Week 5

Hi Everybody! This is Molly here. I hope you all are doing well and enjoying these early summer days. We've had an eventful few days and are happy to have made it to Great Falls, Montana for a mini-vacation (within a vacation). More on that later, but first, here's the down-low on the last few days:

Day 33: Following our day off in the fun-filled town of Glasgow, we felt well-rested and ready to bike again. As we peddled out of Glasgow, we saw some strange shadows on a hill up ahead. Looks like besides bears, snakes, strong wind and scalp-hunters- we now have to be on the look out for dinosaurs! We went on to bike 72 miles to Malta, MT. The road was mostly flat with a few rolling hills and a 10-15 mph tailwind. Thanks to the tailwind those Dinos didn't catch us. Phew.

I don't think that cow up there was as lucky as we were

It was a cloudy day, thankfully no rain but the mosquitoes were a-biting. We camped for $3 at an overgrown city park (nobody has been able to mow due to all of the rain). Weather forecast predicted 1/2 an inch of rain overnight and 2 more inches for tomorrow. We decided to put our waterproof tent to the test and luckily it passed!

Day 34: Although we managed to stay dry through the night, we woke up to heavy rain battering our tent and there were no signs of it letting up any time soon. The high for the day was in the 40's. We debated for a while about whether or not to bike anyway- the wind would be at our backs at least. Tomorrow's forecast looked more dry, but we would have a tough headwind to battle through. After getting soaked just packing up the tent, tomorrow's headwind sounded better than being wet and freezing all day, so we decided to take the day off, again. After settling in at a cheap but very nice motel, we warmed up with coffee and diner food and hit up the local Dinosaur Museum to learn a little bit more about those creatures we saw up on the hill when we rode out of Glasgow.

Sure am glad I'm not biking!

The Dinos at the museum were all found in local's back yards!

Nick loves the rain!

Day 35: The last of the rain showers rolled through in the early morning and the elusive blue sky decided to finally come out of hiding! We hit the road planning to ride 68 miles into the wind to Chinook, MT. We were about 11 miles into the windy day when we stopped near the side of the road to have a snack and take a short break. A pick-up truck pulled up and a friendly bearded man rolled down his window to chat. He asked where we were going and when we told him, he warned us about some heavy-duty road construction ahead. He told us that the road was completely torn apart for a few miles, muddy from the rain, and they weren't even letting motorcycles pass, let alone bicycles. He really urged us to take a ride from him past this construction. Part of us really didn't want to take a ride after an extra unplanned day off, we really wanted to push on ourselves. But this guy seemed to know what he was talking about so we threw the bikes in the bed of the truck, hopped in the back seat, and off we went at what felt like warp speed compared to peddling along against the wind at 8 mph. It turned out to be the right choice as the road was pretty gnarly and the company was great. The guy that picked us was named Bum, along with his wife, Linda, and dog, Harley. They have been living in the area for many years and drill water wells. They were such a wonderful couple who we learned have helped many bicyclers in distress. They have even opened up their house and let road-weary cyclists enjoy a "home away from home". Bum and Linda just may be the patron saints of touring bicyclists! They were extremely inspiring in their philosophy on life. They had the kindest hearts and taught us again how important it is to live each day with gratitude and a smile. They believe that kindness to others is so much more important than wealth or power. They truly seemed to enjoy life, live for the moment, and their positive energy was contagious. After saying good bye to them I wanted to run out and help somebody. But we'll help later- LUNCH FIRST! Bum and Linda dropped us off after the construction in Havre, MT and we grabbed a bite at a cafe where we bumped into one of the friendly women we met the previous day at the Dinosaur Museum. She was excited to see us, and us her, and between her and Bum, we felt like we were among friends in the middle of Montana. Did we mention yet that we love Montana? After lunch, we biked 35 more miles to Big Sandy, MT and we camped for free in their city park.

Blue Sky + Doughnut= Happiness

View of the torn up road from Bum's pick-up

Montana is home to tons of Pronghorn.

Finally getting out of the plains.

Day 36: Today is June 1st (Happy Birthday Mom!). But you wouldn't guess it here with temperatures still hovering in the 50's. Today we started with a strong headwind that let up a bit half-way through the day. We biked 40 miles to a cool little town called Fort Benton. Fort Benton has lots of history. Not long after Lewis and Clark passed by this area, Fort Benton became the first real town in Montana. As they are right on the Missouri River and having established the inner-most port and trading post in the U.S. Fort Benton acquired lots of travelers, businesses, and a "lively" culture full of gambling and prostitution. The town couldn't be any different these days with its quiet streets, ice cream shops, and kids playing at the local pool. Fort Benton is also very proud of one of it's canine citizens, Shep. Check out the story of Montana's most famous and loyal dog here: http://www.fortbenton.com/shep/story.html. But the true highlight of our stay in Fort Benton was sleeping in a tipi!

Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea check out Fort Benton.

Fancy hotel in Fort Benton. We prefer tipis.

Good ole Shep!

Check out our new diggs. Thinking of moving into one of these in San Fran!

Day 37: I woke up at 5am to rumbles of thunder and Nick nervously checking his phone for the latest weather updates. Nick told me that there was a terrible thunder storm about 30 miles away and because the tipi was open at the top and not very stable, he thought we should take cover in the bathrooms. Grumbling I took my sleeping bag into the bathroom where Nick and I sat and waited it out. Luckily the worst of the storm didn't get us. Just 20 minutes of hail and lightning. We decided to pack up and head out after the storm had passed as Great Falls (our destination for the day) had a forecast of more storms around 1pm. We figured we would try to beat them. The sky cleared temporarily and we pushed off. About a mile in, the grey clouds rolled back in and the wind and down pour followed. We found a bit of shelter under the the awning of a storage shed and waited this one out too. A lovely rainbow followed and on we went. We had about 20 miles of blue sky until we got drenched again. This time it wasn't as windy so we rode through it. It was an exhausting, hilly, weather-filled 50 mile day, but we made it at last to Great Falls, MT- the promised land! We hadn't had lunch when we arrived around 2- so we biked straight to Fudrucker's and mowed down some buffalo burgers, milkshakes and fries before finally finding rest at the Super 8. Tomorrow we have a real treat waiting for us. My brother and sister-in-law got us a night at the nicest Bed and Breakfast in town http://www.greatfallsbedbreakfast.com/ and an hour massage each! Thanks Eric and Nicole! You guys are the best! We are going to take two days off, rent a car, and see the sights from the comfort of a temperature controlled vehicle. We may even take a river boat cruise! We will enjoy these next two days because after that those menacing Rockies beckon...

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Home stretch to Great Falls- Rocky Mountains way in the distance.

So that's about it for now! Hopefully by the next update we will be safe and sound on the other side of the Rocky Mountains! Peace and love to all of you!