big sky

after another “bed in a box” night,

we moved east from lima, mt today (7/26) through sage-dominated valleys under a cloudless sky that stretched forever. it was beautiful but turned windy, something we are learning to live with.

the lima rv park and hotel meant well. our room had a comfortable gathering area, a kitchen and a shower head about 5-feet off the bottom of the tub, which produced some awkward showering postures.

anything to get clean.

because of our current group motif, it was decided our kitchen would be perfect for frozen pizza for five; a meal necessitated because the restaurant was closed and we had already cleared the exxon shelves of all the jerky and cheese sticks.

the pizza went well. the cool down from having an oven at 400° for an hour-and-a-half didn’t.

at 02:00, unable to sleep because of the room heat, i went to the door and opened it. a rush of cool air entered the room. i fanned the door open and shut. for a minute, i considered leaving the door open, but shut it to keep out backpackers and raccoons. later, scott told me he wished i would have left the door open. a better solution? no more beds in a box.

i got about an hour of sleep and my early morning sullenness easily equaled my bonked sullenness earlier in the afternoon.

the forests have been gone for the past couple days. now, we are in range land. every landscape is fenced to either keep livestock out of protected areas or in protected areas because the fence is in the wrong place.

livestock protection, however, doesn’t mean much when water resources are doused with gallons of cow urine and tons of cow shit. conversely, we, as conscientious bikepackers are told to move 100-feet away from water, dig a hole at least 4” deep and when “done”, cover with leaf litter and gently pat to surface level.

cows get a free pass. they shit all over. they shit on each other and what do they get for it? an appearance on a dinner plate.

in range country, streams are turbid and choked with algae. when in need of water, a choice to filter out e. coli colonies is not as easy as the choice to just get dehydrated. dehydration can be cured, hosting colonies of foreign e. coli would mean a trip to the hospital, of which there are none.

cows along the route are dumb as rocks and stare at you like you are the creator. i get it, the history, the taming of the west.

all that.

sage plants produce a powerful, aromatic terpene and the smell along the route is incredible. even while pedaling, deep breaths decongest and aromatic oils fill your world.

we ended our day at red hawk lodge, with a huge spread of mexican food presented by owners, jeannette and mel. the lodge, their home, overlooks the red rock national wildlife refuge, a water/wetland mosaic that must be overwhelmed with migratory birds in the fal. mel and jeannette both regularly watch the refuge with binocs. how could they not?

it was a little warm in the top floor bedrooms, but i guess i’ll have to get used to that.

the sage terpenes produce an incredibly rich aroma and it is easy to understand its benefits.

smells so good.