it? Not at all.

I hope you enjoyed my view of the day!

PS: Shot with this camera setting:

automatic, moving objects, rapid frames

sometimes I opened the window, 

sometimes I didn't.