Another beautiful day for a bike ride! Today I biked through the prairie and towards the Rocky Mountain Front which became visible in the distance. After an easy day of riding I reached the small Western town of Augusta and checked into the Bunkhouse Inn. I had a nice clean room on the second floor overlooking the town. After reading the local paper which was full of good information on the area I headed to the Western Bar for dinner. The French Dip was incredible! I met a guy at the bar who grew up in Milwaukee who bought me a beer. Headed back to the Bunkhouse Inn and sat out on the porch to do my last blog update. It was a beautiful night to sit outside and relax!
I made a new friend!
Good ol' Wisconsin cheese - I shared it with the dog
Lewis and Clark County
The Rockies in the distance
Lone tree
Bunkhouse Inn
Picture in the Bunkhouse of a hanging
Seagulls are everywhere!
Augusta from the balcony
July 21st - 63.16 / 2,298.49 - Augusta - Lincoln
After a really good breakfast at the cafe across the street I began a beautiful ride into the Rocky Mountains. It was very hot out, in the upper 90's. I climbed for about 30 miles eventually reaching the Continental Divide and crossing Rogers Pass at an elevation of 5,610 feet. As I biked through Helena National Forest I came to a sign that read Record Cold Spot where the temperature had reached seventy below zero on January 20th 1954. Brrrr! I came across Alice Creek which was crystal clear and took a dip to cool off from the heat. Felt incredible! Just outside of Lincoln I made a stop at the ranger station which had a gigantic grizzly bear on display. After checking out the town I set up camp next to a beautiful mountain creek. After dinner I made a stop at the bar nearby and got a bucket of beers for $6, what a deal! Got back to the campsite where deer were crossing the stream right by my tent. It got really chilly at night, in the upper 30's but I slept great!
Mooooo
My bike stereo - love it!
Dearborn River
Dearborn River break
The Rocky Mountain front
Donwhill before the long road up
Nearing the top of the pass
Made it!
Flower at the top of the pass
70 below zero!
Alice Creek
So clean!
The Lincoln Grizzly Bear
A campsite visitor
Amazing view from the campsite!
Montana - great place to ride a horse or a bike!
Hi Country beef jerky
Daisy
July 22nd - 44.33 / 2,342.82 - Lincoln - Clearwater River
Headed into town for a delicious breakfast of cinnamon french toast, bacon, and coffee and then hit the road. I pulled off the road many times today to take in the beauty of the area. Just when you think it can't get any more beautiful it does! Although traffic was heavy and the road was narrow it was still a very enjoyable day. I made a stop in the little town of Ovando for soup and salad and some peach pie and ice cream for desert, yum! After a dip in Monture Creek I rode on through the mountains and along the river. I pulled over to take a picture when all of a sudden a C130 military plane flew right past me just above the river, it was quite a sight! I got it on video so it will be in the dvd. My campsite for the afternoon/night was on the Clearwater River and I had it all to myself. The site was amazing being right on the river and just a few feet from a nice waterfall. I spent most of the evening in the incredibly clear river and got a wonderful nights sleep with the sound of moving water.
Great views all day!
Lolo Creek
Side of the road, looking up
Love the smell of the fresh pine air!
Happy Biker!
Lolo Creek
Picnic area lunch break, wondeful scenery!
C130 coming over the river ( look closely )
The campsite on the Clearwater
Crystal clear water
Hanging out in the refreshing river - felt great!
Evening reflections
The campsite falls at sunset
Falling water
One of my new favorite rivers!
July 23rd - 39 / 2,381.82 - Clearwater River - Missoula
Shortly after crossing the Bitterroot River a bald eagle flew just over head, always an amazing thing to see. About midway through the ride I pulled off to a park along the river with huge rock canyon walls and giant pine trees. I actually witnessed some falling rock along side the road. As I got near Missoula it seemed that every other car had a kayak or inter tube on top of it. Missoula is a great city with great people! Everyone I met was very kind, fun loving, and happy. Missoula is a very green city with several breweries, plenty of outdoor recreation, and very bicycle friendly. In fact there are 9 bike shops to choose from! This is one city that I wish I could have spent more time in but I will be back. I had a motel with a kitchen so I was able to cook some spaghetti and pizza. A pretty wicked storm came through at night and produced a lot of lighting. It was fun to watch but people were worried about forest fires since it has been so dry. After having a couple beers Duff, I cleaned my bike and got some shuteye. Another fun day!
American Bald Eagle
Such a majestic bird
Nearing Missoula
Great place for a break!
Chester the chipmunk
I could have sat here for hours
On the road again
Wow! Awesome clouds all day!
Landslide
Nice wide paved shoulder, wish it could always be that way
Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Seaman
Good Missoula beer
America the beautiful
The view from the motel
July 24th - 41.71 / 2,423.53 - Missoula - Lolo Hot Springs
Woke up feeling great! I stepped outside to very dark clouds but the sky cleared up within an hour and I was back on the road. I made a stop at Adventure Cycling Association of which I have been a member now for 3 years. It was really cool to see where the maps are made and I was given a tour of the office. I got to meet the staff, was given ice cream, a one year free membership, and got my picture taken for the wall. I needed to get new trailer tires so I stopped in at a few bike shops and the fourth one I tried had my tires. I even got my derailer cable replaced for free. I then biked on to Travelers Rest State Park which is one of the places the Lewis and Clark expedition set up camp. After a nice rest at the park I pushed on up the mountains to Lolo Hot Springs. Once again the ride was incredibly beautiful and the air smells so fresh! I was given a really nice campsite in the woods with a great view of the massive boulders across the street. There was a car show going on at the campground so after checking out the cars I decided to climb to the top of the boulders which was a lot of fun! After reaching the top I found a trail on the other side that was much easier than the way I took up. Not as fun though. After several hours of climbing I went down to the bar and grill for dinner and some fresh Big Sky brew. I lucked out and there was going to be a band playing at night so about 9:00 I went back and met all kinds of people and saw the band No Shame. They were a pretty good rock and roll cover band and it was a lot of fun partying with all the car show people. By the time I got back to my campsite it was pretty late and the stars were amazing! I haven't seen so many stars since I was in Yellowstone 10 years ago. Amazing!
Travelers Rest State Park
Montana Steer
I love this part of the country, so beautiful!
So much history on the route!
Taking a dip
Clouds coming over the top
Love my vehicle!
Rock hopping
Couldn't find the moose
Nice campsite
Looking down on the campsite
The car show from the boulder view
My campsite is on the lower right by the 3 dead trees
The road I came in on
Great hike/climb to the top of the boulders!
Big ol' rocks!
Fun walking around on top of the boulders
Lolo Hot Springs
Peace!
Hiking, just as fun as biking!
View of the first set of boulers from the campsite
July 25th - 26.45 / 2,449.98 - Lolo Hot Springs - Wendover Campground
I was a little sad to be leaving the wonderful state of Montana today but very excited to see Idaho! I climbed to the top of Lolo Pass at 5,225 feet and took a break at the very nice Lolo Pass Visitor Center. Got some good coffee, changed my break pads, and met a bunch of travelers. It was now going to be 165 miles downhill as I cross the state of Idaho. Idaho's border started right at the top of the pass and I gained an hour as I crossed into the Pacific time zone. I folloed the incredible Lochsa River and stopped to take a dip and some photos. The road is dangerous with little or no shoulder and plenty of blind turns so I have to be extra careful through this section. It is the most beautiful section of the trip so far though! I made another stop at the Devoto Memorial Cedar Grove where the ceadar trees are huge and live up to 3,00 years. Made a stop at the Lochsa Lodge for lunch, which was really good by the way! After a stop at the grocery store I pushed on a few more miles to Wendover Campground on the Lochsa River. I had great neighbors, the Wormell's. They shared there beers with me and had me over for dinner. Doug grilled some tasty tuna sandwiches and we talked for a while and got some good sleep.
Gained an hour, woo-hoo!
Really nice visitor center with great coffee
Rock wall
Downhill for a ways, excellent!
These mountain rivers are so refreshing in the heat of the day!
Hwy 12 through Idaho
Cedar grove
Lochsa River
Gigantic Cedars
Crystal clear water
Lochsa River
The river at Wendover Campground
So clean
Looking out for Grizzlies!
So much National Forest in Idaho!
Lookin up
Not a bad campsite!
July 26th - 63.24 / 2,513.22 - Wendover Campground - Lowell
Woke up early and had some coffee thanks my awesome neighbors! I filled my water bottles and got back on the road. Another beauty of a day. It started out in the 70's but warmed up to 90's pretty quick. I think it has hit 90 every day for several weeks now. I saw an elk near the Lochsa River which I continued to follow all the way to Lowell where it meets with the Selway River. I made a lot of stops to take pictures and enjoy the scenery all day long. Throughout the ride today I passed 30 creeks leading into the Lochsa, often times making some pretty nice waterfalls. Made a stop at the historical ranger station and met some nice folks from Idaho. They gave me fresh peas from there garden, a banana, and a soda. Very nice people! I stopped along the river and sat out on a rock in the middle and played my harmonica for a while, lot's of fun! I got to the Three Rivers Campground early afternoon and met all kinds of nice people. There were two motorcyclists that were headed to Sturgis that picked up my dinner and bar tab. We partied for a while and had a really good time at the campground. I forget your names but thanks again guys!!! After a dip in the hottub and a beer and campfire I went to bed, happy to have the next to off to relax, change my trailer tires, and update the blog.
So far Idaho is incredible!!! The people have been great and the scenery is as good as it gets! I have been in National Forest since I entered the Rocky Moutains and I am loving every minute of it! There are so many rivers, waterfalls, mountains, huge trees, and all kinds of wildlife. The air smells and tastes so fresh. It is the highlight of the trip so far and I will definatly be back to this area some day!
Rapids on the Lochsa
Wish I had a kayak with me!
Lot's of twists and turns biking along thr river
So many nice places for a break
Lot's of wooden bridges to check out!
The road was thin and dangerous but so beautiful!
Idaho Hwy 12 - check it out someday!
Across the river
Log on a rock from where the river was a couple months ago
Lunch break spot
Smells incredibly fresh!
A stop at the historical ranger station
Another river break
Plenty of fish in there!
Never saw this bug before
Lovely place to relax
Big rocks!
Sunlit rocks
Looking up river
Side of the road - watch for falling rock
Thin shoulder but amazing views!
Rapids
Fun place to play the harmonica!
Great town!
Whatever you do, don't spit.
Sturgis bound!
No comments:
Post a Comment