July 29, 2015. Wise River -Elkhorn Hot Springs
Last night was Alittle chilly. Cold enough to form ice on the tent. Don't worry though Big Agnes (our double wide down sleeping bag) always keeps us warm. It was chilly for the bathroom trips though. We also had a visitor. I kept heating a noise in a shed we camped next to that we put our bikes in. Hap went out to investigate (didn't think I was going did you?). It was a skunk. He was just wondering around making noise. He didn't bother us and we didn't bother him. Hap did take our food bag and put it in the laundry room.
We went into the bar/cafe for breakfast. She wasn't officially open but she said comeon in do you want some coffee? Must have seen me shivering! After breakfast we went to the post office to pick up our mail. George the mailman from home sent us some supplies from home general delivery. I left a supply box of stuff we might need. When we talked to him about what mail we had we asked him to ship some stuff a couple days ahead to Wise River. Now we have our Idaho maps and we can figure out what we are doing in Idaho.
We thought today was an easy day but..... Remember those two gears I needed? We climbed 27 miles up to 7900 feet. We started with a tailwind but that didn't last long. But it was a beautiful sunny day in the 70's. What is there to complain about. This part of Montana is really gorgeous. We followed a river up the mountain.
Our target for today was Elkhorn Hot Springs. We stopped here last time we rode this route. My back was really looking forward to it. We thought we were going to camp just Alittle past the hot springs. When I asked about camping at the hot springs she said. Camping is $25 that includes using the hot springs pools. Or the lodge has rooms for $55 that includes the pools and breakfast. Sounds like a no brainier to me. We checked into the room, put our suits on and spent an hour or so soaking. Ahhhhhh. Nuff said. Followed by burgers and beer at the lodge.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
July 27-28. Butte - Wise River MT
July 27 -28, 2015. Butte - Wise River MT
It was really nice to be inside when it's pouring down rain and maybe 50 degrees. The Lord always puts us in the right place if we just listen! It was cold and wet just walking around in all our rain gear. We stopped at a grocery and got dinner. Tonight we are having chicken pasta Alfredo (microwave) and asparagus steamers. It seems like we are getting enough veges but we're tryin.
The next morning when we left it was still pretty cold. 60 degrees. No rain but overcast. We ate breakfast in the room, put on our cold weather gear and headed out. What is our cold weather gear? Pretty much the same as other days except we wear everything! Didnt need the rain gear thank goodness. We stopped at a bike shop on the way out of town. Hap bought an extra cable for my bike. Since my bike is new and he hadn't changed that cable before he asked the owner about how to change it. The guy wasn't very nice and said well you'll probably have to just have someone do it for you. Guess he hasn't seen Hap repair our tandem wheel using a chain link fence!
Getting out of Butte was easy. All we had to do was look for the uphill. Another day that I only needed two gears UP and DOWN. Started on pavement and then changed to gravel/sand. The roads are much sandier in this part of MT. We saw an interesting scene at a picnic area we stopped at just outside of Butte. An old car pulled up, and a cowboy (yes a real one boots, hat and all, minus the horse....) gets out of passenger side. A women gets out of driver side, opens the trunk takes out a pile of clothes and assorted personal stuff (even his basketball and spare boots) and lays them on the ground in a pile. We are covertly watching from the bathroom. Lots of discussion going on but we couldn't hear (darn it). She got back in the car before she could pull away he opens her door and talked some more. Lots of arm gesturing and talkin. He closed the door. She spun the tires backing up and pulls away. Then she stops starts to back up but changes her mind (I'm assuming) because she spun the tires and left. Leaving cowboy man standing there. Hap says guess they had a fight. I said well they are definitely not married. He asked why and I said if they were she wouldn't have driven him anywhere. She would just put his stuff on the porch and say get out!!!
Back to the riding! The sandy roads and rain yesterday made the roads really soft. Which translates into the tires sinking in and more difficult riding. Only adds to the fun. As we climbed the temps dropped down to 55 degrees. We stopped a bunch to change clothes. Tights on off, vests on off, jackets on off, gloves..... You get the idea! We saw snow in the mountains. Glad we didn't ride in that yesterday. Passed lots of free range cattle along the way. Finally reached the top and topped out at 7425 feet. We had a huge downhill to get back down to I 15. Very steep and slidey (translation: sandy and rocky, and rutty). Does this sound like fun to anyone else? I said Hap why didn't we just follow I 15 down from Butte? Would've been much simpler. But then we wouldn't have seen the cows or the cowboy would we??
We crossed under I-15 and got on the road. Yes a real road. In Divide we stopped for a powerbar and bathroom break. Only one problem no bathroom. Only thing there was a post office that was closed. Hope they don't have outside cameras at the PO!
The road to Wise River was beautiful along the Big Hole River. This area is huge for fly fishing. We saw loads of people fishing just didn't see much catching! In Wise River we camped behind the bar, took a shower for $10 bucks and had a great dinner.
It was really nice to be inside when it's pouring down rain and maybe 50 degrees. The Lord always puts us in the right place if we just listen! It was cold and wet just walking around in all our rain gear. We stopped at a grocery and got dinner. Tonight we are having chicken pasta Alfredo (microwave) and asparagus steamers. It seems like we are getting enough veges but we're tryin.
The next morning when we left it was still pretty cold. 60 degrees. No rain but overcast. We ate breakfast in the room, put on our cold weather gear and headed out. What is our cold weather gear? Pretty much the same as other days except we wear everything! Didnt need the rain gear thank goodness. We stopped at a bike shop on the way out of town. Hap bought an extra cable for my bike. Since my bike is new and he hadn't changed that cable before he asked the owner about how to change it. The guy wasn't very nice and said well you'll probably have to just have someone do it for you. Guess he hasn't seen Hap repair our tandem wheel using a chain link fence!
Getting out of Butte was easy. All we had to do was look for the uphill. Another day that I only needed two gears UP and DOWN. Started on pavement and then changed to gravel/sand. The roads are much sandier in this part of MT. We saw an interesting scene at a picnic area we stopped at just outside of Butte. An old car pulled up, and a cowboy (yes a real one boots, hat and all, minus the horse....) gets out of passenger side. A women gets out of driver side, opens the trunk takes out a pile of clothes and assorted personal stuff (even his basketball and spare boots) and lays them on the ground in a pile. We are covertly watching from the bathroom. Lots of discussion going on but we couldn't hear (darn it). She got back in the car before she could pull away he opens her door and talked some more. Lots of arm gesturing and talkin. He closed the door. She spun the tires backing up and pulls away. Then she stops starts to back up but changes her mind (I'm assuming) because she spun the tires and left. Leaving cowboy man standing there. Hap says guess they had a fight. I said well they are definitely not married. He asked why and I said if they were she wouldn't have driven him anywhere. She would just put his stuff on the porch and say get out!!!
Back to the riding! The sandy roads and rain yesterday made the roads really soft. Which translates into the tires sinking in and more difficult riding. Only adds to the fun. As we climbed the temps dropped down to 55 degrees. We stopped a bunch to change clothes. Tights on off, vests on off, jackets on off, gloves..... You get the idea! We saw snow in the mountains. Glad we didn't ride in that yesterday. Passed lots of free range cattle along the way. Finally reached the top and topped out at 7425 feet. We had a huge downhill to get back down to I 15. Very steep and slidey (translation: sandy and rocky, and rutty). Does this sound like fun to anyone else? I said Hap why didn't we just follow I 15 down from Butte? Would've been much simpler. But then we wouldn't have seen the cows or the cowboy would we??
We crossed under I-15 and got on the road. Yes a real road. In Divide we stopped for a powerbar and bathroom break. Only one problem no bathroom. Only thing there was a post office that was closed. Hope they don't have outside cameras at the PO!
The road to Wise River was beautiful along the Big Hole River. This area is huge for fly fishing. We saw loads of people fishing just didn't see much catching! In Wise River we camped behind the bar, took a shower for $10 bucks and had a great dinner.
Monday, July 27, 2015
July 26-27, 2015. Butte, MT. Rain delay
July 26-27, 2015. Butte MT
So our original plan for Butte was to spend sat and Sunday in town so we could go to church and make plans for the second part of our ride. The second part is turning west south of Polaris MT and find a trail over the mountains into Idaho. The Great Divide trail keeps going south to Mexico but we already decided we would rather go to Idaho than Wyoming or N Mexico. We have maps to ride the Idaho Hot Springs route. And we just purchased gps files for our Garmin Etrex for that route. We are hoping we can download them at the library in Butte. So the question is how do we get to the start of the Hot springs route in Stanley ID?? I found a pass called Lemhi Pass that looks like it was doable and not far away from Polarus MT (end of Great Divide for us).
As we were watching the weather report though our plans changed. The forecast was for heavy rains and cold temps on Monday. The rest of the week looks good though. We devised a plan B. Stay in Butte until Tuesday am. Only question was where do we stay? The hotel we were in was pretty expensive for sat night but the next nite the rates went down according to their online site. I went to the desk and asked the rate and of course he said he would discount it for $95. I said I can get it online for $88. Can we have that rate? He said that is for second floor rooms. I said ok we can move upstairs. He said I won't have any of those rooms until 4p. It's only $7 more for the room you have. And I said and it's only $7 less for you to just give us that rate. He said well I can't just do that. I said ok let me talk to Hap.
When I got back to the room, I went online booked a different hotel for $30 less per night and we checked out. The desk guy said did you decided to move on then. I said no we found a better room. Have a great day!! I know $7 isn't a big deal. It's just the principal of it!
We went to Christ Church Anglican for a great service. We really enjoy going to churches in different parts of the country. But wherever we go we know that "Everyday is an Adventure and God is always there"! After we left church we went to lunch, stopped for dinner supplies, and then went to find our hotel. Butte is built on the side of a hill. There is a huge copper mining site just outside of town. Butte was a booming mining center at one time.
Our hotel was located in what looks like the older part of downtown. There are lots of large abandoned buildings. So it's not booming anymore. We were hoping it was so deserted because it was Sunday. We just missed Evil Kneival days. Apparently all of the hotels had been booked up and the town was packed. The hotel was at the top of a very steep street. It was a nice hotel and it had a laundry.
When we got to the room, I did laundry while Hap changed my front tire that I had a slow leak in. That's our first flat in over 800 miles. He was starting to get another new sound in his bike also. After we got our work done. We walked to the Muddy Creek Brewery for some samples. The streets are even steep for walking.
We ate dinner in the room and decided if the weather forecast was right. We would stay put until Tuesday when the sun came out.
This am we woke up to pouring rain and temps in the 50's. You know what we did? Turned over and went back to sleep! When I woke up Hap was handing me a cup of coffee. Thanks Hap. It rained most of the day. We did walk to a cafe for breakfast and to a grocery to get food for dinner. I called the library to see if we could use their computer to download our gps files onto our Etrex 20. The lady said absolutely! We had to walk back to the room to get the gps. We also put on more clothes
because it was cold!
The download went well so now we are all set for the Idaho Hot Springs route. As I was looking at a route into Idaho, I realized that the route I was looking at was a section of Adventure Cycling's Lewis and Clark route. Which means I could've just bought a map for this area. Duh!! We called Adventure Cycling and asked if they would just tell us about this section of their route. All we really needed to know was if there was any camping. It looks like a very desolate area with no services. He told us about a cyclist only place to stay in Grant MT. Apparently someone there will let you camp at their house or something. Not sure. But it's in the right area!
So our original plan for Butte was to spend sat and Sunday in town so we could go to church and make plans for the second part of our ride. The second part is turning west south of Polaris MT and find a trail over the mountains into Idaho. The Great Divide trail keeps going south to Mexico but we already decided we would rather go to Idaho than Wyoming or N Mexico. We have maps to ride the Idaho Hot Springs route. And we just purchased gps files for our Garmin Etrex for that route. We are hoping we can download them at the library in Butte. So the question is how do we get to the start of the Hot springs route in Stanley ID?? I found a pass called Lemhi Pass that looks like it was doable and not far away from Polarus MT (end of Great Divide for us).
As we were watching the weather report though our plans changed. The forecast was for heavy rains and cold temps on Monday. The rest of the week looks good though. We devised a plan B. Stay in Butte until Tuesday am. Only question was where do we stay? The hotel we were in was pretty expensive for sat night but the next nite the rates went down according to their online site. I went to the desk and asked the rate and of course he said he would discount it for $95. I said I can get it online for $88. Can we have that rate? He said that is for second floor rooms. I said ok we can move upstairs. He said I won't have any of those rooms until 4p. It's only $7 more for the room you have. And I said and it's only $7 less for you to just give us that rate. He said well I can't just do that. I said ok let me talk to Hap.
When I got back to the room, I went online booked a different hotel for $30 less per night and we checked out. The desk guy said did you decided to move on then. I said no we found a better room. Have a great day!! I know $7 isn't a big deal. It's just the principal of it!
We went to Christ Church Anglican for a great service. We really enjoy going to churches in different parts of the country. But wherever we go we know that "Everyday is an Adventure and God is always there"! After we left church we went to lunch, stopped for dinner supplies, and then went to find our hotel. Butte is built on the side of a hill. There is a huge copper mining site just outside of town. Butte was a booming mining center at one time.
Our hotel was located in what looks like the older part of downtown. There are lots of large abandoned buildings. So it's not booming anymore. We were hoping it was so deserted because it was Sunday. We just missed Evil Kneival days. Apparently all of the hotels had been booked up and the town was packed. The hotel was at the top of a very steep street. It was a nice hotel and it had a laundry.
When we got to the room, I did laundry while Hap changed my front tire that I had a slow leak in. That's our first flat in over 800 miles. He was starting to get another new sound in his bike also. After we got our work done. We walked to the Muddy Creek Brewery for some samples. The streets are even steep for walking.
We ate dinner in the room and decided if the weather forecast was right. We would stay put until Tuesday when the sun came out.
This am we woke up to pouring rain and temps in the 50's. You know what we did? Turned over and went back to sleep! When I woke up Hap was handing me a cup of coffee. Thanks Hap. It rained most of the day. We did walk to a cafe for breakfast and to a grocery to get food for dinner. I called the library to see if we could use their computer to download our gps files onto our Etrex 20. The lady said absolutely! We had to walk back to the room to get the gps. We also put on more clothes
because it was cold!
The download went well so now we are all set for the Idaho Hot Springs route. As I was looking at a route into Idaho, I realized that the route I was looking at was a section of Adventure Cycling's Lewis and Clark route. Which means I could've just bought a map for this area. Duh!! We called Adventure Cycling and asked if they would just tell us about this section of their route. All we really needed to know was if there was any camping. It looks like a very desolate area with no services. He told us about a cyclist only place to stay in Grant MT. Apparently someone there will let you camp at their house or something. Not sure. But it's in the right area!
July 25, 2015. Park Lake campground - Butte MT
July 25, Park Lake Campground - Butte MT
We planned an early start............ just kiddin! After breakfast of oatmeal, bagels and PB we left camp in sunny warm weather. Nice campground. Loads of kids and dogs. Reminded of spending many summer months at Aters Lake in Chillicothe. Everyone had a boat of some kind. Some with fishin poles and some without. Of course we started with our two miles UP to the turnoff.
We did have some idea what was in store for us today because we rode this section several years ago. It's funny how memories get lost though. The map told us to turn off the gravel road onto a rough 4 wheel drive track. They were right! It was rough, lots of boulders, sand, gravel, logs, divots (that's a big hole / washed out area in the middle of the trail). Most of it was un rideable at least with gear on the bikes. The day went something like this ride 20 yards, walk/carry/push up the hill. And repeat for about 6 miles. Oh and the guy was right yesterday. It did take us at least 2 hours to go the six miles! If we hadn't stopped when we did last nite we would've been on this trail in the monsoon! Whew. Thank you Lord! Finally we came out of the woods onto a meadow. We stopped for an apple PB snack. As we were sitting there all of a sudden a doe stepped right up behind us! Good thing it wasn't a bear. We would've been bear food. After our snack. We had some very steep and very rough downhill. But we made it!
The last 5 miles into Basin was on a much better dirt road that ran alongside of a pretty creek. In Basin we decided we had enough of dirt riding so we got onto I 15 for the last 20 miles into Butte. We had a long climb over our fifth Continental Divide crossing. Not much traffic on the Interstate. We don't mind riding on it anyway. We did a lot of interstate riding on our perimeter ride. But ya know when the Eatons are riding there's always an adventure right around the corner. We had a headwind along with the uphill that's not the adventure part. The adventure part was when it started to sprinkle. I said you think we need to put our raincoats on? Hap says no it's fine. It'll probably go around us. I could see rain ahead of us though. So I said well I'm getting them out anyway. About that time the monsoon/sideways wind hit along with the hard cold rain. We quickly put the coats on and took off because there was no shelter standing on the side of I 15. But the wind was too strong, I saw a large bush(yes I said bush) in the median so I screamed at Hap. It took several shouts. When he stopped I headed for the downwind side of the bush. Not much protection from rain but at least we were out of the wind. This was the point where I pulled out my phone and called a hotel that was 10 miles away. Alittle pricey but who cares when your standing by a bush on the freeway in a monsoon! The lady at the hotel said I just want to make sure you understand you can't cancel this. I said believe me lady we'll be there. When she asked for a credit card #. We both looked at each other because we were standing in pouring rain and howling wind then we had to dig for a card. We just laughed. What ya gonna do? I asked her if it was raining in Butte. She said no it's beautiful and sunny here! Gotta love mountain weather!!
It took awhile but we finally crossed the C Divide and headed down into Butte. Oh by this time the sun was out and it was beautiful. We had A fantastic 8 miles of downhill. What fun! We checked into the hotel and took a hot shower, and ordered a pizza! Ahhhh civilization !!
We planned an early start............ just kiddin! After breakfast of oatmeal, bagels and PB we left camp in sunny warm weather. Nice campground. Loads of kids and dogs. Reminded of spending many summer months at Aters Lake in Chillicothe. Everyone had a boat of some kind. Some with fishin poles and some without. Of course we started with our two miles UP to the turnoff.
We did have some idea what was in store for us today because we rode this section several years ago. It's funny how memories get lost though. The map told us to turn off the gravel road onto a rough 4 wheel drive track. They were right! It was rough, lots of boulders, sand, gravel, logs, divots (that's a big hole / washed out area in the middle of the trail). Most of it was un rideable at least with gear on the bikes. The day went something like this ride 20 yards, walk/carry/push up the hill. And repeat for about 6 miles. Oh and the guy was right yesterday. It did take us at least 2 hours to go the six miles! If we hadn't stopped when we did last nite we would've been on this trail in the monsoon! Whew. Thank you Lord! Finally we came out of the woods onto a meadow. We stopped for an apple PB snack. As we were sitting there all of a sudden a doe stepped right up behind us! Good thing it wasn't a bear. We would've been bear food. After our snack. We had some very steep and very rough downhill. But we made it!
The last 5 miles into Basin was on a much better dirt road that ran alongside of a pretty creek. In Basin we decided we had enough of dirt riding so we got onto I 15 for the last 20 miles into Butte. We had a long climb over our fifth Continental Divide crossing. Not much traffic on the Interstate. We don't mind riding on it anyway. We did a lot of interstate riding on our perimeter ride. But ya know when the Eatons are riding there's always an adventure right around the corner. We had a headwind along with the uphill that's not the adventure part. The adventure part was when it started to sprinkle. I said you think we need to put our raincoats on? Hap says no it's fine. It'll probably go around us. I could see rain ahead of us though. So I said well I'm getting them out anyway. About that time the monsoon/sideways wind hit along with the hard cold rain. We quickly put the coats on and took off because there was no shelter standing on the side of I 15. But the wind was too strong, I saw a large bush(yes I said bush) in the median so I screamed at Hap. It took several shouts. When he stopped I headed for the downwind side of the bush. Not much protection from rain but at least we were out of the wind. This was the point where I pulled out my phone and called a hotel that was 10 miles away. Alittle pricey but who cares when your standing by a bush on the freeway in a monsoon! The lady at the hotel said I just want to make sure you understand you can't cancel this. I said believe me lady we'll be there. When she asked for a credit card #. We both looked at each other because we were standing in pouring rain and howling wind then we had to dig for a card. We just laughed. What ya gonna do? I asked her if it was raining in Butte. She said no it's beautiful and sunny here! Gotta love mountain weather!!
It took awhile but we finally crossed the C Divide and headed down into Butte. Oh by this time the sun was out and it was beautiful. We had A fantastic 8 miles of downhill. What fun! We checked into the hotel and took a hot shower, and ordered a pizza! Ahhhh civilization !!
July 23-24. Helena - Park Lake campground
July 23-24, 2015 Helena MT and Helena to Park Lake
We spent a day in Helena riding around town. We went to a bike store to pick up more brake pads for my bike and going to ATT store to find out why my new iPhone 5 wasn't backing up to the iCloud. We also needed to find someplace that would let us use their computer to Down load our gps maps for the second phase of this trip. We purchased the gps files from Adventure Cycling for the Idaho Hot Springs loop. We will be turning west towards Idaho just south of Polaris MT in a few days. We couldn't find anyone to help us out with the gps files but it doesn't matter. We have paper maps. A gps is for sissies anyway!! All we need is a map, a compass and a protractor! We'll figure it out. We rode a lot in Idaho last year so we are looking forward to it!
When we left Helena we had no idea how hard a day we were going to have. Our map and book didn't mention a 17 mile climb. We started climbing from the get go up Grizzly Gulch. The road was fairly smooth but the climb was a constant 5-10%. There was a short couple of mile downhill but for the most part it was climbing. I really only needed two speeds UP and DOWN. Didn't need to bother with my other 18 gears. A lot off traffic going somewhere on that road. Not sure where they were going but they were climbing too!
About 4:00 (did I mention we climbed all day!) we were at a crossroads. There was a campground about 2 miles off route downhill that we could go to. OR we needed to go another 20 miles to Basin MT to a campground. As we were standing there debating, discussing and staring at the map. A motorcyclist came down the road and stopped. He said another couple was ahead of us and yes we were going the right way. He said the trail ahead was pretty rough. One section would take us at least
two hours. Ok so that means we wouldn't be in Basin til after 7p at the earliest. That's not good. He talked for a bit and said good luck! We decided the safe bet was to go to the closer campground even
if it was 2 miles the wrong way AND downhill which means...yep you guessed it...2 miles UP back to where we were. But surely we are at the top how much more climbing could there be?
We headed down hill and found pretty Park Lake. Lots of families enjoying the lake and campground. So that's where those cars were going all day! Just as we found our campsite the wind picked up and it started to sprinkle. Uh oh! We tried to put our tarp up first so that we would have a dry place to put everything under. It was about this time that the monsoon/tornado/wind started. We ended up throwing everything under the picnic table covering it with the tarp and headed for shelter. The only shelter we found was a bush! But a lady came running over yelling come get into our trailer. We ran over jumped in the trailer and the husband or at least the guy inside the trailer Said stay inside we are going next door. There's food here and some wine take what you need. So that's how We went from standing in the storm to sitting in a nice warm dry place. God is good! He sends just what you need at just the right time!! Guess he thought we needed a glass do wine after all our hard work today. We sat in the trailer drinking wine and watching the storm for about a half hour. Then the storm passed and the son came out.
We went to our campsite and set up the tent, cooked dinner, took our sponge bath all in sunny skies. Mountain weather sure is funny. You never know what will pop up. We both said its a good thing we went on top of the mountain when that hit. Thank you Lord!! Trail angels are wonderful things! Thanks to the stranger on the motorcycle and the couple with the trailer!
We spent a day in Helena riding around town. We went to a bike store to pick up more brake pads for my bike and going to ATT store to find out why my new iPhone 5 wasn't backing up to the iCloud. We also needed to find someplace that would let us use their computer to Down load our gps maps for the second phase of this trip. We purchased the gps files from Adventure Cycling for the Idaho Hot Springs loop. We will be turning west towards Idaho just south of Polaris MT in a few days. We couldn't find anyone to help us out with the gps files but it doesn't matter. We have paper maps. A gps is for sissies anyway!! All we need is a map, a compass and a protractor! We'll figure it out. We rode a lot in Idaho last year so we are looking forward to it!
When we left Helena we had no idea how hard a day we were going to have. Our map and book didn't mention a 17 mile climb. We started climbing from the get go up Grizzly Gulch. The road was fairly smooth but the climb was a constant 5-10%. There was a short couple of mile downhill but for the most part it was climbing. I really only needed two speeds UP and DOWN. Didn't need to bother with my other 18 gears. A lot off traffic going somewhere on that road. Not sure where they were going but they were climbing too!
About 4:00 (did I mention we climbed all day!) we were at a crossroads. There was a campground about 2 miles off route downhill that we could go to. OR we needed to go another 20 miles to Basin MT to a campground. As we were standing there debating, discussing and staring at the map. A motorcyclist came down the road and stopped. He said another couple was ahead of us and yes we were going the right way. He said the trail ahead was pretty rough. One section would take us at least
two hours. Ok so that means we wouldn't be in Basin til after 7p at the earliest. That's not good. He talked for a bit and said good luck! We decided the safe bet was to go to the closer campground even
if it was 2 miles the wrong way AND downhill which means...yep you guessed it...2 miles UP back to where we were. But surely we are at the top how much more climbing could there be?
We headed down hill and found pretty Park Lake. Lots of families enjoying the lake and campground. So that's where those cars were going all day! Just as we found our campsite the wind picked up and it started to sprinkle. Uh oh! We tried to put our tarp up first so that we would have a dry place to put everything under. It was about this time that the monsoon/tornado/wind started. We ended up throwing everything under the picnic table covering it with the tarp and headed for shelter. The only shelter we found was a bush! But a lady came running over yelling come get into our trailer. We ran over jumped in the trailer and the husband or at least the guy inside the trailer Said stay inside we are going next door. There's food here and some wine take what you need. So that's how We went from standing in the storm to sitting in a nice warm dry place. God is good! He sends just what you need at just the right time!! Guess he thought we needed a glass do wine after all our hard work today. We sat in the trailer drinking wine and watching the storm for about a half hour. Then the storm passed and the son came out.
We went to our campsite and set up the tent, cooked dinner, took our sponge bath all in sunny skies. Mountain weather sure is funny. You never know what will pop up. We both said its a good thing we went on top of the mountain when that hit. Thank you Lord!! Trail angels are wonderful things! Thanks to the stranger on the motorcycle and the couple with the trailer!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
July 22 Llama Ranch - Helena MT
July 22, 2015. Llama Lodge - Helena MT
We had planned to stay at a motel in Helena since there is no camping in town. We left the Llama Lodge early by Eaton standards. I have been dreading today's ride. I remembered the steep climbs and the difficulty navigating from our ride in 2003. No alternate for today though. Thankfully it was overcast and cooler. That will help. We had two crossings of the Continental Divide. The climbs were up to 12%. But today was a great riding day. I don't know what happened but for some reason everything worked. My back felt good, my legs were great and my attitude (important detail-don't even think of doing this if you have a poor attitude!). I didn't walk any of the steeper sections. I know I had to the last time. So I was surprised and happy!! It's probably all about the new bike I had to have.
We are riding through a lot of forest area, free ranging cattle, and old mines. A beautiful area!! We climbed all day until we were ready for the downhill into Helena. Just as we crested Priest Pass it started to rain so we put on rain gear. The downhill wasn't as bad as the day before. By the time we reached the bottom the sun came out. We turned onto Route 12 for a smooth paved downhill ride into Helena. The first thing we did was stop and eat, of course. We found the hotel, checked into our room. But when we got to the room it wasn't cleaned so we had a wait. We decided we deserved a steak dinner so we went across the street. As a bonus we were able to watch the Tour de France.
At the hotel I got the laundry done and we both fell asleep. No wonder!! We were blessed the last couple of days with good weather, good navigation, not much back pain and a great ride! We are blessed!!!!
We had planned to stay at a motel in Helena since there is no camping in town. We left the Llama Lodge early by Eaton standards. I have been dreading today's ride. I remembered the steep climbs and the difficulty navigating from our ride in 2003. No alternate for today though. Thankfully it was overcast and cooler. That will help. We had two crossings of the Continental Divide. The climbs were up to 12%. But today was a great riding day. I don't know what happened but for some reason everything worked. My back felt good, my legs were great and my attitude (important detail-don't even think of doing this if you have a poor attitude!). I didn't walk any of the steeper sections. I know I had to the last time. So I was surprised and happy!! It's probably all about the new bike I had to have.
We are riding through a lot of forest area, free ranging cattle, and old mines. A beautiful area!! We climbed all day until we were ready for the downhill into Helena. Just as we crested Priest Pass it started to rain so we put on rain gear. The downhill wasn't as bad as the day before. By the time we reached the bottom the sun came out. We turned onto Route 12 for a smooth paved downhill ride into Helena. The first thing we did was stop and eat, of course. We found the hotel, checked into our room. But when we got to the room it wasn't cleaned so we had a wait. We decided we deserved a steak dinner so we went across the street. As a bonus we were able to watch the Tour de France.
At the hotel I got the laundry done and we both fell asleep. No wonder!! We were blessed the last couple of days with good weather, good navigation, not much back pain and a great ride! We are blessed!!!!
July 21. Lincoln MT - Llama Ranch (just outside of Helena MT)
July 21, 2015. Lincoln MT - Llama Lodge (near Helena MT)
Pics of Llama Lodge!
We attempted an early start from Lincoln but you know how that works! By the time Hap headed to the post office and I stopped at the grocery for supplies it was 10:00. How does that happen? It was bright and sunny with temps expected in the 90's. The route today is a tough one. I remember this from the last time (2003) we rode this section. I have been dreading the next couple of days. Challenging if you like that sort of thing....... The other challenge the last time was navigation. We didn't have a gps back then and they didn't have the route coordinates set up anyway. They still don't have actual GPS data but somehow you can download it off the internet. Of course we didn't do that. That would make it much too easy. There are a couple pics above with descriptions of the route that someone had online. Just to give you an idea what we are working with. Look closely at the little "pebbles" on the nice smooth "flat" road!
The route started off on a wide smooth road on the climb up to Stemple Pass. We decided to just stay on Stemple pass road until the top of the pass. The actual route took a side route with this description on the map "turn right onto FR 4134 up south fork of Poorman Creek. The next 4.4 miles are EXTREMELY steep uphill. But they lead to fascination country." If you remember another day we rode a "moderate" uphill. Since we had already pushed up this extremely steep hill in 2001, why do that again? May as we'll see some different scenery! Our route was longer but all rideable with grades of 4-12% about 15 miles worth of climbing. At the top of Stemple pass we crossed the Continental pass at 6376 feet. Then we turned onto Marsh Creek road to make our second Continental Divide. Max elevation 7000 feet. It's one thing to climb on a smooth road but when you add big rocks, little rocks, smooth rocks, pointy rocks, sand, all bets are off! Then add 30-50 pounds of gear, ruts, drop offs, obstacles etc you've got a ride!
Here's some descriptions of the route with pics I found online. Maybe this helps show you how much fun this really is.....
Then you've got the downhill. The down off of the pass was exciting to say the least. I think my new full suspension, 29er bike is a dream! It was just a matter of picking your way down through the rocks etc. we made it! Before leaving Lincoln, We had called a lady who let cyclists stay in a cabin on her property for free. All we had to do was find it and not go sailing by on the downhill. We found it! She had llamas so you had to be careful going through the gate. Don't let the llamas out!
When we arrived we found another couple there from Holland. They were riding the Great Divide on rigid bikes (no suspension!). Much tougher than we are. We chatted for a bit and ate our freeze dried food. Hap had to replace my rear brake pads (surprise!). I told u I was hangin on for the downhill. The cabin was small and cozy. It had everything we needed even an outside solar shower. Nice place. We had a great nights sleep in the loft bed. Just had to remember to watch the first step for the mid night outhouse run!
Pics of Llama Lodge!
We attempted an early start from Lincoln but you know how that works! By the time Hap headed to the post office and I stopped at the grocery for supplies it was 10:00. How does that happen? It was bright and sunny with temps expected in the 90's. The route today is a tough one. I remember this from the last time (2003) we rode this section. I have been dreading the next couple of days. Challenging if you like that sort of thing....... The other challenge the last time was navigation. We didn't have a gps back then and they didn't have the route coordinates set up anyway. They still don't have actual GPS data but somehow you can download it off the internet. Of course we didn't do that. That would make it much too easy. There are a couple pics above with descriptions of the route that someone had online. Just to give you an idea what we are working with. Look closely at the little "pebbles" on the nice smooth "flat" road!
The route started off on a wide smooth road on the climb up to Stemple Pass. We decided to just stay on Stemple pass road until the top of the pass. The actual route took a side route with this description on the map "turn right onto FR 4134 up south fork of Poorman Creek. The next 4.4 miles are EXTREMELY steep uphill. But they lead to fascination country." If you remember another day we rode a "moderate" uphill. Since we had already pushed up this extremely steep hill in 2001, why do that again? May as we'll see some different scenery! Our route was longer but all rideable with grades of 4-12% about 15 miles worth of climbing. At the top of Stemple pass we crossed the Continental pass at 6376 feet. Then we turned onto Marsh Creek road to make our second Continental Divide. Max elevation 7000 feet. It's one thing to climb on a smooth road but when you add big rocks, little rocks, smooth rocks, pointy rocks, sand, all bets are off! Then add 30-50 pounds of gear, ruts, drop offs, obstacles etc you've got a ride!
Here's some descriptions of the route with pics I found online. Maybe this helps show you how much fun this really is.....
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When we arrived we found another couple there from Holland. They were riding the Great Divide on rigid bikes (no suspension!). Much tougher than we are. We chatted for a bit and ate our freeze dried food. Hap had to replace my rear brake pads (surprise!). I told u I was hangin on for the downhill. The cabin was small and cozy. It had everything we needed even an outside solar shower. Nice place. We had a great nights sleep in the loft bed. Just had to remember to watch the first step for the mid night outhouse run!
Monday, July 20, 2015
July 19 and 20. Seeley Lake - Ovanda MT - Lincoln MT
July 19 and 20. Seeley lake -Ovando MT - Lincoln MT
The route to Ovando started with a two mile climb back to where we started down yesterday. The big question was does that big road closed sign really mean road closed?? I did some online research and the best we could do was to come up with hopefully an alternate route that might work. We got to the sign and took a chance. Luckily it was Sunday so they weren't actually working on the road. No problem! Lots of ups and downs before everything opened up into a big open area into Ovanda on Route 200.
In town we found a nice town square that really catered to cyclists. We could sleep in a teepee, a shepherds wagon or camp at the town museum. There was even solar showers available. We were standing by the store and a lady stuck her head out and said if you want something I'm getting ready to close. Thanks! We got some ice cream and sat on the porch figuring out what to do. We took a "shower" with the solar showers. Sort of strange showering in the open town square but whatever!! At least we were clean.
Then we rode up the road (top of the hill of course) for hamburgers. We met some other cyclists as we were setting up at the museum. No prob sleeping that's for sure!
After breakfast at the Silver Skillet we decided to take the nice smooth route 200 to Lincoln. So after watching the Tour de France on tv we took off for Lincoln. Home of THR Unibomber. My back needed a break. Seemed like a day off without all of the jolting of the gravel roads. The next few days into Helena will be the toughest of the trip so far. We got a room at the Sportman motel, got dinner supplies at the grocery, got laundry done and pepped for the tough days ahead.
The route to Ovando started with a two mile climb back to where we started down yesterday. The big question was does that big road closed sign really mean road closed?? I did some online research and the best we could do was to come up with hopefully an alternate route that might work. We got to the sign and took a chance. Luckily it was Sunday so they weren't actually working on the road. No problem! Lots of ups and downs before everything opened up into a big open area into Ovanda on Route 200.
In town we found a nice town square that really catered to cyclists. We could sleep in a teepee, a shepherds wagon or camp at the town museum. There was even solar showers available. We were standing by the store and a lady stuck her head out and said if you want something I'm getting ready to close. Thanks! We got some ice cream and sat on the porch figuring out what to do. We took a "shower" with the solar showers. Sort of strange showering in the open town square but whatever!! At least we were clean.
Then we rode up the road (top of the hill of course) for hamburgers. We met some other cyclists as we were setting up at the museum. No prob sleeping that's for sure!
After breakfast at the Silver Skillet we decided to take the nice smooth route 200 to Lincoln. So after watching the Tour de France on tv we took off for Lincoln. Home of THR Unibomber. My back needed a break. Seemed like a day off without all of the jolting of the gravel roads. The next few days into Helena will be the toughest of the trip so far. We got a room at the Sportman motel, got dinner supplies at the grocery, got laundry done and pepped for the tough days ahead.
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