the northward trek – day 2

Our day started out foggy and cool. This is Scottsbluff minus the top half.

Other than an hour break for lunch (and a couple of diesel fill-ups), we were in the seats of our determined vehicles the rest of the day. It’s absolutely a miracle the wheels can turn on those trucks and pickups (and van) so many times and not have one excuse to stop. The prayers were felt and much appreciated! The traffic seemed to be more than usual today. Even the more desolate road going through Montana had more traffic than I’ve ever seen. Not all drivers practice good judgement when passing our train. This is one reason a person has to remain on your toes at all times. The people who are in a hurry and put out with the fact that we’re on the same road as they are will take chances that shouldn’t be taken. It’s usually us who have to make adjustments in our driving so a mishap doesn’t occur. Most people’s level of patience is usually not enough when they find themselves behind our string of vehicles. I can’t imagine what it would be like with a large crew!

A brief (donut) break in Hemingford, Nebraska.

Our day began in Scottsbluff, NE at 6:30 a.m. and came to a final stop at 7:30 p.m. in Miles City, Montana – 85 miles short of our final destination of Jordan.

We stopped at the Montana state line to put a banner and strobe light on the dually to act as a pilot car for the Beast.

One of the better part of the day was running into our longtime harvest friends, Bruce and Leigh Krumbach. They are headed for Circle and left Chadron just shortly before we drove through there this morning. We ended up meeting them at a truck stop just outside of Hot Springs. We were able to have about an hour with them while both groups ate sandwiches made from our trailers. It’s always a bit of a treat to run into friends along the route. We’ve known the Krumbachs since the summer of 1990. We met them while they were camped in “our” trailer park in Lodgepole, NE.  Our kids grew up with each other on the road. Now, they’re all getting married and having kids of their own. I think Leigh and I were both in dire need of a few minutes of girl talk!

We left at the same time and I think we were all hoping we could continue our visit this evening when we would have to shut down for the day. Unfortunately, they had an incident occur which put them behind us and they only made it as far as Broadus for the night. Darn it!

The traditional picture with the Broadus, Montana sign.

I was glad to see the sun starting to go down. This meant the day would soon be over. The combine can’t travel after sundown. Because we knew we wouldn’t have a good place to pull over for the night between Miles City and Jordan, we called it a day once we got to Miles. Everyone was beat and more than ready to grab a bite to eat and settle in for the night.

In the morning, we’ll continue on our way north while Chanse breaks away from the group and heads back home to Colorado. I hope he knows just how much we appreciate him taking his time to do this for us. I can’t explain to you what it means not to have to make that trip back to Colorado and then back to Jordan again. This was a real treat. And…we have enjoyed his company so much! I wish you a safe trip back home, Chanse! Thank you so much for all your help and your willingness to go the extra mile if that’s what it took. God bless you and hope to see you again real soon!