68 miles

We woke up early and were on the road by 7:30 am. The sky really is much bigger here. We spotted a guy parking a piece of heavy equipment at the firehouse behind the bar, and he let us use their bathroom, which was most helpful, because the nearest public toilet appeared to be 15 miles away, in Stanford.
We had a pretty ride—the road was quiet with a wide shoulder, surrounded on all sides by open cattle ranches, prairie dogs, and wild antelope.

We stopped at the “R” Casino for breakfast, which was sort of a diner attached to a gas station with a couple of slot machines inside. I picked up a magazine and read a little about rodeo events. It’s odd to realize for the first time that there are lots of people (both children and adults) who actually dress and live like storybook cowboys. Stetson hats and tucked in plaid shirts with blue jeans and boots, just like Woody the toy, are everywhere. 

We met some “real” bikers at the casino, too—apparently there’s a BMW rally in Great Falls today. One guy with a voice exactly like Jeff Goldblum suggested we stop at Effigy Mounds National Park in Iowa. Thanks, Jeff.

We made it to Lewistown, MT. My period started a week early, so I got to enjoy the feminine privilege of bleeding heavily through my shorts today, and had to wash them in the sink at a thrift store bathroom (the only bathroom around for miles), and put them back on, still wet. Luckily, the day was hot and windy and they dried pretty quickly. 

I spent a lot of time thinking about wind today. 

We went to a bike shop here in Lewistown, because Danielle’s derailleur is still not quite right. The town incidentally reminds me strongly of Lewiston, Maine—big hills and a little downtown, a few parks. I guess Lewis knew what he liked. The bike shop “High Plains Bikes” was just a guy’s home garage, sort of a pre-fab shed. He is a middle school/high school science teacher. He worked on Danielle’s rear derailleur, straightened the hanger properly, and tightened her brakes. He gave us each a beer and regaled us with the local politics while he worked. There is apparently an initiative to buy land that used to be ranch land, and return it to the natural prairie ecosystem, but many of the ranchers oppose it, even though they are no longer able to use it for ranching. He gave us a nuanced explanation of it. It was great. 

We are staying at Kiwanis rest stop and campground. We had kale salad, pasta, and marionberry pie for dinner. There are a lot of prairie dogs living under the picnic table. The bathrooms are sparkling clean.