Blogs from Montana, United States, North America - page 56

Day 127 (Tuesday 25/08/09, NJJ) Everyone had to get off the bus at 4.40am in Spokane, the last stop in Washington state, for 30mins. We were unlucky to be stuck in the same seats when we got back on. We both managed to get a little sleep then. We travelled through Idaho but there were no stops in the state. 30 mins stop at St Regis, Montana at 8.30am so we bought some breakfast food but there wasn't a healthy item in the shop! I got back into my reading back to try and distract myself from the discomfort. At 12.40pm we stopped at Butte, Montana. I stayed on, Jay got off and came back with more unhealthy food. We finally managed to adjust the seats, don't know why they wouldn't adjust earlier so the last ... read more

Day 3 has me riding through the plains of Montana. I am struck by the great ocean of grass and wheat lands. I am reminded of scuba diving, floating in the swells on top after a dive. You can see forever.. then just for a bit. Riding through the plains is like this. On top you can see forever, then you drop down into the valleys.. As the day warms I start to notice the grasshoppers, they are everywhere. Soon my bike is covered, I feel the steady tattoo against my boots. Each time I stop the bike is besieged by hungry flies and bees. A stop in Jorden for lunch, a great burger and fries. Conversation turned to life in a small Montana town, rent for a two bedroom house, $200.00 with total utilities under ... read more

Day 2 Out of Spokane later than I hoped. I had a little problem working my new sexy netbook . Spent a while working with tech support. Truth be known.. I could have just been an idiot. All is good now. So on the road, a quick stop for coffee and time to make some miles. I took I-90 over to the rest stop just inside Idaho to decide where to go. I decided to slab it to just past Missoula and pick up 200 heading east - northeast. This is where the fun starts. 200 is a wonderful two lane road in this stretch as it climbs the west side of the Continental Divide, the pine trees are in abundance, much like in the cascades as I cross over and drop down the east side ... read more

It's been around a week of riding since our last entry, and we've covered around 1,500 miles or so from British Columbia, down through Alberta, and into the 'lower 48' via Montana. We've done around 4,500 miles so far, and our buttocks have taken on a shiny, leathery complexion. As with most blog entries, we can divide it up into 3 broad categories: The bit about the scenery The 'educational' bit The 'humorous' bit The bit about the scenery: Having come down through the Canadian Rockies and into their US counterparts in Montana, we could paste up a few thousand pictures of all the crazy shaped mountains. But we would probably crash the internet, so we'll leave you with two, for which you will probably be grateful. The 'educational' bit: You can skip this if you ... read more

...where the deer and the antelope play! My friend Launie had to drive back home to Montana and asked if I'd like to come with. So, of course I said yes. Unfortunately, Jeff didn't get to go but it was just a short trip anyways. We left Launie's house in Phoenix and started the journey north. We took a short detour from the path we were on and stopped at Navajo Bridge. Navajo Bridge is at the far east end of the Grand Canyon and is a point where you can actually drive over the canyon! The bridge that you can walk across was originally built in 1923! Even though this is not the deepest part of the canyon, you can still feel the grandioseness of it! Back on the highway, it starts to climb up ... read more