Moving to Montana!

Okay, I've lost track of the days. Today is Sept. 17, I've missed a few friends birthdays... Happy Birthday Kim and Becky! But the days are all blending together in such a way that I can't quite seperate them from day to day... insert format change, now! (besides, it was hard for me to talk in proper tenses anyway) forgive the writing, I'm just trying to get it done, probably not even gonna edit it this time but hey, Loving Montana!

Day ?
We last left off at the bike camp in twin bridges, a 6-some now gathered together; Will and Kala, heading from NH to Portland and Scotty and Lucy from Denver, heading to Baha via Vancouver and the California coast. After the last blog session in Twin Bridges Bill stopped by, he was the brains behind the bike camp... the man who payed for the little building we called home for 2 nights. He had only lived  in town for a few years when he brought up the idea about having a shelter for the cyclists who come through TB (Twin Bridges).  He had to do a little bit of convincing of the townsfolk many of whom at the time didn't really like the idea of travelers like us rolling through town. Bill broke it down and explained how people like us would stop and enjoy the town and maybe even spend some money with a welcoming spot such as bike camp. The 6 of us were easily persuaded to stay two nights in TB just because of bike camp. Between the 6 of us we definitly helped to boost their economy just a little bit. Anyway, Bill stayed and chatted for awihle sharing stories of other cyclsits he had met and about the area, we shared our stories and thanked Bill for the accomadations.

Kathy and Shane, or new friends from Twin Bridges did end up stopping back down to the bike "camp" that evening. They brought us pizza and beer and some good conversation. After we filled our stomachs to the brim, Toby and I headed over with those guys to the watch the friday night football game. Kathy's son was the quarter back and we cheered on the Falcons as they played (or rather smoothered) White Sulpher Springs who had only driven 4 hours to get to the game. We took in the small town feel as the young boys played ball in the foreground of the beautiful mountains. It seemed as if everyone knew everyone... and usually they knew their brother and dog too.  As we headed back to bike camp I reflected on how differently the world in TB was compared to the world I knew, and tried to figure out what I could take from it. Falling asleep in my sleeping bag at "camp"I thought about the choices we can make everyday to get to know people a little bit deeper.

Another day
The next morning, after saying goodbye to the twin bridges bike camp... and taking some very cheesey camp photos, we all headed on our way. It was 9/11 and we passed through a few small towns with Fire Trucks proudly waving flags in honor of those who lost their lives in 2001... now 9 years later its hard to believe how much time has passed since then. 
It was a long, slow day with some good size climbs. We climbed Badger pass and Big Hole pass. They were long slow climbs up short grades, but the day seemed to drag on. Somehow we made it to the top and ended up in the "Big Hole." That is literally what it was. We had climbed up and looking all around mountains surrounding us on all sides... 360* of mountains.  The views were amazing!! After a short stop at the visitors center it was time to ride down the other side of the pass towards Jackson, MT. The descent was rewarding. Coasting after climbing all day was a relief to the legs, which have slowly begun to feel the burn of miles of riding everyday. We arrived late in Jackson as the sun was setting.

At Jackson Hot Springs we paid $10 each for camping and took a dip in the warm water. My feet melted in sheer happiness! We were moved by hunger hunger and forced ourselves out of the pool and went to the bar to check out the menu (we weren't " aloud to" use campstoves on the property... ) We selected an overpriced chicken alfredo entree to split and were saddened when a 1/2 cup of luke warm egg noodles covered with drippings of white sauce and small chunks of fatty chicken were placed in front of us. The meal disapeared quickly and then so did we into our tents, foregoing a second trip in the hotsprings due to the 30 local high school kids that showed up just as we were fininshing our "dinner".
It was a cold night and even colder morning, but we managed to pull ourselves from bed, pack up our belongings and enjoy a few cups of free coffee offered in the lodge. We shoved off early, and about 7 miles outside of town I realized I had left my rain pants inside the lodge while filling up water bottles for the day. I called the lodge and they drove them the 7 miles out to me... revamping my negative attitudes towards the bad food at Jackson... once again strangers helping out strangers in lycra.

The day after the last
 We went on our way for a day of more climbing. Chief Joseph pass was a long, but very small grade... until the end when it decided to go vertical. It was another long day. 80 miles the day before and another 75 and my legs were starting to feel it. We pulled into a fishing access camp sight just south of Darby, MT. As we began to set up camp, Will rode his bike into town to pick up some dinner to cook for the group. There was a river that ran along the campsite and the sound of the rushing water put me at ease. Will returned from town with ground beef, corn on the cob, potatoes and we made a grilled feast...shared some more bad stories and eased into bed for another night of hibernation.

After the sun went down:
The next day we headed on for Missoula, another long day. We were up early, our earliest leave time yet I think. It was a beautiful day to ride. Tensions were high among the groups, individually and totally... but mostly downhill and sunshine. About 2 miles outside of Hamilton I heard a clacking on my tire and after I caught up with the group Will discovered a staple in my front tire. Despite pleading with him to leave it in there, he popped it out and the air began to hiss... my first flat of the trip. Being in a stubborn mode, I tried to change it myself... but sometimes trying to fix things in a negative state of mind just takes longer. The boys helped me out and we were soon on our way.
for a few miles we had an awesome bike path off the road, and then were back on the road, some shoulder, bumpy, uneven pavement... and the logging trucks started right around then too. After a good bit of miles on this intense stretch of road we had another great bike trail just off of the road. It undulated... up and down and up and down... the miles stretched on and it felt like we were NEVER going to reach Missoula.
Throughout the day I had begun to take inventory on the road garbage that we had to swerve to avoid:
-a giant paint brush
- a broken pedal
- bannana peels... hundereds of them actually throughout this trip!
-2x2's with nails sticking out
-roadkill.... skunks, turtles, snakes, big birds, little birds, deer, deer hoves
- a barbie leg

By the time we made it to Missoula we were all exhausted. I had begun chaffing, my butt was sore, my legs were sore... and we were all hungry.  We headed straight for the Adventure Cycling headquarters where we had purchased our maps and who had made up the routes we were following.  We took advantage of the free ice cream and soda, waterbottles and conversation of other cyclists . We were given a tour of the building. Jim, our tour leader for the day told us how the ACA had started off as a celebration of America back in '76. They had amazing pictures from the first trek on the Trans America trail... and it was inspiring to see. The gear they used, the clothes... they definitly did it differently back then. They also shot some pictures of us all, as they do of groups that come through... which they will archive forever.
The 6 of us split up to do our things in Missoula and reconvined for our last dinner as a group. Lucy decided she was ready to go home, Kala and Will were heading west for Portland and Scotty was still figuring out his next move.

Toby and I headed with Will and Kala to our hosts house for the night... They had found a place to stay through warm showers (an org. that helps cyclists like us have a place to stay once in awhile). Ed and Laurie and their daughter Christy welcomed us into their home. They played a slideshow of their trip on the continental divide and opened up about their adventures to us. Coincidently they had met in Fort Collins at CSU and so we connected with them about their days back at the Mishawaka and other sites in Fort Collins.  We went to bed, dry, warm and with a real flush toilet and shower just a hallway away.


And then the next day...

We woke up and Laurie put on a pot of coffee, we all checked our bank accounts (cringing... ) Then we said fairwell to the family that had hosted us. It still amazes me that there are so many people who reach out to help us on this journey. We said goodbye to Will and Kala and parted directions... I wish them well on their last few miles of a very long trip! New Hampshire to Portland... wow! I hope to meet them again someday when I make it to Oregon and they know they always have a place in Fort Collins.
Toby and I headed on our way... at this point my legs decided they were tired and not wanting to move. It was for sure the slowest moving day we have had yet. I felt bad... I know Tobs wants to go faster... but it was just one of those days. We pushed on through the day and both agreed it was weird to be on our own again.... it was good, but it was different and we missed our little group of 6. Eventually we made it to Swan Lake State Campsite where we cooked dinner and went to bed hoping for an early start to the day the following morning.

The following morning:
We got a better move on in the morning, although I was still moving slow, it was a bit faster than the day before. It was cold, there was fog rolling off the lakes along the road we were on, but it was beautiful. One of my favorite days so far.. Montana is growing on me, I must say... Tall pine trees hugged the winding road... just awesome! As we pushed on it felt as if you could see the trees cool breath on the air and I felt refreshed and rejuvinated... The rain pelted down on us most of the day but it cooled me off and the day pulled me out of my slump.

I've been thinking a lot about grandpa these days... his birthday has been on my mind. Everyday of beauty on this trip I can picture him riding along with me and just loving how gorgeous our country is!! I thought about him all the way into Swan Lake, MT.
We stopped at the trading post in town and the couple who owned the place convinced us to stay there instead of the National Forest site up the road. For the same price we had showers and flush toilets, a pond right next to our campsite and free coffee in the morning... we were sold! Toby woke me up not long after I had fallen asleep because there was something outside the tent...  we heard digging and snorting directly by our heads. He asked where the bear spray was and I stayed frozen in silence trying not to move or talk or even breath... just be dead I thought, play dead, think thoughts of brussel spruts and it won't eat you.... moments later we saw the shadow of a doe light up against the tent.
Joe and Jocelyn at the Swan Lake Trading Post made for good conversation and an amazing breakfast sandwhich the next morning... the "McSwan". We stayed a little longer than expected, sitting at the counter sipping on the freshly made coffee and listening to Joe talk about his eagles and share stories with us.

That day which was also Kim's birthday:
We left as usual, wishing we could spend just a little more time, but we had stayed about 2 hours longer than expected and it was raining a good bit. Once again the rain felt great... The next town over we stopped to pick up some lunch and a woman there told us good luck and that she had been on that first centennial ride in '76. Onward from there I saw a vulture getting ready to attack its prey... 57 miles of riding until Whitefish.
We stopped two times at local produce stands... peaches and spud nuts, huckleberries and cherries, yum! Most of the ride in was on country backroads, and it may be official, I am loving some Montana. I can already see my little house out in the coutnry with the mountains towering over, I just may have to move here someday. Once we arrived in Whitefish we were greeted with a familiar face... Scotty! He had left later and still beaten us to Whitefish. Not long after Tad met us in town and we were welcomed to his little piece of the world. We sipped on beers, ate at the Bulldog Saloon and then headed over to the palace for a few PBR's.... We did laundry, showered and rested well.

Today:
Finally, it is today... 9/17, I can start to put the days together again. We woke up early and since Tad had things to attend to, his friend Doug and Kat took the three of us, reunited again up to the base of Glacier National Park where we floated on Sea Kayaks for a few hours. The evening is young, but we are cooking up (the boys are... I'm busy blogging) cooking up a feast of spaghetti and garlic bread! Plans for leaving have yet to be decided... I guess I should get off this computer I have been on trying to reconnect the days in my head... 16 days on the road. Maybe I'll just settle in Whitefish for awhile.... I don't see why not!