1,250 Miles!

Although a seemingly obscure number, we hit 1,250 miles today and had a jubilant celebration in the middle of nowhere eastern Montana. The cows must have thought we were a little off our rocker as we jumped, high-fived, and hugged on the side of the road. 1,250, for the mathematically challenged out there, is 25% of 5,000!! Amazing that we are already a quarter of the way to our goal.

We just rolled into Chinook, MT. A neat little historic town on the fringe of the Bear Paw Battlefield where Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe were finally subdued after a 2,000 mile march and a couple of victorious battles against the American cavalry. Hope to drop in the museum before it closes and learn more about the area.

We were very sad to leave the Nelsons as we set out from Columbia Falls. They are an awesome family and a wonderful example to us. There is even a rumor that Andrew (their 13-year old son) hopes to ride to the Canadian border and now even Pastor Matt is exchanging chaps and the Harley for a good old-fashioned man-powered bike. Thanks for everything Pastor Matt, Diane, Claire, and Andrew!

We made it to East Glacier after riding along the Flathead River and the south end of Glacier Park. It is sad not to be able to hop off the bike and go hang out with some grizzlies in the backcountry, but we pledged to come back and really experience the Park. We camped at a cool little hostel/bakery/grocery. In the evening, we sat on the deck, ate dinner, and watched the sun go down over the breathtaking mountains of Glacier National Park.

Arose early and headed out on Tuesday for a big day. We knew it was all downhill to Cut Bank, MT and the morning greeted us with cool weather and a strong tailwind. We took Cut Bank by storm and rode to Chester, MT after 117 miles of flats and wind. After two weeks of averaging around 13 mph in the mountains, it was a great feeling to average 18.5 mph even after having to deal with some construction. It didn't even seem fair to be going so fast for so long...the wind carried us and we can not take credit for that.

The land between East Glacier to Havre, MT was wide open prairie. All directions...nothing but prairie. Immense and humbling. As we were riding I realized how small we were in the midst of this vast place. I developed a favorite habit of yelling at the top of my lungs. Really, I could not remember the last time I yelled as loud as I could (do you?) so I just let it out. Jenny laughed for quite a while and then tried it...a pretty wimpy yelp at first, but then she got out a hardy noise. After all our yelling and comotion, things are still pretty quiet out on those huge, empty plains.

We camped at the city park in Chester last night and did an easy 82-mile day today. We stopped to rotate our tires in Havre and ended up meeting the Mayor of the town who officially greeted us by sharing two homemade cookies. There was some live music in the park (mostly 70's classic rock covers) and we had a nice, simple lunch. The band closed with 'On the Road Again' as we pedaled out of town : )

Now we are off to the park. It is amazing to me how towns have been so welcoming and we are so appreciative of public spaces. The value of parks is becoming more and more clear to me as we travel and look for spots to rest and/or spend the night.

Looks like we will be shooting for some hot springs tomorrow and then on to the North Dakota border. Thanks for saying hi and for all the encouragement. Hope things are well with all of you. Talk to you soon.

Love,
Scott and Jenny