Westbound on US 2 - Day 11 WILDFIRE SMOKE TURNAROUND in Montana!!!

We left Little Egypt County Park in North Dakota, and headed further west. Stopped in Williston to fuel up. Prices were a little higher for fuel than they were in the Eastern part of the state for diesel. $3.74 a gallon, but that was premium diesel. We prefer to run premium diesel if it's available. 

We headed west and crossed into Montana, and things got pretty flat...  Big Sky country for sure.

Off to the North and the West, the wildfire smoke was getting thicker and darker.

We started pulling up some of the wildfire smoke warnings and the air quality reports being issued. This is basically the direction we were going... Right into the worst of it!

We cruised along, merrily enjoying the smoother roads and the gently rolling landscape.  Montana's roads were definitely in better shape than what they were in North Dakota. We encountered very little road construction. Most of it was already done with smooth roads ahead.

We saw some really pretty terrain, through the smoke haze, and wished the sun had been out to really see the details and the landscape.

We saw little vignettes in the countryside, like this little church. Perhaps it had been a school? I think it was a church because of the windows.  Made us think of the people who came through this area long ago. The hardships they suffered to get this far. Then to create a community and find a way to scrape out a living or achieve sustenance. And still have time to gather and worship and erect a building for meeting. The heart of the community.

Well, as long as we stayed inside the motorhome with the air conditioning on, creating a positive pressure outwards, we weren't smelling too much of the smoke. But when we would stop to fuel up, or walk the dog, the smoke was very heavily present in the air. 

For those of you who don't know, I had severe lung damage from a chemical spill years ago. I was on oxygen for many years. I've worked very hard to get my lungs to the point where they operate fully without needing assistance. I did use my inhaler three or four times during the day just to try to keep my airways open and functioning. I was not comfortable.

We had set our sights on going to Fort Peck Corps of Engineers Campground in Montana. We were checking the maps of ongoing wildfires in the area to the West and the North. That seemed to be where most of the wind was coming from. Things did not look good at all!  The air quality index was through the roof for any place we were thinking about going.

On top of the poor air quality, the other thing we were battling were the temperatures. Everything was going up up, and according to the weather channel they were going to see unseasonably warm high temperatures in the Montana and Oregon regions for the next two to three weeks.

What does that mean for us? It means staying inside with the air conditioning on and not even being able to boondock camp anywhere. It would mean that we would have to be in a park with electrical hookups, or run the generator constantly to have the air conditioning on.

We decided to forge ahead to Fort Peck Corps of Engineers Park. We had made reservations there for two nights. It is located down in a valley area right next to the dam. It's called the Downstream Campground.  We were hoping it would be a secluded area where the smoke would not bother us so much. 

It was a very nice campground with electric at our site for $25. After applying our Federal America the Beautiful Senior Pass, it was only $12.50 per night.

We tried to walk around a little bit. Just up to the attendant's booth by the host site and back. That was enough for me. The temperatures were increasing and it really was not very comfortable at all.

We stayed inside with the dog, and did a little internet research. The more we look ahead at weather and air quality, the less it looked like we would be able to continue our journey west.

We didn't even cook outside. I whipped up a meal of spaghetti and meatballs on the stove.  I'm glad I brought a variety of foods in the freezer, some that can be made inside and some that can be cooked outside on the Blackstone griddle.

We crawled into bed that night, hoping that maybe things would change in the morning. 

First thing looking out our window, we could barely see the edge of the dam and the distance. It's right at the edge of the campground. I think it got worse overnight.

These are the two towers by the electric generation plant, right next to the campground. We could barely see them through the haze.

So between the high temperatures and the wildfire smoke, we made the tough decision to abort the rest of our trip Westbound on US 2. 

As we were packing up, I made this little video about our decision. We did not make this decision lightly. We had really been looking forward to this trip.  

We notified the office that we would not need our campsite for the next night. That way somebody else could get it if they needed to. It was time to turn around and head back towards Wisconsin.

And if you think we are taking this wildfire smoke too dramatically, here is a shot of what it was like as we headed back...

We traveled 174 miles this day 

1,122 miles so far. 

Fueled up at $3.69 a gallon

We were fighting a headwind and side wind. 12.71 MPG