In the Beginning

Dinosaur Museum in Glendiv, MT

Just before leaving Montana we finally got an opportunity to visit a dinosaur museum. Montana is a paleontologist’s dream come true. Buried across Montana are the fossilized bones of short-armed Tyrannosaurus rexes, horned triceratops, velociraptors (those famous critters from the Jurassic World movie franchise) and other dinosaurs who roamed here millions of years ago. 

Jay attempted a dinosaur museum visit in the tiny town of Rudyard, MT, but the museum was closed.  So when we noticed that the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum was just across the street from our motel, we did not hesitate.

Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis

The two-story museum is unique in two aspects.  One, the displays of articulated dinosaur skeletons are exceptionally well done. Two, this museum is run by an organization called Foundation Advancing Creation Truth (FACT).  Among the truths advanced are that dinosaurs and humans co-existed on earth and Noah included dinosaurs on his ark.  Evolution is de-bunked and Biblical explanations such as The Great Flood are provided to explain findings revealed at dinosaur dig sites.

As Unitarian Universalists we are encouraged to conduct a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This was our first creationist museum so we remained open to the arguments presented. We were disappointed that the “evidence” provided only worked if you already believed in creationism.   

Alvis Delk Track

A key artifact “confirming” that dinosaurs and humans co-existed was the Alvis Delk Track showing a dinosaur footprint and a human footprint together.  The museum tries its best to provide scientific proof of authenticity of the two overlapping footprints, but a quick Google search while standing before the display reveals that the footprints are a hoax. We did, however, find the miniature replica of Noah’s ark with dinosaurs roaming about in the foreground convincing to the un-questioning eye.  A Biblical diorama of the Great Flood circling the earth was less comprehensible. 

Stegosaurus and Noah's Ark

We have travelled far and wide and have seen the devotion in which others hold their religious beliefs. The Hindus have their own creation stories. The Blackfeet Indians believe that the creator Napi fashioned the Sweet Grass Hills from the rocks left over from the formation of the Rocky Mountains.  Who are we to judge a belief as unworthy of respect?

The rub comes when a religious group claims that they hold the ultimate and single truth, then tortures science to achieve a pseudo legitimacy to compel others to accept their point of view. We had our own local fight few years ago (in Georgia) when a religiously motivated school board insisted on placing disclaimer stickers in textbooks stating, “Evolution is a theory, not a fact, concerning the origin of living things.” An attorney from our church was among those who returned science to the classroom and religion to the church. 

More Photos (Click to Enlarge)

Signage at Admissions Counter

Dinosaurs in Foreground - Ark in Background

Dinosaur Display

Man and Dinosaurs Section

Good-bye Montana

Our Route Montana to North Dakota
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On Saturday, June 30, we bid farewell to Big Sky country. Before we left Atlanta, Jay was “spooked” by Montana. It’s big, and as a lone rider on vast stretches of open road, Jay was filled with the doubting thought, “Can this be done?” Well, it’s now done. As he pedaled, he grew comfortable with being on long, open roads.

Most of our Montana crossing was a straight line with only a few unexpected twists.  One twist was the failure of Jay’s rear pannier bracket that broke at the mount point on the day of his 70-mile ride from Malta to Glasgow, MT. The silver lining was that the bracket broke just as he arrived at our campsite at the Comfort Inn and RV Park.

Machine Shop that fixed
Jay's bracket

A Google search found a “nearby machine shop.” An hour later a welding solution looked viable, but to be safe, Jay rigged a support system of nylon cord to relieve pressure on the mount point. We have learned that there will always be a solution.

Another twist was the radical change of weather.  The morning sky on Jay’s Wolf Point to Circle, MT ride was clear, but weather reports gave dire warnings of late evening thunderstorms and possible tornados. During stops on his ride Jay spoke with local farmers who shook their heads saying, “You’ll be facing some pretty bad stuff later today.” Yikes!

Helen’s attempts to find shelter at a motel in Circle were thwarted by road gangs from the Montana Department of Transportation who had booked all the rooms. Helen successfully redirected her hotel search 45 miles to the east in Glendive. Later she retrieved Jay in Circle and we drove to our hotel.  That evening the sky turned black, winds roared and a terrible rain fell. “Pretty bad stuff.” The next morning we returned to Circle so Jay could complete that section of his ride.

I-94 Wide Shoulders

Glendive was our last stop in Montana. The morning after the stormy evening was clear. Jay woke early to get a jump on his ride to Dickinson, ND, 98 miles away. His Adventure Cycling maps put him on I-94 (allowed in Montana and North Dakota). Egad! He envisioned an I-85 nightmare. However, his cycling on I-94 could not have been more pleasant. There was little traffic, a wide shoulder allowing trucks to pass with many feet of clearance and the hills were all gradual inclines. Jay ignored the non-interstate elements of the Adventure Cycling route and stayed on I-94 all day.  He got his first flat tire on this route, but otherwise it was a pleasant ride.

In the meantime, Helen stopped in Medora, ND just outside the west entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora is a cute little town well maintained for the huge tourist trade. It’s a perfect place to spend several hours walking around, taking in the sights and have a snack or a meal.

2018 Miss Rodeo North Dakota

Helen visited the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, a lovely facility with photos and keepsakes, including many saddles, from cowboys going back to the early 1800’s. There were also many Indian sculptures and paintings, since they lived in the same areas where horses were an integral part of all their lives.

We are now in the North Park Campground in Dickinson, ND. We will spend two nights here letting Jay take a rest day before heading east again.

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North Park Campground, Dickinson, ND. One of the nicest we've stayed at.

Laundry Day

Helen keeps an eye on Jay through the app Life 360.
She frequently finds him to refill his water bottles.

Entrance to Park

A famous group of young rodeo standouts

In addition to bronc riding, bull riding is a dangerous, popular sport.
"Rodeo" is a sport at the local colleges (in addition to basketball and fast-pitch softball).

Montana Reflections

As we continue our eastward adventure through Montana, our journey is filled with great conversation and mostly pleasant weather.  A map of our journey is included at the end of this post.

Today is Wednesday, June 27. Jay has ridden five straight days with three rides in the 50-mile range, one 70 and another 90 miles. He has two more 50-mile rides before we take a break in Glendive, MT.  From Glendive, the Northern Tier Route places Jay on I-94 for 45 miles.

Jay with Hand Cycling Paralyzed Veterans

Our experience includes meeting a racing team of Paralyzed Veterans of America, hand cycling the same demanding Northern Tier Route. We asked our RV Park owner, Carol, to let us pay for the campsite for the hand cyclists.  Since two riders were Navy veterans, Jay noted that the Marines, once again, had to come to the aid of the Navy.  The Navy men responded, as tradition dictates, “We’re always giving you guys a ride somewhere.” All were thanked for their service and wishes for a safe ride extended.

We also had our share of unpredictable Montana weather.  During the trip to Havre, as Helen started to set up camp at the Evergreen Campground ,she was clobbered by a sudden, heavy rain.  Our RV Park host Roger offered Helen a cabin for the evening as she drove off in a downpour to get Jay off the road.  After retrieving Jay, the rains, of course, stopped and the sun appeared. Go figure. But we still got a restful sleep in the cabin’s beds.  

Beds in Havre Cabins

Turns out Jay and Roger are both Vietnam Marine Veterans and spent time swapping stories. Semper Fi!

We learned from a roadside marker that Montana Route 2, which we are traveling, was once known as the Roosevelt International Highway, named for our 26^th president ,Teddy Roosevelt. Bully! For Jay, the road is a mixture of wide shoulders to no shoulders at all. And a mixture from gracious drivers to aggressive “get your damn bike off

T.R. Roosevelt International Highway

my road" drivers.  Twice Jay has been run off the road. It’s hard to understand the anger motivating such drivers.

Although we are far from home we still follow the news of desperate people pushing against our southern border, seeking a more hopeful life.  Our president, however, appears to be filled with anger, rather than compassion, for “those people” fleeing danger.  Jay, too, struggles to understand why some drivers angrily lay on their horns as they pass him on virtually wide-open empty roads.   What is the source of this anger?

We don’t understand how Evangelical “Christians” can tolerate the separation of children from parents. Internment vs. sustenance.  We are Unitarian Universalists who draw upon all religious teachings.   “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36.

What has happen to this great nation?  The people we have met have not veered from Matthew’s words.  Let us hope for a return to the true American spirit across this nation.

Route Map across Montana

Cattle Brands

Jay in Big Sky Country

Bike on Side of the Road

Big Open Montana. Lots of land and sky.

Photo Blog

Blackfeet Nation Signage
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Metal Sculptures of Blackfeet on Horses

Helen in Front of Large Cedar Tree

Jay At Continental Divide

River in Glacier National Park

Open Field with River and Snow-Capped Mountains

Snow Covered Washington Pass

Watch for Bighorn Sheep

Pavement Ends

Our Cabin in Cut Bank

Our adventure today was planned to begin and end in Cut Bank, MT.  After reviewing both the limited camping and motel options between Cut Bank and Havre (126 miles away) and the prediction of thunderstorms, we opted to (1) have Jay ride 65 miles to Chester (2) Helen to retrieve him in the Prius, (3) return to Cut Bank, (4) the next day Helen drive to Havre, and drop Jay off at Chester on the way so he could continue his ride.  Our plan was perfect…save for one major flaw.

In the morning, Jay departed from Cut Bank under clear skies, and with a nice wind at his back he averaged 17.5 miles per hour.  Jay’s course on Route 2 was a straight road with a few rolling hills surrounded by the wide openness of Montana.  

As Jay zipped along he could see dark clouds forming behind him. Clear skies, however, filled the horizon in front of him. His plan was to maintain his brisk pace, out race the storm clouds and find refuge at the designated rendezvous point at the Chester Supermarket per our perfect plan.

Storm Clouds / Pavement Ends

However, 17 miles from Chester, clear and unambiguous signage announced PAVEMENT ENDS. 

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) had torn up nine miles of pavement, leaving only a hard-packed dirt road.  Clearly the MDOT intended to re-pave, making a new and improved road.  But this being Saturday there was little expectation that Jay was to benefit from this noble plan.

Route 2: Pavement Unexpectedly Ends

The road was just too dangerous to ride. Jay called Helen, who was still 30 miles away and informed her of his present predicament. As Jay waited for Helen, the dark clouds he had been outpacing caught up with him.  

A heavy rain slammed into him.  The wind was so strong that the rain “fell” horizontally. As Jay tried to find limited shelter in the large metal road sign announcing the end of the pavement, a local farmer in a pickup truck stopped and offered Jay a lift to dry and safe location.  The people of America have such big hearts and seemingly appear just when help is needed.

Jay’s good Samaritan, Tracy, had married into the Smith family who owned 10,000 acres, through which the pavement-decapitated Route 2 ran.  Jay was dropped off at the Galata General Store and Motel, also owned by the family. There he struck up a conversation with the most congenial Jerry Smith, Tracy's father-in-law, a 5^thgeneration Montana farmer. 

Helen and Jerry at the convenience store

When Helen arrived, great conversation continued.  We learned that way out here in this part of Montana that hugs the border of Canada that decisions far away are impacting American farmers. Jerry informed us that the price of wheat has dropped $1/bushel and he has lost $150,000 due to the tariff war imposed by Washington. We all agreed that American farmers can out-produce farmers anywhere in the world and should be used as an asset and not a bargaining chip. I guess you just need to be pelted by a hard Montana rain to the see the sense of it all.

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Our Route

Wide Open Montana
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Where's Waldo

Making Our Way Through Montana

It’s been a while since our last blog.  We have been on the move with Jay riding 45 – 75 miles a day. We have had our share of rain and a few technical and equipment problems.   A map with a summary of our travels is posted at the end of this blog.

Campsite at Devil Creek C. G.

Thursday, June 21 was a non-ride day since we needed take care of an equipment problem. It’s evident that Jay is a curse to air mattresses. Last night his third air mattress deflated, leaving him sleeping on the hard, cold ground.

Camp Hosts Sandi and Ray

While we ate breakfast at a small roadside café with our Devil Creek USFS campground (Essex, MT) host Sandi and her husband Ray, she told us the only place to buy an air mattress was in Kalispell. Kalispell is a big town where we earlier found the only Toyota dealer for miles around that could perform scheduled maintenance on our Prius. We agreed with Sandi’s assessment and after breakfast we drove the 60 miles back to Kalispell.

Beautiful vistas abound in and around Glacier National Park 

One of the major goals of our journey was to experience the beauty of this great county and learn people’s stories. Sandi and Ray are among the national treasures of this land we had hoped to meet. Sandi grew up on an Idaho ranch with no indoor plumbing. She broke horses, milked cows, mended fences and generally lived the life of a rancher.  She said that she was forever grateful for her wonderful ranch-centric life. Ray worked 27 years in health care administration, retired, then spent 12 years driving trucks loaded with gold ore. That’s how he met Sandi, who was also a truck driver at the time. They’ve been married 13 years and love the life they lead: Montana in the summer and Arizona in the winter.

The road block had this sign posted.

Jay’s 65 mile ride to Cut Bank, MT today put the mountains behind us, including crossing the
Continental Divide at the Marias Pass, the southern bypass in Glacier National Park. After climbing the steep Cascade Mountains in Washington, Jay opted to ride the bypass route rather the 48-mile road aptly named The Road to the Sun to the Continental Divide. During our visit to Glacier N. P. we learned that the Road to the Sun was still closed due to snow. Yikes! It’s late June and snow is still blocking mountain roads. After 30 years in the South “snow issues” in June just does not compute with us.

We are learning so much on our travels and establishing a new and deeper bond with this great nation of ours.

The Day the Phone Went Wonky

Bad Medicine Sign

After a day of recovery, Jay was sufficiently recovered from his sore biker “bum” to get back on the road.  He had a short 45 mile ride from our Sam Owen US Forest Service campground near East Hope, ID to Bad Medicine Campground, about 20 miles south of Libby, MT.

Before pedaling out of camp Jay shouted to Helen, “See ya in Montana!”  The soaring climbs of Washington State Northern Cascade Mountains have been replaced with roads of gently rolling hills. The landscape includes

Montana Cabinet Mountains in Background
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long open fields held in what can only be described as the embrace of beautiful distant snow capped mountains. Our first experience with Montana has been perfect…well almost perfect.

When Jay rolled into our Bad Medicine campsite, a dark cloud let loose buckets of water.  We scrambled to set up our garage (tent extension) and hang a tarp over the picnic table. Unfortunately, the rain claimed the last bit of working life in Jay’s phone.

The phone had shown some earlier signs of not operating properly. It appears our Montana rain shower finished off the phone.  Now what?

Rain was predicted for the day, so we decided to head to Libby, MT in search of a Verizon store. What are the chances in a 147,00 sq. mile state with barely 1M people that a Verizon store would be a short drive from our forested campsite. Well...bingo!

Helen Completing Her Application
Standing a Salad Bar in Restaurant

The Verizon store did not open until 10am, so we had a nice breakfast at the Antlers Restaurant.  Helen needed to complete an application for her bid to be on our church’s ministerial search committee. With only limited battery power left on our computer, our server offered an outlet near the not yet in-use lunch salad bar.  When you’re on the road, you do want you must.

After breakfast we headed to the Verizon store. Chase was behind the counter and clearly was on top of his job. He and Jay chatted. Both former Marines, both did boot camp at Parris Island, SC, both spent time in Okinawa. Semper fi…things are going to work out.

After close examination, Chase declared that Jay’s phone was “wonky.”  Jay agreed.  After reviewing new phone options, Chase pointed out that we had an old Verizon voice/data plan.  With a few clicks, he updated our plan. Now even with a new $20 24-month charge for a Jay’s new phone, we pay less per month than before. A silver lining in the otherwise dark clouds that fill our big Montana sky.

We will head back to our Bad Medicine campground for this evening.  Biking riding back to Libby, MT and a new campground will resume tomorrow.

More Photos

Welcome to Montana

First Look at Montana

Watch Out for Bighorn Sheep

Chase "our hero" at the Verizon Store