Day 27 July 6, 2016 Winnett to Sand Springs 46.4 miles

Let me go back to last night before I tell you about today’ s ride. I bought a deck of cards at the general store in Winnett so we would have some entertainment in the evenings when we still had some energy left. Dave was reluctant to play  (because I usually win) , but I hadn’t played gin for a long time. He won the first two hands outright, then in the third hand, he used a ‘Kass rule’ that I had never heard of. He was close to gin, so he went out figuring I had more points in my hand than he did (which was correct). I have to admit that it adds something to the game, but I could sense my parents’ disapproval immediately! That rule would never have been accepted in the Shaffer household. Needless to say, I didn’t win any hands that night. 

Now to the ride. There were clouds to the west when we got up, so we hurried as much as  possible figuring we’d probably be riding in the rain for awhile today. It wasn’t a long ride to Sand Springs,  but there were no towns  in between, so  we got extra water and food. About a hour into the ride, the storm  began, so we had to stop and put on rain gear. Fortunately, the lightning wasn’t close since we had nowhere to go for protection. Although, a guy in a FedEx van did stop and ask if we’d like a ride, which  was really nice. The temperature was too cool to go without raingear , but too warm to wear it comfortably. And it was hilly, so sweaty we were. It didn’t rain hard, but we had a headwind which got stronger as the day went on. There was a nice rest area at the top of a hill, and the rain stopped while we were there, although the headwind and the hills didn’t.

Sand Springs was a very welcome sight, and a cool place. No one really lives there, but there’s a post office, a ‘convenience store,’ and camping is allowed in the yard for free, with access to the bathrooms which had hot and cold water (no showers). We arrived about 30 minutes before the store closed, so we had a frozen pizza, beer, and candy bars for dessert. The woman working there was the sister of the owner, and she and her husband are retired, have an RV, travel for fun, and are living in the RV behind the store for the summer. She said her favorite place was Savanah,  Georgia. The owner is the postmaster.

Then we had to hurry and pitch the tent because we could see another storm coming. The wind and rain started just as we  were getting every in the tent, so we got a bit wet. The wind was scary, but we were somewhat protected by the building, and we were cozy in the tent. We both took a nap, and the storm was over when I woke up. It was still, and the sun was shining low in the sky below the clouds, and it was beautiful. And we had really lucked out again.
The pictures are in reverse order. Thought I had it figured out,  but nope.

After the storm

Sand Springs at last

Rain on the way!

Day 23 July 2, 2016 Fort Benton, Mt. 36.3 miles

This was technically a day off because we made no progress, and we rode without any panniers (hooray!). However, it was a worthwhile day. We rode up to Loma, a very small town north of Fort Benton (Ma's Diner on one side of the road & Pa's convenience store on the other!) Just outside Loma is the confluence of the Marias and Missouri Rivers - the Decision Point, where Lewis and Clark had to decide which river was the Missouri. It's a great lookout point, and it was moving to imagine those men standing there over 200 years ago having to decide. The Nez Perce had described the rivers to them, and also told them that there were falls upriver to make the choice easier. Once they decided, Lewis went ahead to find the falls and confirm the decision.
This is also where the Missouri River Breaks National Monument begins. This part of the Missouri River is the part of Lewis and Clark's route that is the most like it was when they travelled through here.
We boycotted the restaurants, bought hot dogs, potato salad, and beer at the grocery store, grilled the hot dogs at the campground on the gas grill.
Another great day.

Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea

Day 26 July 5, 2016 Lewistown, Mt. to Winnett, Mt. 59.3 miles

A pretty morning.  The weather overall has been great, with cool mornings, and today was no exception. And a kid had stepped on my glasses at the campground in Fort Benton, and there was an eye clinic next to the motel. The optician fixed them in a minute, gave me glass cleaner, and sent me on my way. I was so grateful!
We had a climb out of Lewistown, and at the top, we met Patti, who was riding by herself on a recumbent from Northern Michigan to Missoula for the 40th anniversary celebration of Bikecentennial.  She had ridden across the country during Bikecentennial in '76 at the age of 20. Very impressive.
The day's ride was pretty easy - tailwinds and a lot of gradual downhill. Winnett, population 182, our destination was a cute town. We camped in the tiny city park next to the tiny swimming pool. For $4, we could swim and shower. The woman who runs the pool was 50ish and had moved back to Winnett after being away for a few years and was happy to be back. I had noticed that most of the windows on the west sides of the buildings in town were boarded up.  She said there was a storm on June 8th with 90 mph winds and grapefruit sized hail. And, of course, a lot of crop damage.
A sign in the park said the sprinklers would come on at 8 am, so just in case,  we put the tent under the shelter on the concrete. We slept just fine, proof that Thermorests really work!

Leaving Lewistown 

Patti on her way to Missoula

Camping in Winnett 

Day 25 July 4, 2016 Denton, Mt. to Lewistown, Mt. 40.9 miles

Again we were looking forward to a bigger town (Lewistown's population is 6,000), only to be disappointed. The smaller towns have much more 'personality.'
It was cloudy and windy when we started, and we were afraid we were in for rain. But not so, and we had an easy ride to Lewistown. We checked into a motel so we could do laundry. And it was kind of nice to sleep in a real bed again.
But Lewistown was boring, and most everything was closed because it was the 4th of July. We were eager to move on.
By the way, Lewistown, Montana is named after the man who founded the town in the 1890's, not Meriwether Lewis.

Day 24 July 3, 2016 Fort Benton, Mt. to Denton, Mt. 64.2 miles

We had a bit of 'excitement' during the night. We were awakened by a car alarm and screaming. My first thought was a bear even though we thought we were out of bear country,  and I was ready to lock myself in the bathroom.  But it was just a fight among people  (in the RVs), and it quieted down after the police arrived.

Looking back at Square Butte 

 Approaching Square Butte 

We started 'early' and started the day with a climb away from the river. Our lunch stop was in Geraldine (named after Geraldine Rockefeller), and it's always obvious people are used to seeing cyclists. They're happy to fill our water bottles, and the woman here told us we could hang out as long as we wanted  (it was getting hot). Since it was hot and we knew we had a big climb ahead, we stopped in Square Butte to top up our water bottles. The cluster of buildings called Square Butte is named after a huge butte by the same name. We had been riding toward it all morning, and about the 5 miles down the road, we turned northwest along side of it into a strong headwind and started climbing (it's best not to know exactly what you're getting into sometimes). The wind was really treacherous, and I had to stop a couple of times to keep from being blown over. Dave, of course, pedals along way ahead of me as though it's a normal day's ride. The climb was about 6 miles, and from the top we looked back and realized we were on the other side of Square Butte. What a view! Then the payoff. We turned east and the tailwind pushed us into Denton. But when we arrived,  it appeared that nothing was open. The restrooms in the city park where we were supposed to camp were locked, and there was no water. We thought we'd be eating granola bars for dinner.  Dave rode back into town while I contemplated our situation, and found a bar (with food) open. The kid working there said bikers had been camping right across the street in the little city park where at least there were open restrooms. Only our second night so far without showers. So we watched kids playing basketball and playing on the play equipment before we turned in. Not such a bad way to end the day.
(Pictures are out of order. Can't figure out how to fix it.)

Sweet riding after the climb

Leaving Fort Benton 

Day 22 July 1, 2016 Great Falls, Mt. to Fort Benton, Mt. 50.9 miles

Crossing the Missouri River into Fort Benton 

Highwood Road

Another beautiful day, and we were ready to get going after a day off and a pizza dinner we had delivered to the campground  (talk about luxury camping!). We were at the edge of town, so we didn't have to deal with traffic, and soon we turned onto Highwood Road, which we practically had to ourselves. More big sky, big hills, and and a road  that seemed to go on forever. It was great. We arrived in Highwood just as Elmo's Highwood Bar opened for lunch, and there was actually a grilled chicken sandwich on the menu! A delicacy in these parts where everything in restaurants is fried, even cheesecake!  The woman working there told us that once we climbed the 'bench,' we'd have easy riding into Fort Benton. Benches are ridges that are all over the place, left behind from the ancient glaciers and floods.  And since Fort Benton is on the Missouri River, the last few miles were downhill.
Fort Benton is considered the birthplace of Montana, and there is a lot of history here, mostly because it's the farthest west on the Missouri that steamboats could travel. There are three museums, one about agriculture on the northern high plains, which was surprisingly interesting. Being from Kansas, we learned about the dust bowl in Kansas and Oklahoma,  but Montana was  also greatly affected;  one about the fort ( named after Thomas Hart Benton because he was an advocate of westward expansion), and one about the town itself.
A funny story about how sometimes it's an advantage to be old. Admission to one museum was good for all three. And my senior parks pass got me a discount,  so it only cost me $8. Dave came in later,  and when the teenager working at the desk told Dave about the discount, he thought the kid was saying it was free, so he said thanks and went on. We figured the young man thought Dave was a confused old man and decided to let him go on. Later,  when Dave realized his mistake, he tried to pay, but the kid said it was ok.

Mountains to the south as we ride to Highwood 

Day 20 June 29, 2016 Augusta, Mt. to Great Falls, Mt. 63.6 miles

My 65th birthday (!), and I was looking forward to getting to a town with a population greater than 500. The first leg of the ride was on a road with essentially no traffic and more rolling hills. We even went by what looked like an old movie set that Dave said was a shooting range. The ride was great until we got on the frontage road that took us into Great Falls. It was ugly, there was a lot of traffic, we had a headwind, and it was 11 miles! (And it was my birthday, so I can conplain!) The traffic in Great Falls was heavy, and we decided we liked the tiny towns instead. But there was a bike trail that took us around the city, along the Missouri River, where we saw the falls right below the dam.
We decided we needed a day off, so we got a campsite at the KOA for two nights, raided the store for dinner stuff (olives, cheese, canned pears, etc.), and had a feast of sorts.
The next day, we slept in, then rode back to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, which was about their portage around the falls. It's amazing what they endured.