Who has traveled on Highway 89 South? (Billings, Great Falls: houses, moving, trailer) - Montana (MT) - City-Data Forum

MSPLove · 09-01-2010, 10:57 AM

South through Monarch, Neihart, White Sulphur Springs, etc.?
I've never been that way before. Is it a nice smooth road?

Drove to Browning yesterday to take care of something, then decided to spend the day in Helena. A little out of the way, but why not? I thought it would be a fun diversion to get out of Great Falls for the day, and it was, but it had another effect on me that I didn't expect - it made me even more homesick for Wisconsin. But it reminded me this state is so spread out and just... not my cup of tea..

The idea was to appreciate the state's beauty that I don't normally see, in addition to a change of scenery. But I don't know. Now I'm kinda thinking I just wanna get home.

You see originally the idea was interstate all the way. Slightly out of the way through Helena and Butte, then east through Wyoming and SD. I'm pretty sure I'm going to forgo that now though. (It's all my call. I've got help for the move, but I'm planning and paying for everything.)

So what is Highway 89 like? Is that very scenic?
Because that's another possibility. Yet another possibility is to just do the standard route through North Dakota, and skip the sightseeing.

Reziac · 09-01-2010, 09:40 PM

Been a long time (1980ish), but once in a while I'd take 89 from Bozeman to Great Falls, just to do something different. It's about the same distance, but takes a good hour longer, being vastly more this way and that, up hill and down dale (the pass at King's Hill is almost 7400') and of course any time you have a 2-lane road in steep country, sooner or later you're gonna be stuck behind someone who's struggling to get that load up the pass. It was all 2-lane last time I went that way, dunno about now. I don't recall any atrociously rough stretches, but that depends a lot on the previous winter's freeze/thaw cycles, so can change from year to year.

If you like trees and mountains it's certainly more scenic, and more rustic when there is a town (er, wide spot). If you want a little side trip, drive up to the ghost town of Hughesville, east of Monarch. We used to go picnicking up there when I was a kid. About halfway between Monarch and Belt there's a pipe sticking out of the mountain where people can get drinking water when the GtF city water gets the Spring Browns. Gods know where it comes from or where it's been, but we drank from it often enough and never died.

MSPLove · 09-02-2010, 02:04 AM

Hmm. Interesting. I would love a scenic trip but I wouldn't want my mom to be struggling too much with the U-Haul trailer on that highway. She's pulling my stuff with her SUV. And of course I'll be carrying some stuff in my car too. I don't have a LOT of stuff. But enough. Will have to research this a little more. May just end up going through Lewistown then maybe down through Roundup, then down onto the freeway.

I've decided we ARE going to go through South Dakota. Because I want to see more of Wyoming and South Dakota, but part of the plan also is to stop in La Crosse, Wisconsin. If we go through South Dakota it's pretty much a straight shot there, whereas if we do our old North Dakota route, we'd be going a little out of the way to get to La Crosse.

I've never been to that town before and I've read such good things, and the pics are gorgeous. I would consider a move there if I liked it. (The sky's the limit once I get back there. I'm settling in my hometown for a while but after that, who knows?) So I suggested, "Why don't we stop in La Crosse? It wouldn't be too far out of the way." So that's what we're doing. We're just going to check it out, bum around a little bit. My mom is pretty sure she hasn't been there either. Then we'll head a little bit north from there... and I'll be home.

Reziac · 09-02-2010, 07:06 AM

Oh... if you're towing, no, absolutely don't go over King's Hill! you'd probably have to get out and push. The scenery isn't really any different from what you'll see going through Lewistown anyway.

If you're going to do a little touring, go south from Billings to Sheridan (ask Elk about the big hill on the MT/WY border tho -- I'm not sure how practical that long long grade will be for you), east to Gillette, and from there it's only a little out of your way to see Devil's Tower (the road is good from Gillette to there, and reasonably flat, and it's real pretty through there) and Mount Rushmore. I can't tell you what the road is like from Devil's Tower eastward tho, since I haven't been that way.

[thinking] It might be shorter and more trailer-friendly to go through Broadus (that's how I went when I had to go to the east end of SD), drop your trailer in Spearfish or Rapid City SD, then make a day trip to see the various Monuments. Two-lane road but I don't recall any drastic steepness, and hardly any traffic. The reservation is kinda ghetto in spots (mainly just big gov't-built houses in a state of terminal neglect, scattered here and there along the road), but no need to stop along there anyway.

Once you get past the Black Hills, SD is flat as a board all the way across, except for a huge dip at the Missouri River -- it's almost like a comic-book canyon. LONG grade down to the river, LONG grade back up to the plains. And not much to see along the road (ND is frankly a lot more interesting and prettier), but do stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, and get yourself a copy of its history DVD.

Reziac · 09-02-2010, 07:08 AM

BTW would you please shorten up your status line? It's forcing overwidth on the forum window and that messes it up for anyone without a wide screen. Thanks!

And we'll expect a trip report, in total detail.

MSPLove · 09-02-2010, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reziac

BTW would you please shorten up your status line? It's forcing overwidth on the forum window and that messes it up for anyone without a wide screen. Thanks!

And we'll expect a trip report, in total detail.

Really? I have a small screen and it doesn't affect mine. Okie doke. I'll think of something.

MSPLove · 09-02-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reziac

Oh... if you're towing, no, absolutely don't go over King's Hill! you'd probably have to get out and push. The scenery isn't really any different from what you'll see going through Lewistown anyway.

If you're going to do a little touring, go south from Billings to Sheridan (ask Elk about the big hill on the MT/WY border tho -- I'm not sure how practical that long long grade will be for you), east to Gillette, and from there it's only a little out of your way to see Devil's Tower (the road is good from Gillette to there, and reasonably flat, and it's real pretty through there) and Mount Rushmore. I can't tell you what the road is like from Devil's Tower eastward tho, since I haven't been that way.

[thinking] It might be shorter and more trailer-friendly to go through Broadus (that's how I went when I had to go to the east end of SD), drop your trailer in Spearfish or Rapid City SD, then make a day trip to see the various Monuments. Two-lane road but I don't recall any drastic steepness, and hardly any traffic. The reservation is kinda ghetto in spots (mainly just big gov't-built houses in a state of terminal neglect, scattered here and there along the road), but no need to stop along there anyway.

Once you get past the Black Hills, SD is flat as a board all the way across, except for a huge dip at the Missouri River -- it's almost like a comic-book canyon. LONG grade down to the river, LONG grade back up to the plains. And not much to see along the road (ND is frankly a lot more interesting and prettier), but do stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, and get yourself a copy of its history DVD.

Okay, Lewistown it is. But we can't drop our trailer before the end of the trip. lol

Still thinking of just doing the usual North Dakota route. Taking 94 all the way down through The Cities and going a little out of the way to La Crosse, then back up. Moving is stressful enough, we have a small rig (it'd be different if we didn't), and... who needs unpredictability? I'm kinda feeling like... let's leave the sight-seeing for another time. My mom and I keep talking about how I can fly out of Minneapolis, she can fly out of Great Falls and we can just meet up somewhere sometime for a vacation.

Okay, back to Rand McNally...

Plus I admit I kinda like the North Dakota route because it's like "ugly.. ugly.. more ugly... ooh, getting pretty... we're home!"

Reziac · 09-02-2010, 05:58 PM

Likely more practical, for sure. As you say moving takes so much out of you, trying to vacation at the same time can be counterproductive. "What do you mean, we're supposed to go view this tourist trap today? We could make 400 miles down the Interstate instead!"

I agree with your mom, it'd be better to set up a vacation at your leisure, rather than just trying to hit a couple high spots in passing.

Reziac · 09-02-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minnesconsinite

Really? I have a small screen and it doesn't affect mine. Okie doke. I'll think of something.

I used "small" as a generic, but what I meant was anyone using a window width of 800 pixels (as is so for many mobile devices and many regular monitors used by elderly eyes). Anyway, fixed, thanks!

And it now reminds me of this reputedly-true tale from the 1970s:

A fellow with a fetish for saving and labeling everything died and his relatives were cleaning out his house. It was stuffed to the gills with things like a tidy stack of flattened cardboard boxes, labeled "Boxes" and a huge (6 feet across) ball of string, perfectly wrapped and labeled "String". Next to that was a large box full of very short pieces of string, labeled "Pieces too small to save".

.

MSPLove · 09-03-2010, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reziac

And it now reminds me of this reputedly-true tale from the 1970s:

A fellow with a fetish for saving and labeling everything died and his relatives were cleaning out his house. It was stuffed to the gills with things like a tidy stack of flattened cardboard boxes, labeled "Boxes" and a huge (6 feet across) ball of string, perfectly wrapped and labeled "String". Next to that was a large box full of very short pieces of string, labeled "Pieces too small to save".

.

Haha.... hoarders. I love those hoarding shows. I need to see if any new ones recorded... *checks DVR* I shouldn't laugh at those people, but...

I read that story too but I read it out of Reminisce magazine.