{"id":9110,"date":"2013-07-10T20:14:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T00:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=9110"},"modified":"2013-07-10T20:14:01","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T00:14:01","slug":"day-19-tuesday-july-9-saint-mary-to-cut-bank-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=9110","title":{"rendered":"Day 19. Tuesday, July 9 – Saint Mary to Cut Bank, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was Freezing (okay, in the 40’s) when we walked out this morning,\"\"<\/a> the fog was so thick, the mountains were totally hidden from view, but it was too cold outside to take the photo, so this is the best we could do.\"\"<\/a> Since we had a short ride, we decided to take our time at breakfast over Huge pancakes and super good coffee.\"\"<\/a> At eight, when we finally decided to get going, the fog had cleared\"\"<\/a> and the temperatures had reached into the 50’s. The coolness was great considering the Over six mile climb we had to do \"\"<\/a>to Once Again<\/em> cross over the Continental Divide. \u00a0 Thankfully, this climb was not the steepness\"\"<\/a> we had experienced yesterday, nor did we have the time constraints, so plentiful stops and pictures.\"\"<\/a>The destruction from a 2003 wildfire was still very evident in the foreground.\"\"<\/a> It will take decades for the forest to restore to it’s original thick towering trees, but it was showing good promise with healthy flowers (locally called Blanket Flower)\"\"<\/a> and undergrowth.\"\"<\/a>At the top, without mountain tops obstructing the view, we could see forever.\"\"<\/a> The drop from the divide crest was equally relaxing as the tall pines\"\"<\/a> gave way to lush shrubs\"\"<\/a> then green fields, the mountains ever present in the background.\"\"<\/a> A couple more good climbs and we were in the high plains;\"\"<\/a> a vastness of fields \"\"<\/a>that seemed to stretch to infinity. \"\"<\/a> The ride was not without awesome views \"\"<\/a>and a MOST incredible experience. We doubt these were wild horses,\"\"<\/a> as there is a lot of open grazing in Montana, but these horses were not fenced and definitely keeping a close eye on us.\"\"<\/a> After taking way too many photos (seen below) we pulled ourselves away. \u00a0Shortly thereafter, we see cows getting in on the “out of the fence” party.\"\"<\/a>By 11:30 we reached our destination, Browning (93% Blackfoot Indian population)\"\"<\/a> but with the wind at our back\"\"<\/a> on flat land, we could not bear to stop biking.<\/p>\n

A quick lunch and back on the road, the mountains slowly fading.\"\"<\/a>Jerry had the opportunity to chat with another bike tourer,\"\"<\/a> but he didn’t stay long as he was logging about 100 miles a day. \u00a0The road and terrain became increasingly flat,\"\"<\/a> a forecast for our next several weeks. \u00a0But we were enjoying the healthy fields, \"\"<\/a>historical markers \"\"<\/a>and the wind at our back. \u00a0On our entry into Cut Bank, we were greeted by Blackfoot Indians, \"\"<\/a>appropriate for the huge reservation we had just biked through. \u00a0We stopped just before checking in for a cool drink where we ran into Bryce (who had biked with us earlier).\"\"<\/a>He is on his way home to Michigan and we hope to see him on our way through, which is a long way from today.<\/p>\n

Since we did 65 miles today, tomorrow<\/em> will have to be short; our mileage at this point is dictated by where we can sleep at night (ie: a motel) and we have a bit of housekeeping to tend to.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your patience as we catch up on the posts.\n\t\t