This might be a good time to mention that I have seen magpies, white breasted nuthatches, ravens, and a lot of other birds I can't identify but I know we don't have them back home.
We left Happy's this morning in a cold, dense fog. If we had run out of shoulder before we ran out of fog, I'd have opted for waiting it out.
By the time we stopped for breakfast 17 miles later at McGregor Lake, the sky was bright and clear.
The proprietor of the Lodge at McGregor Lake told me that the elevation there was "about 4000 feet." Tonight we are staying in Kalispell, elevation 2919. There were a few long descents.
At the top of one of those descents we met a cyclist on a recumbent, pulled off and changing a tire. We stopped to see that he had everything he needed (he did) and to chat for a few moments. He was heading from Kalispell from Libby.
About 8 miles out from Kalispell, as we dealt with heavy traffic, a pickup truck slowed beside us.
The passenger rolled down his window and said, "Get on the bike path over there." It was friendly advice. Twenty yards off the busy road was "The Historical Trail," a stretch of the old Great Northern right-of-way paved into a decent rail-trail.
I haven't seen much in Kalispell except bad traffic, casinos, and pawn shops. We're staying in a down-at-the-heels campground that caters to down-at-the-heels people.
Today's total distance: approximately 53 miles.
We walked to Perkins for dinner. I was one of the youngest patrons in the place.
I still qualified for the senior discount.
Glad BJ is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteBill
I'm also glad BJ is dong better. Should you however have to eat him, on a second consultation with the meat thermometer, I'm now recommending a temperature in the high 180s, just to be safe.
ReplyDeleteThe magpies and ravens are ubiquitous out west, but you won't see them here, so enjoy. The white breasted "nutties" (as we like to call them) you'll see both here and there.
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