Harlem, MT

Another beautiful sunrise

Awoke at 4:00 AM and was on the road by 4:45 AM.  Bicycled another 75 miles through the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservation.  Passed through  Malta, Dodson, Ft. Belknap Agency, before arriving in Harlem, Montana.  Ran into virtually no one...shared my space with a few head of cattle and an unlimited number of mosquitoes. 

My only company today

  Harlem offered a real treat...free camping at the city park, showers for $1.00 and use of the pool for $1.00!  What a treat...I feel like a new man.
While bicycling I had glimpses of the Big Snowy Mountains and the Big Belt mountains...I'm getting closer to "God's Country."

Robe Walker and Monte Cherry

 Robe is the artist who did the sculpture "Batesdane" that resides at Montana Northern University.  Literally translated it means "Iron Man."

 Between Saco and Malta

Saco, MT

Near Saco, Montana. The winds are horrendous!

Yesterday, after a brutal 75 mile ride, the last 10 miles in brutal wind and heat, I found myself totally spent and too exhausted to even eat.  During that leg of the trip I consumed 56 ounces of water and 8 ounces of Gatoraid and still felt dehydrated. Jim Born and I pulled into Hinsdale, hydrated as best we could and recuperated.  It was here that Mr. Knudsen introduced himself.  Among other endeavors, he and his wife own an ice cream shop that is open every day but Sunday and Monday...it was Sunday.  Even so, the kind Mr. Knudsen opened the shop up to us, allowed us to set up our tents in the park next to the store, made a shower available and even served us coffee the next morning...THANK YOU MR. AND MRS. KNUDSEN!!!

 Dave Martus and Loren Bach traveling in style.  Traveling east as I travel west.

One of the casualties of the road to Saco

Magnificent brown Angus thriving on sweetgrass before being introduced to their ladies in waiting. 

Woke up at 3:30 AM in order to get an early start to beat the wind...unfortunately it started to rain, then pour, then thunder and then blow.  Had planned to ride to Malta, Montana, a distance of 41 miles but the wind was so brutal that I stopped in Saco AFTER ONLY 14 MILES!  So what is noteworthy about Saco?  It has a population of only 197 living souls. There are several theories on how it got its name, as a contraction of Sacajawea who helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition. Another theory is that one of the engineers with the Great Northern Railroad spun the globe and when his finger landed on Saco, Maine, they decided that was the name...Saco.  In 1999 it held the Guinness world record for the largest hamburger ever made at 6040 pounds and made from 17 head of beef cattle.

Wolf Point to Hinsdale, Montana

These wide-open spaces are lean on trees and rich in head winds...

Departed Wolf Point, Montana at 4:30 this morning. Bicycled through Oswego and connected with Jim Born in Nashua.  He is bicycling to Calgary, Alberta. Together we rode to Glasgow. Upon arrival conditions were good so we decided to ride together to Hinsdale. About halfway there we encountered strong headwinds which made the trip brutal.  I was completely spent! Need to really stick to my plan of bicycling no longer than two in the afternoon. We expected to arrive long before that but conditions were such that it was really slow going. My traveling companion was a much stronger rider than I so between trying to keep up with him and dealing with conditions, I was pretty well spent upon arrival.

 
My traveling companion since Nashua, Montana. Jim Born has crossed the United States by bicycle 11 times since 1976. Presently he is traveling to Calgary, Alberta, where he will meet a client whom he will take across the great divide, ending in New Mexico. It was good to have some company especially on a day as hot and windy as this.

 Jim is traveling on a dirt bike and still managed to kick my butt on this leg of the trip. If he owned a road bike he would probably be in Phoenix by now.

The unofficial Chamber of Commerce meeting in the unofficial City Hall... the local bar.

Wolf Point, MT

Sunrise on the road to Wolf Point, Montana

Known as the "Granddaddy of Montana Rodeos," Wolf Point is the home of the annual Wild Horse Stampede, held during the second weekend of July. Wolf Point is the largest community in the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation. Sitting in the Missouri River Valley, it is a quaint and lovely little town. Population during the last census was noted at approximately 2600.

Riding down the endless road

My solution to the unrelenting sun

I departed Circle during the wee hours of the morning, while it was still quite dark, in order to avoid the heat as there is no shade on the route from Circle to Wolf Point. I arrived early and had a leisurely breakfast where I met Robin Atkins (beadlast.blogspot.com) and Lunnette Higdon-Hertel who were vacationing together. They invited me to join their table for breakfast so that I could tell them a bit about my trip. I found their travels far more interesting than mine! Robin bicycled around Europe in the 70s and Lunnette sounds like she was a true flower child who hitchhiked all over the United States and Canada about that same period of time. Robin is an artist while Lunnette is a calligrapher who has a friend or relative who works at the same university is my son-in-law, Kevin Ward. Additionally her husband has a little boat, Friday Harbor Cruises, which offers cruises around the San Juan Islands. Being so close to my daughter’s home, most certainly we will look them up to see about taking a cruise sometime in the future. Small world!

Initially I planned to continue on with my trip today, but the heat and the wind picked up right around noon so decided to stay over. Again I will leave early in the morning to avoid the heat. Tomorrow's goal will be Glasgow or beyond. Hopefully the weather will be cooler and there will be no wind.

Wolf Point, MT

July 4, 2014 - Circle, Montana

Yesterday was a long hot ride from Wibaux, Montana to Circle, Montana. Just under 80 miles, the only relief from the unrelenting sun was my stop in Glendive.  No trees beyond that for close to 50 miles. Circle was a welcome sight. The town is hot, dry, and typical of eastern Montana.  It inherited its name from the brand of the Mabry Cattle Corporation rather than the corporation's name. In the early 1900s, Peter Rornik started a store and a post office and named the post office after the brand's name..."Circle." 

Pierre Wibaux Statue

I plan to sleep until 3 AM and be on the road by 3:30 to avoid the heat. I have 55 miles of rugged, treeless country to cover before hitting the town of Wolf Point, Montana. With temperatures in the high 90s, I hope to beat the heat as I do not want to get stuck in the open country under a hot sun. I'll be bringing extra water and food to make sure that I'm covered if I should have a breakdown.

We are all travelers in this world from the Sweetgrass to the Great Beyond...from beginning to the end... It's so important that we take time to appreciate this great land in which we live and the many sacrifices that have made it possible. Happy Fourth of July to one and all. Enjoy the occasion, the fireworks, and most of all...your families.

Ned Sikveland

 Ned is an amateur artist and when questioned he said he never really had any talent growing up...as you can see, he certainly has talent now. He did this etching on steel using a plasma cutter. He's done much the same using shovels and any other scrap steel that he can find. So in the little town of Circle, Montana, there is a real artist at work and he does it just part-time for his own enjoyment. This is a must see if you ever find yourself in Circle, Montana.

Wibaux to Circle, MT

6 miles east of Glendive, MT

Glendive was truly beautiful and I wish that I could have spent more time there. With it being the Fourth of July Holiday it did not seem prudent to stick around...too many people and too many vehicles.

After a short rest it was off to Circle, Montana. Encountering mostly rolling hills and with the wind predominately at my back, I managed to bicycle just under 80 miles today. The biggest obstacle was the heat and unrelenting sun.  There was not a particle of shade to be had from Glendive to Circle...a span of close to 50 miles. I carried a ton of water which I used mostly to pour over my head and body to get the evaporative effect. Upon arriving in Circle I found a cheapie hotel at $50 a night...it certainly has seen better days but at least it offered shade. I had intended to camp, but all the sites were exposed to the sun. Being burnt to a crisp, I need to be out of the sun for a couple days. Nothing will be open on the Fourth of July so I'm going to hold over for a rest day. The next town of any consequence is in excess of 50 miles away and there are no services in between. On July 5 I will leave at the crack of dawn and will have no alternative but to make it to Wolf Point. All-in-all, it was a good day of bicycling; I am completely exhausted and quite satisfied with my progress.

A big hello to everyone back home on this Fourth of July. Be careful during the celebrations and enjoy time with your family.

Makoshika State Park

Capt. Clark with six men, Sacajawea and her papoose, Pompey, camped near Glendive Creek on August 1, 1806.  In the 1870s the U.S. Army was busy protecting the road surveyors and crews from the native tribes in the area. Glendive also affords access to Makoshika State Park (Sioux for "bad earth") with its scenic bluffs and gorgeous hiking trails.

 

Belfield, ND to Wibaux, Montana

Good morning to the great grass plains of North Dakota

If I were a bovine this is where I would want to live. Brad Hunt praises how great the beef is in Nebraska; I don't think you could touch the grass fed cattle of North Dakota! They must be truly contented until their demise. I am uncertain how the cattle feel about winter though. Such winters do bring forth an abundance in the spring and early summer as can be seen by this photo.

 

Today was as good as yesterday was bad. The wind had finally abated and today was a marvelous journey through beautiful countryside which I pretty much had all to myself. Taking Old Highway 10 from Belfield to Interstate 94 led to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Painted Canyon Visitor Center where I had my first encounter with a bull buffalo.  While seemingly ignoring motor vehicles, it on the other hand, was quite interested in my bicycle and its rider. I found this to be pretty intimidating. In any event,the whole thing turned out well except for the picture I took of him which was quite blurry. 

From there it was on to Medora on Interstate 94 where it is legal to ride bicycles. The highway sports a very wide shoulder so it was not intimidating at all.  Medora was a beautiful little town in a gorgeous setting. 

John Moss is  80 years young and has taken five trips across United States since the 70s and has even gone up to Alaska on a bicycle. He's a man after my own heart and yet he says he's "not a bicyclist." Still trying to figure out when it is we actually become bicyclists...how many miles does it take? He is traveling alone and self-supporting. Go get 'em John!

It was here that I met John Moss, 80 years young, riding across the country. Attached is the map of his many journeys just since the 1990s. He has been riding across the country since the 1970s. From here I rejoined Old Highway 10 which was a beautiful, pristine, example of Sweetgrass Prairies. I saw little or no vehicles but I did encounter some additional bicyclists going from west to east. Next was Sentinel Butte, ND, a very small village consisting of 56 souls, which led to Beach, ND.  I hung my hammock and took an hour’s rest before moving on to cross the border into Montana.  

 I will be spending the night camping in Wibaux, Montana. Named after Pierre Wibaux, a contemporary of Teddy Roosevelt and a French entrepreneur from a wealthy family, he ventured into the cattle industry in a big way and ran herds of up to 65,000 head.  The winter of 1887, made famous by Charlie Russell's painting of the lone starving cow, basically bankrupted him and many others in the cattle industry. Teddy Roosevelt was also dabbling in the cattle industry and lost a considerable sum of money with the loss of his cattle in the same winter.

All in all, it was a great day with beautiful scenery, good weather, and great bicycling. Many of the roads I had entirely to myself and I bicycled close to 60 miles today.

A special thanks to my friends at ADM who took time out of their busy schedules to wish my wife a happy birthday today. Not only did I miss her birthday but I missed our anniversary as well. The special thanks to my sweet wife who has been putting up with my antics for the last 41 years.