June 20 - June 23

Note: June 24 and June 25 to be published soon

June 20

We had a very relaxing Sunday, with a late breakfast at Pourman’s Café again, followed by grocery shopping, laundry and blogging. At about 5PM we had a hailstorm (dime-sized) with an amazing 1” accumulation. The folks in Lewistown told us that this was not typical Montana weather for late June. We readied ourselves for a week that would take us to the Bozeman, MT/Yellowstone,WY area.

June 21

Today was a day filled with excitement on the road. I have wanted to do at least one century (100 miles) on this adventure and it made sense to do it today since the ride from Lewistown, MT to Ft Benton, MT was just a little over 100 miles. The day began with clear skies, light winds and a temperature in the low 60’s. The terrain was rolling hills and the views were spectacular, with a first glimpse of mountains (the Highwood Mountains). The first two hours went smoothly but at around 10 AM the temperature dropped to around 57 and I found myself in the middle of a hailstorm (dime-sized hail) which lasted about 15 minutes. It rained another hour but began to clear around noon. I had two magical moments in the morning after the rain. The first was a golden eagle over my right shoulder that followed me for about 300 yards. The second was a large white tail doe that floated high in the air out of the brush at my left and landed directly in front of me, about 15 yards away. I couldn’t even hear it land on the road it was so light-footed. It took several more leaps and then was gone. It was breathtaking! At about 3 PM, the exact same thing happened again, only at about 30 yards this time. Wow! The skies went from clear to rainy to clear again all afternoon. At mile 94, it began to hail again, this time for about 5 minutes. The winds were westerly at 10-15 mph for the last two hours of the ride, but after the near hurricane winds last week, they were little more than a breeze. I met Jamye in Ft Benton 103 miles after my start. We enjoyed an evening on the town, which was the first town in Montana. It sits right on the Missouri River.

June 22

We had a relaxing morning and went to Bob’s Café for breakfast. Afterwards, we walked along the Missouri River, reading historical signs about Ft Benton’s past. The most awe inspiring monument was Montana’s memorial to Lewis and Clark, a statue by renowned western artist Bob Scriver. The statue is of Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea with her infant son. The memorial commemorates the nine days of exploration by the Corps of Discovery that occurred while camped at the confluence of the Marias River and Missouri River. Lewis had to determine which river was the Missouri and the route to the Pacific. After our walk around town, I began a 51-mile bike ride to Great Falls. As I rode toward Great Falls, I had my first sighting of the Rocky Mountains. I thought the Rockies no doubt looked exactly as they did when Lewis and Clark first saw them.

Fair warning to all whose hearts are touched by the love of their dogs: the true story of the faithful dog Shep will stay with you longer than you can imagine.

June 23

Jamye and I had another great day of mountain biking, this time along the Missouri River in Great Falls, MT. There is a 14-mile path along the river that leads to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center which covers in great detail the adventures of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. Before arriving at the center, we saw the great falls that confirmed for Meriwether Lewis that he had, indeed, made the correct decision in following the left fork at the confluence of the Marias and Missouri Rivers. We spent several hours at the interpretive center before heading back to camp in the late afternoon. After evaluating our schedule for the coming weeks, we found that we were several days ahead of our schedule. We decided to take our ‘bonus’ days and drive to Glacier National Park. I was encouraged by my friend Bill Wilson in Memphis, a Montana native, to ride the Going to the Sun Road in the Park. The bike ride, some kayaking and a break from the L&C trail sounded good to us.