7/12/18
In one day I have gone from this
to this…
Only in America…
Today I am waken by chirping birds high above me in the cottonwoods. The sun has just barely peeped above the horizon somewhere behind a badlands bluff
but the birds decide it was time for me to get up. So be it…why argue with the animals who live her year round.
I left my rain flap off for the breeze all night and was greeted by my tent neighbor with a mild complaint…
“You said it wouldn’t rain here, it did last night…”
“ What???? I left my rain cover off and never felt a drop.”
“ That’s because you were under the cottonwoods.”
I look at the ground to see it parched and cracked with not a hint of rain. High above sits Angel with an umbrella in tow…Flossie sits by just grinning…
Guess the other riders better get an Angel and a Cow…
With the increasing light above the humped bluffs to the left I fix myself a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich and hot coffee for breakfast followed by a hot shower.
It does not take long to pack my things up and off I ride alone. There is some grumbling going on about yesterday’s ride, tomorrow’s ride, etc. and I am not in the mood for complaints. There are to many wonderful things to contemplate…which I do as I ride.
After a short stint on the Interstate I dip down into a valley deep within the badlands.
This far below the plateau the winds are barely detectable…9 mph headwinds up there somewhere.
I stop to get a shot of either wild sunflowers or large Black Eyed Susan’s…I cannot tell which.
and then crest a hill for my last view of of this state before I cross the border.
North Dakota has been hard on me but I see it as training for the next part of the trek.
As I cross into Montana
I stop to look at a river…what is left of it…the humidity has now dropped to 22%.
After another 12 miles on the Interstate I pull into Glendive the first town in Montana where sits an amazing state park dropped straight from the moon, along with dinosaur bones…I didn’t know they were lunar creatures too…
Our nights stay used to be in this park but the conditions were too stark so we have been offered a nights stay at the local community college just across the way.
Although I would like to have slept next to the dinosaur bones, my night inside tonight is welcome given a 103 mile ride tomorrow with the heat to top out at 94 F. Luckily we will have a tail wind of 10 mph as we head north to the Indian Reservations and Wolf Point.
Tomorrow’s ride will get us back on the Lewis and Clark Trail as we make our final turn West.
I wonder what the wildflowers will be like there…
Time Travelling with a Guardian Angel 
Hey Nick,
We’ve been at that State Park out of Glendive – Makoshika. Don’t know much about it but it’s strange. From the picture, those yellow flowers look like what Fran calls Blanket Flowers – because blankets were decorated with pictures of them. They have other names, which I don’t remember.
That Highway 2 – “the High Line” – has very little shoulder, as I recall, and I’m sure you remember. I thought it looked like a rough place to ride bikes. If it gets too hairy to be worth it, let us know. Be safe.
Rick
On Thu, Jul 12, 2018 at 6:30 PM Time Travelling with a Guardian Angel wrote:
> Nick Patrone posted: “7/12/18 In one day I have gone from this to this… > Only in America… Today I am waken by chirping birds high above me in the > cottonwoods. The sun has just barely peeped above the horizon somewhere > behind a badlands bluff but the birds decide it ” >
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Welcome to Montana the state where I was born and attended grade school (in Hardin south of Billings. My mother lived in Miles City as a young woman.). The heat may be a challenge for your ride but my worst memories are the cold winters during which the schools never heard of snow days.
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