Day 22 July 1, 2016 Great Falls, Mt. to Fort Benton, Mt. 50.9 miles

Crossing the Missouri River into Fort Benton 

Highwood Road

Another beautiful day, and we were ready to get going after a day off and a pizza dinner we had delivered to the campground  (talk about luxury camping!). We were at the edge of town, so we didn't have to deal with traffic, and soon we turned onto Highwood Road, which we practically had to ourselves. More big sky, big hills, and and a road  that seemed to go on forever. It was great. We arrived in Highwood just as Elmo's Highwood Bar opened for lunch, and there was actually a grilled chicken sandwich on the menu! A delicacy in these parts where everything in restaurants is fried, even cheesecake!  The woman working there told us that once we climbed the 'bench,' we'd have easy riding into Fort Benton. Benches are ridges that are all over the place, left behind from the ancient glaciers and floods.  And since Fort Benton is on the Missouri River, the last few miles were downhill.
Fort Benton is considered the birthplace of Montana, and there is a lot of history here, mostly because it's the farthest west on the Missouri that steamboats could travel. There are three museums, one about agriculture on the northern high plains, which was surprisingly interesting. Being from Kansas, we learned about the dust bowl in Kansas and Oklahoma,  but Montana was  also greatly affected;  one about the fort ( named after Thomas Hart Benton because he was an advocate of westward expansion), and one about the town itself.
A funny story about how sometimes it's an advantage to be old. Admission to one museum was good for all three. And my senior parks pass got me a discount,  so it only cost me $8. Dave came in later,  and when the teenager working at the desk told Dave about the discount, he thought the kid was saying it was free, so he said thanks and went on. We figured the young man thought Dave was a confused old man and decided to let him go on. Later,  when Dave realized his mistake, he tried to pay, but the kid said it was ok.

Mountains to the south as we ride to Highwood