Winnet Montana to Jordan Montana. 77 miles. 1249 from the Pacific. when I was eating supper last night Frank and Trudy showed up in town. so I had some camping buddies to share the days story. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and was on the road by 530 today. my goal was to put on some miles before the heat of the day. I saw some Antelope and then about 20 miles later I had my first encounter with an Elk. The big bull looked as big as a school bus standing beside the road about 50 yards ahead of me. once he saw me, he and his girlfriends jump back over the fence and climbed a ridge. he watched me has a pedalled passed. Next minute he came running down the ridge about 20 yards ahead of me and crossed the road with horns up and chest out. what an awesome site. I stop my bike and just watch the wildlife show. about 2 minutes after he crossing road I heard a bark sound coming from the big bull, and less than a minute later the 3 females crossed the road and join him. that was really cool and the highlight of my day. I also saw several road kill rattlesnakes.
the day started out cool and then began to warm up quickly. by the time I roll into town at 2pm the temperature was 98 degrees Fahrenheit. the road was good and traffic was light, the wind was in my face the last 25 miles something I’m not used to. the big Montana rollers are seem endless. like waves in the ocean only 500 feet tall. lucky for me this little town also has a swimming pool. It was a great way to end the ride that was up and down all day long.
this is dinosaur country where the T Rex was discovered and several Triceratops. there are several groups of bone diggers staying in town tonight and we met most of them. they preferred to be called bone diggers instead of paleontologists. they show up every year about this time for 6 to 8 weeks and dig for more dinosaur bones.
thanks again for all the nice comments. I don’t have time to write back but I read every one of them. you guys are funny, and thanks for the support. it means a lot to me.
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You can definitely pick your spots. From Wikipedia: Jordan is noted for its extreme weather; The town ranks 10th in the U.S. in temperature range, from its lowest at −58 °F (−50 °C), to its highest at 112 °F (44 °C), a range of 170 °F (94 °C). Montana is the state with the largest range. The lowest temperature was at Rogers’ Pass (-70 °F) and the highest at Medicine Lake (117 °F) which it looks like you will fortunately miss, but not by a lot. Keep finding those pools!
We , fellow Wisconsinites, met Mike at a rest stop on Hwy 200 near Hwy 24 between Jordan and Circle MT on June 30th. His big smile suggested retirement and this adventure are a success for him already. Plan to report to my Dad the biker and fellow Cummins retiree so he can enjoy Mike’s journey as well.
Keep on keepin on! I once rode on the Elroy-Sparta trail at 98 degrees. All I could think of was the pool at our destination. When we finally got there, the pool was drained for maintenance! Hope all your pools are cool!
Go dad!!! Love you. Thinking of you. 🙂 i bet the butt cracks of dawn are beautiful and calm.