August 12, 2015 – Sun 90 degrees

Miles Today: 57

Miles to Date: 5,534

States to Date: 21

Any day that starts in Ovanda is a good day. I woke in my shepherd’s wagon with more energy than it takes to keep a few sheep in line, ate a stupendous breakfast at The Stray Bullet, downed two cups of their savory coffee, had an introductory lesson into fly fishing as a metaphor for life, and was still on the road before nine. True, I was headed into a storm but that hardly seemed to matter.

The storm proved short lived, the sun came out, and the ride into Missoula through the Blackfoot Valley was just one gentle downslope after another. The lumber mill town of Bonner had delightful rows of worker’s cottages all painted with matching trim with a row of street trees. So simple and elegant – why has contemporary architecture forgotten the power of repetitive pattern in its quest to make every building distinctive?

I got flummoxed when I had to ride along I-90 for the last five miles. Yikes – no shoulders at the bridges. I still managed to find Missoula’s famous deli, Worden’s, in time for a late lunch. I spent the afternoon in my fourth cool, trendy, Montana city, arranged interviews about tomorrow for tomorrow, and pedaled to my warmshowers host for summer veggie lasagna, local beer, and banana bread so full of chocolate chips it should have been called a brownie.