Where's Vickie 2010, Volume 6

prickly pears in full bloom

grain silos and a nice old truck

one of the last old steam engines, in Havre

someones driveway, with the Sweetgrass hills in the distance

nice rollers between Chester and Havre

Several of the little towns had these beautiful signs, each one different

I liked this weathered old grain elevator

lots of nothing, as far as the eye can see..

We've seen lots of murals similar to this throughout Idaho and Montana

Day 18 - July 7th - Chester, MT
64 miles, 910 ft cumulative elevation gain
75 and gorgeously sunny - perfect biking weather!

Today was just lovely! Sunshine all the way, and our first day with less than 1000 feet of climbing! We are really in the prairie now, with long, gradual, rolling hills. I rode in my big chain ring nearly all day.

About 20 miles into the ride, we found a very nice little espresso place in the tiny town of Shelby, where I spent close to an hour and ended up buying a painting to have shipped home. This place also had walls full of various homeopathic remedies, big jars of evil looking dark liquids. There were 10 empty bottles of Everclear in the restroom, and I assume that’s the liquid in the homeopathic stuff…which may go a long way towards explaining why so many people claim that homeopathy works…?

In 60 miles the only other signs of civilization were the “towns” of Dunkirk, Devon, Galata, Lothair, and Tiber, each of which consisted of a grain elevator and maybe a dozen houses on dirt roads. The Chester museum guide (see below) told me the story behind this: the original steam engine trains had to stop for water every 6 miles, and that’s how the towns originated. Now, there are no regular train stops between Cut Bank and Havre. It looked to me like most of the grain elevators are still in use, though.

The vast wheat and barley fields are beautiful and green, and the sky is huge. We passed a sizeable area of prickly pear cactus, all in full bloom. The mosquitoes are fierce out here, even in the heat of the day, and (I think) black flies in the evening.

We rode on US 2 all day, with reasonably light traffic and a reasonably good shoulder. A half dozen full logging trucks passed heading west, and it makes me wonder where the heck they’re finding the trees, as I saw maybe 5 the whole day. Way off to the north you can see a small mountain range, which the map says is the Sweetgrass Hills. Perhaps there are trees there.

Chester, Montana: I am quite enchanted with this place. I can’t think when I’ve been in a more peaceful or friendlier little town. Walking through town after dinner, folks were actually sitting out on their front porches, and said hi to me when I passed. The retired town doctor rode by on his one-speed and tooted his rubber-bulb horn at me. I spent the better part of an hour at the town museum, where a very nice woman showed me around. Coming back to the hotel, the proprietors were sitting outside an asked me if I wanted a glass of “Hutterite wine”. There are apparently several Hutterite settlements around here (somewhat similar to Mennonites), and they “horse-trade” with them, wine for Coke and such. The wine was sweet and strong, and quite good.

The MX hotel where we are staying tonight is the only hotel in town, and it is one of those fabulously funky places. Every room is different. Some have kitchenettes and separate bedrooms. The “executive suite” has a gold pressed-tin ceiling, and a huge 4-poster bed with a gold-lame bedspread. Our group is taking up the entire hotel; in fact, there is a guy who normally lives here full time who vacated his room so there would be room for us tonight.

All in all, just an excellent day!

Day 19 - July 8th - Havre, MT
60 miles, 1040 ft cumulative elevation gain
80 and gorgeously sunny - perfect biking weather!

Today seemed much harder than yesterday. I think we had a bit of a tailwind yesterday, and a bit of headwind today, though nothing like the strong winds that Montana is infamous for. Kinda hoping for some of those (from the west, please!) over the next week or so.

We had exactly two turns all day: Right, out of the hotel onto US 2, and left, into the hotel in Havre. And sure enough, those railway water-stop towns / grain elevators about every 6 miles: Joplin, Inverness, Rudyard, Hingham, Giltford, Kremlin. The only trees were in the towns or the very few farmhouses, which all seem to be set back about a mile from the highway.

This whole area is referred to as the “Hi-Line”, after the Great Northern railroad which we are riding along. Completed in 1893, it’s still in heavy use, with long trains going by probably twice an hour.

Still, it’s mighty lonely looking out here. Liberty County (Chester, where we were yesterday, is the county seat) has a population of only 2158 people , fewer than it had in1920. That‘s only 1.5 people per square mile, so when our group sweeps through, it‘s a 1700% increase in population! Hill County, where we are now, tops out at under 17000, with more than half of those in the town of Havre. And Philips County, where we’re heading next, stands at about 4600, less than half of its 1920 population. The main reason given for the decrease in population is the increasing mechanization of farming. You see miles and miles and miles of grain fields between anything that looks like a house. I would like to see this area at harvest time.

Havre, by the way, is pronounced “haver”, like “I don’t want ‘er, you can have ‘er”.

The whole 60 miles of highway right-of-way seems to be planted in hay just one or two swaths wide, which has just been cut, lending a very nice perfume to the air.

Day 20 - July 9th - Havre, MT
Rest Day
Hot, dry, and sunny - perfect biking weather!
I walked the mile or so into town this morning before it got too hot. Bought a couple of books and found a latte at the deli in the back of the IGA, where I also finally bought some real coffee (Seattle’s Best) so that I can make non-motel coffee in the mornings. A trip to the local thrift store scored me a sun hat for 50 cents, and I was back here in air-conditioned comfort by early afternoon. Better soak it up today, as we will be riding 92 miles in the heat tomorrow.