libby, montana

Hello Montana!

We are in Montana! We are in Mountain Time!

68.89 miles with 2,829 feet gained in elevation in 5 hours and 23 minutes pedaling time. It was a great day but, I can't lie to you, it was not the easiest day I've ever spent on a bike. We left the Clark Fork Lodge around 9:00 am and 8 miles later saw the Welcome to Montana sign. We are now two states down and twelve to go. Of course, pedaling across Montana will be like pedaling across eight of Idaho's panhandles. We did take a fairly good chunk out of Montana with a little over sixty miles today. The terrain was up and down, the roads were sometimes without shoulders with logging trucks whizzing by, and most of the time we didn't have too much wind in our faces.

For lunch, we stopped just about at the halfway point at, this is the truth, The Halfway House Bar & Grill. At this fine eatery, you step in the door and step way back in time, way back. It was the days of the wild west but the food was so good. I had chicken strips, fries, and a root beer. (That's as close to a Chick-fil-A number 4, 3 count, with a root beer as I'll find out here.) We had a cowboy kind of fellow ask us, "You are riding your bikes out there on that road? I don't even walk on it any more. Lot of people get killed out there!" It really was not as bad as that sounded. Most of the drivers were very courteous and nobody tried to run us down.

When entering Montana there are signs posted to let drivers know that people die on the highways. Every death on Montana's highways is marked with a white cross. We saw way too many as we pedaled and one of the crew said, "I wonder if any of those were cyclists." Probably so. We are doing all we can do to stay safe on the roads. Many of the roads on our route and out in the boonies back roads. We may not have any car and truck altercations but we may get eaten by a bear!

This evening Margaret and I ate at the Cabinet Mountain Brewing Co down the street from our residence tonight, Evergreen Motel. I'm not sure what we had but we split something with elk, buffalo, cheese, crackers, grapes, and candied walnuts. Pretty good stuff. 

I suspect it will take us nine to eleven days to cross Montana. That includes the Continental Divide and lots of big skies on the prairies. There will be lots of wind as well and I'm hoping for some days the wind is at our backs. Kevin and Becky will be leaving us in Malta and we will get her back to ride with us from Ohio to Maine. Tomorrow is supposed to be another up and down day like today. It's also approximately 68 miles. I'm not real excited about two days like this back to back but it does mean we will be 136 miles closer to Maine.

Every day I ride, I thank God for the time on the back roads of America. I love the people I meet, their stories, the towns I pedal through, the hole-in-the-wall eateries, and the views along the way. I'm a thankful pedaler.

Thank you, Lord, for this day.

Margaret did find a new friend. She has a way with wildlife!

Maddie, our spoiled grandkid Facetimes us almost every night. Thanks, Maddie. Turtley@

Today was a great day to have a great day!

-Psalm 118:24