Missouri Breaks has people who call and want to make a trip-usually the White Cliffs trip-but want to share a ride in order to economize. This page is an attempt to bring people together who might want to do just that, share a ride and benefit from the cost savings. A major problem in planning and executing any of these trips is the remoteness of the locations; when you get to Coal Banks Landing you will find it a busy spot in the summer with all sorts of people camping and preparing to set off down river. And that's it. You are 75 miles from Great Falls, 25 from Ft. Benton...15 or so from Big Sandy (pop. maybe 500). There are camping facilities, toilets, and a boat launch ramp. There are NO boat docks, convenience stores etc. So there's not going to be any walk-on traffic looking for a day on the river. And that's how all of the access points on the river are; remote. That's a large part of the allure of the Wild and Scenic Missouri, but it also presents lots of problems.
The '99 season was the first season we experimented with ShareRide and it was pretty successful. Most, but not all, of the people who listed were able to find partners to ShareRide with and they pretty much would all agree it was successful and fun. That year we had about 70% of the listings match up. The match up rate was stable between '00 and '05 at 50% then it began to tail off as less people traveled the river. Less people traveled, period. Why? Montana is the furthest distance from any major market of the states in the Lower 48. Time is money (and it takes time to get here and time to visit once you arrive), and money is money. It isn't cheap. It can't be, by its nature. Say two words, 'gas prices' and you have a big part of the equation.
Interestingly, when we began adding a brief description of the initial people listing like..."an older couple from Timbuktu, interested in birds, history, whatnot want to ShareRide on such and such a date; the gentleman is an ornithologist, the lady works for the British Museum (or whatever it may be )" it attracted similiar people and these ShareRides were more successful in finding matches. Different people would call up and say, "Oh, my wife (or husband) is, again, whatever it may be, and we think that would be fun". And it was. So, call and make your listing. And prepare to meet your fellow traveler(s).
There is one caution however! Once you are selected for a match all parties will be notified and must pay their share of the fare up front i.e. upon notification. Then, there will be a 30 day cancellation time frame. If you cancel 30 days prior to the reserved departure time and date you get your money back. (As does the other party involved unless they want to try and rebook.) But if you don't cancel 30 days prior there will be no refund. The boat is leaving; the money stays with the trip enabling the other party to go on the trip they planned and paid for. That's the only way this will work. If you want to be listed for a ShareRide call (406) 453-3035 with the who, when and where, no emails please. We'll list you and see if we can get a match and you can ShareRide. We have arranged them in chronological order for your convenience.
Our 2008 season listings in chronological order:
Here's our first listing for the year: Christiane is a German native from Berlin, who I somehow convinced to join me in the U.S. in 1966. I was raised in Washington state before serving in Germany as a totally incompetent specialized mechanic for the Army. Christiane and I are now both retired school teachers, in our early sixties. She taught High School Language Arts, German, and French, and I taught middle school American Studies for most of my 35 year career. In the last decade I morphed into our schools "computer guy", eventually becoming the IT manager for our school system. Two daughters, one son-in-law, four grandchildren, and one old and increasingly grumpy Dachshund named Max complete our immediate family. We retired nearly 6 years ago, and have enjoyed it immensely! As our reservation noted, we will be arriving at Virgelle on our friend Harley. During the past five years we have ridden nearly 40,000 miles from one end of the U.S. to another, rides including the complete Alaska Highway in 2006 and Oregon to the Mississippi River in Wisconsin and then down the river to Mississippi and then home again in 2007. We love the rides, the opportunity to see this great nation, and to meet the people along the way.---This trip is booked for a White Cliffs Cruise June 9th, so is a definite go. There are two openings for singles or a couple, the cost to each is $450 and includes all amenities of the Cruise: boat trip thru the White Cliffs June 9, 47 river miles, 2 nights at the Virgelle Merc etc. See our 'River Cruises' Trips page for details.