Day 14. Geraldine, MT to Lewistown, MT

A beautiful sunrise was the first thing I saw as I unzipped the tent.  It was a precursor to a beautiful day.  

After breakfast at Rusty's, where I was nearly a 'regular' by that point, I headed off down the road.  It was a beautiful warm morning (only riding with a jacket to start the day), with clear blue skies. The prevailing wind was to be at my back most of the day, so it was setting up as a nice ride.  

Overall it was a nice day for riding.  There was a general climb out of Geraldine until about the 15 mile mark when the road turn back into the wind for a long, steep climb up a section they called Arrow Creek.  That got the heart rate going and the blood flowing.  Once I crested the hill, the road turned back to the east the pedaling was much easier.     

As the day warmed, the clear sky began to be infested by patches of small white clouds that kept multiplying, like tribbles.  They actually gave even more depth to the Big Sky. 

The terrain was incredibly diverse, yet seamlessly welded together.  There were many elevation changes (about 3000 ft of climbing) and curves.  Each one seemed to offer a modification of the previous section.  There were prairies, mountains in the distance, rolling hills, sheer cliffs cut by the rivers, rocky outcrops and meadows.  The common thread that connected them all were the acres of red top wheat, taupe colored barley, rolls of hay and cattle farms.  

It was a quiet day.  Light traffic, for the most part, and when I took my breaks, calming sounds and motions of the wheat rustling in the wind had quite a calming effect.  Even at lunch in Benton, everything was quiet.  Only random talk of the pending harvest interrupted long moments of silence.  

Birds again grabbed my attention today.  Numerous dove, magpie and what I think are thrush were the most prevalent. Then more sparrows, my favorite, along with a couple of grouse and one pheasant.  Very cool.  Closer to the end of the ride, an American Eagle was on a fence post, took off as I passed and flew along with the wind beside me for about 50 yards or so. That was impressive. There were many others that I have yet to learn. 

Beside the wheat fields there were fields of budding sunflowers. The small bright yellow bud made for a pretty nice picture.  Also, there were clumps and patches of wildflowers, predominately purple ones.  Brenda, my wife, would have liked them.  I took several pictures of them, I hope they turn out.  

Early in the ride there was a pronghorn antelope, to go along with two I saw yesterday.  I did not get any pictures of them.  By the time I stopped and retrieved my camera from the handle bar bag, they were a distant memory.  

Ring the bell. Today ends the second week, and I passed 1000 miles for the trip. I am excited about the milestone. 

So with that... The Pandora Mix: Miles Davis, "If I were a Bell".