And Now Montana: Friday, July 8, 2011

I woke up this morning to the sound of some stupid birds calling to each other.  They sounded like they were about three feet tall and standing directly outside my tent.  I love animals but they were testing my limits.  It was 5:41 AM.  I kept falling back to sleep until I got up around 10:30 to the sound of other campers throwing stuff.  Apparently, in the great state of Idaho, the game of corn-hole has been modified.  These people had the two wooden boards (seems norm, right?) and instead of trying to put bags full of corn into a hole they had sheet-metal squares that just had to hit the board to count for a point.  If it stuck, you got three points.  So I hear bang (and then laughter) and then bang, etc etc. until I realize that the world is done with me sleeping. 

The weather was great today on the road.  No rain.  At one point, I looked at my mileage and realized I was close to the 5,000 mile mark for the trip.  At 5,000 miles I stopped the car and shot a quick video (see below).  I couldn't make this next part up if I tried... when I started the car, the check engine light came on.  Really?? The car was driving the same and I thought what could I really do out in the middle of nowhere anyway so I kept driving.  I figured when I got to Missoula, Montana (the next big town I would come across) I would swing into the Ford dealer.  I got there and pulled into the service bay and told them I am passing through and my check engine light had just come on and could they just read the code to make sure it wasn't something major.  The guy at the desk went to find a mechanic and then came back and said they were all busy but they could check it Monday morning.  Are you serious?  Thanks Bitterroot Motors, you a**holes.  It would have taken 5-10 minutes.

So I drive a block down and come to an O'Reilys Auto Parts store.  I figure they can check the code.  I ask the guy there and he asks me if I have a credit card.  I say yeah.  I give it to him and he pulls out the scanner and tells me to go do it myself.  The credit card was so I didn't take off with the reader.  So I hunt all around the car and can't find the plug.  I even called Charlie at Paul's Garage back in Dayton to see if he knows where it is.  I finally just gave up.  The guy at the Ford dealer said it was probably just an emissions code.  By evening time, the check engine light was off.   

I crossed into Montana and realized they aren't messing around with wimpy speed limits.  The posted speed limit on this two lane road in the mountains was 70!  In Idaho, it was 55.  Nicely done, Montana!  For dinner, I threw in the towel for eating healthy and went to a bar-b-que place and ordered a pulled pork sandwich, fries, and corn bread.  And it was amazing.

Mileage: Starting 77,208 & Ending 77,543= 335 miles
Stayed in Bozeman, Montana
States Visited: Idaho, Montana

5,000 mile mark for the trip:

The campsite.  The tent was set up in front of the car but I moved it to dry it:

Here is the tent drying in the sun (and the pool in the background):

Here is a still shot of the 5,000 mile mark of the trip:

Some people going down the river.  It looked like a blast:

Montana...need I say more:

I saw this on the way to dinner.  What a nice set of wheels.  You can see the Cobra in the background:

And a convertible Porsche 911 was behind it:

For those that don't know the make and model of the car... the license plate says it all: