Malta, MT - June 18 & 19

Enjoying a layover day today; our schedule is quite changed from the original itinerary due to Logan Pass being closed, and doing an extra long day on June 18. We combined two scheduled days into one day to take advantage of the 10 - 15 mph wind. It was a 90 mile day, but the tail wind made it bearable. We have now had 3 straight riding days of favorable winds; they were really strong the first couple of days, but I think they are coming to an end. Today is a sunny 80 degrees.

Bicyclists always want to know what is the 'best' tire. So far, Linda has had 2 flats. The same shard of metal caused both, she just couldn't find the shard until after she flatted the second time. Ann flatted once, from a large piece of glass. Cal has had a lot of flats, but just one since he got new tires and liners in Whitefish. It was a pinch flat.

In Montana, we have been basically following US-2. It has been a smooth 2-lane road with light traffic and usually a healthy shoulder. The towns are spaced about 10 - 40 miles apart, and have populations of 200 - 3,000 or so. Clearly, the railroad was built before US-2. The towns are built around the railroad, and US-2 is often about 1/2 - 1/4 mile away, with one street going into town. In the larger towns, there is usually some new development along US-2. One map of Montana I looked at showed the railroad, and labeled it the Amtrak Route. We do see Amtrak stations and trains, but they are far outnumbered by freight trains. We have been waving at the train engineers, hoping to get a whistle: sometimes it works. (Yes - we are all kids at heart). Of course, the campgrounds we stay at are near the railroad: that would make it a little difficult to sleep if I wasn't so tired at the end of the day.

This transportation corridor always follows some kind of river; right now it is the Milk River. Except for the mountains, we have seen a lot of Cottonwood trees. When we were at Sandpoint, ID, the Cottonwoods were at their peak of flowering. They still are flowering, but not so profusely as earlier.

Surprisingly, we saw quite a few Seal Gulls for a while. I was told there was a large lake nearby that attracted them, but I didn't find the lake on my map. And starting yesterday, we saw Prairie Dogs. They are about the size of a small squirrel, have a rat-like tail with a little hair on it, and act as confused as a squirrel when crossing the road. They frequently run along the edge of the road, in front of my bicycle, then scamper into a hole in the ground. As you might expect - they are common road-kill.

We are beginning to see some tumble weeds. Not many, but a few.

Two days ago, in Chester, MT we attended a 50's Sock Hop. Within 15 minutes, everyone there knew who we were, where we came from, and where we were going. The Lions' Club and the art society combined to have hamburgers, hot dogs and root beer floats. They closed off the main street and had a DJ who played 'oldies'. The little kids danced a bit, had a limbo contest, and a hula hoop contest. There was also had a parade of old cars (there is a club that seems to be touring US-2 towns right now). I never saw any adults dancing: maybe because I left early.