Great Falls, MT

We got up Sunday morning and headed off to the Foursquare Church in Helena. Hoping that we had the right worship time! It was another HOT sunny day in the Big Sky state! We had a wonderful time worshipping and remembering why we have the ability and the desire to take a trip like we are on. We have been so blessed by meeting such wonderful people and seeing awesome sights. When we left the church it was really starting to heat up. Our thermometer on the bike said it was 107 degrees. We rode through the north edge of Helena and stopped at a Subway for lunch. Riding out of town, we were able to ride on a frontage road of Interstate 15 for awhile. Suddenly we realized we had turned away from the interstate and were heading east. We could see an exit about a mile or so ahead of us. But we had to turn north onto a gravel road to get there. That must be why we put on those heavy duty tires! We got onto I 15 and headed north. We had about an eight mile climb, give or take a mile. But what the heck it was only 107 degrees. We had filled our camelback with water and our four waterbottles because we did not know how far it would be to water. It was a hot climb but not a difficult one. There wasn't much traffic on the interstate. We passed the exit for Gates of the Mountain. We had been told that there was a neat boat trip on the Missouri River, where the mts closed in and were sheer cliffs. This is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition came through. But we didn't have time to stop and there was no camping available there, so we headed north toward Wolf Creek our destination for the night. When we got off the Interstate at the Wolf Creek exit, there was a small cafe, we decided to go in for something cold to drink. Hap had some amazing onion something or other soup. The owner told us about a campground about 5 miles away or so at Holter Lake. We headed up the road to the turnoff just after the bridge over the Missouri River. The campground was about 2.5 miles back that road. There was a huge hill to climb to get to it. But it was worth it. What a beautiful lake. We camped right by the lake. It looked like a storm was brewing so we hurried to set up the tent. Luckily there was a shelterhouse right there so we left everything else on the bike and waited. Of course we had to eat while we waited! The wind really started blowing hard, but no rain fell. Within about a half hour, the sky cleared and the sun came out. Welcome to the mountains! There were not any showers at the campground so we took a bath in the lake and headed to bed.
Yesterday our plan was to ride into Great Falls. We belong to the Tandem Club of America and they have people who sign up to be a hospitality home. This could be anything to a shower, a place to pitch a tent, or anything else. We had never stayed at one before so we thought it would be fun to try. Talking with other tandem lovers seemed like a fun thing to do. So we called up Ben and Caroline and asked if we could stop by. They said they had never had anyone stay in their hospitality home, didn't know what to expect, but sure come on. The ride to Great Falls was just beautiful. Of course we had to start by climbing back up that big hill out of the lake! We stopped in Craig for some breakfast. I don't think I have ever paid $10 for bacon and eggs before! After that we rode on a frontage road most of the way, through a canyon. We loved the shade from the big walls as we rode by! This must be the fishing capital of the world. We ran into another touring cyclist coming towards us so we stopped to talk with Tom for awhile. He was preparing to ride across the southern US next spring. It was really fun to talk "strategy" with him. We headed on toward Great Falls. In Cascade we stopped for lunch. It was really hot again, but only about 100 degrees. We rode the frontage road until we got about five miles from Great Falls and then had to get onto I 15 again for a huge downhill into the city. We stopped at the post office for our mail pick up and headed to Caroline and Ben's house. They live in a huge old house that was decorated beautifully. We had a wonderful stay with them. They are a two tandem and two dog family so we were very happy. They also enjoy watching Le Tour de France so we were extra happy. We had planned to go out to the 3D International Restaurant but after watching the Tour decided eating in would be better. Then we found out that Caroline is a REAL cook. We had an excellent meal of grilled chicken, rice, asparagus and cucumber and onions. It was awesome. They also make their own beer so it was just a perfect finish for the day.
This morning we watched today's stage of Le Tour before heading off northwest to Glacier Park. I can't wait to see what happens next. We need to be in West Glacier by next Monday to meet Bing and Susie (and their four standard poodles). We are really looking forward to seeing familiar faces from home. We may be out of touch for a few days, because now we will be getting into the mountains and cell service will be limited. So until next time.......................