29 August 2006 – Ft. Benton, MT to Chinook, MT

Woke up and packed and went to the grocery store to get food for tonight. Snapped a photo of the Shep statue. Shep is a legendary dog who waited faithfully but in vain for his owner to return from a river trip and was eventually adopted by the entire town. He is buried out of town by the airport and they erected a statue in his honor right on the riverfront. I rode my bike across an old bridge over the Missouri River that is now a foot bridge to a small park with some faux teepees. The river here looks nothing like the river as it passes through Kansas City. It is broad and fast flowing but still clear with a rocky bottom. I suppose that it picks up sediments after it gets more out into the plains. I snapped a photo of the Lewis and Clark statue (similar in stature to Shep the dog, although stuck at the end of town) and headed out of town.

The scenery is now very much Great Plains. I am heading along the route Lewis took while exploring the headwaters of the Maria’s River (named after one of Lewis’ cousins). I had to climb a big hill that Lewis used to get the lay of the land. A nice view (see photo) of seemingly endless plains. I reached the town of Havre feeling pretty tired but decided to push on to Chinook. I saw 7 dead ring-necked pheasants in the 20 miles between Havre and Chinook as well as 20+ dead European starlings (no great loss in either case). I have been trying to outrun a cold front that is supposed to bring rains. I can see the bank of clouds behind me the entire way from Havre to Chinook. I also alternate between headwinds and tailwinds as I move in and out of the frontal boundary. That is how distinct the frontal boundary is here.

I got to the public park in Chinook too late to get a shower at the swimming pool next door. There was a couple there who were coming from central Washington via Glacier National Park (found out later they were celebrating their 25th anniversary with a long bike tour). I had to call Tac from a pay phone then returned to the park, cooked some canned ravioli and went to bed.