Wednesday June 11 Day 26 West Glacier to Great Falls Zero miles

The snow that had started outside the Vista Motel the night before was still falling when I awoke. The temperature must have been at about 32 degrees as twelve hours of snowing had resulted in only a small residue on the lawn and roof and none on the road. I had called the highway and weather people the night before and thought there was really no place for me to go had I been on the east side of the pass as conditions there were equally poor. For this, I was inclined to stay with the comfortable place I was, rather than to go off to some new place of uncertain comfort. The exception to this was if Lori's friends did show up with a ride over the pass for me. I decided it was time to check in with my friend Dayton who's farm, about 100 miles south east of the park was my next stop. I called and learned that Dayton and his wife Polly were at their home in Great Falls as the weather at the farm prevented much useful work from getting done. Dayton immediately offered to come and pick me up, (at least a two hour drive for him), and bring me back to Great Falls. Other than embarrassment at being a pain in the neck I couldn't think of a reason to refuse, but then before long Lori's friends showed up and took me over the pass and as far as East Glacier.

The friends were two guys in a pick up with whom I didn't talk much and one guy in another pickup with whom I rode and talked a fair amount. These were not the sort of guys I usually see a lot of. They were hunters and fishermen, probably about 45 or 50 years old, on their way to a fishing competition. I talked with my companion, first about hunting and fishing and then about fishing and hunting. After that we chatted about the number of cyclists he knew of who had been killed on that road (3). The conversation then turned to hunting and fishing and was sprinkled with some pretty enthusiastic remarks about how much beer the guys had with them to get them through the tournament. Lori had said they wouldn't show up early because they are drinkers and as we drove the guy kept taking swigs from a Gatorade bottle and I wondered if it hadn't been fortified in some way. Did I tell you that his name was Billy Bob. Honest. After a while Billy Bob mentioned that they were friends with the proprietor of a bar at the top of the pass and they might be stopping in for just one martini. I thought about Dayton waiting for me in East Glacier and I was beginning to think I might be safer on my bike. Billy Bob was clearly disappointed when the lead truck did not stop at the bar. They did stop at their friend Hog's place about half way up the pass and tried hard to convince him to join them, but he refused. This was my good luck because he would have got my seat and I would have finished the ride back in the bed of the truck. Dayton was waiting in East Glacier when we arrived and after switching my stuff to his truck and having some lunch we drove to Great Falls. I will post on Dayton, Polly, their home and my time with them in my next entry.

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