Day 12: Wolf Point to Glendive

Fortunately, the temperature was not predicted to hit 90º again today. The bikers handled it well yesterday, but I can't help but feel as though it might make them weary over the duration of a few days.

Before I leave Montana (tomorrow) there are a few things that I may have failed to note about Montana. The state is in what is known as "Big sky country". It's quite apparent why when more than half of your vision is blue sky.

Also, on all major highways, white crosses line the road. These crosses mark highway fatalities. Whether it's reckless driving, texting while driving, driving under the influence or whatever, these crosses are silent reminders to go the speed limit (which is most often 70mph). I have passed much fewer cars that have passed me. Because I'm never in a rush, I rarely hit 70 on the highway, sticking to a more comfortable 60, which makes it easier to stop and take cool pictures.

My first meetup with Wes and Will was two and a half hours after their departure time. To my surprise, I found them 45 miles up the road! By lunch (@ 11:30) they duo already finished half of a century. Our lunch spot was in Circle, MT named The Lunch Box. Overall, the food was quality. 10/10 would stop again.

After the crew finished lunch, I played cat and mouse in intervals of 12 miles, meeting them for water and food. A hard first 50 miles took it's toll as each 12 miles was more and more difficult. In the last 50 miles, the landscape began to change. I encountered a striped landscaped coupled with a look that I've only seen in the Badlands National park.

The final destination for the day was Glendive, MT. I checked into the motel around 4:00, which is quite the contrast from the usual 6:00 arrival time. The bikes showed up at 4:30, completing their 12th century in 12 days. They decided that their plan is to finish out the trip doing a century a day.

While I suited up to go for a run, my sun burn started to, well, burn. Let's just say aloe is a good friend of mine right now. Although I considered not running due to the extreme discomfort, I couldn't pass up a run in a state park at sunset. Makoshika State Park was littered with cool trails, a frisbee golf course and the trademark badlands look; a complete package in my opinion. Apparently, dinosaur fossils were somewhat frequently unearthed in this part of the country. Although I saw none of those, I did watch a couple of foxes dart across the tall grass and through the dried mud basin. I'm somewhat sad we didn't decide to camp here tonight. It would have been a blast.

A quick side note on progress so far, tomorrow we will cross the Montana border into North Dakota. I will be stopping by Chicago on the night of the 18th just for the purpose of finding a place to stay before heading out early the next day. If all goes according to plan, there is a chance I get back to Wilmette by July 4th.