We spent about three weeks in Roundup, Montana to help Arleen’s mom, Ellen, with things around her house. She just got back home after spending the last six months in Kansas successfully fighting cancer. Hopefully we have made her day to day life easier.
The “RV Park” we stayed in was a dive. At $10 a night, you get what you pay for. Thankfully we had full hook ups, but paid extra for electricity (~$35). The post office was right outside our bedroom window. The mail truck showed up between 5:30 and 6:00am Monday-Friday. Nearly everything was within walking distance so the convenience was nice. Surprisingly, the main road through Roundup is quite busy. Our campsite was peaceful only very late and very early each day. We would only stay here again if we had to.
We tried to exercise every other day. The workouts included 30-45 minutes of calisthenics done inside the trailer followed by either a 3+ mile hike or 10+ mile bike ride. We are leaving here in better shape, but will continue to work towards our fitness goals.
Here are a few of our more memorable hikes and bike rides…
24.5 mile bike ride – 15 June 2011 27.3 bike ride – 18 June 2011
3.6 mile walk – 22 June 2011 5.7 mile walk – 24 June 2011
20.2 mile bike ride – 27 June 2011 4 mile walk with Mary and Heather – 1 July 2011
The flooding that ravaged this little town in late May and the first half of June also wreaked havoc with our bike rides and walks. On many occasions we found ourselves in deep mud, rode or walked through water, and were turned away by closed roads. I am a snowboarder, often referred to as a “snowboarding punk” by our two-planker, skiing friends. My wife is told repeatedly not to follow the snowboarder because it gets her into trouble. She should heed that advise more often!
On 18 June, we planned a 15-mile bike loop that would have taken us over the flooded Musselshell River twice. The route included about 8 miles of riding on Hwy 12 which doesn’t have much of a shoulder and has a steady flow of large vehicles. The pucker factor is high each time a semi-truck wizzes by at 60mph just a couple of feet away. I decided we’d start our loop on the highway as we’d have fresh legs and a 20-25mph tail wind. The ride out was great! We cruised along effortlessly at 20-25mph and the big rigs were able to give us a wide birth whenever there was no opposing traffic. We got to the first bridge……it was closed. Now we had a decision to make: 1) head back on the highway, crawling against the wind; or 2) try a different route. Arleen wanted to head back on the highway and I searched for a different route. We chose a different route…big mistake! The first 3 or 4 miles were nice on a decent gravel road with great views of “Big Sky” country. Unfortunately, it all went downhill when we made a left turn on what Arleen called the “cow pie road”. The “road” was used sparingly by trucks and tractors. It was rough with loose gravel, often rutted, muddy in spots, and had many cattle grates. Speaking of cattle, we came across a bull with a harem of about 30 of his women. About 100 yards away, Arleen and I got off of our bikes hoping the bull and his harem would move away. He starred at us for a few tense minutes, rounded up his women, and took off….stampede! Thankfully they headed the other direction. We usually see cows standing passively in fields. It’s a bit unnerving when 30 of them decide to move in a hurry and you have nowhere to hide! Shortly after showing the bull who was boss (yah right!), we were about 15 miles and 90 minutes into our bike ride, maneuvering around the cow pies when the ruts and gravel got the best of Arleen…wipe out…she bruised her right leg. Within a few hundred yards, we crested a little hill and saw a large pond (roughly 200 yards wide and 400 yards long) blocking the “cow pie road” ahead of us. Decision time again: 1) turn around and go back; 2) walk a long ways around the pond in swampy grass towards 30 or 40 more cows (didn’t see a bull); or 3) walk through the middle of the pond in knee deep water and mud. Arleen followed the snowboarder right through the middle of the pond. It wasn’t bad, but now we and our bikes were loaded down with mud. Arleen’s clip-in bike shoes and clip-in bike pedals became useless. We thought we got them clean, but Arleen crashed shortly after hopping on her bike. This time she lost a bunch of skin on her leg. We were over 2 hours into the ride and wanted it to end, but we had 10-15 miles to go so we pressed on. Within a half mile, the ruts, gravel, and muddy equipment struck again! Crash number 3 resulted in more lost skin on her knee, a nasty bruise on her hip, and banged up elbow. She was a wreck! When was this $*#%! ride going to end?!? What clown chose this route?!? Were we on the verge of divorce?!? We had a snack, drank water, gathered our wits, and then pressed on. We took it easy the last 8-10 miles and got back without incident. Instead of the 15-mile loop we planned, we ended up doing 27 miles and were out for 3 and a half hours. As I type, Arleen’s left calf, left knee, right quad, left hip, and left elbow have bruises of various sizes and colors. Moral of the story: don’t follow the snowboarder!
Some highlights of our stay in Roundup, Montana:
- Pictograph Cave State Park near Billings on 13 June 2011…
See the marmot?
- A day trip to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness near Nye, Montana on 29 June 2011 with Ellen, Mary and Heather…
- Our hikes and bike rides around the area…
Next we will work our way back to Washington. The first stop will be Canyon Ferry Lake just east of Helena, Montana… back to the great outdoors!
Loved watching and reading this blog.. I hope to sometime get up to Montana and hike.... We also love camping....
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