DEVIL'S LAKE, SECOND VERSE

Well, like the Native Americans who couldn't bring themselves to actually cross Devil's Lake (which I think they called Bad Spirit Water, but the white people got "bad spirit" and "devil" mixed up)--- we weren't able to cross it today either. There have been some incredibly violent and persistent storms in this area, and this morning the weather was too severe to venture out by bike or otherwise. It rained several inches, and lightening knocked out the power. Tomorrow's forecast calls for mere "rain showers", so hopefully we'll get to see that Lake on our way to PEKIN ND. Then, maybe HOPE the next day, and lovely FARGO on Saturday. That's if everything goes well!

Meanwhile, we had a nice, if unexpected layover day in Devil's Lake. There's a new bakery in town called KNEADFUL THINGS, and in addition to having wonderful baked goods, they let us hang out this afternoon for a SCRABBLE game which I won hands down. I've been carrying my travel scrabble game and am always happy to break out the 100 tiles and give it a go. We didn't carry a dictionary though---so there was a little brouhaha over the word (?) "cava". I decide the legitimacy of all words except for medical terms, and Kami ruled on "cava" that it wasn't a word. Before I leave this library, I'll have that matter checked out!

There isn't a whole lot to do in Devil's Lake besides play SCRABBLE. There is a museum commemorating a tuberculosis sanitarium, which had several incarnations before and after the sanitarium--none of them good, but somehow that didn't sound like so much fun. If you were a kid, you could do like a lot of the local kids and buy a bunch of fireworks and throw them at girlz on bikes, but that doesn't sound like so much fun, either! I'll be glad when everyone has blown off all their explosives for the season. I don't expect to have computer access for several days as we wind around and through the reservation, but will report from the road when I hit the trifecta of 1)time, 2) energy, and 3)Internet access. So far it's always 3) that gets in my way!

DEVIL'S LAKE

We're in Devil's Lake ND now, glad to be out of the road construction and out from under the mounting storm clouds. It's 60 miles from Rugby to this spot, and there's not a lot to say about the ride unless a person wants to talk about wheat. And bad weather. Devil's Lake has some folklore attached to it, involving a war party of Sioux, some Chippewa campers, a lake crossing in a boat weighed down with scalps, bad weather, a forlorn maiden and what might best be described as some "bad feelings". I haven't seen the actual lake yet, I think we cross it by bridge tomorrow. For a long time, the Native Americans would not return to the Lake, or cross it---but they changed their minds with the building of the bridge in the late 1800s.

Meanwhile, we are on the trail of some elusive cyclists! For days, or maybe weeks, we've been hearing about "2 girls" who are riding cross country and are *just* ahead of us. This morning, we were at a rest stop and a motorist pulled in to say that he had left Devils Lake and met the two girls who were on their way out of town. When we arrived here, people told us that the "other" girlz had just hit the road. Will we ever catch them? That remains to be seen! We haven't seen a cyclist in about a week---I saw my first cross country East to West guy just as he was leaving the teepee where he spent the night. I wish I had known about that teepee, it looked like a super cool place to take shelter! I still feel like there are a bunch of cyclists on the route, even though I'm not seeing them in either direction---I'm hearing about them everywhere I stop! I like the feeling of being a thread in this big web of travelers, even though we aren't actually seeing each other, I know we're looking out for each other.

I do know from the cyclists I've met on the road that everybody does this thing differently---we're all on different kinds of bikes, with different packs and itineraries. There are huge differences in gear, in outlook, in goals. Some guys are going over a hundred miles a day, some are going slower. Some people have an incredible amount of high tech gear on board---I met two guys in Havre who had a bunch of intriguing things on their bars, and so I was asking "hey! What's that?" and it was a GPS thing so they would know where they were, or maybe so someone else would know where they were. I use my maps to tell me where I am, and I use the blog to tell everybody else where I am. They also had this gadget that tells them about incline---like when they're going up hill. I kind of use my brain, and it lets me know when I'm going up hill. If it's not working right, I can usually stop pedaling and find out real fast! Like we said growing up in Texas, there's more than one way to skin a cat!!!

We'll start heading south towards Fargo tomorrow--unless the weather is as bad as they are predicting, and then we'll hang out here and cool the jets.

THE MIDDLE

Greetings from RUGBY, ND---which just happens to be the GEOGRAPHICAL CENTER OF NORTH AMERICA! There is an impressive stone monument with the US, MEXICO and CANADA flags flapping with gusto marking the spot. We had a gentle 67-mile ride here from Minot, where we rested yesterday and got our legs back under us. The previous two rides, from Williston to New Town, and on Saturday from New Town on to Minot can only be described as "heinous", which is just about my adjective of worst description. I checked just to be sure that it fit, and heinous is defined as wickedly reprehensible, abominable. That says most of it. The highlight, though, was a small diner in New Town called MOM'S CATERING, where the nicest couple made us Indian Tacos, and cleaned a picnic table in the shade for us to sit and enjoy our meal. Oh, and they had huckleberry shakes TOO!

Once we got to Minot, it was an easy decision to stay both Saturday and Sunday nights---we went to the movies TWICE, and recovered in style. The first motel we saw when we rolled into town was the DAYS INN, and I went directly to the lobby to try to check in, only to wind up too frustrated to stay. Just ahead of us, the rock band MOLLY HATCHET was checking in, with about 6 long-haired rockers hanging out in the lobby, discussing the evening's sound check at the ROCKIN THE HILLS concert, eating fast food and arguing over smoking v. non-smoking rooms. And, there was the issue of "payment", which they couldn't quite comprehend---"ask the Promoter". I waited it out for as long as I could, until one of the rockers took note of the bike and the gear and the frustration, and began asking repeatedly, "ARE WE HAVIN' FUN YET?". That has to be one of my least favorite expressions, and it was less than endearing when accompanied with a punch to my upper arm. Over and over. SO, I left---and we rode on to the NEXT motel, where a baseball team was checking in---the TETONS. They were more agreeable, and we were in the right spot for us.

On Friday afternoon, I stopped in the BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS office to talk about something, and I noticed they had a scale in the office. Although I had second thoughts, I decided to step on it. I figured that after about 1300 miles, many mountain passes, a continental divide crossing and a month of bike riding, I would have lost some weight. I figured that wrong. I have gained 5 pounds! I'm sure it isn't from lack of exercise, so I started thinking about what I've been eating.

Nutritionists say to "listen to your body" when it comes to eating, and I have dutifully been listening every morning at 10am when my body mentions that it would like to have two hostess chocolate cupcakes, with the white squiggly frosting on the top. I have been listening every time it asks for pancakes. In fact, one morning I was in a diner, and the menu was a little off from what I wanted. I wanted two pancakes and two eggs, but to get two pancakes, you had to get three eggs. It escalated like that all the way up the line. So, I asked the waitress how big the pancakes were---she was so nice, she said they could be any size. So, I ordered two eggs and one "generous" sized pancake. Kami shook her head, and asked for less. Within 15 seconds, the cook materialized with every round object from the kitchen AND his griddle, which was about 36" square and he said "Choose the size, Miss" and I chose the big plate in his hand. Then, I tried to eat it all. I think that's why when I get into the drops, my knees are hitting my stomach now.

SO, I'm laying off the hostess cupcakes, and I'm laying off the pancakes, and next time my body asks for an oreo blizzard I'm just going to have to screen the call.

QUESTIONS

We have taken a leave of absence from Montana, and have a small purchase into Western North Dakota! We are overnighting in Williston ND, and are astonished by the 30mph winds which have blown (sideways for us) all day. Tomorrow is a long and hilly day without services for long stretches, so we are hoping the wind dies down a little bit, or changes direction.

Just when I got completely hooked on the Great Falls Tribune's coverage of the Lewis and Clark journals, we've left the circulation area. Too bad, because there is an interesting debate scorching the letters to the editor section about the recent coverage. It's got two splinter issues, the first is the coverage of Sacagawea's illness. The diaries have described her worsening health, even after she was bled and given sulphur water to drink (gee, and that didn't make her feel better?). The newspaper caption speculated that Sacagawea was suffering from a venereal disease, and let me report that there are quite a few readers of the paper who are taking issue with that caption. Then, there's a whole different debate going on between people who think that Capt. Lewis's loyal Newfoundland dog, SEAMAN, is getting the better end of the stick in the coverage. It's entertaining stuff.

But, we're in Minot Daily News territory now, and the banner headline on the front page reads: COUGAR STALKS BIKERS and details a cougar that preyed on some bikers this week. The bikers won round one, holding the thing off after numerous attacks. They've hired a cat killer over in Minot to try to catch the cougar, although the trail is a little cold due to the 100mph winds that blew through there yesterday with a storm. We will be in Minot in a couple of days, hopefully the cougar will not.

People have been so good to us, we are enormously grateful. Often, we are swarmed by questioners---we'll each have our loaded bike, and a group of people wanting to know what we're doing. Everyone has a basic set of questions that never changes: Where are you going? Where did you start? When did you start? When will you finish? How far did you ride today? Then, I can predict a little bit about the way things will go next. If it's a woman, she'll usually put herself in our position and state that she could never do it herself. I always tell her that she could, because I know that feeling and I'm doing it. When the conversation comes to a conclusion, women *always* say "be careful" or "be safe". Without fail. If it's a child, and I love talking to kids on their bikes in these small towns, they have practical concerns, like "do you have a house?" and "what if you get hungry?". If it's a man asking the questions, he often will tell me a story about someone who has made this journey, but a little differently. They'll know someone who rode cross country, but did it in 9 days. Or on a unicycle. Or they rode across on a junky bike and only spent $150. Or they camped every night and foraged for food. I always smile and say, "wow, that sounds like FUN!!!" We ran into a guy in a little convenience store a few towns ago who is in charge of inventory in these quick stops, and keeping them stocked with sour gummi worms and stuff like that. We were practically catatonic from the heat and the ride when he started in with a description of cars, and how it would be easier if we had one. I told him we had one. Then he pointed to the AMTRAK track and said the train goes by every day, and I assured him I knew about the train. Then he asked if we were crazy, and I said "probably". He put down his inventory page and said, "IF you think it's hot today, whew, it's only gonna get hotter!!" and I said, "Really? Hotter than Texas in July when it's 110 in the shade cause that's where I learned to ride a bike...." and he replied, "If you think it's hilly now, believe me, it's only gonna get hillier!!" and I said, "Really? Hillier than the Rockies, cause I just crossed over them on that bicycle..." and he said, "If you think it's buggy right now, boy, it's gonna get buggier!!!" and I answered, "Really? Cause I have 100% DEET in that pack, and they aren't biting through that yet..." Then he suggested that we must be behind schedule because we weren't even half way there yet! I told him that we didn't have a schedule, so I was pretty sure we weren't behind. The best part was the last comment though, when he said that the white panel van in the parking lot was his, why didn't we put our bikes in the back and he would give us a ride! I think his intentions were good, but jeepers. On the other hand, when we were about 3 miles into North Dakota, a car was approaching and began honking its horn then stopped on the side of the road and signaled for my attention. I stopped, and a man who resembled Kurt Vonnegut on a good day yelled out, "ARE YOU RIDING THAT BIKE ACROSS COUNTRY?" and I yelled back over the wind, "YES SIR" and he goes, "OKAY...." and began just spouting out all kinds of tips for the upcoming town, for the roads and routes and places to eat and about the "local fair on the other side of town near the drive in but DON'T leave your bikes there!" It was just pure sweetness, he was so happy to stop us, and share the advice to get us through another town and on to the next. People are thoroughly good, they show us every day.

MIND IN MONTANA

I think this is our twelfth day in Montana, but I can't really remember anymore. I'm fairly certain that it's the most consecutive days I've spent in a state that I didn't live in. Tomorrow night we'll be in North Dakota, and roll along that state for quite a few days too. Spending so many days in Montana reminds me of when I was a kid, and my dad was working on weekend projects---he always had something going in the garage on Saturday morning, and he often needed an extra pair of hands. Being the youngest, and slowest on the uptake, I missed the signals that a request for help was imminent as my mom and older brothers made themselves scarce. And so it was, after one last exasperated yelp from the garage that my dad would come in, survey the living room and find me with a glass of milk watching Penelope PitStop on the Saturday morning cartoons. He'd ask if I could lend him a hand, and of course I was happy to help. A quick gulp of the milk and I was in the garage, ready to hand off screwdrivers, press the gas pedal, steady the ladder or whatever was required. Inevitably, things would deteriorate---while I was supposed to be aiming the flashlight down a murky hole, it would wind up pointed into the corner of the garage where I was inspecting a spiderweb. After a couple of reminders to stay on task, my dad would eventually erupt and loudly ask "LAURIE!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Before I could recall what it was that I was doing, he'd answer: "YOU'RE STANDING THERE WITH YOUR THUMB IN YOUR EAR AND YOUR MIND IN MONTANA!!!" Both of these things were factually inaccurate, but it always made me wonder about Montana. Also, when he yelled this same phrase at my brothers, "ear" was replaced with another three-letter anatomical region. SO, now my mind has finally had a chance to go to Montana, and after about two weeks, it's ready to vacate to another state. Next time I'm off task, my mind might actually BE in Montana!

We are in Poplar MT this morning at 9am, taking a break at the library because the one in our destination town of Culbertson doesn't open on Wednesdays. It's going to be another hot day out there today, high around 97.We've covered 22 miles, and have about 35 more to go today.

I've been reading the Lewis and Clark diaries covering their time in Montana---they were here longer than us, but they were actually MAKING the maps. It's funny how they had some of the same concerns that we do---late starts, high winds, "bothersome musquitors", and high heat. They also ran into rattlesnakes and prickly pear cacti. We've seen a few rattlesnakes on the road, after a car has seen them first---every day when I see one, I know that's my FREE TICKET to another night in a motel. All I have to do is say, "whew...I hope a rattler like that doesn't come slithering into our tent tonight", and there's no way Kami is camping! I'm going to have to find somebody to throw dead rattlesnakes in the shoulder every 50 miles or so, and I won't see my sleeping bag, Big Agnes, for the rest of the trip!

THE LONGEST DAY

Ahhhh, Solstice! The longest day is here again, and we put in a ride that was shorter on miles but felt like the longest ride. BIG headwind for us today, plus sun and bugs too meant that after 50 miles when we saw the sign that proclaimed: WOLF POINT! LEWIS AND CLARK SLEPT HERE, WHY DON'T YOU? we said, "yeah, why don't we?" So we are ensconced at the Sherman Inn (hopefully this isn't General Sherman's place) for the evening, and have already paid our first visit to the Wolf Point Cafe. I picked up the Great Falls paper to check out the daily Lewis and Clark diary entry, which I am officially hooked on. Is the rest of the nation caught up in the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration, or is it just a regional phenomena along the trail? I'm really enjoying reading and seeing the exhibits related to their journey of discovery. In today's entry, they ran into a grizzly bear.

Update on the things along the roadside: Trash still has a commanding lead on the board, and after 1100 miles, I have divided it into the most prevalent---beer cans/beer bottles/beer cases, and next prevalent, diapers. Don't know if those are related or not. Then dead animals, which have changed from mammals to birds in this part of Montana. BUT, there's a new item climbing the charts! There is an ASTOUNDING number of those little magnetic ribbons that people think are stuck to their cars---all day long I see the yellow troop support, or red white and blue ribbons, or whatever cause it is that is du jour. Those things just aren't sticking to the metal out on the HI LINE.

I have seen a lot of live birds, in addition to the dead ones---we started out along the coast seeing lots of eagles, osprey, heron, loons and ducks. Then, I started seeing birds I've never seen before. While climbing Logan Pass, I saw a chicken! Way UP there, too. Now, while descending the pass, I had little pinprick white lights all through my vision field, so my companions discounted the "chicken" I had seen as part of a grander delusion. It didn't help when I described the chicken as having red feathery eye brows. Well, I looked at a Montana bird guide, and found out that the "chicken" was a grouse. With red feathery eyebrows!

The last thing I see on the road are the roadside memorials. An unbelievable number of them, and at each one I remove my mind from wherever it has wandered, and focus in on the person whose life (or maybe death) is being remembered. In Montana, there is some kind of organized force that puts out uniform markers for roadside fatalities---each death is marked with a red metal pole, topped by a crisp white cross. Families or friends usually personalize these markers with the familiar trappings: silk flowers, feathers, trinkets, stuffed animals and photos. Sometimes these crosses are clustered on one pole, yesterday I saw two separate memorials each one with 6 crosses. It's easy to look at the road and imagine what might have happened, and hard not to think about it as I'm riding by at 12 mph. I think people should slow down.

ALL SERVICES

The maps we are using to get across country are pretty nifty. They are published by ADVENTURE CYCLING, and for the entire Northern Tier Route, with some adjustments and options, I think it takes about 15 maps. We've finished the first two, and are 2/3 of the way through the third set. Each map is divided into little panel sections, with the route highlighted and a narrative to explain the turns. The reverse side of the map has a section about each town, a chart about the climate, and an informative piece about the local geography and history of the area. At first, it also had elevation charts to show what the climbs would be like. The part I like best, though, is the way the maps use graphics to let the user know what to expect along the route. Each town has the population noted, and then there are symbols to represent the available amenities. For example, a knife and a fork symbol means you can get something to eat in the town. A grocery cart means there's a store, there's a little envelope for towns with post offices, and a wrench for towns with a bike shop. A bed means a motel, a tent means camping. A big bold star means "ALL SERVICES", like *this* town has GOT IT ALL! If I were making a map just for my own use, I would throw in some more symbols---like a little book for the towns with libraries (like Glasgow, where I am now). A movie camera would mean there's a theater. For the first 20 days of this journey, I scoured every town we stayed in, then EVERY town we rode through for the local movies. For 20 days, *if* I saw a theater, inevitably they were showing MADAGASCAR. It became a joke with David, Carmyn, Kami and I. At first, I wouldn't even consider going to see it, then it became more and more attractive as I realized it was going to be the only option. No one would go with me though, even for the popcorn! On the 21st day, I think, I was in a little town called RUDYARD (the town sign says, HOME OF 596 NICE PEOPLE AND ONE OLD SORE HEAD), having a soda pop when I noticed the downtown HI LINE theater and strolled over to see what was playing. They were playing HITCH HIKER'S GUIDE. Right next to that was a COMING SOON poster: MADAGASCAR!!! When we got to Havre, they were showing MADAGASCAR, too, but they have a 4-plex, and we went out to see CINDERELLA MAN. The other symbol I would like to see is a shower head, indicating a hot shower is available in the town. While camping with David, we often found ourselves in the US Forest Service domain with no showers and no flush toilets. David always offered to "heat some water and put it in the yellow pail" at the end of the day, particularly on the days we crossed mountains. Finally I said, "What am I supposed to do with that pail of hot water?" and Carmyn, a USFS camping veteran said, "You pick your 3 most important parts and go wash them". I considered this for quite some time, and after some narrowing down, I still had 7 most important parts. That's counting my entire face as one important part. So, on MY maps, the town that would get the ALL SERVICES STAR would have a book, a shower, a movie camera, an envelope, a knife and a fork and a place to rest my head, indoors or out.

Our ride today was long, into the wind and featured the largest and most aggressive mosquitoes I've ever encountered. They told me last night in Malta to stock up on the bug dope and get ready for them, but I still didn't realize what we would encounter. It was wild! Tomorrow we'll have a shorter day into Wolfe Point, an ALL SERVICES town.

MAKING HAY

My mom always told me that God knew every hair on my head, and she also told me that there are no identical snowflakes. I filed both of them under "improbable",and after a dozen winters in Minnesota I'm pretty sure there are identical snowflakes in my front yard if I only had the resources to study them carefully. My dad, on the other hand, frequently tells me that God answers all our prayers. I remember him telling me this during an especially dark time for our family, and when I whipped my head in his direction to see if he was out of his mind, he responded, "The answer is sometimes "NO!!!", but the prayer still gets answered". When he cracked up, it made me crack up too. So this morning in Havre, I tiptoed out the door of the El Toro Inn to see what the answer to the tailwind prayer was going to be---and I saw the American flag flapping straight EAST and knew that it was a big fat "YES!" for the Giddyupgirlz today.

We hopped into the jetstream and zoomed along at almost three times the speed we've been going---taking an 89 mile bite out of the HI LINE! We thought we might stop in Harlem, but we got that 42 miles in before noon and decided to hang on for another 47. I didn't have a big enough gear to crank for some of it, and I loved every bit of it. If I had kept a blog as a second grader, I guess I would have gotten that EAZY BAKE OVEN sooner and would have become the world's best 40W light bulb chef! Thanks to everyone who put in a good word for a tailwind across Montana.

So while we were making hay, the local farmers are chomping at the bit to get baling, too. It was the first dry day in Montana in quite some time, and the farmers need to get into the fields---We see farmland in all directions, with the Bear Paw mountains off in the distance, and those trains running along our left. Malta, where we are tonight, is a train town---over 29 times a day they come through. And, right now there is a Tie Gang and a Steel Gang in town---120 men working on the tracks and having a good time too! Today the Empire Builder going East whistled me, but I missed seeing the West bound. Don't know how we missed each other.

Although Malta is famous for its dinosaurs, I'm interested in Kid Curry. On July 3, 1901 he staged an early Independence Day celebration by holding up the Great Northern just outside of town. He blew up the safe and made an abrupt exit, getting away with all the dough. I stop at all the Historical Markers, and get a kick out of the narratives. I can't get the train robbery out of my mind--- what a Western Drama that must have been.

Last thing-- I am writing this entry in the study at Rosemary's house. I met her on the street when I rolled into town. I asked her if she could give me directions to a motel, and next thing I knew she was offering me a glass of water, free tickets to the dinosaur field station in town, and use of her computer! While I have been here, I've met her family, and her friends who are over to play dominoes. She is keeping me hydrated with iced tea, has given me tips on the route to Glasgow tomorrow and all kinds of hospitality and kindness. I cannot adequately describe how I feel when I meet an angel like her on the route. I like to think that I treat people the way I want to be treated, but I don't think I would ever be as good to a stranger as Rosemary has been to me. And, her son David is an AMTRAK fan, and when I told him I lived in St Cloud, he immediately told me that AMTRAK goes through my town, the time it arrives, and the time it gets to Minneapolis. Neat family out here on the HI LINE. I'm eating it up with a spoon. More from Glasgow, another 72 miles down the road. Giddyup!

CHASING THE TRAINS

The Adventure Cycling maps say that the cyclist's most frequent companion on the ride across the HI LINE is the railroad and the trains of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line. And, I see dozens every day. Plus two AMTRAK trains---the Empire Builder going West and the Empire Builder heading East. I wave at every train that passes, and sometimes the BNSF conductor will blow his horn at me, but so far I've got a 100% response rate with AMTRAK. Every single train has whistled at me, and I wave at all the cars as they pass in case a passenger is looking out the window. The EMPIRE BUILDER stops in St Cloud, about 8 blocks from my house--and once a day I imagine throwing my bike aboard and crawling off in St Cloud at 4 am when it burns through my town. But I don't.

I'm in Havre today, enjoying a layover day off the bike. I went to the Railroad Museum this morning and studied an exhibit on SLANGUAGE of the rails, and remember that RIDING 'EM HIGH means to ride on TOP of the rail cars. RIDING THE CUSHIONS means to pay the fare and sit in the passenger section. RIDING THE RAILS means to steal a free ride, jumping on the car from the rails. Riding the cushions would be my only option!

We had a tough ride into town yesterday from Chester. It was about 65 miles into a headwind--with storms everywhere. We ate TWICE at Spuds in Chester, dinner was so good we came back for breakfast, although the waitress the night before told us NOT to sit at the two tables that the coffee drinkers occupy at 7am. SPUDS is the kind of place where Kami and I were a curiosity. When we opened the door, the place fell entirely silent, as all eyes were on us. In a town of 700, they notice when strangers in bike gear appear. I chatted up the 4 elderly folks near the door, and as soon as they knew we were just passing through on our bikes, all was well. They told me that they were headed to GLASGOW on the HI LINE yesterday, and sure enough, they passed us 18 miles out of town and tooted their horn, just as they had promised the night before. Spuds has good pie. Last night we ate here in Havre, and Kami had to change her motto which USED to be "YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH NACHOS". Apparently, you can.

About 40 miles out of Chester, I was outside a bar drinking a diet dr. pepper when this man walked up and said, "You're making some miles today" and I non-committedly agreed. Then he said, "I seen you outside of Chester this morning" and I said, "Was I getting wet?" and he said, "You was getting pretty wet you were" and I laughed. It has rained every day in MT! And I commented to the guy..."I thought the wind was supposed to blow from West to East in Montana" and he replied, "It used to." A typical Montana conversation for me.

Last tale for the day. We stopped for lunch in a "town" called Guildford, where there is one bar, and it serves food. Our map had a "knife and fork" symbol by this town, so we knew there had to be food somewhere. We walked into the bar, hot and tired, to be greeted by the only soul in the joint-- JOEY PATRICK CARR, who asked us "what are you girls drinking?" Kami rolled her eyes, but I went ahead and ordered 2 diet cokes and 2 waters. As he was pulling the drinks, his mom came out and took our order for grilled cheese sandwiches. JOEY is five years old! He bopped around our table, telling me about his canary CLYDE and his general life there in Guildford. After about 15 minutes of conversation, Joey looked sadly at Kami, then me, and proclaimed, with a slight inflection of concern, "She can't talk?". I assured him she *could* talk, but was saving her voice for later. Joey made quite a scene, tending bar in rural Montana. Some days are harder on the bike than others, but they're all good days. We're headed to Harlem Montana tomorrow---

HI LINE PRAYERS

We rode the HI LINE across a 66 mile stretch of Montana today, and my mind wandered to prayers quite often. We left Cut Bank a little behind schedule, as it was the day we said goodbye to my brother and Carmyn and also said a tearful goodbye to all the luxury items they had been hauling for us. Like our pillows. And that mango lotion. The map options weren't the best for us---we could have an extremely short day, by riding about 24 miles to Shelby and stopping for the day, or we could ride about 66 miles and hit Chester. Since it was before noon when we got to Shelby, we decided to ride on. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in between these towns. NOTHING. SO much NOTHING that I went to someone's house today and asked if I could sit in the shade of their porch and drink my water (an enthusiastic "YES!").So, I was thinking about prayers.

When I was a kid, my mom was my spiritual supervisor. She taught me to pray before bedtime, asking God to bless my mom and my dad, my brothers and my grandparents, and we finished it off with THY WILL BE DONE. It was crass to ask for anything for yourself, and hopefully you'd get covered by the people YOU were praying for. Likewise, God was not the one you asked for an EAZY BAKE OVEN, that was Santa Claus. I got that mixed up sometimes. Eventually, I added our dog, Droopy to the list, advancing her up and over the brothers until she was number one on my list for blessings. Now my prayers are somewhat similar to back then---I'm more thankful now, and full of gratitude, and I still want the people I love to be blessed. I also want peace, between nations and tribes, in my home town and on my block. I want people to be free from suffering, and to find shelter from the dangers and illnesses that plague them. I want everyone to have a good day. I say a special prayer for my friend Mel, that he gets better and is riding a bike one of these days, and the last thing I ask for, sort of like that EAZY BAKE OVEN is for a tailwind across Montana. Just a little one, just enough to get me to Havre in one piece.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

We had a very restorative stay in Whitefish, no rest day off the bike-but a perfect little spot to enjoy the scenery. We stayed at a lodge that is a cyclist's best friend on the road, The Good Medicine Lodge. GOOD MEDICINE INDEED! Woody and Betsy run it in fine style and treated us to a hot tub, warm cookies, free use of the internet, a laundry facility and a hearty breakfast. Plus the warmest hospitality this side of Texas. Our dinner out (in the rain, of course) with Barb and her husband Doug was a balm for the soul. They are upbeat, interesting, kind and loving---plus informative about Glacier National Park. It was so nice to be off the bikes, and reminiscing about our 30+ year friendship.

When we took a course in long distance touring from Adventure Cycling out on Whidbey Island last summer, the tour leader (a veteran of two cross country trips) told us that the day would come when we would be sitting in a laundramat in some small town wearing nothing but our rain jacket and pants and be washing clothes and not even notice our attire. I thought, "PREPOSTEROUS!". And yet, there I was in Whitefish---sitting in the loveliest little cafe, Loula's, waiting for a grilled portobello sandwich and wearing NOTHING but my rain pants and rain jacket while my clothes washed. I realized this when I started to take off my jacket. Kami then realized that not only was she in the same predicament, but the side vents under her arms were unzipped TOO!

The next day we headed up to Glacier, with the road to the pass still closed. We camped at Avalanche, and learned that the pass opened at noon. We crossed our fingers and had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for supper while feeling the steady rain turn to hail. It was unbelievable. The grizzly warnings increased dramatically---there were steel lockers the size of coffins to lock up ALL food, toiletries, water and anything with an odor. That would be ME, but I didn't think I could breathe in there! We saw a wolf and fox, lots of elk and deer and small animals, and David and Carmyn saw a black bear.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we headed out after sunrise to begin the climb up the GOING TO THE SUN ROAD, which goes to the peak at Logan Pass, and then crosses the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. It is a steep, narrow road with sheer dropoffs and crumbly surfaces---no shoulders and no barriers in most places---along with two tunnels, numerous rocky overhangs lots of curves and a relentless grade. I would say without hesitation that it was the most beautiful ride I've ever done, and it was also the most grueling. We hit small areas of road construction twice, and the workmen cheered me on---I kept my game face on and kept cranking, but it was hard to keep it going. When we got closer to the top, the air was extremely thin, and there were snowbanks of about 6 feet on the side of the road. Glacier, indeed! When we got to the top, there were a couple of Texans standing nearby who took our photo. No one was there to take pictures while I was eating my Snickers bar and drinking my diet coke. I met a lot of people yesterday who were curious about the ride. Some Canadians who said we were "heroic" and a German who thinks Jan Ullrich will win the Tour this year.I disagreed and made my case for Lance.

The descent took us to Rising Sun campground and a visit from the ranger who told us that a black bear was IN the campground yesterday, and a grizzly had been by recently, was tagged and was now a half mile away. If ever there was a night for a fifty foot rope, it was last night---but I still don't know what you would do with it. We locked up all our food, and I went without my Tiger Balm for the second night in a row.

I'm loving the huckleberry ice cream that is currently available here, and the riding today into Cut Bank MT was outstanding---it is mostly flat, with some very minor downhills---but the tailwind was fierce. We stopped at CAMP DISAPPOINTMENT and had our sandwiches in the ditch beneath the historical marker which announced the place where Lewis and Clark got some bummer news on their summer vacation. Although the mountains look a lot farther away now, you can still see them so clearly in the background, and they are still majestic and beautiful in their mightiness. I've looked at them countless times today, and wondered how I ever got over them on a bicycle.

Tomorrow we head out fully loaded we'll be traveling the "HI LINE" as they say in Montana, a route on HWY 2 that cuts across the state and parallels the railroad--- David and Carmyn will split off on Friday and head to Yellowstone. I can't think about them leaving, they have been such good companions and faithful supporters.

brief note from Barb

I'd just like to say (after eating dinner with them last night) that Laurel and Kami look GREAT! Very happy and relaxed and like it is no big deal to ride your bike cross-country. It was very cool to see them, we had a fun visit.

They're up in Glacier National Park today and tomorrow (almost certainly without Internet access), and it looks like they might actually get a little sun for a change. You can check it out on the Glacier webcams at http://www.nps.gov/glac/whatsnew.htm (click on one of the pictures to enlarge it).

Barb

SOGGY

Another day, another town in Montana! This time, we're in WHITEFISH, MT (local paper the INTER LAKE) under rain and clouds. We've been riding in rain for so many days now that I've lost count. My bar tape has completely unstuck and unraveled,and the chain needs constant attention. I've re-wrapped the bars with electrical tape---it doesn't look so flashy, but it's holding for now. Some folks in town told me that it might stop on Tuesday, but then some other people said that Tuesday is going to be the worst of it! I guess we'll think more about Tuesday on Tuesday. For now, we are thinking about tomorrow and the fact that the GOING TO THE SUN ROAD in Glacier National Park is closed due to snow/rockslides. I am not sure yet if they'll plow it and open it, or if we'll have to detour. This ride is reputed to be one of the greatest rides in the world, and it was going to be the jewel in the crown that took us up and over the Continental Divide via Logan Pass. Tentatively, we'll start out tomorrow headed through the lower elevations, and then cross our fingers that they open the road for Tuesday. David and Carmyn are still nearby in their car, and will help us figure out a way to get to the other side.

Today's ride took us in the valleys amongst lots of deer and one obnoxious driver. Someone in a fast white car passed me close in the rain, and threw a glass bottle out the side window, presumably at me. No genius at physics, they incorrectly calculated their speed v. my speed v. the bottle's trajectory, and it landed in front of me--- then broke, bounced and scattered in the bar ditch. Made me more sad than anything else. I went to Glacier Cyclery when we rolled into Whitefish, and while I was chatting with the mechanics about Tri Flo, I told them what had happened and they weren't surprised. They'd all been targets. But the good news is that they promised me that no one in Whitefish would throw things at us, and they haven't. Glacier Cyclery is one SUPER FINE bike shop!!

Big Night Tonight!!! My friend Barb, a.k.a. the Aunt Bean who so graciously assists me with this blog is driving over for dinner! We've been fast and true friends since the 7th grade, and when I see her face I see love. Should be all good, no worries for now---and no bears!!

MIKE AND THE BEAR

It's been an eventful couple of days for the Giddyupgirlz, most of the eventfulness happening away from us! Day before yesterday, we split off from David and Carmyn and headed downhill in more ways than one to Troy Montana and the Holiday Motel, run in tandem with the Troy Conoco Station. We were situated in Room 1, which is located ON the Highway. General Safety Guidelines for cyclists recommend getting yourself and your bike at least 10 feet off of the road whenever you need to stop, and even while sleeping in room number 1 with our bikes in the room, none of us was 10 feet off the roadway. But, we didn't care. While we were luxuriating under a real roof, and I was renewing my relationship with Boudreaux's Butt Paste, David and Carmyn were camping 17 miles south of us in a "no water" USFS site called Dorr Skeels, which was supposed to feature bears. As David was walking the campground, he ran into a cross country cyclist named Mike, from Tucson who was looking for water. David told him, "Bad news, Buddy! No Water!" but offered some of his, then invited Mike to come to dinner. No SPAM bomb for Mike, either! They cooked him a grand meal, and gave him all my Golden Oreos and thoroughly enjoyed hearing his tales from the road, which he is taking a hundred miles a day. He rides til 8 or 9 at night! They replaced us so quickly....

At about midnight, Carmyn heard something rustling around outside the trailer---bumping into it, snorting and sniffing at the edges, then sloshing the water containers around and nosing the sides. David was snoring loudly, until he woke up and Carmyn told him,"There's a bear outside!" and he yelled, "A BEAR!!!" and the bear ran off. They saw his tracks everywhere the next morning, including where the tent pad would have been. When they told Kami this, she began hyperventilating. Meanwhile, I was chewing over the fact that they had given my cookies away.

Yesterday, we met Mike the cookie eater on the road. He's a fine cyclist, zooming across country on a lightly loaded Surly. I asked him if he was the guy who ate my oreos, and he grinned really wide and copped to it. My brother had told him what Kami and I do when we aren't riding bikes, and told him that I'm a critic. Mike was super impressed, "A Professional Critic?", he asked. "No. She's just a critic", David replied. "What is her field?" Mike wanted to know. "She doesn't have any particular field, she's a critic at large."

I almost swallowed a bee yesterday, riding downhill with my mouth open singing. I managed to spit it out before it stung me, and when I told Kami what had happened, she said, "THAT could have killed you" and I said,"Would you have me autopsied to find out I had swallowed a bee, or would you just think I crashed, or passed out or something?" and she said she wouldn't have an autopsy and we argued about that for a few minutes before coming to a consensus that Pearson's Nut Roll makes a darned good snack. It's good to end a conversation in agreement, I think.

Tonight we're headed to a campground that is described in the flora and fauna notes as having larch trees and conifers and LOTS of wildlife. A bunch of different kinds of trout. Then, the list grows ominous....coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, black bear and grizzly bear. It's definitely going to be a 50 foot rope night, and that's in addition to the concertina wire that Kami is hoping to string around our tent!

I'm writing this from Eureka Montana, almost in Canada. Tomorrow we'll be in Whitefish, then we'll start the climb into Glacier and up the going to the sun road on our way over the Continental Divide. It's beautiful beyond words.

BIG SKY COUNTRY

Greetings from Montana---at last. We rode about 58 miles today and we're in Troy Montana for the evening.It's a few miles off the route, nestled in the valley of some gorgeous mountains. Riding the past couple of days has taken us through the most beautiful country---these rides rival anywhere I've ever been. The mountains have snow at the peaks, but it's cool in the valleys---the lakes are clear and deep. There are deer everywhere, and I also saw a coyote this morning. Yesterday we stayed in an RV park outside of Clark Fork,ID and we went to the neatest little bike shop. It's called SWEET BIKES and MARBLES, and it's been open about a year. When I wandered in, I heard the shop owner talking to a young boy about his bike that had been stolen. The kid's name was C.J., and he told me that he had built his bike himself, and he really used that bike a lot. He is bereft. The shopkeeper told him that he could build himself another bike using parts they had beside the shop---it was such a tender moment, and I was happy to be listening in. Then she asked me what brought me into her shop and I told her we were touring. She grabbed her camera and said "OH! I have to take a picture of you for my wall!" and she showed me the three other photos she has so far of cross country tourists. She plans to take a picture of all of us, and she has already posted ours and mailed me an e-mail copy. She offered to send it to anyone I wanted to let them know we are safe and well. She's an angel along the route!

We met two of the tourists who were a little bit ahead of us, Shirley and her son Noah. They are from Maine, and headed there now. They're super friendly, and I suspect we'll be seeing them as we leap frog across the states. There's a big group of Adventure Cyclists, I've heard they're ahead of us a day, and I've heard they're behind us a day. They're nearby, anyway. Two of them have left their tour---one was in a crash and broke his/her hand, the other had medical troubles. I'm sorry for both of them---I'm sure they're disappointed.

The SPAM meal went better than expected. I hadn't had the delicacy since I was a youngster living at home, and in my memory, it was kind of spongy, with a rubbery red edge to it. The way my brother disguised it involved a tricky breading and frying process which left it appearing mostly like thin deep fried spam chips. Everyone was shocked when I had seconds!

The local paper has changed to the MISSOULIAN, I'll bet I'll be seeing that for quite a few days.

HOW FAR IS IT

It seems to me that there are a lot of different ways to measure how far we've gone on our bikes. Most people relate to the actual mileage, which is over 420 miles now, my little bike computer missed about 25 when the wheel was on "backwards". I also think about the states we've crossed, which is one and a half right now, in Sandpoint Idaho. We've crossed a lot of counties and town lines, are almost into a different time zone. But the thing I've been measuring distance with is the little containers people have on their mailboxes to collect the local paper. When we started, we rode several days through SEATTLE TIMES circulation. Then, slowly, it was replaced by the bright lettering of the WENATCHEE WORLD. For a day or so, I saw a red box that just said THE CHRONICLE. Then it was THE SPOKESMAN REVIEW, and yesterday THE BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE became the paper of choice for home delivery. I like papers with BEE in the name. I don't know where that comes from...are Bees supposed to be up on the news? Busy? Industrious, maybe. So. We're making progress, and I"m looking forward to the next newspaper tubes.

We're in Sandpoint Idaho this morning, taking care of a variety of business---there's a STARBUCKS in town, and that caught Kami's eye. I headed to the EVERY DAY INTERNET CAFE, which is the sweetest little spot in town, chock full of boys on bikes who want to know all the details of this ride. They are awestruck, which tickles me to no end. We need clean clothes, and to dry off. We've had quite a bit of rain and cold weather.

This morning we had sweet potato pancakes at the campsite this morning, it was perfect.My brother is an AWESOME camper! Kami has had a couple of flats---one was repaired in the cemetery of Ione---just as a group of mourners poured in. Poor timing for us! We replaced the tube this morning, and I think it's going to hold now. David is still doing his bear research, and he found out about something called SKUNK CABBAGE, which bears eat after their long hibernations to get their digestive tracts reactivated. Apparently, the skunk cabbage totally scours the lining of the intestine, causing a rather dramatic and unpleasant reawakening in the bear. David has said for a week that we're having SPAM for dinner, and he told me this morning that I have dodged the SPAM bullet as long as possible. Tonight is definitely SPAM, and I'm afraid we're having skunk cabbage as a side dish. I'll be having a HUGE LUNCH today as a defense against dinner!

We're only going another 30 miles or so today, into Clark Fork for the night---we have to plan our days carefully to hit campgrounds along the route. Everything is going well for us, I'm meeting a lot of nice people and learning about the area. Life is good.

OVER THE MOUNTAINS

We made it over all those passes in the Cascades, and are sitting very close to the Idaho border right now at lunch time. Tonight we'll be sleeping in Idaho, and be out of the state by tomorrow night, I think. It has been cold and wet for a few days now, and we are hoping for some warmer weather and a tailwind soon. Our last pass was SHERMAN PASS, and it had the highest elevation. As we were beginning the climb, after about the 6th mile up on HWY 20, we saw three young girls riding horses in the middle of the road coming towards us---waving orange flags and banners and yelling something. I thought they were little giddyup girlz, and I yelled back at them "Y'all are so cool!" and I asked Kami if she could understand them. She couldn't. We rounded the next bend and saw that some ranchers were moving a herd of cattle down the narrow road, and they were taking up all of it and then some! The cows balked when they saw our bikes, and started acting rather rambunctious. We leaned our bikes on the railing and jumped over to the other side as a bunch of cowboyz got behind the cows and started moving them. There were about a hundred cows and calves, and a dozen or so cowboyz---plus one very talented dog. We waited about 15 minutes for the herd to clear, then continued riding up hill through the untidy messes left behind by the bovines. That night we asked Carmyn, who is from a ranching family, if the cows were going to the slaughter house, and she laughed and said, "NOT THOSE COWS". for one thing, you don't eat "cows", which was news to us (you eat heifers and steers) and for another, you don't "drive" cows to slaughter, you want them to be vacationing and taking it easy I guess.

After we got to the top and started a rocket ride downhill, we saw a big moose standing next to the road in a clear pond. We stopped for as long as he would let us watch him---he ambled into the woods and we got back on the rockets.

So far, we are having an excellent time---I'm hungry all the time, but finding a lot of stuff to eat, and although the libraries are few and far between, I love stopping in and checking my mail and "blogging". We camped last night at a spot known to have black bears---Kami had her pepper spray, but not her 50 foot rope. I wasn't allowed to have my toothpaste in the tent! No bears though---just a nice night for camping. We had a campfire, and listened to an old radio program that David has on CD---SGT. PRESTON OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTIES, and HIS SUPER DOG KING. This was better than the last one we listened to, which had a cowboy named PALLADIN, and his Chinese sidekick---apparently named "Hey Boy". That was kind of lame.

My library time is expired. More from the next stop---

Debris and Detritus

[Laurel's at another library with no Blogger access today, she e-mailed me this update.]

The most common thing on the roadside is trash, unfortunately. And then there's the dead animals. Then there's the rest of the stuff that I keep my eye peeled for. I think there are more shoes on the side of the road than anything else---although there are also a lot of gloves. Most of the shoes come as singles, kids' shoes come in pairs usually. Today I saw a high heeled grey leather pump, and wondered what kind of scene erupted before that shoe got tossed out of a truck window on the outskirts of OMAK Washington. Things like that are keeping my mind busy. We stopped once to inspect a skillet I saw in the ditch, some time after seeing a grill brush, a long knife and a dishpan. We were thinking about the merits of picking up the skillet, because David broke the handle of his skillet while cooking pancakes in Winthrop. I think his ARMY surplus pants snagged the handle and the whole kit and kaboodle landed in a crash. Before we could come to a conclusion, a fella in a pickup pulled off the highway to see if he could help us. People are like that---super friendly, and want to help us if we look at all like we are in distress. Even when we're just looking at a discarded skillet.

We were feeling bad about David and Carmyn's vacation---they are traveling pretty slow, and we wondered how they were filling their time while we were riding in the mountains. We found out last night at dinner EXACTLY what they've been up to! They've been in the casino, and yesterday Carmyn won $240 playing a penny machine!!! We were as excited as they were. We haven't seen them at all today, we're at the Tonasket library, breaking for lunch and internet before climbing the next pass to Wauconda.... They were going back to the casino after breakfast!!! We've got two more mountain passes in the next two days, then maybe we'll take a day off the bike to goof off and see some sights.

GIDDYUP!!

[Laurel sent this from a public library that wouldn't let her access Blogger. -Barb]

GIDDYUP!! Well, it's Day 4 and Internet access has been quite spotty. Where available, it is often closed by the time we roll into town. However; today we got to OKANOGAN WA early enough for me to both have my brakes adjusted AND get to the public library! Everything is going great for us so far---I had a golden few days in Seattle with my friend Dave, and all our gear and our bikes arrived safe and sound for the journey East. My friends Layne and Ross drove up from Salem with their new car which they outfitted to carry bikes (with the help of a cycling friend (Jaylene) that Kami and I met in Washington last year). On Sunday, Layne, Ross, Kami and I drove up to La Conner to rest before departing on Monday morning. We stayed at the Heron Inn, which is such a sweet little spot with a charming and helpful innkeeper, Vanessa. I got a couple of messages from my brother David---we were expecting to see him in the mountains, hopefully on Tuesday night before a big pass on Wednesday. However; he told me on Sunday night that he wasn't able to leave Texas on Friday as scheduled, because he was "Too Busy". He was just LEAVING!!! (deep breaths). My heart sank, but before further damage was done I could hear him cackling, and he said he was in Washington, a ferry away---and would be there for the "wheel dip" in the Pacific the next morning. And he was.

Vanessa sent us off with hearty snacks, and we rode to Bayview state park---a ride we did with Bicycle Adventures and Mark on our very first bike trip. The whole gang took pictures of our wheels in the ocean, and collecting some water then waved us off---and we left for the road. The weather was soft---perfect for pedaling, and we covered about 50 miles to Concrete, where we stayed at the scariest place I hope to ever encounter. My brother asked Kami how she could stay there, if she was frightened of animals... The next day, fortified with "plate sized pancake" (not pancakes, as I had inferred) we took off in the pouring rain for Colonial Campgrounds. The breaking point in the pre-trip buying binge, for me, was shoe covers which I refused to buy. SO, I wore bread bags on my shoes, and they worked great. But you know what works better? SUBWAY bags are PERFECT!! If only I had known, I would have hundreds saved by now.

The ride that day was also nice, along a river for most of it, with good roads and nice people. We ran into two very loud dogs who chased us uphill aways, but nothing came of it for us or for them. Which was good for them, because Kami had her pepper spray out and aimed at them!! We camped the night, and were next to a river. My brother and his wife Carmyn are so incredible to us---they cook, they pack, they load---they show up on cold rainy mountain passes with hot chocolate and good cheer. David wants to see a bear so bad, I want to hire a rent-a-bear for him to spot. He saw a bear track in the woods going up Rainy Pass, but that was slightly spoiled by the fact that he fell down in the snow. I think that might have been related to his sandals, which he admitted weren't good snow shoes. It snowed, rained and pelted us up both the passes yesterday, but we made it without much difficulty at all. I had some brake trouble, but that's fixed now.

Today we climbed to Loup Loup pass, and had a screaming downhill into the town of Okanogan, where I am reviving myself at the public library. I have to say that everything is very sweet---the riding is good, in sunshine or under clouds, and my eyes cannot capture all the beautiful scenery. We've startled a few deer in the road, and seen a lot of birds. One day we were in the forest, and we heard the disconcerting sounds of gunfire. We were getting closer and closer to it---and pedaling faster and faster. We came around a bend and saw that it was a rifle range with trap shooting! It was super cool---they were launching flourescent targets that were getting blown to bits. Still, I wanted to keep riding in a different direction. Tomorrow we are headed to the next mountain...I think we've done about 200 miles, no complaints. We have everything we need, and then some. A few days ago I needed a long handled 4mm allen wrench, but I improvised. I appreciate all the good thoughts coming our way---it's like a gentle breeze at my back. Okay. I'm off to find some oreos and a diet coke.