Day 24 Sleeping Buffalo Hot Spring MT to Glasgow MT

Stats: 55 miles; total mileage 1227

After a restless night's sleeping worrying about the wheel, we got up and decided to ride to Saco 10 miles away. It seemed more like we limped out as opposed to riding away. There was fog in the valley left over from yesterday's storms. As the sun burned off the fog, we increased our speed but stopped every few miles to check.

After a delicious breakfast cooked by Betty we were fortified and ready to make some tough decisions. So we headed east and the wind decided to head west!
Apparently the person who named this road is not a cyclist. Humor is where you find it!
Being out on our bike, living his dream of a cross country trip was the perfect way for Paul to celebrate his 60th birthday. The long ribbon of Route 2 kept us busy all day.
Today we lived "Home on the Range". There were no live buffalo, but we did see a prong horn antelope and a white tail deer. (They were not playing together.)
As you can see, the landscape remains wide open. At one point, we could see the water towers of the town 13 miles away. The Northern Plains are expansive.
And just down the road from our destination for the night was this old caboose. What a great way for thee birthday boy to end his ride. We made it and the bike made it safe and sound (the wheel rim is holding up) to Glasgow.

Day 23 Malta MT to Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs MT

Stats: mileage: 23; total miles 1173

So the day started out as usual: blue skies, yummy breakfast at the Great Northern, lots of trains, a lovely west wind, a visit to the Phillips County Museum, cows, rolling hills and the like.
So we decided to take the road through the Bowdoin Wildlife Area which was fine......until we hit the gravel part of the road. (Our map said it would be a total of 2.5 miles, reality was over 10.) We found it safer to get off the bike rather than to ride over the cattle grates. Just walking across was a balancing act!
Then the rain came. Or should I say the deluge. The lovely westerly breeze turned into a driving wind. As for the gravelly road, it was messy. An oil pump maintainer stopped and gave us a 4 mile ride to our destination for the night.
It was in the middle of nowhere. But the natural hot spring was enjoyable.
Paul set to work cleaning up the bike. There was so much grit that he removed the fenders and we gave them a bath!. Then came the discovery.......
I thought we had a bombproof rim,but as you can see, its starting to come undone. We are having a new build shipped ahead. All I have to do is hold this one together for four days. Wish us luck.

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.

Day 21 Havre MT to Chinook MT

Stats: mileage: 27; total climb 321 ft; total mileage 1073

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.

Day 20 Chester MT to Havre MT

Stats: mileage: 65; total climbing:871 ft; total mileage 1046

We left Chester very early because we wanted the westerly wind and it was going to be a long day. Our map indicated that coffee would be available in Joplin, 10 mile east of Chester. So we set off. When we got to Joplin we asked this farmer about coffee, but the shop had closed. So his son brought us out a cup and we stood in the road sipping our morning coffee and discussing winter wheat, spring wheat, efficient shipping, and 9-11. A real coast to coast conversation.

As the lovely westerly breeze turned our pedal into a zip, we completed the first 1000 miles!!!! of our trip. Pretty amazing for a couple of people who qualify for AARP!










An interesting fact about Montana is that it was home to many dinosaurs. This one was created by a local farmer during the slower winter months. However there is another gem of a local museum in Rudyard. We went to the local cafe in search of a cinnamon bun and one of the ladies from the museum offered to open it up early for us after we all finished our coffee and goody.






We went to the Depot Museum which is housed in the former Rudyard Train Station. It is full of local memorabilia including a homesteader's shack. The shack was smaller than most modern bathrooms and it held a family! The last building included dinosaur fossils from a dig just north of town. Pretty impressive!







We continued on our journey and eventually stopped in Kremlin for lunch. This community was also built as a stop on the Hi-Line which is the local name for the now Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad. The landscape continued to appear flat with the Bears Paw Mountains to the south. Harvest is in full swing in this section of Montana.






And at last I found an open quilt shop in Harve. They were busy getting ready for the North Montana Fair, but I managed to find some goodies.

Day 19 Shelby MT to Chester MT

Well, it finally happened-rain. A huge storm came in complete with hail, thunder and lightning, but we were safe and dry in our motel. This morning as we left, the sky was ominous, but there was no rain. The view was flat and the prevailing westerlies were prevailing.
We flew along and at about 20 miles, we came to this gas station where the coffee was available. The coffee was there for whomever came by and that included bicyclists.
By the time we were done with our coffee, the sun was out and the landscape was still looking flat although the road was a series of rolling hills.
But the blue sky did not last long......
We waited out the rain in the grain elevator. It's strange out here because you can see so far into the distance that you aren't quite sure how far away the storm really is. So after waiting until the rain stopped and we felt the storm was far enough away, we headed out again.
...and we reached our destination for the day. With the wind as our friend for so much of the ride, we arrived at lunch time. This meant we were able to visit a local treasure.
We spent almost two hours looking through all of the memorabilia that had been donated from the citizens of Liberty County.
This little number was one of the many items in the museum including railroad memorabilia, school memories, clothing, collectibles and such.
You get to look at this twice because I goofed but it's cute though not as interesting as what could have been here!
Theresa, our guide through the museum was full of information and made the experience such a pleasure. This was a great day for touring and touristing.

Stats: Mileage: 45; total climb: 541 ft; total mileage 981

Day 18 Cut Bank Mt to Shelby MT

Stats: mileage: 34 (29 trip, 5 local trail); total climb: 102 feet-as in flat!; total mileage: 937
And so we left Cut Bank. Lucky for us it wasn't as cold as they claim it gets! Just a sunny, breezy morning.
Once again the wind farms appeared. The land around these windmills is farmed and grazed as the propellers turn.
Thankfully we did not have a headwind. The wind was coming from the north....where are our prevailing westerlies? Please prevail!
The tree shows the direction of the prevailing wind.
Occasionally a butte would appear in the otherwise sprawling landscape.
Hardware Hank is located on Main St. in Shelby. This one's for Hank!
After our ride from Cut Bank to Shelby, we left our bags and took a ride on a local trail. It traveled around the hills north of town. We met a family of transplants. His Giants t-shirt was the clue. They too were from Sussex County!
..and for all the trails that we have been on, NEVER have we seen a gate like this.

And as almost always, although Shelby is a tiny town, it has two quilt shops and they were both closed.