A late start this morning.
First up the Canyon Ferry dam about 20 miles southeast of Helena MT.
The lake behind it is huge and full of boats and fishing and stuff. From the ‘front’ it’s not a very impressive dam.
![canyonferry1 canyon ferry dam](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/canyonferry1-400x265.jpg)
To reach the visitors’ center (closed) and an entire suburb of Helena you drive across the dam.
It takes a few minutes to figure out how to get around to the back side of the dam from the visitors’ center. It’s worth a few minutes of wandering around to find this.
![canyonferry2 the back side of canoyon ferry dam](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/canyonferry2-400x265.jpg)
The river downstream of the dam is pretty impressive as well.
![canyonferry3 downstream view of the canyon ferry dam](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/canyonferry3-400x265.jpg)
At the campground ffrom which I took the last picture I was scolded by this starling.
![starling scolding campground starling](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/starling-400x239.jpg)
Leaving the Helena area I took Hwy 12 east. At the left turn of 12 in the Townsend I found the Broadwater County EMS raising money to buy radios and pagers.
![ambfront broadwarter cty ambulance doing double duty as a billboard](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ambfront-400x266.jpg)
If there’s only one stop sign in town that’s where you stand to get the most attention. (That’s the new guy out there looking for money so that he can have a radio too!)
![noob just about everybody gave them at least a couple of bucks.](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/noob-400x266.jpg)
Had a lovely chat with one of the members who was originally from *Snohomish*. He said they tried the traffic stop thing a while ago to hand out applications for EMS/Fire training and people kept trying to give them money. So they’re trying it again.
Stopped for lunch in White Sulfur Springs. The wind was really blowing. I felt the Shark get light a couple of times.
On the way out of town I found this little dam. No name, no nothing. Just a little dam with a shallow lake behind it and not much to speak of in front of it.
![littledam some of the dams aren't so big](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/littledam-400x266.jpg)
Much of 12 runs through cattle country. These windmills broke up the monotony a bit.
![windmills cows and windmills](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/windmills-400x265.jpg)
While I was taking the windmill pictures this lovely fellow was singing at my back.
![meadowlark big sky singer](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/meadowlark-400x295.jpg)
Final stop for the day before heading to the motel was Harlowton. I stopped to use the loo at the park and I found a small town rodeo arena.
These two fellows ran over to great me.
![dogs a coiple of cattle dogs who, briefly, found me interesting](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dogs-400x242.jpg)
But quickly lost interest. The bulls being moved around behind the panels were much more interesting.
![bulls there is a bull in the blue box...](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bulls-400x266.jpg)
I packed it in for a final run to Roundup.
Okay, maybe not. Small towns are full of surprises and here not two blocks from the arena was the last electric locomotive on the Milwaukee Line set up in a pocket park.
![electricloco the last electric locomotive on the milwaukie line](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/electricloco-400x265.jpg)
(Yes, I have a picture of the sign describing the exhibit. I’ll send it to any train nuts who ask.)
Hmm, that’s a lot to say about a day that seemed like it mostly contained this:
![straight-road it's a long way from here to there](http://blackdogandmagpie.net/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/straight-road-266x400.jpg)
Today’s Route:
View It’s a Dam Big Country ‑Day 3 in a larger map
Good to see that you’re having fun!
Am quite jealous in that I’m not out on the road myself.
LOVE that photo of the paint stripe of the road… I’ve got a similar one of my parked sideways across the paint stripe on Highway 50 across Nevada that I’ll need to hunt down now!
Glad I’m not the FNG there… standing on hot blacktop is no fun. Did that four summers; got out of the biz.
Yeesh. Straight *and* double yellow. One or t’other is fine. Both? Think I’d come right out of my gourd after too much of that.
Here is that photo… 🙂 Whee!
http://www.midnightfantasy.com/cyber/trips/MotoGP-2005/DSCF0061.JPG