After a nice breakfast at the 4-B Restaurant, we left Havre. There were a few more sights to be seen, but the wind was from the East-dreaded headwind-and nasty weather was predicted for the afternoon. Although Chinook was not far, we decided to leave town.
When we entered Hill County, we figured that it was named after J. J. Hill, the founder and builder of the Northern Railroad. As we pedaled out of town, we began to think that the county was named for its topography.
Route 2 travels along the Milk River. Lewis or Clark said that the river was the color of tea with milk and the milk part stuck. Because of the white clay along the banks, the water does have that milky tea look.
As we pedaled along the highway, the shoulder was wide at the start but became narrow. In general, the drivers were very considerate of us. The long flat wheat fields changed to rolling hay fields and then to hilly pasture land. The black angus doesn't seem phased by the very dark sky to the south of us. However, those clouds motivated us in spite of the headwind.
Within 5 miles of Chinook, we saw a surprise-the first corn field since we came west. Lots of different kinds of wheat, some barley, other grains but no corn. At first the field looked pathetic until we got to the irrigated portion. This line of irrigation pie was shooting water out to the road. No wonder some of the corn wasn't to Jersey standards!
We arrived in Chinook, completed the check in and empty the bike ritual and Paul decided to relax with a cup of coffee and his first bakery cinnamon bun of the trip. He is searching for the perfect sticky bun by any other name. This was yummy, but the Three Sisters in Homer AK is still at the top.
Since we were in town early, we headed out to the Blaine County Museum. There was a show about the Battle of Bears Paw and the surrender of Chief Joseph along with many artifacts from the area. There was memorabilia and more dinosaur exhibits. It was an enjoyable way to spend time while the skies opened up and poured.
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