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.