Category: Discarding the safe deposit box

Thursday July 31, 2014, 29 miles (47 km) – Total so far: 3,555 miles (5,722 km)

My former boss spent a sabbatical at the University of Montana in Missoula some years ago. His wife is a retired schoolteacher. While they were living in Missoula, they met and became friends with Nancy. When my former boss found out I’d be touring Montana this summer, he went over maps with me to figure out places I should visit. He also put me in touch with Nancy. She lives most of the time in Missoula but has a cabin at Seeley Lake. I’m going to meet her tomorrow afternoon. Read more →

Sunday August 3, 2014, 34 miles (55 km) – Total so far: 3,590 miles (5,777 km)

The wildfire smoke has returned. It gets thicker as the day progresses. Nancy takes me for a hike up to Smith Creek Pass near Condon in the morning. We return to the car around 1.30pm. She heads home and after a lunch break next to the rushing creek, I head back down the dirt road to the main highway around 3pm. Another hot and smoky day – I didn’t really think it would get into the low 90s for such long periods up here. Read more →

Friday August 1, 2014

On Friday, I hang out by Seeley Lake most of the day. I’m meeting Nancy in the afternoon. A Great Divide rider comes over and sits down beside me and we have a great conversation. He’s from California and has gotten behind schedule and is now wondering if he’ll just finish up in Kalispell instead of the Canadian border. He’s had issues with saddle sores and has found the ride more challenging than anticipated. He’s enjoyed it, though. He’s trying to figure out a way to get his long-time girlfriend interested in cycle touring. Midway through our conversation, a man from a family of six brings us over a huge veggie and dip platter. The family has hardly touched it, and rather than throw it away, he brings it over to us. He assumes correctly that cyclists are always hungry. Read more →

Monday August 4, 2014, 48 miles (77 km) – Total so far: 3,637 miles (5,854 km)

Am I still grumpy? No, not too bad. Verne’s irrepressible goofy grin and outstretched arms indicate the rest of the crew is feeling pretty good, too. It is very, very early, but the goal is to get down the road and out of this valley with its shoulderless roads before many people wake or decide to head into Kalispell. Once we get out into the Flathead Valley the road should have a shoulder. Then, once we hit Hwy 93, we can hook up with a bike path into Kalispell. Read more →

Tuesday August 5, 2014, 13 miles (21 km) – Total so far: 3,650 miles (5,875 km)

After I drop off the bike at the shop, I head out to explore downtown Kalispell. The downtown is several blocks long and wide. The brick buildings are mostly one and two-story with functional design. None of it shouts past opulence; this was obviously never a mining town.

Actually, Kalispell started out as a division point on the Great Northern Railway in 1891. One of the Conrad brothers, who had become a wealthy merchant through his businesses in Fort Benton, convinced the owner of the railway to bring the railroad through Conrad’s new area of residence. Conrad and Hill were old pals, and in the way of the wealthy with connections, the railroad came to town after Conrad bought up land and platted a site. Read more →

Wednesday August 6, 2014, 48 miles (78 km) – Total so far: 3,699 miles (5,952 km)

The ‘grumbles’ threaten to overwhelm me this morning. My list of woes is inconsequential but extensive, as personal gripes tend to be. I get out on the road around 7.30 am – a late start for me, but I just couldn’t pry myself off the sleeping pad this morning. My breathing was wheezy; it was already warm. It’s been hot and smoky for a while now, and the forecast shows it will likely last another 5-7 days. My motivation was bit low this morning as I thought about riding in more heat and smoke, on shoulderless roads with lots of high-speed traffic, and in pleasant but not outstanding scenery. Read more →

Thursday August 7, 2014, 4 miles (6 km) – Total so far: 3,703 miles (5,959 km)

The early morning sun filters through the pine needles in horizontal shafts. The smoke has settled in the night. Its density scatters the light into a million pieces and gives the open forest a gentle, amber glow. It is like some grand designer has pulled out all the harsh LED lighting and put in old incandescent bulbs. I did not put on the tent fly last night, so I can peer upward through the mesh to the thick air and the cover of pine boughs above.

It is silent. The toads have ceased their midnight chorus. They’ve given up and gone home for the day. If you don’t have a chick by sunrise, you are probably out of luck. The birds are quiet or somewhere else. The stillness flows in through my pores and settles in my bones. This is exactly what my soul needed. Read more →

Friday August 8, 2014, 45 miles (72 km) – Total so far: 3,747 miles (6,031 km)

“It’s a death trap. Really. There have been so many fatalities on this road, it’s very sad. But they did a lot of work on it in the 1990s, so it’s better than it used to be,” said the camphost two days ago at Logan State Park where I refilled water bottles. She is referring to the road I’m on – Federal Highway 2 west of Kalispell. Read more →

Saturday August 9, 2014, 5 miles (8 km) – Total so far: 3,752 miles (6,039 km)

Trappers and traders from British fur companies explored the Libby, Montana area in the early 1800s. Miners began working the area in the 1880s. But it was vermiculite, discovered six miles northeast of town in 1881, that would provide many people in town their livelihoods, and ultimately, take their lives away. Vermiculite is a useful product – it is used in home insulation, fertilizers, construction materials, absorbents and feed additives, among other things. Unfortunately, the vermiculite ore here also naturally contains tremolite asbestos which is incredibly toxic to humans. Read more →

Sunday August 10, 2014, 50 miles (81 km) – Total so far: 3,802 miles (6,120 km)

The smoke settled in very thick yesterday afternoon. The temperature reached 93F. If the pines had been eucalypts, you could have fooled me that I was back in summer-time Australia. I spent much of the afternoon lying on the grass in the shade at Fireman’s Park. There was a family reunion being held in the picnic shelter, and I could not help but wonder how many of those present were living with lung disease. Just across the street is a vacant lot with a sign saying to Keep Out because hazardous asbestos material is present. Read more →