to Ennis: Clear skies and grand mountain vistas

September 25, 2017

"Sure, I'll have another blueberry pancake" Patrick tells Greg who is fixing pancakes for all of us warmshowers guests. "Aren't we stopping for breakfast at Four Corners?" Rachel asks. Still Patrick eats another one. We had a nice restday with Greg yesterday. There needed a little work on the bikes done, a tube needed patching, the laundry drying, and just generally resting. It is nice to spend some time just sitting on a couch, inside, watching football and reading. Rachel fixes tacos for dinner, and just before we dish up a friend of Greg's with two cyclists in tow shows up. The cyclists needed a place to stay so he guided them here. Greg simply makes room for them in his house. He has cycled a lot himself and knows what cyclists need.

Finally we are all packed and say our goodbyes to new friends, George from Britain and Cubbie from Sweden who are cycling Alaska to Patagonia. And we say a special goodbye and big thank you to our host Greg. We hope that he visits us in Boise someday. A side note, Greg had just completed a bike ride and when George, Cubbie arrived yesterday they said to Greg "You look very familiar" turns out they had previously met somewhere in British Columbia. Yesterday was a mighty fine rest day but it is time to move on to the next big destination: Missoula!

We are on the lookout for friends from Boise who are driving east to North Dakota. Being on the road we constantly meet new friends, meeting old friends is extra special. We stop at the the Kountry Korner Cafe for a second breakfast. We have two hills today. After we crest the top of the first one, we are stopped at the side of the road when over the hilltop we see Dave and Janette! They pull over and lots of hugs and briefly catching up and the photos taken, we go our separate ways. Only we now have apples and peaches from Boise in our panniers.

We have a bit of downhill then follow the Madison River for a while. This must be prime fishing water because there are lots of fancy drift boats with fishermen floating downstream. Just after Norris begins the second climb of the day. At the top we have very nice views over the valley and snow covered mountains. The old Bozeman Trail is visible in the hillsides.

Just before Ennis Rachel gets a flat rear tire. While changing the tube a Subaru with a guy from Arizona stops to see if we need help. He is a cyclist too. The Ennis RV village is just before Ennis, there are some pretty nice tent sites and even a "club house" where we can get out of the wind for dinner and writing this journal. The weather was much nicer than what we had the last couple of days, but it is still chilly, especially when the sun disappears. Clouds have moved back in this afternoon and the wind feels very chilly.

Two more cylists, George and Cubbie join us on the second evening at Greg's place.

Big skies in Montana. More often than not these days though do you find that the rich have built their McMansions on the ridges with the best views.

Looking back towards the Bridger Mountains behind Bozeman.

Riding west towards the Tobacco Root Mountains.

Views towards the Tobacco Root Mountains.

We meet up with Janette and Dave from Boise. Rachel used to work with both of them. They are headed for their farm in North Dakota and discovered yesterday that we might meet on the road today.

Climbing the pass between Norris and Ennis.

Plaque at the top of the pass listing names of mountain peaks in the Tobacco Root Range.

Looking down the valley towards the Madison Range.

Today's ride: 84 km (52 miles)
Total: 40,165 km (24,942 miles)

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