To apple valley

Monday 5/28 Day 38
Haha this morning was funny. I got up packed up and made some breakfast and than while eating I read a book. Turning more into dad :). The book is getting interesting, I'm just got into part three, which is around page 650. This morning the sun was coming up and the humidity was dissappearing which would lead to a nice day.

hi

I had my first flat tire today since my tire explosion. The damn tube got pinched. I have had only pinched tire flats on this trip. Ehh frustrating but I can only get better at getting the tube in the tire. I had to change it out twice since the patch did not hold. Was worried something else would happen since I did not have any extra tubes now. I would have to get some more when I get into a big city.

Springfield

Besides the flat I have really enjoyed riding in this state except for one thing, the river valleys. There are cities in the valleys and the main roads are above them. So when I get to the city I drop down into the valley to get to the city. And then when I come out it is a nice steep hill to get to the top. :) challenge.
Mid day I tried going around a highway by taking a back road. It turns into dirt and it was one of those hills out of the valley, this one was so steep I had to get of the bike and walk it up he hill. The further I made it north the more people there were. This was the most I have seen since Portland OR. So much traffic on all the roads.
Early afternoon I stopped at a McDonald's for ice cream and ice coffee, It was a great cool down for my last part of riding.

Flooding fields

I met my friend Chip just a little ways outside the city of Minneapolis and he picked me up and took me to his place in Apple Valley. He had a new truck since the last time I saw him and we were able to toss the bike in the back. It was funny because I thought the car was two weeks old since it looked so new, but it was two years old and the truck still looked brand new.

Flat tire here

It was a quick ride home where I met Julie who was staying at is place for a while. I took a shower and got all cleaned up and had an amazing chicken dinner. That evening we caught up on the bike trip, where I was headed after this trip, and other events in life. Chip also showed me his motorcycle and Mary Ellen, his Thunder Bird. Beautiful vehicles. It made me think of a career working with cars, it could be fun. I think some day I will rebuild a car. Probably a jeep haha get the millennium falcon back. After a long day it was great to rest.


I'm in Apple Valley till Thursday morning.

To boldly go where I have not

Sunday 5/27 Day 37

Getting good with the camera

As I read the clock this morning it read six AM. I was thrilled I got up early to make up some lost ground, then there it was like a freight train, the wind. It sounded faster than the day before. I was already resigning from the day and opting to hide in my sleeping bag. Another one of those moments where I assumed rather than found out what was really going on. It turns out two hours later I found out that the wind was coming from the south wast, got me up pretty quick. A wind this strong at my back on flat ground could do wonders! After I packed up and had some breakfast In front of a Subway I hit the road. In about two hours I had gone about 40 miles to Brookings SD. I stopped at Subway at lunch with a huge smile on my face. This was going to be a big day.

Lakes!

At Subway I found a new way to add calories to the sandwich, I call it the calorie bomb. I ask the creators to add mayonnaise, Italian dressing, and ranch to the sandwich. A little clash in flavors but it was worth it. That sandwich lasted almost 60 miles! I also created a great beverage. Water, ice, and a splash of the soda machine's lemonade. Oh it's so good. Well anyways after about ten minutes of eating I was off on my way with similar results as before.

Lake State

It was so flat! I did not realize Minnesota was this flat in the south. But by six PM I was already at 110 miles for the day and still feeling strong. I was about 30 miles from the city Springfield and the park I wanted to stay at for the night so I made the push. For most of the day the humidity was dropping and the temperature was rising. It got pretty warm throughout the day, so I was constantly looking for ice. The last part of the day was really fun, I was riding away from a thunderstorm, well it was coming up behind me fast. There were lightning strikes all around me with the thunder pounding hard. I was able to get to town with little to no rain on me. I found the camp ground than looked up at the sky and saw the dark rain clouds and said no way. I took my bike across the street where I slept under the park shelter. It was a good thing I made the switch because no more than ten minutes later the storm was upon me. It looked as if there was a waterfall coming down from the sky and the lightning was right on top of me. It was spectacular. So I was able to camp without the tent again!!

Sweet clouds at the end of the day

Works really nice in the humid weather. Oh one thing that I rediscovered once crossing into Minnesota today were the mosquitoes. They got me a few times on well. It was an amazing day, I really was not even that tired after it. Had a perfect combination of wind and flatness. And I also surpassed my goal of 130 miles in one day. I have been pushing myself pretty hard the last week but I will be slowing down once I get to the upper peninsula. There is something about feeling accomplished that keeps me looking for new ways to challenge my self.

Jeff blew away

Saturday 5/26 Day 36

At least it stopped rainning

I had it calculated that in five days I would do almost five hundred miles. Like I said earlier it is a challenge for the body, and a way to get through one of the more boring parts of land :). So today's goal was about ninety miles, which my body was ready for. I got up pretty early his morning. I was woken up a few times in the night by the down pour and the thunder and lightning. I was glad to be indoors.

fake smile in the wind

I said goodbye to Mike and went off to McDonald's for some breakfast. One thing I noticed is that older people love meeting here for breakfast in the morning. So I can usually find an interesting group to join up with. Today I met Flip and Ken. Both veterans. Worked in the bread industry and the welding industry. Again I heard the similar cry of me being crazy, but at the same time commending me for what i was doing. We shared stories of schooling and teaching. They both had kids in some part of the teaching industry. Ken had a son that taught abroad for 14 years. I don't know If I have said this before but I don't think I would be on this trip anymore if it was not for the people I was meeting and the ability to have conversations with people. I would get way to lonely. So to all you I have met on this trip and are reading I thank you for the time we spent together!

Camping Spot

When leaving I had a couple more crews of older folks stop and greet me and see what I was doing. And then I felt it. No not a cozy warm feeling in the hart but a harsh cold breeze. From the east. Haha I wanted a physical challenge? Well I was about to get it for sure. The winds were up to 15 mph if not more. I proudly had my shortest day riding just under thirty miles which took me almost seven hours to complete!! Oh man I was furious during parts of this day. I wanted to chuck my bike under a semi and call it done. 15, 20 minute miles took a blow to my self esteem. I took a few breaks but I had four cars pull over to see if I was ok when I took one break. So the second time I stopped I leaned up on my bike so it looked more as if I didn't crash my bike. That worked pretty well. Also at the end of the day a mist rolled in which started to make my things even wetter than they already were. I coped with the anger in several different ways breaks, talking with friends, journaling, and just calling it a day early. There was no sense in forcing myself to have a bad day. I choose when I start/stop or how far I go a day. I forgot how much I have control of my own actions and what I do, and how I don't have any control of everything else :). So I found a shed on the side of the road and pulled off and camped behind it. I had dinner early, read my book, and fell asleep with the howling wind. It was a bit early but I wanted to get up early tomorrow to make up some ground.

Infinity and beyond

Friday 5/25 Day 35
I planed to make this my longest riding day of my trip at 120 miles. I was thinking this because it was flat and there was really nothing to see in the area of South Dakota. There is something about this trip and trying to push myself physically that has been driving me. I'm definitely a long distance or endurance athlete but it is always fun to see how far I can go, what's the limit. Well a long story short, but will be explained a little later, I road the 120 miles today.
I woke up a few times in the middle of the night, a couple cars came by a few kids walked by but as I said in the last post no buddy messed with me. Could be because they saw my huge guns and didn't want trouble. Yes the guns I'm referring to are my legs and I do have permits. Lol in all reality my legs have not changed size. Even the calves are still the tiny Ericson calfs but they are strong and ready for anything given to them now. I slowly packed up this morning having to pick off almost 20 moths from all my wet gear. The birds loved me for it because I gave them a free meal. They would pick up four or five moths at a time and run away with them. Once done with packing I went and got my own breakfast at McDonald's. First time eating food their in a while, but their breakfast burritos are pretty good. Once energized I hit the road.
Today was a day where my mind wondered and created things. One thing I created was the "Move the Herd" game. All you need is a cow herd and you on a bike. The objective is to get a cow herd that is standing still to move and start running. Now I did this by screaming, singing, making weird noise, anything to get their attention. It's harder than it looks I only got one to move all day! But when they did they were running scared. Also around some of the horse herds I tried to do little whistle calls to see if any of them would follow me. I got that inspiration from the movie War Horse. Worst movie ever, don't see it. But let's just say none of the horses followed me. On my journeys I have heard of people going cross country on horse and even horse and wagon. That would be interesting to see.
It was a nice and cool day and I was outrunning the rain clouds all day. I was planning to camp at the city park in Huron tonight except I got a call from someone I left a message with a couple days back, Mike from warm showers. When I got the message, about twenty miles from town, that I could stay with him I was pretty happy that I did not have to sleep through another down pour. And it turned out to be an interesting night.
In a short time when I got to his place I realized where I was staying was not an apartment building but an out patient treatment center for patients with metal illness. Missed the sign going in. It turned out fine, Mike was a great guy who gave chelo lessons and played the piano at church on Sundays. The cleanliness was not to desirable, vomit on the toilet, trash and food on the room floor, and a fish head in the fridge. Haha yea. His friend Victoria made us a great dinner of spicy beans and rice, much better than my food. After dinner we went to the store got some food for my trip, beer, and came back and had a few beers. He was very insightful to talk with. One of the things he mentioned about his treatment that caught my ear was that he was being funded for disability. He told me he doesn't think he is disabled but when he is told that he is and given money for it he struggles creating his own identity rather than fall into the dependent role. It made a lot of sense, it can enable people to be lazy and unproductive when things are just given to them. Funny thing is I'm just reading that same idea in the book I'm reading, Atlas Shrugged. But it is a challenging idea; how much do we help others before it becomes disabling? I have yet to discover a perfect answer for it:). I'll save that one for later. The night ended well, but the fridge smelled pretty bad.

Getting around

Thursday 5/24 Day 34
It was a gloomy start today to find out that it was to be rainy, and finding out that it was currently raining. I had about 90 miles to go today to get to the capital of south dakota, Pierre. Even though the rain died out at the beginning it would eventually catch up to me later in the day. But that's a bit later.

Went into that

I had to say goodbye to my parents this morning, it was great having them out and exploring yet another piece of the USA with them. It was also great because I have been struggling with the fact that their has been no constant person on the trip with me, so to see someone I know helped give me energy to finish the trip. I think I was a little less excited to start today then when I started the trip mainly for the weather reasons. Today would be the second time zone that i crossed and I believe it will almost be he half way point across he USA. Definitely pretty close for half way in millage on my trip.
After a big breakfast, mom and dad dropped me off in front of an old farm equipment place. Dad got a kick out of this. I said my goodbyes and thanks and took off.
Most of my west to east riding today was great because the wind was behind me. But my 25 miles of south to north riding were terrible. Tough tough ridding. This one guy on a truck offered to give me a ride to the capital but i said no. When he heard that he looked at me if I was crazy, and said whatever. I saw him again about 40 miles later and he said I got around quick I laughed.
My last 28 miles were in a downpour. I spent the whole rest of the day trying to outrun the storm but it just didn't work. I was soaked. Oh and you know those sweet water proof shoes I have? Well there not water proof when your tire flings water on top of them. It honestly felt like one o those water socks that they have for pools. By the time I got to town I was done and I road to the park where I commandeered the park gazebo. It was great because I did not have to set up a tent I could just let my stuff stay dry. I talked with a couple of kids about biking while I ate dinner. They were fishing down on the Missouri river for some walli. Oh and to try and dry my shoes out I stuffed them with toilet paper :). It helped a bit. Only woke up a few times in the night, but not because of cops.

The Badlands

 

The door to the bunker

Wednesday 5/23 Day 33
Our last day of touring the Black Hills of western South Dakota. On the agenda today was the Wind Cave, an old minuteman two missile silo, a scenic drive of the Badlands, and then off to Wall to see wall drug and sleep.
Although it seemed mellow there was a lot of information to take in. The wind cave is the worlds 5 th longest cave but so much of it is unexplored. It is thought that the wind cave and the Jewel Cave could be connected but it has yet to be discovered. In this cave anyone can be a explorer, though I don't think in the cave the explorers have gotten to a part were it is as short as the Jewel Cave. This cave was really different than the last one, very dry, almost no moisture. It did have a unique formation in it called boxing. Prehistoric limestone cracks are all that remains of some of the rocks. I may have that backwards, the remaining cracks were calcium deposited in the limestone. There we go. It formed beautiful spiderwebs on the ceiling. After a short travel and some lunch we made it to our next national park area.

The Command Post

The minuteman missile complex was pretty cool, we got to see the control room of the complex. Each control room looked after about ten nuclear missiles during the 60's to early 90's. The control room tour only allowed six people and there were only two spots left so mom opted to sit out. But the control room was designed to keep two men alive long enough to lunch their missiles at Russia if they had to. The capsule was buried underground in a shock proof room which had its own air supply for three days if needed. It was hard to believe men went down there to stare at a computer and waited to fire the missiles and did nothing else. The question was left to us whether we could press the button or not if came down to us. And I say I could not. I don't think I could follow an order like that blindly, without knowing the reasoning first.
We finished our day on the scenic route of the Badlands. For those of you who have been to the Oregon painted hills this area was that times 100. Eroding rock that has its sediments Draining off the mountain. We went for a few little hikes in the area to see the views a little better. This was also one of the areas the birds led their people through before the wounded knee incident. The area was about twenty or so miles long. I'll post some pictures soon and you will understand how beautiful it was. I imagine the sunrise and sunset are to die for.
We had a little Dairy Queen for dinner followed by the finally of American idol. So many things we saw in the past four days. Exciting to ride again tomorrow.

Rushmore and buffalo

Tuesday 5/22 Day 32
Today was a car day, with the goal of seeing mount Rushmore, some scenic byways, and capture different views of Custer state park. I still can't believe we have so many things named Custer.

Big fellow

We all got up and went down for a German breakfast, cheese, meat, and rolls. Very good. Dad brought his French Vanilla cream from home so that was nice for our coffee. After breakfast we hit the scenic byway that led up to Mount Rushmore. On it there were three tunnels carved out of the mountain. One of them was perfectly alined so when you came out of the tunnel mount Rushmore was right in front of your car.
Now most the stories I heard of mount Rushmore have not been that good, because people have said you don't get that close to the heads. But my experience was a bit better. There was a trail right underneath the heads and there was an overlook of all the heads pretty close. Mom and dad said a lot of the additions were new. They also had a pretty in depth museum of how it was built. The builders actually intended to do more but they ran out of money and they ran into bad rock and WW2. What I mean by more is, they wanted to to the upper halves of the presidents bodies. They had a sculpture of it in the museum.
After that we took a scenic byway through some spires and went through a couple more rock tunnels. It would have been fun riding my bike on all these roads but it would have taken a while. One of our main goals in Custer state park was to see the wildlife loop, to catch a glimpse of the buffalo herd. They have about 1400 buffalo in the herd during the spring. On the route we found donkeys, buffalo, deer, and antelope. A couple of the donkeys would just stick their heads into the car. I got a message during this time from Garrette saying she got placed for the jet program. I got super nervous and worried. This was the last step that we needed to work out to guarantee we would be in the same area of Japan, and we had been waiting almost two months to find out. Only problem was I was about an hour from being able to check what city I was from.

Dads new friend

To say the least I was not to talkative until I found out it when I got home and I discovered we both were in the same city. Sapporo city in Hokkaido. Snow, outdoors, and a decent size city to explore Japanese culture.
We finished our night off watching some American idol and hockey :). I miss tv, it has been such a long time since I have owned one and just sat down and watched it.

Crazy horse and caves

Monday 5/21 Day 31

Lost hikers

After riding a bike for so long it is great to get out and use those other muscles in different activities. Today we started the day out by doing a three mile hike around the outer area of Devils Tower. It went through these areas that were eroding red dirt hills. Very cool with the tower in the background. On the hike we were able to catch up on my recent biking experiences and share what was going on in the family. Once we finished the hike we made it to the visiting center where my mom got her national parks passport book :). The idea behind the book is to get a stamp from each of the national parks or national monuments in the book. It comes with a little map and tells where each of the 345 are located. Since they will be getting the lifetime pass next year it would be fun to go and explore them all.

Jewel Cave

After the tower we went south to Jewel Cave national monument. It is actually the second largest cave in the world, although it could be the longest because they think they have only discovered 5% of the cave. Right now 166 miles have been discovered. We took a tour of the inside of it, very interesting almost all of the walls were encrusted with minerals. The cave was very damp and had a substantial amount of water in it. There was one piece called the bacon which looked phenomenal, it actually looked like bacon. For new exploration of the cave you spend four days in there at a time, and you have to pass through a section that is only seven inches high. Creepy! But sign me up.
After the cave we moved onto Custer south Dakota where we stayed at a little Bavarian hotel which is owned by a friend. Reminded me of my time I spent in southern Germany :).
After unloading he car we headed out to go see the crazy horse monument. My parents has not been here for twenty years. The last time they were here the head was not even finished. The monument was impressive, they had a little museum and an overlook for you to absorb all the information one could. Currently they are working on the horse which if you have not seen what it is to look like I encourage you to check it out.
It seems like the construction of the monument is now a family legacy, starting with a man and his wife, now passing off to the ten kids. Pretty cool story, I'm excited to see what it will look like in ten years.
After the long day we were exhausted and went back to the hotel and watched some hokey and went to sleep.

Devils Tower

Sunday 5/20 Day 30

YEE HAW

Rough start this morning for sure. I was wide awake at seven, even though I wanted to sleep a bit longer. Ryan made some coffee which helped ease me into moving. I said my goodbyes to both Ryan and Kerry and headed on my way down and out of Montana. The morning started off with a nice ride through Custer national forest, though it was weird because the park seemed to be covered in private property. Throughout the morning I had breakfast first lunch and second lunch, and had about two liters of water in me but I was feeling drained. I attributed this to the lack of sleep last night.

Mom and Dad looking at wild animal tracks

I made up for a little of the lost sleep in a park where I took a nap for about a half hour. It was like one of those power naps where you don't sleep for that long but it seems to recharge you to full energy. I road about twenty more miles and then found my parents driving towards me with flashing lights, waving arms, and a honking horn. It was good to see them driving towards me. It has been a long haul to get this far in this amount of time, so seeing them was a relief with a much needed break in the future. It was funny because I guess they came across another bicyclist a couple miles earlier and they thought it was me, he was wearing similar cloths and had similar panniers.
Well we headed down to Devils Tower in north eastern Wyoming. I filled up my stomach with a couple of homemade cookies that mom made. Seems to be a pattern when people visit me on the road they bring homemade cookies with them, a great pattern. When we got to town I took a shower and we went out for dinner.

Sexy beast infront of the tower

It was then followed by a spectacular evening and sunset around Devils Tower. It was said from ,Native American folk tails, that little girls were running away from a bear and prayed to be saved. The rock sprung from the ground which they were standing on. The bear tried to climb up it but only slid down the side creating the massive columns. We took a little hike around the entire spire. You can climb Devils Tower with gear and I will come back to do that some day. But when we came back around to the front of the tower we saw it glowing from the light of the sunset. It looked spectacular.

Amazing sunset

We finished the day off by going home to the hotel. I slept like a rock tonight!! But there will be plenty to do with my parents in the next few days.

Little big horn

Saturday 5/19 Day 29

Sleeping for the night

The battle of Little Bighorn took place in 1876 between several Native American tribes including the Cheyenne and Sioux and the US 7 th Calvary. Today I started my day exploring the battlefield in souh eastern Montana. And when I say explore I mean it, I was able to ride my bike and walk through the battlefield. There we're several memorials to both sides of the Americans, grave stones where each of the soldiers fell from both sides, and than a descriptive walk of one of the most intensive spots of the battle. The battle field was about five miles by two miles, so there was plenty to explore. To say the least it was a great history lesson and the park services did a great job presenting the materials. It was pretty hilly in he park and by the time I left the sun was at high noon! I left at about 12:30 to go to Custer national forest eighty miles away.
Most of my ride today was on the Cheyenne and Crow reservations. The only hardship I had to deal with while riding on the res were the dogs. None are tied up and they all just want to say hi to bikers. I had one today follow me for about two miles. No blood was spilled so it was ok, it was as if I took it for a walk.
As I came to the end of the res I came to a decent hill that took it out of me. It was at this point I realized I still had thirty miles left to the day. I put the fluids back in me and finished up the hill. It was a relief to have about six miles downhill once I got to the top. Oh at the top there was a fresh spring to get water, I did not know that at the time so I did not stop. Once I got to the bottom of the hill I passed a parked car that started up and slowly came beside me on my left. In the car were Kerry and Ryan who, while I was riding :), asked if I needed a place to stay tonight. Haha it was a funny dilemma in my head because I was going back to all the things I was taught and they were saying no don't go but my gut feeling I got was telling me yes do it.

Memorial for the Native fighters

We made a plan to met at the gas station in town, and then they took me into their house complex. When here I was welcomed with open arms, got a shower, food, and a place to stay. Kerry road her bike almost all the way across the USA three years ago, she is finishing her ride across his summer. So that is why she wanted to stop was to pay back the generosity she got on hr trip. I found out later that the passed me three times to be able to tell me:)

Graves throughout the battle field

A bit latter their friends Ashly and Kyle came over and we all chatted till midnight ish. Everyone except Kyle taught at the local school, Kyle taught as a substitute teacher :) so he also taught. We did joke about how Ryan and Kerry picked me up, thought it could work better next time if hey offered candy :). Ended the night sleeping on Ryan's and Kyle's couch, super comfy :).

Rainy finish

Friday 5/18 Day 28
Today will be know as he road kill day. And I think I need to blame it on my buddy André. Ever since I talked with him about the subject a couple of days ago more and more animals have been appearing but today was the worst!
Maybe it was he fact that I was on another old historic highway. They usually go through the country far away from anything, have no shoulder, and have many blind spots, this one was no different.
This morning I talked with Mike before I left and said this was the best route down to visit Little Bighorn National Battlefield. He cooked me a huge breakfast this morning including eggs and a waffle which of course helped with the calories for today. I said my goodbyes early morning and started off in the rain. I was hunkered down for the first few miles till I got out of the city. That means rain jacket and pants were both on along with my glasses to help keep the rain out. It worked pretty well and my shoes have some sort of gortex lining because my feet were dry.
Once I got to the old highway the rain was pretty light and I was super hot so I went back to normal biking gear.
So I'm on the old highway and I saw 12 dead deer, five or six birds, three snakes, and to fat cows. Some times there was just bones and sometimes in the cows case they were bloated and upside down. Soooo weird! Never saw a dead cow before. But I hope today was the worst part of the dead animals on my trip and I hope it stays that way. Besides the dead animals the highway was great! I was by myself on the road for most of the day. The goal today was at least to make it to Hardin MT but I was looking to camp fifteen miles south near the battlefield. Only problem there was no camping near the battlefield. So I was in for some ninja camping tonight.



Once I made it to Hardin I had my first experience at a library on my trip. It was nice to type a blog on a computer and not on my iPod. Once I was done I walked outside to rain. The next hour would be the wettest riding I have had. There were puddles all over the road and it was a pretty heavy rain coming down. As I went down the road I passed a train and the conductor honked his horn for me as I passed. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing, had a realization during this time of how great life can be. I felt so peaceful while riding these last few miles in the rain. My last mile into town was on a dirt road which I ended up walking and it led me to an abandoned building with a shelter on the lawn. I parked under the shelter and set up my camp there. I had some dinner and slept without a tent tonight due to the shelter.

Rattlesnakes and Billings

Thursday 5/17 Day 27
A day of firsts. Rattlesnakes, construction, and portraits due to predictions of me being famous. Ya a lot to cram into one day plus imagine the 93 miles I rode to my next town :).
I got out of Harlowton pretty early in the Morning and within ten miles I got to a substantial amount of construction on highway 3. They were widening nine miles of the road to add a shoulder. When I got there I talked to the construction lady with the stop sign and she said I was the first biker to come through and she did not know what to do. So she let me through and told me not to get hit by a truck, I laughed and said duh. The road wasn't bad, it was paved mostly and had a few spots where it was dirt instead. Anyways about two miles into my ride some guy in a truck stops me and asked if I was fuckin crazy and if I had a death warrant out for my life. Then gave me an ultimatum of getting a ride to the other side of the construction zone or find a new route. I got on the back of the truck and rode the rest of the way out. It was a good thing because there was about a three mile stretch on a pretty rough dirt road. So I was glad he picked me up. He was glad I didn't die haha. To celebrate living through the work zone I got some coffee at the coffee cafe at the end of the work zone.
It was funny because even though I had coffee I was pretty exhausted the rest of the day. I think it is the sun, it really is like a vacuum on your energy reserves. Me being exhausted leads me into my first sighting of a rattlesnake on my trip. Now that I'm in a dry arid environment the animals have changed and the worst of the worst are the snakes. So I was riding up a pretty steep hill in the early afternoon, sweating and tired. My head was down facing the ground watching my feet turn. Next thing I saw was this snake coiled up right next to my bike! I freaked; my foot was about two seconds from going over the snake. I swerved and tried to declip my shoes but it was all to late. Then I noticed that the head of he snake was rotting and hollow. Oh man I was so lucky now the only problem was I had to change my underwear because I pooped my pants! Just kidding but seriously it was a good wakeup to the animals that could be hiding on the side of the road. I saw three more throughout the day thankfully all dead! I'm like Indiana jones, but on a bike, I hate snakes.
The ride was not to bad today, a verity of landscapes and weather. Wind, rain, sun, clouds, grasslands, hills, and eroding hills! These are the best days because I get distracted wih all the change that goes on in the environment. My brain really doesn't get a chance to choose a subject and dwel on it.
When I got into Billings I went to a little park that overlooked the city. It was gorgeous, I think it was called Zimmerman park. I could see the entire city and the massive rain clouds that were coming in. So I went into town to get some food, pizza tonight made by z pizza. Very good stuff. It was here that the servers got pretty excited that I was riding my bike across the USA. I told them it wasn't that unheard of which they replied, oh ya how many people do you know ride their bikes across the USA. I just laughed and let them have it. So I got some pictures with a few of them just incase I became famous some day. Then I ate my entire pizza and headed over my hosts house. On my way over to the Leo's place it started to rain but it was ok because I was done for the night.
Once there I talked with Mike and Liz over their dinner and some ice cream. They spent time in the peace corps, and he did some touring in Africa and the Netherlands. It was also great seeing their house it was set up in many ways to allow their kids many opportunities to be creative and express themselves. Great environment to spend the night in.

Zone Riding to Harlowton

Wednesday 5/16 Day 26


Dan and his wife and I

I woke up this morning to room service.  One home made brownie and coffee delivered to me by Dan.  I have not had this service since I was in my private Villa on Vashon Island last August. My friend Abbey would deliver coffee and a snack every morning to encourage me to get up. ehhh I have been spoiled in life.  So when I got the delivery from Dan I was loving it.  I also found out that when he told his wife last night that he let a biker into his house she thought I was a motorcyclists.  So she was relieved to see my bicycle when she came home last night.  I was able to meet her, though I do not remember her name.  It was a quick hello because I left with Dan at about 7:45, and I got a quick picture before I left.  I really enjoyed my time here.
Before I said goodbye to Dan he informed me that I would be riding past an area where Indians used to herd buffalo over a cliff, I was excited for that.  I had a breakfast about two miles into the ride this morning, it was at a great overlook of some grasslands. After breakfast I continued my ride down the back side of the mountain but I was unable to locate the buffalo jump, so I just cruised.  It was so nice to have a significant portion of riding downhill after all the up hill riding yesterday. As I approached the bottom there was a junction in the road to go to White Sulfur Springs or go to Livingston.  I had a major dilemma at this point because I could see in the distance beyond Livingston were the mountains of Yellowstone NP. Oh it was pulling me, but I decided to save it for another trip.  I think a separate trip in that area later in a summer would be great so then I could also climb the Grand Teton. 
I also began to realize how much fun it could be to take two week trips or three week trips just biking around each state and exploring each one.  The possibility to see all the National Parks and local monuments excites me. I would have to get the little National Park Passport book to get all the stamps. If you have not heard of that I encourage you to look it up. Well that could be a future plan. Talk about a fun job creating a biking travel book for each state.
Anyways the rest of the day went super quick.  The wind was to my back and most of the riding was downhill so I was able to get into town by 2:30.  Since I was going so quick I stopped a few times reading my book and writing in my journal. Which was really relieving since sometimes it is pretty hard to write or read after a long day so I was able to do it more in more relaxing settings.



Camp

For sleeping tonight I went to the city park where I had dinner, pitched my tent, and was able to wittiness a spectacular lighting show pass just south of the city.  There was plenty of lightning and plenty of rain, I was thankful it was not over me right now. Though in the evening or the night sometime the wind picked up and almost blew down my tent! The lightning was off the hook also and lighting up all around my tent.  Well a great relaxing day.  I sure love the days where you get a relaxing downhill section.



Raspberries and Dan

Tuesday 5/15 Day 25

Wish the Ice Palace was around me

Sllloooow start today. Things are starting to catch up in my body. I did wake up to see lunch and breakfast on the table waiting for me. Jo had to leave early for work so we said goodbye the night before. It has been people like Jo that have made this trip so easy and enjoyable. Makes me feel that I have a home everywhere. It excites me to know that sharing my life and what I do can make relationships. This warm showers almost reminds me of my time with the international ambassadors club in college. Those were some of my favorite memories of college and some of the best friends I made in college. It's a good thing that sharing my culture and community is a big part of this next job in Japan. What if I had a career in some sort of cultural exchange program or even a study abroad program to help create things like international ambassadors. Just a thought. That is still something I'm brainstorming while I'm riding, what I want to do in life.


Perfect spot for the bike

So after a slow morning of laying down, showering, and eating I hit the road by 1030. I figured I could leave a bit later because I only had about fifty miles to go today, should be easy right? Ha I think the first thirty miles was some of the toughest biking I have had on my entire trip. The sun just drained my energy and it seemed every direction I would turn the wind was blowing at my face. 32 miles to Townsend took about a normal time of a little over three hours. So when the situation was a bit less desirable time went a lot slower for me. Oh I did take a break today underneath the shade of a tree and I was going to take a nap. It seems though when I lay on the side of the road next to my bike it looks as if I got into an accident. Haha a sweet old lady stopped to see if I was ok, the sad thing was she almost got hit by another car in the process. So after she left I stopped my nap and continued on my way to town. As I went into town I kind of just rode through, and stopped on the edge of town and thought. It is interesting to think how some tiny decisions you do can impact the rest of your day. Mine today was to go back into town and get some cold drinks to cool off.
I went to this little bakery in town and got a smoothie, a raspberry smoothie. Favorite fruit right there raspberry :), and I just learned it is spelled with a p. Got to talking to a few of the older gentlemen there. Very interesting fellows, but anyways one subject that lay in my mind the rest of the day was about wolves. We were talking about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone and how hey have started to move north into Montana. Some farmers have started protecting livestock by shooting off the wolves on their land. After talking with them about the wolves it made bears look ok. Two bad things a out wolves, packs and they hunt for fun! So hopefully they don find me tonight.

After about an hour I filled up my water and left town towards the mountain. Now I don't know if it was the cold drinks, the rest, or the change back into a mountainous scenery but I felt much better the rest of the day. As I started to ascend into the mountains the cars disappeared and the trees came back. There were cliffs on either side of me at times and a flowing river that I followed all the way up. It turns out that he top of this road was at 6000 feet, 800 taller than Morias pass that I crossed over the divide a couple days back. Also as I went up I was singing aloud to let all the bears know I was coming. Had a beautiful rendition oh Hey Jude, Wagon Wheel, and a little bit of Stand by Me. I took a little break at a picnic area and that is where I met Dan. He was done with work for the day and he was picking up some dead logs in the forest and some raspberry bushes for his wife. We started chatting, next thing I know he was giving me a ride into the campgrounds and as we were driving around them he offered me a spot on his lawn to pitch my tent. I said yea. By the time things were done I was sleeping in their extra trailer, getting a shower, and able to use their kitchen. It was a great relief after such a long day. He even served me watermelon and a cold beer. His house was great, just settled right outside the forest he had 20 acres of land with a river, 2 donkeys, and a horse. Oh can't forget Molly he dog. He gave me a tour showing me the garden, wood shed, greenhouse, and the tellascope. He was great company, after dinner we just sat on he deck and talked. His wife called and thought he was crazy for letting a total stranger in. We laughed. It goes back to hat idea of trust. And I think just believing that there is more good than evil in this world and things will just be easier. I was able to watch the sunset over the place, so beautiful. Today ended up being a great day. Now back to the thought of events impacting the day, if I would have kept on going instead of turning around back at town I would never have met Dan. I would not have had great company to spend the evening with. Things work out the way they are suppose to and the world turns in wonderful ways :).