They eyes sting, the throat is dried. The drought hanging over the prairie is perceptible. As continuing to the south slowly wheat fields appear among the extended pastureland. The grain harvest is partially not yet gathered in in the second half of October, pretty late. Huge grain silo give rise to the supposition that wheat plays a grand role here. Slowly landscape changes, there is a river or lake from time to time that partially allows irrigation. Trees turn up, and some buttes interrupt the monotonous appearance of the prairie. Buttes are eroded table mountains, if they are somewhat bigger they are called mesas. We leave Great Falls, Montanas largest city, on our left. We put up with the short detour to continue in I15 whose route is said to be especially attractive. And really, only miles further, the highway follows the valley of Missouri River into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains that are called Big Mountain Belt. The granite formations are sparsely wooded and soft-focused by erosion. We pass Helena, Montanas capital with 25,000 inhabitants. Again and again snowbirds overtake us, migrants in cars or motorhomes from cooler northern areas like Alberta, British Columbia or Alaska, who hasten away from the winter. Elk Pass guides us to nearly 2,000 m elevation, but it stays warm. Via Butte we eventually land in Bozeman, the last bigger city before Yellowstone National Park, where we want to take some food on our journey.