Becca's Oddysey

After leaving Choteau, MT Thursday I drove south, and Becca ended up having a big breakfast at the local cafe, with a trucker whose rig was a little bigger than hers. The biking was only around 35 miles and no wind today! Yay! The great plains are not as flat as drivers may think. Rolling hills are still a challenge for cyclists. Some of the roads are narrow and heavily used by large trucks that come barreling down on the lone cyclist.  I made my way to the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, where I hiked for about 3.5 miles down and around a butte.  This is a spot where great plains tribes would hunt buffalo by chasing them on horseback (or even running in front of the herd) to the edge of a cliff and then jumping out of the way just in time. Hunters would wait at the bottom of the cliff to kill any buffalo who were still alive. There are a lot of critters out there in the prairie: all kinds of birds (saw a pheasant and 3 of her chicks), antelope, rabbits and marmots/prai...

With the Rockies in my rear view mirror, I pulled out of the Blackfeet Indian reservation. Before leaving the friendly town of Browning, I stopped by the Museum of the Plains Indian, where I learned much about Native American history from the tribal docent. Apparently there are more of the Blackfeet nation in the Pacific NW than on this reservation.  Also, interestingly, the tribe got their name from the color of their moccasins. Becca has many days, probably even weeks of plains ahead of her. We’ve allowed ourselves 3 nights in a row of motels, mostly because there is nothing else out here. Last night was spent in Valier, a town with only 2 paved roads. We experienced a huge thunderstorm and orange skies, the likes of which we rarely see in the Pacific Northwest. Today, Becca battled strong, exhausting cross winds while riding the bike. At one point while resting and eating her lunch, the wind even knocked her fully loaded bike over. We made it to Choteau, MT, a town known fo...

It’s a BIG state; we’re going to be here for a while folks. It’s a beautiful state, one with more bears than people. So far I’ve see 2 bears, one big horn sheep, lots of deer, a herd of wild horses and a wandering goat who appeared lost. Yesterday Becca crossed the Continental Divide. Wow what a milestone! And she did it carrying all her gear, no less. I spent the day exploring Glacier National Park. Such splendor! By far the most beautiful scenery on this entire trip. The life of Mutt & Jeff, wrangler and cowgirl involves Becca getting off in the morning on the bike and me packing up the wagon and finding a suitable campground. Then I wait for Becca to show up at the end of the day on her trusty steed, and I cook the grub. Last but not least, we fight with the poptop (which is difficult to open, difficult to close and not much fun to climb into. We take turns on sleeping in the upper bunk.  We spent the night on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which, complete with wandering ...

Today is 6/24, I think.  We've been in the big skies of Montana for several days, and the landscape extends forever.  The Rockies loom ahead of us with endless asphalt and endless natural beauty. The last couple of days we stayed at national forest campgrounds, which had turquoise glacial lakes for us to swim in (a cold shower alternative). Very refreshing! Whitefish, MT was a liberal haven of cafes, bike shops, gift stores, and services for outdoors people. The summer tourist season is very short; snow flies as early as September.    It’s amazing how many people are as driven as Becca when it comes to biking cross-country. The route she’s on is actually a established one for cyclists. Yesterday Becca saw about 14 individuals riding the other way. Whenever she gets a chance, she swaps stories with them. The other night at the campground there was a mother/daughter team on their way from Bar Harbor, Maine to Anacortes, Washington . The next few days will begin the ste...

I have to comment on what a beautiful day it was today (June 21, I think).  Becca says it was her best day biking so far.  It didn't rain, the views were incredible, and we both enjoyed the abundance of nature, each in our own way.  The traffic and hills were manageable. It's amazing what one notices on a bike that's missed when driving.  The least little grade up, an extra 4 miles down a gravel road to a trailhead, the sound of chirping birds, the smell of the morning mist, the wildflowers on the side of the road are all fully appreciated on a bicycle. Becca rode 50 miles up the foothills of the Montana Rockies, to today's destination of Libby, MT.   I took a hike in an ancient cedar grove, and at one point all colors of butterflies fluttered around me while I stood on the bank of a brook that bubbled so loudly it actually sounded like voices talking. I met another hiker, who warned me about bears and we had a discussion about what to do if I encountered o...

Becca had a little family emergency right after the second flat tire in Heltopia, so we found ourselves detouring back to Portland for a few days. In addition to dealing with family matters, Becca went back to her bike experts to complain about the impossible bike tire removal, and opted to buy new tires that were much easier to remove.  Ahh...I attempted to repair the Nomad Moon navigation system again, but of course nobody can do anything in a hurry, so I gave up and it will have to wait till July. I got to visit a few people in Portland, hit Trader Joe's and buy a tiny speaker to amplify my phone apps (phone, audio GPS, Pandora) which is better than nothing.  We headed back up to Spokane yesterday and stayed at Becca's late mother's house, which was bittersweet, and had a nice visit with her brother Nathan. Spokane is a lovely city!  The Spokane River is high and swollen, with turbulent rapids and waterfalls.  Lots of lovely paths, and we got to do some exploring....