Cross Country Road-Trip Day 5 (July 6):
Red Lodge, MT to Sturgis, SD.
On July 5 we traveled approximately 265 miles on a tank of gas through the highest elevation of the trip. On the morning of the 6th we had plenty of leftovers to eat for breakfast. After breakfast, Mike and I said our goodbyes, and Nathan and I hit the road. Once we got out of the mountains just past Red Lodge, there was a stark contrast in the landscape. The mountains quickly gave way to high, rolling prairies. Each time we would go over a rise in the road, we would be able to see for miles. One you have been in Eastern Montana, you can easily see why it is called “big sky” country.
Nathan and I drove about 45 minutes before we hit Billings, MT and the interstate. We stayed on I-90 for about 76 miles until we got to the Little Big Horn Battlefield near the junction with 212 and Crow Agency. Nathan and I hit the gas station and got some postcards and souvenirs. We then toured Little Bighorn National Monument before getting some lunch and continuing on our journey. Highway 212 was an undivided 2 lane highway that was a more direct route to Sturgis that would also allow us to go slower than on the interstate and get better mileage. We had 212 Miles to go on Highway 212 between crow agency and when we would get back on I-90 just before Sturgis, SD. Much of the drive was through Indian reservation and isolated prairie, but there were a few towns along the way.
When we got to some of the more isolated stretches of road we started to see antelope. We saw more and more antelope along the way, but none were close enough to get a good picture. We also saw plenty of prairie dogs. We cruised along on 212 for a couple of hours and got to the town of Broadus. I checked the trip computer and compared the mileage to the next town to distance left on the gas in the tank, and the calculations showed we would easily make it to the next town and beyond, so we continued through Broadus, Hammond, and into Alzada. Alzada is a little town in Southeastern Montana near the Northeastern corner of Wyoming and Arizona. There is really nothing out there but Antelope and sagebrush. Our mileage was not doing quite as well as we had been doing earlier on in the day due to a headwind, so the trip computer said we only had 30 miles left on our tank of gas, and we needed to fill-up. I pulled into the gas station, and something looked wrong. They had a pretty modern PB gas station, but the pumps didn’t look like they were working. I went inside and asked. The attendant said they were out of gas. Alzada is the only gas stop for miles in many directions, and three vehicles pulled in looking for gas the same time we were there. These vehicles were going in the other direction where it was about 60 more miles to the next gas. The next town Belle Fourche, was 37 miles from the gas station in Alzada. The trip computer said I had 30 miles left on the tank, and I had a 1 gallon tank in the back for my outboard. I put the extra gallon in my tank, and figured we would have just enough gas to make it to Belle Fourche if I didn’t drive too fast since we had been averaging a little over 8mpg. If we had any trouble I could call my Coachnet roadside assistance service to bring me another gallon or two since we had cell phone service in Alzada.
We got about halfway to Belle Forurche and the truck ran out of gas. Apparently, there was some sort of calibration error on the last few gallons of gas for the trip computer. I picked up my cellphone to get the gas delivered, but I had no signal. Nathan checked his phone, and he had no signal as well. We were stranded, but it was not extremely hot, it was daytime, plus we had a camper with enough water, food, and supplies to last a week.
I grabbed the little gas tank and stood behind the camper on the side of the road. I said to Nathan, “Stand next to me and look non-threatening.” “If we look pathetic enough someone will stop.” We stalled out in a section of road with an exceptionally wide shoulder. My guess is that having folks run out of gas is not uncommon out here, so maybe they built room for stranded vehicles, maybe on this long gradual hill in particular. Nathan and I stood there for several minutes and about 5 cars passed us going in the opposite direction. Finally, a car came by going east. The first car that came by going our way stopped.
Needless to say, I was very happy to get a ride. The folks that picked me up happened to be a family returning from a vacation through Beartooth Pass, where we had been the day before. I told them the story of how Nate and I were going cross country. It turns out the guy that picked me up, Jim Sewart, was the ex-county prosecutor for Butte County South Dakota in Belle Fourche. He called the dispatcher on his cellphone once we got over the next rise in the terrain, and Deputy Sheriff Gary Bruner was waiting at the gas station for me. I got two two gallon tanks full of gas at the station and went back to my rig. We put the gas in the tank and the deputy even followed me into town to make sure we were alright.
Belle Fourche is truly the kind of Midwestern town where people watch out for one another. I need to give out a thanks to Jim Sweart and his family as well as Gary Bruner. Running out of gas only set us behind about 45 minutes, and, more importantly, we were safe. We continued past Belle Fourche for a few more miles until we got back on the interstate. Once we got back on I-90, we only had 20 more miles to go until Sturgis. We got off the interstate and started looking for the Good Sam campground. We drove through town and then out into the countryside. There were plenty of campgrounds that appeared to be unattended. Apparently many farmers convert their fields to campgrounds during the big bike rally. Sturgis is not a big town so I pulled into a gas station to look up the number for the Good Sam RV park and pick up some Sturgis Bike Rally souvenirs. The park manager told us they were right off the interstate. It turns out we drove right by it.
Once we got to the RV park we leveled and unhooked our trailer, and went to a local steakhouse for a nice steak dinner. We drove around town a bit to check out the scene. We could tell the preparations were underway for the bike rally, but the town seemed deserted compared to the commotion during the annual motorcycle rally. For the day we traveled a total of 354miles, not including the miles we drove looking for the campground which was right off the interstate.
Prairie Outside of Red Lodge Eastern Montana
The National Cemetery at Little Big Horn The Custer Monument
The Hills around Little Big Horn Wide Open Eastern Montana
Entering Wyoming The Stretch of Road Where we Ran Out of Gas
The Black Hills of South Dakota