Day Forty-eight

Those Adventure Cycling Association guys really know what they’re doing. The route from Eureka, down Route 36 along Lake Koocanusa is absolutely gorgeous. It’s perfect for biking too, with a nice, wide shoulder and not much traffic. And the lake is almost as beautiful as Glacier. The ride was exactly what I was looking for: mild climbs with lots of fast, scenic downhill runs.

I rode almost 70 miles today, which is pretty impressive, considering I got kind of a late start. Unfortunately, our air mattress has developed a slow leak. We always pump it up right before bed, but lately by morning, it’s almost completely flat. Since we’re on the tail end of the journey, we’ll just deal with it for now. But that may have something to do with our decision to find a cheap motel tonight. We packed everything up fairly quickly, but it rained last night, so a lot of our stuff was wet. The tent would have to be spread out so it could dry out.

We drove into Eureka to find a place to have breakfast, and we found a good one that had very reasonable prices. It was called Jax’s, and we sat down at the bar. Once again, we had a really good cup of Montana coffee. Chuck ordered a pancake, and I had 2 eggs over easy, 3 little biddy pancakes, and a lot of hashbrowns and the whole thing came to $10.00. I thought that was pretty darn good.

We stopped in at a health food store, partly because we were so thrilled to find one, and partly because we needed a few things. I was completely out of snacks for my bike. I bought a few Clif bars and some electrolyte chews that were on sale, and turned out to be totally yummy. Wish I had more! We also bought some jasmine soap.

I set out towards Libby and Chuck said he’d leave Eureka in about 2 hours, since we knew we would not have cell phone coverage around the lake. It was a beautiful ride and at one point, I looked over to my right, towards a ravine and couldn’t believe what I saw. It was a bald eagle, sitting on a branch over the ravine. It was pretty far away, but I took some pictures, and I think you’ll be able to see it when I zoom in on my computer. That was a thrill.

Chuck pulled up around 12:30 for a lunch break. He brought a veggie burger and a fantastic huckleberry malt. It was just what I needed. I inhaled it, and kept on riding. Chuck didn’t go far ahead of me, since we had no cell phone. He wanted to make sure I was OK (sweet).

We met up again at the Libby Dam, pretty impressive. The visitor center was on the other side, though, and we didn’t feel like going over. On to Libby! We stopped at a “cheap” motel, the Evergreen. I told him about my ride and he had me fill out the registration card. I said, “Before I fill this out, how much is the room?” He said, “$65” We both looked at each other. “That’s just too much.” He said he’d go down $10. I said, “How about $20?” and he agreed. Judging by the place, $40 is where he should have started. We had a lot of cable channels, but the wifi did not work, the bed was REALLY uncomfortable, and we couldn’t get the A/C working. The guy at the office had just bought the motel 4 days before we got there, and wasn’t familiar with the area at all. We went to a store down the road and the lady there was incredibly nice. She said we simply HAD to go down Route 56. We didn’t realize our route already took us that way. And she recommended a Mexican place down the road that had “ginormous” plates of food. We went down there and had a pretty decent dinner: shrimp enchiladas with rice and beans.

Went back to the hotel and watched my favorite shows on the Food Network and Travel Channel and went to bed too late. Oh, well.

Day Forty-seven

The riding is coming much easier now. I’m really in the groove, but it was hard to tear myself away from Whitefish! I really love that town. I got the same feeling I had when I saw Burlington for the first time. Today I rode from Whitefish, almost to Eureka. We felt we should do a night of free camping after our night in the luxurious Grouse Mountain Lodge. So now we are as remote as remote can be.

We just followed the sign for a campground off Route 93, after trying a few places that were full, and now here we are. I’ll be honest, I’m a little worried about visits from the local wildlife out here. We’re REALLY off the main road, camped by a raging river with water the temperature of…well, snow. We’ve got the tent all set up, and Chuck’s trying to get a fire started. We’ve both been dying for a fire; back home, we have one almost every day! We started the day in Whitefish with breakfast in a downtown café, since the hotel restaurant was pretty expensive and the menu didn’t thrill us. The café was awesome!! I love the Montana brand coffee, and we shared the best veggie eggs benedict we’ve ever had. Oh yeah, Whitefish. We’ll be back.

Went back to the hotel to check out and I (finally) updated my blog. Chuck did some laundry while I headed out. It was a beautiful, sunny, hot, windy day. I really can’t believe how much good weather I’ve had on this trip. I’ve been very lucky. Right now it’s a little cloudy, not bad, about 70 degrees. The fire’s blazing away and it feels good.

Our night in Whitefish was very special. We had some sushi, something I haven’t had for the whole trip, and then some Italian for dinner. I had spinach gnocchi and Chuck had some angel hair pasta with picholine olives and shrimp. He liked the dish, but didn’t care for the olives (I was happy to take care of that). We went to watch some live music and it was fantastic, but I knew Chuck would have liked to join them. Unfortunately, they did not have a keyboard for him.

We took the shuttle back to the hotel and went for a swim in the pool, sat in the hot tub and then sat in the sauna. I can take saunas or leave them, but Chuck loves them. The hotter the better. When we bought our house, we had plans to install one in the basement. I’d love to see that happen sometime in the next year or so. I want to make a lot of things happen when we get back. I’m filled with a new motivation.

Chuck managed to get a really good fire going. It’s so nice to sit around the campfire, especially since the bugs are really not that bad here. Even though it’s pretty warm out, a fire just feels really good, and it’s especially nice with a river in the background flowing strong. The sound is very soothing. We took out the Jet Boil and made a dinner out of a garlic noodle soup bowl and peanut butter on bread. It was really good, but I think everything tastes better when you’re camping. I was actually craving a smore, and I don’t like marshmallows, chocolate or graham crackers much. They’re just so good when you have them all together!

We were lucky enough to have the entire campground to ourselves (did I mention this place is really in the middle of nowhere?) so it was absolutely quiet, except for the river. We settled in, all cozy in our little tent, each of us bundled up in our sleeping bags, since the nights have been pretty cold lately.

Day Forty-six

This was a day that will live in my memory for the rest of my life. I was a little disappointed when I found out that Don and Bob would be staying in St. Mary for another day, so I would be riding through Glacier on my own, but it turned out to be the right thing. We said good-bye last night, since I needed to get an early start. Chuck drove me to the lodge, and I had a coffee and a muffin. I went through the gate to Glacier National Park.

It was a little cloudy, but it was apparent that it wouldn’t last long. The ride began with some mild climbs, and the scenery was just breathtaking. I stopped to take pictures (see my Facebook page). The weather was perfect, almost no wind, and a little cool. I wore my “Showers Pass” jacket which was just right for the conditions. Since it was Saturday, there were a lot of cars entering the park, but they were considerate for the most part, giving me space. I was amazed to find that I was the only biker heading up to Logan Pass (at that time). I didn’t realize I would be riding for about 13 miles before I actually got to the pass. Chuck had planned to meet me at 8:30, and I started riding at 7:00.

I passed someone taking pictures with a really nice camera, so I figured he was a good person to ask to take my picture (shown above). I don’t know if I can put this experience into words. I’m not sure I have the writing skill. Riding my bike through Glacier was just a life-changing experience. If you’ve done it, you know what I mean. Everyone should see Glacier, and I think the best way to see it is on a bike. You miss a lot when you drive through. I could smell the trees and hear the animals, and I was able to appreciate the mountains. I was so taken aback by the beauty of it all, and I started to think about my dad and this ride, and how much I miss him. Then I just couldn’t stop crying. Mostly, they were happy tears. I’ve come so far in my life, and this is such a great experience. I thought to myself, “How can anyone complain about their life when we live in a world as beautiful as this?”

Chuck met up with me at Piegan Pass. He got out of the car and said, “Hey, how’s it going?” and then he saw the tears. He got a concerned look on his face, “Honey, are you OK?” I said, “Yes, I just can’t stop crying. Have you ever felt like you were EXACTLY where you were SUPPOSED to be?” and he replied, “Yes, I have. I know what you mean.” And he hugged me tight.

I headed up Piegan Pass without hesitation. I didn’t want this experience to end. I was actually a little disappointed when I reached Logan Pass. I had thought there would be more climbing, but that was the highest point for me. The ride over Logan Pass is MUCH more difficult when you come from the other side. I’m not going to lie to you; without realizing it, I had taken the easy way! I was rewarded for all those miles on this trip of biking into the wind. This was my reward!! 12 miles downhill. It was the wildest, most thrilling ride I’ve ever known. I was careful not to go too fast, since there was some construction and taking a spill on that road could quite possibly be fatal. For those 12 miles, I don’t think I could have wiped the grin off my face if I tried. It was stuck there. I let out a few screams (when there was no one around) too. I felt bad when I passed bikers coming the other way, but they smiled at me because they knew how much fun I was having. Chuck met me at Sprague Campground and had to give me a ride for 7 miles because that section of road was closed to bikers. We stopped for a fantastic veggie wrap at a restaurant in Apgar. I continued on my way to Whitefish. It was a great day of riding. I was feeling strong and it was really nice to go downhill for a change!

Chuck and I instantly fell in love with Whitefish. It’s a great community, full of awesome restaurants, lots of live music and you can see the mountains from wherever you are. Our good friends Steve and Andrea put us up at the Grouse Mountain Lodge. It was beyond fabulous. We took the free shuttle into town and just drank in the atmosphere. I really hate to leave this town. We will DEFINITELY be back. (How’s that?)

Day Forty-five

Got up at 5:30 this morning, and went looking for something to eat. Most everything was closed, so we grabbed a cup of coffee and a pre-packaged muffin at the gas station. Sat in the parking lot at McDonald’s and mooched some free wifi.

When we got back to the campground, Don and Bob were up. They had already packed up their stuff, and just needed to have something to eat before we headed on to St. Mary, our stopping point for the day. It’s off the ACA route, but we wanted to stay close to the entrance to Glacier National Park. That way, first thing in the morning, we could head up to Logan Pass and then down to Whitefish. That was the plan, anyway.

Bob wanted to get some breakfast at McDonald’s, so I went with him and had a hash brown and some OJ. Don showed up a little while later and we started out on the road. Happily, it started with a downhill run. I waved to Chuck who was sitting up on the cliff by a giant metal statue of Jesus. I wish I had a picture of that, but he took a picture of me with his phone. Can’t wait to see how that turned out. The winds weren’t bad in the beginning and we went along at a pretty good pace. After a while, I needed a bathroom break, and there weren’t a lot of options, so we stopped at a grain elevator. The office was empty and I spotted a bathroom, so I helped myself. I made the mistake of filling up my water bottle with water from the sink and it was so awful, it made my water almost undrinkable. Shouldn’t have done that…

We continued on, just in awe of the Rocky Mountains. It was nice to have something that incredible to look at as we rode along, and the winds began to pick up. We passed a guy coming from Browning, heading east. He had a big grin on his face and hadn’t even worked up a sweat, since he had a strong wind at his back. We were all surprised to hear he had stayed in Browning, since we had been warned about that town. The general consensus was: whatever you do, don’t stay in Browning. He had stayed in a motel though, not camping, so I guess that’s safer. Originally Chuck had planned to drive me past Browning, but we decided it was OK for me to ride, since I had company now.

We all agreed that the wind never seemed to be that bad until we ran into that guy from Browning. Perhaps it was mental, but after he left (taking his big grin with him) the wind slammed into us harder than ever. I looked at my speed, and it went down to 6 mph. We were all feeling the pain. At one point, I turned my bike around and rode with the wind…just to see what it was like. It was AWESOME. I barely had to pedal! Oh, well. I turned back around and caught up with my new friends.

Rode for a while longer, and Chuck showed up. Time for a change of plan. We were all exhausted from the wind. Every muscle in my body was aching, and I had a splitting headache from the combination of strong wind and bright sun beating down on me. We all agreed that we were done riding when we got to Browning, but none of us really wanted to stay there overnight. Chuck graciously offered to drive everyone from Browning to St. Mary, but space was a problem. Don and Bob waited in Browning while Chuck took me to St. Mary. We found a campground, and again, they gave us a small (but appreciated) discount on a tent site. It was a really nice KOA campground and we were lucky enough to get a site in the trees, so the wind was blocked. I don’t think our tent would have survived being out in the open with the way the wind was howling. I was sincerely hoping those trees were sturdy and none of the tops would blow off and land on me. Chuck dropped me off at the pool and I went for a refreshing swim and sat in the hot tub for a bit. Maybe I was just imagining it, but it seemed like the mosquitos at St. Mary were the most ferocious of the whole trip. They were just awful.

I went back to the tent and read my book for a while and closed my eyes. Moments like that are really nice. When you feel the breeze blowing through the tent and you look up and see the tops of trees and smell nothing but fresh air. It’s a very peaceful feeling.

Chuck showed up with the boys, who were very grateful for the ride. They set up camp and got cleaned up, and we all went to town to have dinner together at a lodge near the entrance to Glacier. Dinner was OK, but not worth the price we paid. The company was excellent, and we all had a good time. Chuck finally found a piano, but then he only played two songs! I, and the rest of the people in the room, were very disappointed. He did play my favorite song however: Moon River, so I can’t be too upset with him.

Day Forty-four

Chester is where everything turned around for us. We stopped at a little diner for a small breakfast, since I didn’t want to eat too much before riding. Chuck had some French toast, and I had an egg and toast. Someone came in wearing biking clothes, and we nodded and said “Hi.” He sat down across the room from us. In a few minutes, another man came in and sat down with him. He noticed that I was in “biker gear” and came over to talk to us. We were both following the ACA route and compared maps. I was thrilled to find out that they were actually heading west, and they invited me to ride with them. I finally get to have some company! Yay!!!!

We finished our breakfasts, and some of the more colorful locals made some remarks about us riding across Montana. Chuck and I were amused by them, but I didn’t think our new friends felt the same. The two men were Don and Bob, and they had stopped in Chester for a while because of the strong winds. They had been riding separately, but hooked up in Chester. Bob is from North Dakota, and I’m a little fuzzy about Don’s origins, but it’s somewhere out east. He was very impressed that I had done so much riding yesterday. We got everything together, and I said good-bye to Chuck. I think he was relieved to see me with some other bikers.

The three of us headed out, with Bob leading the way, me in the middle, and Don bringing up the rear. I sped up and dropped back once in a while, so I could chat with them. I quickly realized that we had met two of the nicest people on the trip. Bob told me he had spent a year in Burlington, Vermont and really liked it. He worked as a house painter for a while, and took a job at Bolton Valley Ski Area in the winter. He loved the pace of life in Vermont and had done quite a bit of hiking and exploring.

We stopped for snack breaks every once in a while, and Don was a lot like a 7-11! He had everything and was happy to share it: almonds, peanuts, bananas, carrots, peanut butter sandwiches, you name it. I was very grateful, since all I had was my Fiber One bar (which I’m getting a little sick of, by the way). We stopped in Dunkirk for a snack, and then rode on to Shelby for a lunch break. I pulled ahead of them and arrived in town about 10-15 minutes before they did. We had been fighting some fierce winds, and I was pretty exhausted at that point. Chuck had found a decent sports bar and he was starving (it was about 2:00) so we ordered some quesadillas. As soon as I took a bite, I decided I was done for the day. We had planned to camp with Bob and Don in Cut Bank, so when they showed up in Shelby, we took some of their supplies in the car, to lighten their load a bit. They both left, and we stayed for a while, working on the internet and making plans.

After a while, we headed out to Cut Bank to set up camp. This was when I got my first glimpse of the Rockies, and they looked pretty spectacular, even though they were pretty far away. We passed Bob and Don, just outside of Shelby. Apparently, they had stopped at the supermarket to restock and have some lunch in the parking lot. They weren’t moving very fast. The winds were strong, and it made me extremely grateful for the ride from Chuck. I don’t think I would have made it to Cut Bank…or it would have been very dark by the time I got there. We went to the Riverview RV Park and Campground and spoke to the owner about my ride. He gave us a small discount. The campground was nice and the bathrooms were clean. The view of the river (once you walked a bit) was spectacular and I took some pictures.

We set up the tent, and opened the windows, since it was pretty windy there, and we didn’t want the tent blowing away. We went to the store and got some frozen dinners, since there was a microwave oven available for campers. We also got a bundle of firewood, but it ended up going to waste since we didn’t have enough kindling to get a fire going. Don and Bob showed up after we had dinner (I had burned Chuck’s dinner) and they both demonstrated how efficient they are at bike camping. Don had all his camping gear loaded in panniers, and Bob had a B.O.B. trailer for his gear. I was pretty tired, so I socialized for a little while and then went to bed. It had been a tiring day.

Day Forty-three

Today’s been pretty rough. I didn’t sleep well last night, and the sleepless nights have been hitting me harder than they did during the first three weeks. We were both anxious to leave the University as soon as possible, so we went downtown to find a cup of coffee. We found a coffeeshop on the main street and they had a few breakfast offerings, so I got a bagel with egg and cheese, and it was perfectly AWFUL. We’re both pretty sick of the bad food we’ve had. In that respect (and more), I miss Vermont!!!

Chuck went to the library hoping for wifi, but they were closed, so he went to Subway. I’m liking Subway a lot more than I used to. Some of my better (and cheaper) meals have been at Subway, and it’s a refreshing change from all the fried food we find out here. I battled the wind on Route for 2 hours and didn’t get very far. The wind took my speed down to about 6 mph. Chuck got the oil changed in Havre and went to Sears, and then we hooked up. I took some vitamins, ate a yogurt, put in my contacts and changed my clothes, and I felt better.

I was very frustrated with the rumble strip outside of Havre (and it goes for miles and miles). Whoever installed it didn’t give one thought to bikers. The strip extends all the way to the outer edge of the road, which means for me to get out of the way of traffic, I have no choice but to ride on the rumble strip. Not fun. The combination of the wind, the rumble strip and a terrible night of sleep really got to me.

We stopped for lunch in Gildford at a little café. The owner was so nice, and she made us a special veggie sandwich. When she first told us the sandwich options, she said, “I can make you turkey, ham or roast beef.” The café had internet access, an unexpected surprise. We spent quite a bit of time there, since I was exhausted.

Chuck took me to Rudyard, and we tried to track down the two farmers we had met in Malta. We found out their names, but they lived too far from town for us to stop in for a visit. I got back on my bike and rode the rest of the way to Chester, our stopping point for the night. We stopped in Joplin first to check out their city park, and it was nice, but there was no way to take a shower, so we moved on. Chester had a very nice park, but if you don’t use the restroom first, you don’t get the warning about the sprinklers. And we didn’t. We set up the tent right in the path of the sprinklers which turn on every evening and go all night. We tried to just grin and bear it for a while, but the tent was leaking a bit and I could feel a spray on my face every time it swung by. My pillow was getting soaked too. We took everything out of the tent except the mattress, and were able to drag it over to the “safe zone”. We were much more comfortable after that, but once again, we had to deal with TRAINS. Maybe I haven’t mentioned this much, but every time we’ve camped in the tent, we’ve listened to trains going back and forth all night, usually very close to our tent. It’s getting pretty frustrating. Probably more so for Chuck, since he refuses to sleep with earplugs.

I hope he was able to get some sleep.

Day Forty-two

Yesterday was just fantastic. I guess I really needed a day off, and it was wonderful spending it with my honey. We had a great time in Malta, and met some really nice farmers from Rudyard at the lounge in the hotel. They’re brothers and they grow lentils and chickpeas. We told them we’re huge fans of their products! We walked down the road to Stretch’s Pizza, and their veggie pizza was the best we’ve had so far.

We went to the park after that and caught the last song for the evening: “God Bless America”. Chuck sang along and helped him with the lyrics a few times. Since we’re seeing the country this way, we both got a little choked up over the song. Went back to the room, had a hot bath and went to bed.

We went down to the café in the hotel in the morning to have a small breakfast. The pancakes were good – not as good as the Hitching Post, but still yummy. We told the owner how much we appreciated his generosity and I headed out. I was having some stomach problems at the start, but felt better as I rode. The wind was really a challenge, though. Quite often, the gusts would almost knock my bike over.

I entered the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and my cell phone signal disappeared. The skies were looking ominous, but I had my rain jacket if needed. My route took me off Route 2 onto Route 9 and the storm caught up with me: hail! I was being pelted with pea-sized hailstones and it hurt! Good thing I had a helmet on, and it didn’t last long. I rode a little further and a fish and game warden driving by stopped to talk to me. He asked where I was headed and I told him “Seattle.” He thought that was fascinating, but he thought I had gone off my route. I assured him I was going the way I was supposed to. I told him I had to get going because the mosquitoes were eating me alive. Soon after that, Chuck drove by. I told him I was OK and continued on. We met for lunch at Fort Belknap Agency and had a tuna sandwich. The wind had really picked up and riding was a real challenge.

We stopped at Chinook and went into a hotel bar looking for wifi. It wasn’t a very exciting place, so we didn’t stay long. We left Chinook and went to Havre. The map said we could stay at the University, so we checked in and they charged us $10. The room wasn’t much and the bed was pretty uncomfortable, but we knew our tent wouldn’t withstand the wind. I took a shower and we went to find a place to eat and a place to get the oil changed in the car. The bar was OK, not great. We’re just tired of bad food and trying to find places to stay.

Our favorite places on this trip have been: Malta, Minot, Dalbo, Madison and Wheaton. I’ll never forget the memories of those cities. But the whole trip has been great so far, despite the setbacks.