Stage 10
Saturday July 16th, 2005
Lima Montana to the Canvas Cafe and a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Basin, Montana
I was putting WD-40 on Kevins chain and noticed the master link clip was gone---for how long it had been off nobody knows---Kevin planned on roading it to the next town for a clip while me and Monty did some more of the Divide--then we would meet at a waypoint we established with the GPS's.
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But first some breakfast at the This was an old school house built in 1903 in Dell, Montana. I asked a couple of cowboys inside what the population of Dell was and he look dryly at me and replied--"Depends on the time of day"
65° Sunny in Dell |
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A cement mixer was outside the Calf-A It was probably driven by a steam engine with a belt drive I presumed. |
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A couple ranchers were in the Calf-A and I asked if they might have a chain master link clip. Byron (left), a prince of a man took us to his ranch a mile out of town and found a clip for Kevin's chain--Kevin bought a second one from him just in case. Byron really impressed me as I listened to him talk and realized this man was definitely old school. He had a good head on his shoulders and I could tell he had a lot of family values and it would be an honor to have him as a friend. Thank you Byron for the clip--and thank you for being so helpful to 3 dusty adventure riders. His grandfather donated the land the old school was built on--which is now the Calf-A |
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We sadly left Dell and headed out
Big Sheep Creek Road---which went on for miles with Big Sheep Creek always
by your side.
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I hope I got my story straight---but
Byron was telling us about a ranch out here for sale from the guy who
started the "Dutchman" travel trailer company. $25 million is
the asking price--and I think this is it.
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If you've read any stories of riders
on the Continental Divide ride you have had to have heard about the impassable
roads when wet. They mean it---impassable.
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Bannack is a really neat old 1800's
town with most of the towns buildings still intack. I wanted to see it--but
"Bannack Days" were going on and it was a zoo around there--some
other time maybe.
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Canvas Cafe I wan't sure if this was real or not--had to go see for myself. If was very windy there and I wondered how they kept this place from blowing away---the nice lady there said it was a constant challenge. |
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A better view of the whole place
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We weren't hungry when we arrived and I apologized for that--but we had a cool drink there and soaked up all the atmosphere we could possibly soak up. I think TwoTailDog and his buddy camped here. |
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You can camp here---stay in a cabin--or do the tee-pee How The tee-pee had 2 cots and a chair in it--with indoor outdoor carpet on the floor. |
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As a professional state licensed plumber I found this just unbelievable. Hey can a guy have some privacy ?? Sheeesh !!! |
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It was on to Wise River, Montana---a crossroad with an old Mercantile store--that's it. We had an ice cream bar and I asked where the bathroom was--she said "the outhouse is out back". I grinned and played along with the joke--it was no joke. Worked just fine !!! |
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Off we go on these lonely roads again--the traffic is tearing me up. We by-pass the infamous fleecer ridge section where the bicycles have to carry their bikes thru a lot of it. |
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We get on the old railroad bed that
runs along the interstate Northeast of Butte. We try to ride on the bed
but it gets really bad and disappears in places. The interstate just screwed
it up royal--we finally get back on it down the frontage road and find
Tunnel Number 9 built in 1914--another highlight of our trip.
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We arrive in Basin, Montana and I slowly cruise thru town looking for lodging and find none. I keep looking over the neat little small town and lo and behold Diane McCartney is standing on her Bed and Breakfast porch. I almost hesitated approaching here as we were really dirty and nasty looking. She is a prince of a gal and took us in and we got a really good nights sleep. |
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I promised her we'd behave and be snoring by 9 or 10PM. She just laughed and asked us to tell her what we wanted for breakfast--what a gal---she had a nice little dog whose name was Bronson--a very friendly little guy who love being scratched. The boulder river was just behind her house and we sat out there as it rained a little and we caught a glimpse of a nice rainbow---I don't want to leave here. |
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Eat your heart out---eggs the way
you like them--bacon and her own recipe pancakes that had oatmeal in them--and
of course lots of coffee.
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Boulder River Bed and Breakfast
Diane McCarty---owner
P.O. Box 121
Basin, Montana 59631
Phone: 406-225-3184
Cell: 406-461-0391
E-mail: diane59631@yahoo.com
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Monty's Flip-Flops They ought to make an alarm clock noise with those suckers. Flip-Flop Flip-Flop Flip Flop Flip Flop |
233 Miles for the day
Stage 11 Basin to Kalispell, Montana