Shelby to Browning, Montana

My traveling companion over the Rocky Mountains.

After being ill, the ride from Shelby to Browning was a difficult one that covered 55 miles. Monte and I just broke the ride up into pieces and made it in fairly good time and had a magnificent view of the Rockies the entire way.
Browning is the home of the Blackfeet Nation and Gateway to Glacier National Park. At the time of our arrival the Blackfeet Nation's yearly powwow was underway so it's population of 1000 had expanded to approximately 10 times that number. It was an incredible sight to see all the Tepees and Blackfeet regalia.  The constant drumbeat, dancing, chanting of the tribal people who were gathered in Browning was our constant companion. It was a sight to behold and a new experience for me. We made two new friends, both Vietnam Veterans, who pointed out that as a veteran I was welcome to join the "Veterans Dance." For obvious reasons I declined.

Gilbert (Two Stone) Bearwalker & Rance Risingwolf

We met Gilbert Two Stone Bearwalker and Rance Risingwolf at the Browning Blackfeet Powwow and chatted for close to an hour.  After his military service Gilbert (US Navy 66-70 Vietnam 68-70) went into Police work and now resides in Oregon.  Rance (Marines 65-67 Vietnam 65-67) became a devout Christian, raised his children and carried on with his life as his faith dictated.

The Blackfeet Nation, consisting of three groups, had a reputation as being unrelentingly savage towards their enemies and extremely loyal to their friends. Their ancestral homelands extend from north of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, south into Montana. For the entire ride today we were on the Blackfeet Reservation. As a point of interest, the Lewis and Clark Expedition's one deadly altercation was with the Blackfeet.

As I lay in my tent beneath shimmering poplars listening to the drumbeat and the chanting of the dancers I am carried to another era...this is the sound that will guide me into my slumber.  Every day is an adventure...new and replenishing...I lie here content.

Len Vanasse

Biology school teacher traveling across United States from Washington to Maine...70 years young.

Posting comments

Several folks have commented that they are having trouble with posting comments on the blog.  I definitely want to hear from you as your comments keep my spirits up on hot, windy, long bicycle rides.  The work around that we have devised (we think it is because some submitters don't have active Google accounts) is to send your comments to the email:  sspeer2@comcast.net  and Andrea will post them. 

Shelby, MT

We are invariably on the road by 4:30 AM each morning so all we have to do is look over our shoulder to see a beautiful sunrise.

Through better than 2500 miles, I have been healthy the entire way.  Unfortunately that came to an end on the ride from Chester to Shelby, Montana. Waking up not feeling well, I thought at least getting to Cut Bank would be a reasonable goal. The winds, for the most part, were not in our favor and the bicycling was tough and the weather very cool...approaching cold.

From Chester to Shelby, Monte and I passed through four little towns that have seen better days.  Lothair was small with no amenities but we expected to find something in Galata. Galata appeared to have been a going concern at one time but it basically looked like a ghost town. We hoped to eat breakfast there but we could find nothing to accommodate our needs.  It was here that I started feeling pretty low but the good news was they had a three-hole outhouse that I was able to avail. From here it was on to Devon and then Dunkirk, both of which offered little if any amenities. By the time we arrived in Shelby I had to confess to Monte that I was done for the day and traveling on to Cut Bank was not really an option for me. By the time we found a hotel I was completely undone and really remember not much of our visit the first day.

Merle Head, our very fine Chef at the Shelby Grill, and Ron Jensen, another of the original core group that, through persistence and tenacity, made the Memorial Flag and Memorial Site a reality and a point of pride and recognition for the city of Shelby, Montana, and a tribute to all veterans.

 Ron was with the 506th of 101st Airborne/Airmobile Division in Vietnam and his area of operation overlapped that of my unit's.  Ron farms in Shelby, Montana, has been married for 44 years, came home and made a good life for himself. Ron, it was a pleasure talking with you and thank you for breakfast. May all that is good go your way.

One spectacular achievement by the city of Shelby was a grassroots movement by a group of local veterans to erect a flag and a memorial site to veterans. As a tribute to Montana veterans as well as all other service members, a core group of six veterans set about the task of erecting a 30 x 50' American flag at the intersection of I-15 (First Special Services Memorial Highway) and US Hwy 2 (163rd Regimental Memorial Highway).  As with all tasks of this nature, it turned out to be a much bigger project than they had anticipated. With original protect projections at $10,000 to $20,000 to complete the task, the project grew to exceed more than $150,000. Thanks to many volunteers generous with both their finances and their time, the project came to fruition through a group effort that seems to have instilled pride and brought the community together. It is really a tribute to those in the community who took this idea from the "idea stage" to completion!

Bob Longcake, an Air Force veteran, played a pivotal role in seeing that the Montana Veterans Memorial Flag and Memorial Site was carried through to completion.  Mike and Beth Overly joined us in learning about the memorial site. Mike was in the US Marine Corps from 1966 to 1969 and also served in Vietnam.

Shelby Street Fair, Montana




Barbie says it all with the sign!

July 10 - Havre to Chester, MT

Sunrise

Mountains in the distance

Bicycled 60 miles from Havre to Chester, Montana today in less than favorable conditions. Monte Cherry and I were on the road by 4:30 this morning. We immediately were confronted with a steep hill and a strong wind blowing directly in our face. We took turns taking the lead so the other might draft and have some relief from the wind. We struggled through this for the first 25 miles until we got some relief. The winds abated and we had perhaps another 20 miles with pretty good conditions. Shortly thereafter the wind picked up again and we struggled until we reached Chester, Montana. We passed through Kremlin, then Guilford, Hingham, Rudyard, Inverness, Joplin, until we reached Chester at about three in the afternoon. Along the way we met and conversed with a number of really charming people. Most were farmers and a few were ranchers. Wheat and barley are the main crops and raising cattle is a significant enterprise as well. The terrain we found to be generally flat along with rolling hills. Highway 20, our main route, followed the railroad and each little town we passed through was coupled closely to railroad history. All in all it was a good but exhausting day.

Havre, MT

We rose early in order to beat the heat when bicycling from Harlem to Havre, Montana. Mosquitoes, misplaced items that required backtracking to fetch, a flat tire, and bypassing around construction kept us on our toes and limited our ride to 45 miles. As it turned out, this was fortuitous as it allowed us to delve deeper into Havre's rich and varied history and avoid an oppressively hot day.

The shortcut to Havre, Montana

 With less than 80 miles under his belt Monte managed to get his first flat tire!







Originally named Bull Hook Siding, a name derived from Indian folklore, it was not until later that the town was renamed Havre.  With the coming of the railroad, Bull Hook Siding prospered and a group of citizens took it upon themselves to rename the city.  Since most of the citizens were French they chose a French name: Le Havre (the harbor) after the name of a city in France from which one of the members came.

Famous for its "underworld," the result of a fire, much activity occurred and resided beneath the streets of Havre.

 
 Early day photo of Havre before the town burned to the ground. Apparently some cowboys, upset with one of the saloons, threw a Molotov cocktail into the saloon but fire spread and consume 60 other buildings. Only the basements were left and this is how the underground city got its start. In many respects it was described as a den of iniquity with quite a list of colorful characters and exploits beyond imagination.

  There was even an underground house of ill repute. Each bed had a number above it. I would suspect the clients would comment to the effect of something like "I'll have a number three today. "



 In amongst all of the illegal activities there were legal activities as well. Meat markets, bakeries, and even a pharmacy and barbershop.

 Underground dentist office

 Long bone and fracture operating table

bakery

meat market

Part of the railroad display

Monte Cherry, my new riding partner, and I took advantage of this lull in activity to take a tour "Havre Under the Streets."  It was here that we met a group of young ladies visiting from Australia and partaking in the tour.



 These three ladies were on the tour with us as we visited Havre Beneath The Streets. Two of the ladies are visiting from Australia; one of the ladies, originally from Australia, ended up marrying a Yank and resides here now.




 


 

 It was here that the 10th Cavalry Regiment...Buffalo Soldiers first appeared and became famous for their skirmishes with the indigenous natives. Led by Lieutenant Blackjack Pershing, this unit was composed of African-American soldiers under white officers. Gen. Pershing later went on to command all US forces during World War I.

Margie Deppmei

 The daughter of Frank DeRosa, who was instrumental in getting "Havre Beneath the Streets" spotlighted as a point of interest and establishing the Railroad Museum in Havre, Montana. A bit shy about having her picture taken but very proud of the work that her father did. From a railroad family, she grew up in Havre, Montana, and said it was indeed a wonderful place to reside.

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.