I am out of Montana

I have now been over 1500 miles. The most rewarding part of traveling this far is that I made it out of Montana and I am still alive. Montana is a really big state. They call it, “The Big Sky State.” I will always think of it as, “The Big (cloudy) Sky State.” It was sunny two of the nine days I was in Montana. I think I would have enjoyed the scenery much more if it had not been obstructed by clouds.

One of the things I noticed about Montana is that there are more grasshoppers there than any other state. They were viscous creatures that enjoyed throwing themselves at me. It kind of stings when a grass hopper launches itself at you full force. The transition between Montana and North Dakota was also the transition between grasshopper country and cricket country. Crickets are much more docile. Unfortunately crickets don’t have enough sense to dodge a bike tire.

While there are plenty of grasshoppers in Montana there are not a lot of people. Most of the towns I pass through had populations of three to five hundred people. Despite the small populations all of these towns were able to support at least two bars, one or two motels, a grocery store, and occasionally a post office. I think in order to constitute as a town in Montana there is a two bar minimum.

The most interesting night I had in Montana was my night in Circle, Montana. My camping options were either the town park (I try to avoid town parks), or the Horse Creek RV Park/ Trailer Court/ Laundromat. The owner of the later decided for me that I was going to stay at his establishment. All of the neighborhood kids watched as I inflated my tent and set up camp. I was the only camper in this dry dirt patch of an RV park. After I was set up at my campsite I went to hunt for food.

I had filled up on grilled cheese, and was ready to do a load of spandex/ synthetics. I was sitting peacefully in the in the laundromat enjoying the wind free environment, when the owner stormed in.

“HOGS!” he yelled. “HUMAN HOGS THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE. HOGS! THEY ARE ALL HOGS.”

He proceeded to sweep with vigor while still sputtering about the human hogs. I was slightly terrified. He made me look at the pile of dirt he had swept- just to exemplify the fact they were hogs. I got him to talk a little bit. I think talking about it calmed him down some. I offered to help him clean. He refused my offer, but proceeded to tell me how dirty his customers were. I learned there is nothing easy about the coin-op Laundromat business.

He decided I would be more comfortable that night if I slept inside the Laundromat instead of my tent. That night slept on the floor of the Laundromat. I felt that I would be safer from him there than I would be sleeping in my tent in front of his house. I have to admit I didn’t get much sleep that night.

Since then things have not been nearly as eventful. After I got my spoke fixed in Great Falls I had more spoke problems. By the time I finally got to Bismarck I had 3 broken spokes. I was hoping the bike shop would be able to fix my wheel. They told me my wheel was weak, and if they did do the repair it would only be temporary. I now have two new wheels since they could not break up the set.

I am taking the day off today. I was convinced to do so by my friend Tara’s family. I am staying at their house here in Bismarck, ND. It has been wonderful staying in a home and eating something other than instant oatmeal, cereal bars, and grilled cheese.

In case you are wondering- I still love the adventure I am on.