Whitefish, MT to Eureka, MT
Day: 61.58 miles, Trip: 3594.57 miles
We headed back to Loula's for breakfast in the morning. Couldn't pass it up and this time we got pie for dessert instead of the french toast. I started the day with Richard, Michelle, and Kristen but we lost Michelle pretty early and we passed the Van and Trailer a couple miles from town with a flat tire (we won't have it until camp tonight). Early on in the ride we took a wrong turn (Kristen was pulling so we are putting it on her even though neither of us were paying attention either) but it only added about 4 miles. We didn't have to backtrack just took an alternative route.
We passed by the first rest stop in Olney, MT just filling our waters. The ride itself is pretty uneventful but the scenery is very beautiful at the same time. Dickey Lake would be a great place to swim in, but there is no way I would get back on and swim in wet chammies. We even passed the quick group as they were playing on some rocks. The second rest stop was near Fortine, MT. It was at a shop called On the Fly. It had a catchy sign saying "Our milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard". In fact their fruit smoothies were fantastic and I am sure the milkshakes were pretty good too. We got there too early so missed the circus that came in after we had left. Richard ended up staying behind to use the wifi and Kristen and I headed for camp.
We arrived in Eureka, MT (pop 1000) where we are camping in their town park. It had a bathroom/shower but it was pretty gross so most people used the bathroom at the gas station or cafe. Mike told us about a good deal at the Awaken Coffee Shop so Kristen, Eric, Michelle and myself went for baked goods and coffee. After the coffee shop closed we moved to the patio of Cafe Jax to use their wifi. For dinner we headed over to a Chinese restaurant since it looked like it was about to rain and didn't want to cook in the rain. It didn't so much rain as get hit by a hurricane. The town lost power, trees were down and a few people had tents blow around and get flooded. The Chinese restaurant lost power but luckily it had direct gas for their stove and the cook made our meals by headlight and the waitress brought us out some candles for our table. After dinner the rain broke and we got to stay dry for our ride back to camp.
Most people made it through it ok, a few people needed to dry out or adjust their tents. I helped a few with staking out tents and gave all my spare stakes away to make sure if it hit again people were more likely to stay dry. Eureka was also the last mail drop, I received an unexpected care package from my good friend cat. Thanks kiddo!
