We just went through Glacier National Park and are now on the west side in a small town, eating huckleberry pie and doing a last bit of internet business before we start the ride tomorrow. Driving up through Western Montana we encountered several large forest and range fires, such that we’ve been in the thick of smoke for a couple days. I called Adventure Cycling and they’re not aware of any closures on the route due to fires, but we already know there are many fire restrictions in place due to extreme dryness and heat. So, we will start out with the hope that these first three weeks go as planned, though we’ll keep the phone numbers of the forest service offices handy.

Here’s a picture of the food we bought in Golden, which is now packed up with the food we dried and in boxes that will arrive every ten days or so by general delivery along our ride. The food you don’t see here is the dried sauces and vegetables we dehydrated this spring. We’ll supplement this with rice, pasta, oatmeal, bread, cheese and other perishables in the stores we’ll encounter along the way. And the ice cream we’ll buy whenever possible!

Photo by Rich Snowberg, Dave’s Dad! Click to see full size.