Day 79 - Custer to Forsyth - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

June 26, 2021

Day 79 - Custer to Forsyth

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We've reached our highest elevation for this trip and now we've reached our westernmost point. (Hardin is actually just a bit west of Custer.) Our route will be more eastward now and we are looking for those prevailing winds from the west cross country cyclists expect!

Today's route was memorable. We left the Junction City Saloon and Motel and were soon on a very isolated road. There were more cows on the road than cars. At first, we saw some cows in a pasture. Then we had a cool view of some cows on a high hill silhouetted against the sky.

Next, we started seeing cows along the side of the road.

Finally, there were cows walking in the road.

Just past this bovine stroller, the road became very steep. There were about six cows just chillin' in the middle of the road. We got off and pushed the bike up the steepest part and the cows finally moved out of the road when we were just a few feet away. Pushing the bike up an 8% grade is not a good time to stop for photo ops, so I didn't get a picture of those cows. We counted a total of four vehicles in the first twelve miles, so the cows were definitely in the majority.

We have seen cliff swallows with nests under many overpasses and bridges on this trip. Today, we saw cliff swallow nests on cliffs! They were very clear to see, but my camera skills failed to capture them well. You'll just have to accept my word that the nests are really there.

Much of our route followed along the Yellowstone River with some nice views.

A few miles before our first - and only - store along the route, we stopped at a Montana state trailhead and river access point.

I loved that a more honest historian than the one who wrote the state sign above did some accurate editing.

There were pit toilets at the trailhead. I stopped an turned around on the way there. Why?

Can you find what stopped me in this picture? It is very well camouflaged.

This is a zoomed and cropped picture. We didn't get this close, but from the photo, we later identified it as a gopher snake.

I checked carefully in that pit toilet when I went in!

The town with the store was Hysham. We saw this old theater as we rode through.

The convenience store was called the "Friendly Corner" and it was. We enjoyed Julie's hospitality there.

By the time we reached Hysham, the isolation of the morning had given way to farms, ranches and homes.

This homestead appears to have been here for some time.

We were riding through the Yellowstone Valley.

The Yellowstone River just outside Forsyth

The last two miles into Forsyth, we had some light sprinkles of rain. We decided to check in to our motel rather than go straight to the Rosebud County Museum we planned to visit. By the time we checked in and changed clothes, the rain was a bit heavier sprinkle. We walked the half mile to the museum and about the time we got inside, the sprinkles turned into real rain. Our timing was perfect.

There wasn't much in the museum that was new to us, but we got to meet Frank. Frank told us about his family - both Cheyenne and Irish - and their roles in local history. He knows his family history back seven generations in Rosebud County and pointed out pictures of many of them as he walked through the museum with us. He is a man of strong beliefs and dedication to his heritage. It was a pleasure to talk with him.

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 3,049 miles (4,907 km)

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Ken GassThanks for being alert to the re-writing of history. Out in the Pacific NW, the beaver were trapped nearly to extinction in the quest for their valuable hides, unlike the purposeful slaughter and disposal of buffalos.
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2 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithAs I said in an earlier post, I was never taught that the eradication of buffalos was purposeful to kill Native Americans by removing a major food source, or at least to force them onto reservations. I would like to think that a more honest account of US history is being taught in public schools now.
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2 years ago