58 miles

I didn’t sleep well last night. I woke up around 3:00 am ruminating about friendship. The birds were dead quiet until about 4:30 am, and then one by one they all started in like parts in a symphony. Once I finally accepted that I wasn’t going back to sleep, it was kind of nice to just listen. I got up and made coffee. Having that moment before the sun was up to spend some time alone was refreshing.

We were on the road very early, to beat the heat. The morning air felt so good and cold after our scorched ride yesterday. We made it halfway up the hill to see the Ross Creek Cedars, but we gave up. It was 3 miles of extra steep climbing, and it didn’t seem worth the effort, especially first thing in the day.

We ran into very little traffic. The road felt good, and the scenery continued to be perfect. I haven’t taken many pictures in Montana because everything looks like a postcard.

I found myself a little ways ahead of Danielle, so I stopped at a big garage sale. There was an older lady who told me she wasn’t having a garage sale today, she just always has the sign out and “happened to open the doors.” She seemed very eager to have a conversation. I wasn’t really ready for chitchat yet, having started the day so ungodly early (it was still only about 8:00 am), but she was persistent. I bought a pair of earrings and a small porcelain teacup for $1.50.

Danielle caught up, and a little ways later we stopped together at a roadside stand. It was sort of a cafe at a hiking trailhead. The guy working there seemed to be just opening for the day, and there was another cyclist already there. His name was Thomas, and he has been riding the Northern Tier in the opposite direction, starting from Bar Harbor, Maine. He had some good intel for us on our next few days re: camping, where to stock up on water, and what to expect near Glacier NP.

The cafe worker asked if he could take a polaroid of each of us with our bikes. He has an instagram page for his polaroids, I guess. He took a few and gave us some, along with some frozen huckleberries, knowing how hot the day was going to be. He was very sweet.

We made it to Libby – the ride went by pretty quickly. Danielle’s bike is totally fine. The thumping had been caused by the tube. I’m glad we know for sure and don’t have to worry about it anymore.

We made our way to the campground Thomas had suggested—the Army Corps of Engineers apparently maintains free campgrounds near the dam here. We stayed at Blackwell Flats. We met a very friendly guy who came over to our site to chat. His name was Lincoln, and he studies bees. He is from Corvallis, and came to the dam to do some trout fishing. He was very eager to help us fish, so we reeled a few times before the sun went down. He runs something called “The Bee Project” back in Corvallis. It was fun to hang with him and hear his impassioned thoughts about bees.