Day 66: Lewis and Clark Land

I’ve been seeing signs for Lewis and Clark trail related things for a while, but today I went by the national interpretive center (it was up a big hill, so I didn’t go in…) and stumbled upon statues of Sacajawea, Lewis, and Clark along a bike trail in Great Falls. This must be a particularly important place along their journey.

Net Downhill

I wandered out from the RV park this morning at around nine. I was planning/hoping to find a park to rest at a bit in Geyser, but then there was a historical marker along the road with a picnic pavilion a few miles before so I stopped in to learn a bit and have a snack.

Near the top of the hill out of Geyser, there were three cyclists coming the other way. It was three young-ish guys headed to a mix of Pennsylvania (home) and Maine (for the full adventure). It looked like they were traveling pretty light/fast. They also let me know I had a long downhill ahead 😁.

Indeed the hill kept going down much more than I had gone up. The hills continues, but gently rolling down. On one of these I ran into another cyclists. A solo older gentleman. He had started on a different route, but switched to the northern tier as there had been too much gravel riding for his setup. He also warned me I had a lot of downhill ahead 😁.

I continued generally down until Belt, where I took a lunch break outside the general store. I got a Gatorade and baby carrots to supplement my standard fare. Leaving Belt, it was no longer generally downhill, but very much uphill.

I got to Great Falls and onto a bike path. The map looked like the Lewis and Clark National Interpretive Center was about a half mile off route on the bike path. Bike path miles are practically free, so I figured I’d go check it out. It turned out the center was up a cliff adjacent to the bike path, but not on it. I did stop and read some of the plaques along the path and enjoyed the scenery.

Great Falls is a prettt big city (at least for Montana), so I was able to use some of my Marriott points to get a room in town. I’m staying for two nights and will be resting here tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to a nothing day to rest and relax and prepare for the mountains ahead.