Day 36 - 37

2004_0508Image0007.JPG in the Beaverhead County museum 2004_0508Image0013.JPG 2004_0508Image0015.JPG by request, my camping set up 2004_0508Image0018.JPG 2004_0508Image0021.JPG Would someone with some  farm experience please send an email and explain how this works. 2004_0508Image0027.JPG Beaverhead river 2004_0508Image0028.JPG still snowy at the Continental Divide 2004_0508Image0032.JPG Bitterroot River 2004_0508Image0033.JPG Trapper Peak

Day 36 - 5/07/04
Dillon, MT to Jackson, MT
51 miles

Started the day by going to the Beaverhead County Museum.  A nice museum with some good local history of the area.

Then it was an absolutely hellish day of riding.  Two mountain passes and 30 mph headwinds most of the way.  I averaged about 8 mph for the day and at times it was a struggle to go 3-4 mph.

Stopped at the Jackson Hot Springs Hotel.  A really beautiful wood lodge.  They have a pool naturally heated by the local hot springs that are apparently part of the Yellowstone system.  Oddly enough, pretty much every employee of the place was wearing Birkenstocks.  The restaurant was very nice, I had a full rack of baby-back ribs after a tough day of riding.  Talked to the bartender while I had a few beers at the bar.  Nice guy, has a degree in environmental science and is moving to Phoenix at the end of June (the perfect time to go to Phoenix!).

They had a set up with bathroom and showers if one wanted to camp out back, so I tried out the new tent I bought in Colorado.  It works well but it is really small.  Woke up to the sounds of a lot of cattle mooing, apparently they were doing some serious herding in the morning.


Day 37 - 5/08/04
Jackson, MT to Darby, MT
78 miles

Another breezy day with a crossing of the continental divide into the Bitterroot Valley.  Stopped at the Big Hole National Battlefield where the Nez Perce were ambushed by the army and a major battle occurred.  The treatment of the Nez Perce was definitely not our government's finest hour.  One of the park rangers was a pretty interesting guy; he used to work at JPL in the 70's and did image processing on the Mariner 10 mission, among others.