The Rockies, RVs, Trucks and Wind
I write today from the Library in Lincoln, about 80 miles east of Missoula. I found the library quite by accident. Stopped to camp for the night at a campground on the edge of town. The campground is sort of abandoned looking with no clear info on how you pay the $10 fee. So I spied an official looking building adjacent to the campground and stopped by to see if it was the office. Turns out to be the library so here I am. Maybe the camping will be free!
An eventful day today, both encouraging and discouraging. The bad part is nearly being run off the road numerous times by semis and RVs. Out here the speed limit is 70 on the two lane road I'm traveling. That means people go 80. Quite an unnerving experience when that heavy metal rushes by you within inches (or so it seems!) at those speeds. Found myself needing to ditch out off the highway numerous times today. Four times oncoming vehicles were passing traveling against me (once it was a semi passing a camper) and that's a little hairy. I can handle all the other variables (wind, hills, long western miles) but the vehicles here freak me out. They freak me out!
The good part. I crossed over the continental divide today through Rogers Pass to the western slopes of the Rockies! It was not so difficult, very long, but not so steep as, say, Appalachian Gap. The scenery in the Rockies is, of course spectacular. Last night I had a great night in the little town of Augusta at the Bunkhouse Inn: cost $26 and by far the coolest place I've stayed. This is an inn of some 20 rooms that was moved from town that went belly up (now a ghost town except for the brick bank building), up the road about 3 miles. The innkeeper told me that they moved it down to Augusta all in one piece with a single horse pulling this huge, huge building. How did they do it? They had some sort of reduction gear mechanism so that the horse circled and circled the house and each time he did, the house moved forward a few feet. Now I know the Egyptians used logs to slowly move the stone blocks used to construct the pyramids. This, though seems even more ingenious. I guess all the ingenuity isn't with us Yankees. The innkeeper, by the way, used to ride the wild horses and bulls in the rodeo. He's traveled all over the US and Canada performing, even doing rodeos in Madison Square Gardens and Boston! His dad was the chief rodeo announcer from about 1946-1980 and is inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. There were many, many emblems and awards from their careers displayed in the dining room, and, for more graphic evidence, the innkeeper showed me his scars from tumbles he'd taken. His reflection: "If you're going to ride the rodeo, it's part of the deal. You don't know when or where you'll get hurt, but you know you will." Fortunately he survived this phase of his life and now can enjoy the less dangerous role of innkeeper.
By the way, my drive across eastern Montana confirmed that I'd made the right decision not to pedal there. 100 degree temperatures, a very dry environment, huge distances between towns, endless rolling hills, monotony--boy am I lucky! I did stop at Fort Benton, the terminus for steamship travel up the Missouri and that was a beautiful and historic little town. Incredible setting. (For you geography buffs, Lewiston has the same distinction of being the furthest inland for steamship travel in the old days up the Columbia) I have pictures but, although I stopped and transferred pictures to a CD, I am now at a library where the CD drives have been disabled. Ugh!
On to Missoula tomorrow and then I have to give more consideration to my route. The vehicles really do have me rattled! My love to all. Thank you for your comments. I enjoy them greatly. Lowell
An eventful day today, both encouraging and discouraging. The bad part is nearly being run off the road numerous times by semis and RVs. Out here the speed limit is 70 on the two lane road I'm traveling. That means people go 80. Quite an unnerving experience when that heavy metal rushes by you within inches (or so it seems!) at those speeds. Found myself needing to ditch out off the highway numerous times today. Four times oncoming vehicles were passing traveling against me (once it was a semi passing a camper) and that's a little hairy. I can handle all the other variables (wind, hills, long western miles) but the vehicles here freak me out. They freak me out!
The good part. I crossed over the continental divide today through Rogers Pass to the western slopes of the Rockies! It was not so difficult, very long, but not so steep as, say, Appalachian Gap. The scenery in the Rockies is, of course spectacular. Last night I had a great night in the little town of Augusta at the Bunkhouse Inn: cost $26 and by far the coolest place I've stayed. This is an inn of some 20 rooms that was moved from town that went belly up (now a ghost town except for the brick bank building), up the road about 3 miles. The innkeeper told me that they moved it down to Augusta all in one piece with a single horse pulling this huge, huge building. How did they do it? They had some sort of reduction gear mechanism so that the horse circled and circled the house and each time he did, the house moved forward a few feet. Now I know the Egyptians used logs to slowly move the stone blocks used to construct the pyramids. This, though seems even more ingenious. I guess all the ingenuity isn't with us Yankees. The innkeeper, by the way, used to ride the wild horses and bulls in the rodeo. He's traveled all over the US and Canada performing, even doing rodeos in Madison Square Gardens and Boston! His dad was the chief rodeo announcer from about 1946-1980 and is inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. There were many, many emblems and awards from their careers displayed in the dining room, and, for more graphic evidence, the innkeeper showed me his scars from tumbles he'd taken. His reflection: "If you're going to ride the rodeo, it's part of the deal. You don't know when or where you'll get hurt, but you know you will." Fortunately he survived this phase of his life and now can enjoy the less dangerous role of innkeeper.
By the way, my drive across eastern Montana confirmed that I'd made the right decision not to pedal there. 100 degree temperatures, a very dry environment, huge distances between towns, endless rolling hills, monotony--boy am I lucky! I did stop at Fort Benton, the terminus for steamship travel up the Missouri and that was a beautiful and historic little town. Incredible setting. (For you geography buffs, Lewiston has the same distinction of being the furthest inland for steamship travel in the old days up the Columbia) I have pictures but, although I stopped and transferred pictures to a CD, I am now at a library where the CD drives have been disabled. Ugh!
On to Missoula tomorrow and then I have to give more consideration to my route. The vehicles really do have me rattled! My love to all. Thank you for your comments. I enjoy them greatly. Lowell
posted by lowell at
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
1 Comments:
Hi Lowell,
I don't know if you have it on your bike or not, but going through where you descibe you need to be seen a long ways away! A high " ORANGE " flag or something of the sort! I know alot of these big truck drivers probably don't see you until there on you, then it is a little too close for comfort! Sounds like you are making tracks like that "JACK RABBIT" you jumped! Keep on a trucking, or should I say "PEDALING".
Dave Gauthier
By
Anonymous, at Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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