Billings, Montana - Day 14

Day 10 - The morning was dark and fog hung low over the hills and mountains as we left Missoula. Although some people might call the weather miserable, the air was cool and a nice change from the usual heat and dryness. As the day progressed the air got lighter, but puffy clouds remained blotting the wide sky.

As Noah and I approached the campsite in Avon, Montana, we stopped at a restaurant known widely for their incredible pie. Eventually, we finished up the last three miles of the ride and set up camp in a building at a campground intended for elementary schoolers. Needless to say, it was quite cramped that night.

Day 11 - We left the campground early in the morning after a light breakfast and began a climb that started out gradual and progressed to steep near the crest. After eleven miles, we were at the top of MacDonald Pass (elevation 6325 feet). This is the highest point for the entire trip and it was a rush to finally be at the top. The scenery was much the same as the past few days, but beautiful still. Shortly after catching my breath, I began a long and steady descent into Townsend, Montana where we set up camp at a high school.


After dinner we went swimming for a while at a local pool. Following that, eight of us played a pretty sorry game of ultimate frisbee before falling asleep. Funnily enough, I feel like the more exercise I do, the lazier I get.

Day 12 - The day began with a beautiful climb through Helena National Forest. Right on the side of the road there was a babbling stream and as the sun filtered through the trees the light speckled the water amazingly. The road was still wet from the night before and everything seemed to shine.

We passed through White Sulpher Springs where the town held a parade for July 4. One of the more interesting floats included Confederate Flags with posters boasting, "The South will rise again." Hmm... Montana.

After making it to camp in Harlowton, Montana, seven of us had a hot dog eating competition. Noah won by eating six hot dogs in about five minutes. Montana has almost no rules about fireworks and so Doug bought fireworks powerfully equivalent to what the city of Raleigh might set off for the show at Meredith College for dirt cheap. All of us played with fire late into the night (11 o' clock) to celebrate the birth of our country.

Day 13 - Howling winds woke me up early and after taking everything down I discovered that half the people had left early already and so there was no organized breakfast. Luckily, there was a diner not too far away and on the way to Billings. After finishing breakfast, we set out at 8:30 AM, about two hours later then we normally would. The wind was at our backs most of the day so the ride went by very quickly considering our late start.

Apparently Meth is a big problem in Montana
Joe, Reuben, and Noah agree

Billings, Montana is the largest city in Montana and after settling into the dorms at Montana State University, we had an incredible dinner that most notably included over-sized pieces of steak. Later that night before bedtime, a few of us rode our bikes to watch Hancock.

Day 14 - Late this morning a group of us got breakfast at a place called Stella's. Chad tried to eat four monster pancakes for the grand prize of one free cinnamon roll. He got through two and then bonked. After a painful walk back to the dorms, we mostly lounged around and did a lot of nothing. Rest days tend to be like that. Before July 12 (our next rest day in Rapid City, South Dakota), we will leave Montana, enter Wyoming and arrive in South Dakota. Expect an update then.