More Heat in Montana

Well, the temperatures are supposed to get in the triple digits today. The long days in the saddle with the heat, are really draining. The things that keep me going are the beautiful Montana landscapes and the historical names of things along the way.

I rode through a little settlement called Terry yesterday on my way to Miles City. Interstate 94 has been my route of choice for a few days, but I found that Old Highway 10 actually parralleled I-94 for about 12 miles. The road ran between the Interstate and the Yellowstone River. I filled my water bottles with glorious ice, and pushed the bike off after lunch.

A few miles to the west of Terry, I came upon a small stand of cottonwoods between the road and a set of railroad tracks. It was a wonderful moment. Actual trees by the side of the road that I could get off my bicycle and stand next to in the wonderful shade and drink water that was not yet tepid. I couldn't even remember the last time I was able to get off the bike in shade that was not a cafe or some other sort of building.

The not-yet-hot water was refreshing, and I wandered over to a pair of signs that were posted by a bridge that crossed a small river. One of the signs told me that I was standing at the confluence of the Powder and Yellowstone Rivers and that George Custer, Captains Reno and Benteen and their men had camped on the west side of the Yellowstone eight days before their infamous battle in June of 1876. The other sign told me that 70 years earlier, Lewis and Clark had camped there on their way back from the Pacific Coast.

It turned into another of those moments that reminds me why I do this stuff. For people versed in the nuances of American history and Empire, the names of people and places call to mind events that led to Western conquest of North America. Custer, Rosebud, the Powder and Yellowstone Rivers are names that echo through our sometimes bloody and inglorious but always brave history. The land is as harsh and unforgiving as the people who fought and died for it, even now after two centuries of occupation by white Christians.

One hundred miles on tap for tomorrow, and in two more days I'll be in the Rockies.