Day 12 - Havre +30 to Malta +30

Notes from Tom:  Today we reached the 500 mile mile marker in Montana. I think it's wrong to call the ride across Montana boring, but I will say there's not much change to the scenery we see. Today we rode most of the day in the very wide Milk River valley. The Milk was so named by Lewis and Clark because they said it was the color of tea with milk.

In the afternoon we rode out of the valley and onto the rolling grassland east of Malta, and were welcomed by 88 degree temps. As we rode onto the rolling grass land we encountered an "incident." Having never seen such a sign we proceeded with curiosity, only to find several cranes and large trucks picking up the remains of a train derailment.

So far our bodies and bikes have performed without any problems--that's been a real pleasant surprise considering that we're 900+ miles into this trip.

 

Notes from Jerry:   This is great, where else can you be sitting outside a motel in the shade (it is still about 88 degrees at 5pm) after an 88 mile ride and watching the BNSF trains go by first one way, then the other literally 70 yards from our front stoop!  This must be a switching place because the trains stop out front and then go very slow. The train is a constant friend - I think the train route has paralleled US Hwy 2 all the way since we hit the prarie.



It is amazing what goes down the highway, which is also out front.  Farm implements on the back of flatbeds, giant vessels, all kinds of crazy things that farmers and ranchers need loaded onto flatbeds.  Yesterday we saw two giant white objects on the longest truck we had ever seen - wind turbine blades for a wind turbine farm that we had just seen up on a hill.  The two aerospace engineers had to discuss what they were made out of - each one had to be 60-70 ft long.  We need our schoolmate Bill Makens to tells us if they are indeed made out of composite material, since Bill is into wind turbine development.

Knees, butts and legs are all holding up - as well as the bikes!  We are experts at chip and seal pavement, where the smooth parts are, and how to avoid rumble strips.

Patty's part: I am still in wonder at the expanse of prairie land as far as the eye can see. The trains, carrying their cargo are a "constant companion" to all who are traveling along this route. Today, while waiting for the cyclists, I counted 112 cars in a single train. The historical markers tell the stories of long ago days. One marker today, told of a great train robbery near Malta which included several well known outlaws, including Butch Cassidy. So much history, so much land.

Respectfully submitted,
Patty on the Prairie!