Near the end of August, we decided to take a trip to Montana and North Dakota, aiming to finish both states. On a Saturday morning, we hopped on a flight to Bozeman. After picking up our Toyota Corolla from the airport car rental agency, we made a quick stop at McDonald’s for some breakfast—and we were off.
We began our journey east on I-90. About 30 miles out of
town, our car started beeping unexpectedly. Unsure what was wrong, we pulled
over and found the front hood partially open. One quick slam fixed it, and the
incessant beeping finally stopped. Thank goodness! With that behind us, we
continued on our way.
We exited at Big Timber and headed north until we reached
Hwy 12. From there, we continued east to Roundup. Next, we turned north on Hwy
97 and entered Petroleum County, our first new county of the trip. Continuing
north, we arrived in Winnett, where we stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at
the Winnett Bar & Grill. After our meal, we took Hwy 200 east through
Garfield and McCone Counties—our last two counties of the day. Finally, we
proceeded to our hotel, the Hampton Inn & Suites in Dickinson, ND, with a
brief stop to enter the southern portion of Theodore Roosevelt National Park,
where we were treated to thousands of prairie dogs.
On Sunday, we started out heading east on I-94 for a couple
of hours before picking up lunch at McDonald’s in Bismarck. From there, we
stair-stepped our way toward the Devils Lake area in the middle of North
Dakota. After entering Benson County, we crossed the lake into Ramsey County,
then traveled east on Hwy 2 for about 20 miles to reach Nelson County’s border.
Doubling back west, we returned to Devils Lake. Next, we continued north on Hwy
20 to Cavalier County, shifting west on Hwy 66 near Calio, which took us
through both Towner and Rolette Counties. At this point, we altered our route
on the fly. Although this added time to that day, it saved about an hour the
next. Winding west via various roads, we collected Bottineau and Renville
Counties before joining Hwy 83 and heading south to Minot, where we spent the
night at the Hyatt House. Dinner that night was at the Kainan Filipino
Restaurant.
Monday began with us heading northwest out of Minot on Hwy
52 toward Powers Lake and Burke County, then continuing west to enter Williams
County. Nearing the Montana border at Grenora, we took a side trip about a mile
north to pick up Divide County—our final North Dakota county, which also made
it our 37th completed state. With North Dakota finished, we returned and
crossed into Montana and Sheridan County. Since roads in this part of Montana
are scarce, we had to take Hwy 5 up and around to enter Daniels County. At
Scobey, we turned south onto Hwy 13 for Roosevelt County. Reaching Hwy 2, we
spent a few more hours heading west, passing through Valley, Phillips, Blaine,
and Hill Counties. Just a few miles into Hill County, we stopped at Taco John’s
for dinner. Finally, we retired to our hotel, the Best Western Plus Havre.
On Tuesday, we headed west out of Havre on Hwy 2, entering
Liberty County. We passed through Chester and turned south on Hwy 223,
eventually reaching Choteau County—our last new county of the trip and our
final one in Montana. After having lunch at Smoked. in Great Falls, we drove to
our hotel, the Home2 Suites in Bozeman. The following morning, we flew back
home.
When it was all said and done, we’d picked up 23 new
counties and completed two more states, bringing our total to 38. This was our
final planned county-collecting trip for 2025. Looking ahead to 2026, there
will be an Alaskan cruise—and who knows what else, so stay tuned!
