catfish

Got up in lincoln montana,the home of the unibomber as i told Kelli no one had bad words about him till they found out what he had done, most had liked him or didnt know him as he stayed two himself, how such a terrible guy could lead a seemingly normal life that no one in that suspected him is a mystery.

ok so i got up Id gathered some fire wood the night befor cause i knew it would be cold in the morning. I was sleeping in these new hi tech light weight long underware tops and bottoms i bought in missoula and they work, worth the price. It was quite comfortable till about 3 am when nature called and i had to unzip the sleeping bag and get out oof the tent to "go". dang it was cold!! anyway after that i couldnt get warm. so at the first light i figured might as well get up and get the fire fire going. the tent fly was wet with dew and so was the ground cloth so i hung then\m to dry in the early morning sun. I was retreiving my food bag that was tied between two trees so the local bears wouldnt rip it apart, and the guy in the next camp site called to me to "bring my cup " his wife had the coffie ready. That first cup on a cold morning went down quite well and helped to warm me up.his thermomintor registered that it was 24 degrees lastnight no wonder i was cold.

I got things dry and packed up and headed to the post office to mail Kelli a letter, and get pancakes I ren into this same guy and his wife again that gave me the coffie we talked a bit then they headed out twords waSHINGTON.

Some joker told me after i climbed the mountian pass and went over the continantal divide it would be all down hill to great falls I would like to go see that joker again now. The climb wasnt too bad cause i was camped just 1500 ft from the top. it was a gradual climb th\ill the last mile or so and then got steep the desent was fast and fun the scenery was beautifull then it flattened out a bit.

I climbed a hil;l and figured ok not bad. at the top of this hill i saw soem more climbing. Turnes out the entire day was spent climbing these hills that would take 20 minutes or better to crest then get 5 minutes of down hill and begin the next climb these will ware you out in a hury, to make matters worse there was a gusty head wind. I was haded to a town on the map called simms or simmons cant remember. I didnt know what i would find there hopefully a place in a park to camp. It was getting late I knew there were about 11 miles to go i kept watching the mile posts they were goping by slowly. got to the top of this long demanding hill and looked and saw more climbing and i remember saying "ahh sh**" I started thinking about finding a place to just pull off the road and camp but this was all open range land and after going over the divide there were no trees to block wind.

I had to make simmons. I finially arrived about 4:30 pm went to the gasstation and met April a verry ni\ce person she thought it was ok to camp behind the station but would call bob and find out. bob is her hysband. Bob told her its ok and not to charge me anything. so nice of them.

next door was a restraunte, after setting up camp i went over for dinner i was too tired to cook. I got a salad a fresh home made loaf of bread a baked potatoe and a chicken fried steak that covered the entire plate. I am getting as taste for these chicken frie thing now. I ate so much i couldnt even think about home made pie.

I went back to the station which also was like a local hangout and sat at the table and visited with april and a mixture of others that wandered in and out. Bob came in and i met him soon it was 7 pm and they were closing and going home.

I crawlerd into the tent and tried to read some but i was just too wore out from the ride today and quickly crashed.It must have gotten pretty cold because all the moisture from the dew and ent moisture had turned to frost on the tent.

I got up early and packed the bike and hung the tent and ground cloth to dry or thaw out Bob called out Coffie's on so i went in and we got talking about everything from hunting and fishing and music to cars ect. another guy came in and joind us then someone came in and saud a plane ran into a building, at first we didnt think too much of it but then as others came in they gave us more and more details. by the time i left i knew something terrible had happened and figured to get a motel in great falls and watch all the news.

My tent is hanging to dry now as i type i washed cloths and they are hanging to dry also I may stay another day here befor heading to the high line (hy 2) and hopefully pick up a good tail wind twords wisconsin.

If you have the time and desire please post here Itis now a time that many miles have gone by and many to go yet, few other bikers are out touring in this northern area, speaking of that i for got to tell you a while back i passed the 95 parralell and the sign sain I was half way between the eequator and the north pole As i have been to both places i found this interesting., ok any words here are welcome you dont know how insperational they are to me . thanks for stopping by and reading what i have to say.
pray for world peace tonight
catfish