Day 22 Chinook MT to Malta MT

Stats: mileage: 72.6 ; total climb 1124 ft; total mileage 1145


We knew that today involved a long distance so we left early. Today we saw the sun rising over the last clouds of yesterday's storms. It was a beautiful morning.

After 20 miles of pedaling we reached Harlem and had coffee at the municipal park. It was created for their centennial in 1987. Old is so much younger here than in the East.

This is the first time we crossed the Milk River today. We crossed the river three times today and traveled along it all day. We could always tell where it was because of the ribbon of trees that grow along its banks.
The theme for today was flat. The total climbing stat is misleading because any "uphill" was a very long, very gradual climb. There were only 2-3 meaningful coasts all day.
At one point, we left Route 2 and took a side road. It was a pleasure pedaling along since there was virtually no traffic. The Milk River was our companion along this stretch of the trip.
In addition to the flatness, the road stretched out in front of us for what seemed like forever. As we pedaled, the breezes cooled our faces. This is a nice way of saying that we had a headwind all day long.
In addition to the sage brush, vast stretches of grains or grass, there are many beautiful flowers. This brown-eyed Susan was along the road all day.
After our very long pedal, we reached our destination for the day. The icing on the cake is that train on top of the welcome sign. Great greeting! Tomorrow we take a short pedal east to Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs. You can find it on the web, however, we might not have service to let you know. Enjoy.