Day 39
2:38 PM MT.

You really can’t describe nor capture the beauty of Montana in words or photos. This picture was taken as we drove west towards the capitol of Helena. While just a minute before we’d been driving through rolling plains with rocky hills in the distance, we came over a ridge and before us were the Crazy Mountains rising out of the ground. Simply breathtaking.

One thing I think about a lot as we drove through the mountain west is how much our civilization has impacted these lands and what it must have been like for the first pioneers to have fought their way through this rugged terrain. I’m exhausted enough sitting in a captain’s chair in a minivan on this trip, and the thought of covering this same path on a horse or covered wagon nearly boggles the mind. With no interstates and rest stops, no Comfort Inns or local burger joints, what did the Wild West look like to those men and women when it was truly wild?

I’m sure Peter or Matt will hit you with it soon, but we just saw Governor Brian Schweitzer speak and he is something else. Quoth Matthew: “I like Montana.” Couldn’t agree more.

We’re using the free WiFi at the Best Western in Great Falls, MT so I just uploaded a bunch of new photos and we’ll have the clip of yesterday’s Peter B. Collins call-in up in a minute.

Now on to Missoula! Only 11 days until we change the world (and I get to sleep in my own bed).

-Josh