We are now in Lima Montana. The population is only a couple hundred and there is no grocery store. Only an Exxon station that has lots of fishing tackle and whiskey. Having lived in Arizona, we normally pronounce names with a Spanish pronunciation. That does not work in Montana. This is Lima, as in the bean, not the capital of Peru. However, the local school mascot is the Lima Bears, not the Lima Beans.

The ride to get here was through some of my favorite parts of Montana. The high mountain sagebrush passes reminded me of Tibet, with endless rolling hills and nobody around. The more remote the road, the more friendly the drivers. The past couple of days we would never pass a vehicle without a friendly exchange of hand waves.

The weather has gotten much cooler and wetter than when we began our trip a few weeks ago. Last night it started raining just when we were setting up camp. It rained really hard and the wind blew for several hours into the evening. I had to rig up a tarp next to the tent to be able to cook in the rain. But when we woke up this morning, it was bright and sunny once again. The air is clear and pure once again. Today’s ride was pleasantly easy after yesterday’s long ride up a big hill and into a headwind. We spent most of today coasting down a long winding canyon with gentle tailwind. Everything is going really well on this trip, and I’m glad Michelle and I are doing this together.