Garrison, MT -- Wednesday, July 7
What a day! We managed to lasso a nice tail wind when we were traveling east to pedal 84 miles to this great lake side park/camping area 8 miles east of Garrison. Although the camping area does not have any showers, it does have running water allowing us the clean up with soap and water by the hydrant or to take a bucket bath in the woods. I used a combination of both, especially the woods and the 'kitchen sink' to bath my 'whiter' side.
While here we also got to view a full rainbow and the faint outline of its matching mate.
Our route today was punctuated by bright colored yellow fields on relatively lightly traveled roads, excepting the first 19 miles. Because of the concerns about the traffic during the first leg of our journey, we left early today (7:30 AM) on a full stomach. We had planned to leave earlier, and were on track to do so; however decided to delay our departure and have breakfast to allow the sun to be higher in ths sky to avoid having the glare of the morning sun affect their visibility.
The first 10 miles of the route were indeed tortuous and dangerous; thereafter the road traffic calmed down. This was fortunate as the shoulder was pot holed and in poor condition all of which was further exacerbated by a constant stream of rumble strips just to the outside of the white strip which narrowed the useability of the shoulder. We were all relieved to turn into a cross wind and leave this gauntlet. Thereafter, the rest of the ride was peaceful and enjoyable.
On today's ride we once again found the French Canadian bicyclists as well as the two young dudes. In talking to the two young dudes we learned that he had hit a pothole on the "tortuous highway's shoulder and had taken a spill into the highway. Fortunately it occurred at a time when traffic was not around.
One of the memorable moments today was cooking the evening meal. It was a picture perfect setting and a great way for me to end my final night of camping. For once we did not combat wind, did not feel rushed, nor were we threatened by mosquitos or rain. Although it did briefly spit rain later, the full rainbow was like tying a bow on the nearly completed great adventure package. What a great final evening!
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