Day 81 - In Miles City - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

June 28, 2021

Day 81 - In Miles City

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After we got in yesterday, Kerry recovered enough to get out and rotate the tires, lube the chain and adjust the brakes.

While he was doing that, the couple staying in the room next door stopped to talk. They are John and Pam from Olympia, WA. They're returning home from a cross country road trip. Somehow, Kerry managed to get Pam to promise to mail him some Vermont maple syrup when we get home. I joined the conversation after that part. We had a good time talking about travel with them.

We were very lazy this morning and stayed in, reading, playing computer games and returning emails. It was almost 2:00 before we ventured out. There is a museum here Kerry wanted to see. The Range Riders Museum had many different historical exhibits from this area, but was heavy on horseback riding and firearms.

Right away, we saw one of the most unusual things we've ever seen in a museum.

This purports to be a doughnut fried in April, 1863, sent to a Union soldier from his mother. This is the last of the dozen she sent and he found it stashed in the bottom of a saddle bag when he arrived in Montana after the war. It has been in the possession of the museum since 1942. I find it a hard story to swallow :-).

I've posted pictures of coats made from various animal hides and fur. Recognize this one?

A couple of days ago, I posted about the different types of chaps. There were a lot of chaps on display here. I found one example of each of the four types in that post.

I messed up the picture I had for the fourth one, so I have to use this one of the chaps on the wall behind the first saddle.

One room had dozens of pairs of boots lining the walls. I think this is a memorial to deceased members. All the boots have names above them.

Among all those brown and black boots, these red butterfly ones really stand out. I'd love to know if the owner stood out in a crowd as well.

In the kitchen of a restored home was this beautiful cabinet.

This thing is called an "ice ball machine".

I have no idea how it works, but there is a little ice cube tray sticking out of the right side. Late Edit: I looked this up. It's a "Crosley Icy Ball" and was used to produce a cold source for cooling perishables in non-electric refrigerators. It was widely used in rural areas in the 1930's until electricity becamewidely available. www.crosleynews.com/introducing-crosleys-icyball/

This is my unknown object of the day. It was in a section with some old wood working machines.

There was a barn with many old vehicles of various types. I thought many some of you car guys might like a look at a 1917 Dodge engine.

Heretofore, the only thing I knew about caissons was that they rolled along.

When we were ready to leave, we found that we had a stowaway.

This little bird sat on the bike until Kerry tried to shoo him/her away. Then the bird hopped up on Kerry's finger and stayed there until finally flying away.

Another view I was afraid the little bird was injured or sick because it wouldn't fly off the bike, then just stayed on Kerry's finger so long before he got it to fly away.

On the way back to the motel, we took a little ride through downtown Miles City.

Miles City businesses have a decidedly Western theme.

We're aiming for a 7:00 start in the morning. We have about 40 miles, with no places to stop along the way. The next few days are going to be hotter, so we really need any early start. I have to repeat those words to myself when my phone sings to me at 5:30AM!

Today's ride: 5 miles (8 km)
Total: 3,099 miles (4,987 km)

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