Day Forty-one

Things aren’t going well in Montana so far. We never did find a pizza place in Wolf Point, and ended up getting some bad Chinese food. Went back to the tent after that, and I tried to get some sleep, but apparently someone was having a birthday party/cookout and had rented the pool for an enormous group of kids (our tent was right next to the pool and cookout). Some of the boys decided to mess with the tent when Chuck was away, chatting with 2 female bikers heading to Wisconsin. We had the windows open in the tent because it gets pretty stuffy in there, and the breeze is nice. The boys all took turns looking in the windows, and then pushed each other into the tent. I said, “Hey! I’m trying to sleep.” They said, “Oh, you’re trying to sleep?” and I said, “Yes, thanks.” That’s when they really started in on me. Shouting and prodding at the tent and taking turns looking in the windows. I tried to ignore them and prayed for Chuck to come back. He finally did, and he zipped up the windows and scared them off, but I was pretty fed up with Wolf Point…at that point.

Chuck came in a little while after that, and we just laid there for a while. Finally, I said, “Chuck, I really can’t wait to get out of Wolf Point.” He said, “We don’t have to wait, we can go now.” That sounded good to me, since I would have been worried about the kids coming back and wouldn’t have slept well. We drove to the next town and I tried to sleep, but I’m not one of those that can sleep in a car. When we got there, no one would help us with a place to sleep. I broke down crying in the lobby of a hotel (I seem to be making a habit of that). I didn’t blame the girl at the desk; she did everything she could. But $65.00 for a room or $30.00 to set up our tent behind the hotel was just too much for us. That was as low as she could go. A really cheap looking motel across the street said they couldn’t go any lower than $65.00 either. We gave up on motels and set up the tent in the dark in a little park with picnic tables, but no bathroom.

We were able to get some sleep there, despite the trains going by. I helped Chuck pack up the tent in the morning. We had breakfast in Malta, at a great place called the Hitching Post (Sideways fans?). Chuck said his pancake was one of the best he’s ever had (the best would be his own, of course.) My mushroom omelet was very good and I loved the hash browns, but the toast was practically soggy with butter, ewww. We chatted with a young married couple biking from Sacramento to Chicago. They had some tips for going over the Rockies. I hope Chuck was listening, because most of it went right over my head. They were having a good time, and we exchanged blog links.

After breakfast, we stopped at a coffee shop to try to get wifi since the library was closed. I was able to, but it wouldn’t work for Chuck’s Mac. We stayed there for quite a while, Chuck working on his music and me chatting on Facebook and blogging. We decided to try and find a place to stay in Malta for the night. We stopped at a motel called the “Maltana” (cute name) and the lady there was very nice, but she said they were full for the night. I guess Malta, Montana is a popular tourist destination on a Monday night! (If you saw the town, you’d see the irony in that statement) She suggested we try the Great Northern Hotel. Keep in mind, it was around 10:00 in the morning. Chuck waited in the car while I went in. I talked to someone at the desk, I think he might have been the manager. I showed him the newspaper article and told him about our experience in Wolf Point. He offered us a room for free and said we could check in right away. I shook his hand and thanked him whole-heartedly. I guess it really is darkest before the dawn. The room is beautiful, and the shower was the best I ever had (well…it sure felt that way). We made some tuna sandwiches for lunch after going for a walk around town.

Chuck’s snoring away and I’m taking a much needed break, watching my favorite shows on the Food Network. Life is good! We found a pizza place in town, so we’ll see how they do a pizza in Malta, Montana. Back on the road tomorrow, and the forecast looks good, except for a strong wind from the west. I know, you told me so… Stay tuned!