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Andy needed a shower as much as
I did so he decided to follow me down to Rising Sun for
his 8 minutes of bliss. Along the way i pulled of at the
Wild Goose Island pull out for a pic. Luckily there wasn't
any wait at the shower and we were able to get cleaned up
quickly. While Andy showered I called Yumi to let her know
what time to expect me back home.
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| Dorf at Wild Goose Island overlook. |
I wasn't yet sure of my route, but
I knew I didn't want to take U.S, 2 again. Not only was
it a boring ride, but I didn't relish the thought of dodging
wildlife once it got dark. With that in mind I figured to
make a decision once I got to Great Falls. I wanted to get
home but didn't want to leave the mountains just yet. I
had pretty much made up my mind to take I-15 down to Butte
and then catch I-94 eastward.
When Andy was cleaned up we said
our goodbye's and went our seperate ways. I made a brief
stop at the Outfitter's shop in St. Mary as they were having
their end of the season clearance sale. I couldn't justify
a new sleeping bag so went next door to buy a sweatshirt
for myself also on clearance. By 2:40 I was leaving St.
Mary and heading, indirectly, for home.
As I did on the way out I made great
time on my return and by 5:15 I was in Great Falls. Decision
time: Head east on 87 or continue south to Butte? I chose
Butte which would turn out to be a mistake. The scenery
was so-so most of the way though the Missouri River near
Helena, where I also stopped for gas, was an interesting
change of pace.
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| Sunrise near Glendive, MT. |
Change of pace was something my
truck was experienceing heading uphill at the higher elevations.
The same thing had happened to me in the Bighorns in July:
marked loss of power on the uphill grades. I cajoled my
vehicle up the continental divide one more time just north
of Butte (elev. 6368). After that last climb I had no more
problems as I had a long downhill and things pretty much
flattened out from there.
My plan to see the Beartooths and
Absaroka's failed miserably as it was already dark by the
time I made it to Bozeman around 8:30. I was pissed that
I had blown 3 or 4 hours to see nothing but darkness. At
least I was on the interstate and making good time to Billings.
The darkness was briefly interrupted
near Reed Point. There was an orange-red glow in the sky
which I had first assumed to be lights from a small town.
As I approached it became apparent that I was headed straight
to a forest fire. I didn't see any signs indicating the
interstate was closed ahead so I pushed on. The fire, I
would find out later, was not a large one; maybe 1,200 acres,
but certainly was impressive to see.
I stopped for gas at Billings around
10:30 surprisngly alert. I figured I could do another 2
hours which would get me near Miles City. That would make
for a long day tomorrow but at least it was doable. I couldn't
help but thinking I would be in North Dakota had I taken
87 across Montana. At least I'd still be in Montana for
another night. By 12:15 I came to the Rosebud rest area
and decided to take my nap there. I had smartened up while
I was packing my gear for the Gunsight Pass hike and had
already cleared a space in the back of the truck for sleeping,
as well as laid out my full length Therm-a Rest and sleeping
bag. All I needed to do was move my backpack to the front
seat and I was good to go.
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