PhillipsConoco is replacing Coke Drums at their refinery here in Billings, MT. The drums left Lewiston, Idaho in February. The shipment travels approximately 40 miles a night. It has been a controversial trip and its movement was postponed waiting the court outcome. It has also been delayed due to weather. Last Wednesday it was in Helena. We thought it would be in Lewistown today. Not so. They were in Townsend about 30 miles from Helena.
Dan had itchy feet and was craving a road trip. He also was curious about the "Megaload". We made some calls and tracked it down. I took a bunch of pictures of the coke drums. The trip was a little over 200 miles one way.
The ice on the rivers has been breaking up. In some spots the ice is almost completely melted. Yet in places the ice-flows protruded above the water a couple of feet. The road between Townsend and Three Forks is a two lane paved road. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road today. On the way home I was driving when I passed a body of water that was just breaking up. It was a pond running into a creek/ditch that ran alongside the road.
It was then that I saw something I have never seen before. There were two magpies sitting on the edge of the ice drinking the ice cold water. I wanted a picture in the worst way. Unfortunately there was no place to pull over or turn around, to much traffic. It was a memorable glimpse in time.
