The clouds finally lifted today and we got to see the local peaks. What a gorgeous place! I hope I can get the pictures to work--but you should really come and visit Montana yourselves. It is quite an awesome experience! And the people are friendly and helpful!
Everything here is VERY green! We left Rexford and headed to Eureka--about 7 miles away. On the way there we went through Tobacco Valley--a beautiful valley area that the Native Americans had used to plant tobacco long ago for their rituals. We got an up-close look at two osprey on their nest near the road. And it wasn't too hilly prior to Eureka, so we enjoyed that part of the ride.
The rest of the ride (at least 50 miles of it) was very hilly! What were they thinking when they built these roads in Montana? We had headwinds the whole day, and it was a little disgusting to say the least. The "prevailing" westerly winds that were supposed to blow us across America are not cooperating. We've only had them about 3 days out of the 15 we have ridden. One third of our days have had headwinds, and this was no exception.
The problem with headwinds is that you get no benefit from a gradual downhill, and they make the uphill much harder. And the panniers on the bike compound the issue because you have all that extra area for the wind to catch. We struggled through for awhile, and then came upon one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen!
This lake was glacier-fed (according to wild man David) because the water color was so clear and aquamarine. Once we hit that lake, the hills seemed to dissapate a bit and we had some great riding toward Whitefish...until the last 5 miles.
Recently, Montana awarded the paving contract for the last 5 miles into Whitefish to the lowest bidder. This company paved almost to the white lines on the road edge, but not quite. They also managed to drag quite a bit of equipment through the wet asphalt, making long crevices and pits in the new pavement. And of course, as Murphy's Law would have it, this is when the traffic picked up!
We rode, gritting our teeth the whole time, into town. Up and down very steep, short hills, getting passed by honking dual-wheeled pickups and much more considerate truckers and cars. It was harrowing! Unfortunately, there were no other road choices for us--only one way into Whitefish that is paved (sort of). So we went along the best we could. David was in front, and I saw a tractor trailer miss him by only about 2 inches! Crazy--and the trucker was not trying to be mean. The road was just that narrow. Montana should get their money back or a re-paving job as soon as possible.
Once we were actually in the town of Whitefish, things looked up! We checked into a little hotel, spread out our camping things to dry, and did some wandering. Our legs felt like they had been beaten with sticks after 6 days of hard riding, but we managed to hobble into the local saloon for our favorite drinks--a beer for David and a club soda with lime for me. We had a fantastic dinner (fish! veggies! the most wonderful caramel pecan chocolate torte ever!) at the Tupelo Grill and called it a night.
Our plan is to head to West Glacier tomorrow--a short ride. Then we'll take a well-deserved day off and explore the national park before heading over or around the park on Monday. My goal--to be through Montana by my birthday...but we only have one week to accomplish that feat.
2 comments:
I was getting worried about you two...but, why worry? You two are amazing! Welcome to Montana. Judy was here today for reflexology with Rixie. We had four other "customers" as Lily likes to call them. A beautiful warm breezy day in MD. HUGS!
Those pickups are called Dualeys (not sure of the spelling) and I hate them too because they are wider than a normal lane. I think they should be outlawed. Why do they need the extra tires anyways?
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