From Bozeman to Missoula

When I was riding into Bozeman on Tuesday night along the Gallatin River which the highway follows for perhaps eighty kilometres, I could not help but enjoy the sight of men fly fishing for trout on many sections of the river.  Again, on the ride from Bozeman,  I saw fishermen fly fishing in the rivers to the west of Bozeman.  There is something beautiful about the patience it takes to fish this way, and the skill that it takes to land a fly in just the right place is acquired over years of practice.  The arcs and loops the fishing line makes as it is paid out when the fisherman makes his cast is graceful and a thing of beauty.  There's something idyllic about spending hours in a river attempting to catch a fish with a bit of coloured feather and a hook without the guarantee that one will actually be successful.

I made a late start on Wednesday because I had to replace the front tire on my bike after 31 000 kilometres.  I was able to see downtown Bozeman before I left.  It is a typical western town with brick buildings built in the 1880s and '90s.  I was surprised at the size of the Masonic Lodge and the huge ceramic horse that graced the front of the building.

The ceramic horse at the Masonic Lodge in Bozeman, MT

Street scene, Bozeman, MT

Leaving Bozeman the weather was hot and bright but as I approached the pass between Bozeman and Butte, the afternoon storm clouds showed up again with some rain.  It wasn't much but it was enough to wet the pavement and make riding at 75 mph somewhat challenging.

Storm clouds near the mountains

The rocks in the pass are unusual in that the seem to be rounded and cracked. There was a lot of bare rock with trees growing in the cracks.  The pass rose to more than 7000 feet before dropping down into Butte.  The weather improved again and it was warm and sunny in Butte.  I rode to the Berkeley Pit which took part of Butte in the mid 1950s.  The pit was abandoned in 1983 and is now filling with groundwater and should reach its permanent level by 2023. The downtown is again late 1800s architecture with mainly brick buildings.  The town is showing its age and seems a bit tired. Butte is also the home of the Montana Mining school and they have a museum of mining on campus that is centred on a mine that actually produced minerals.

The Berkeley Pit at Butte, MT

Upon leaving Butte, I again experienced the stormy afternoon weather that seems to be so common here. For most of the ride to Missoula the vicious cross winds made it difficult to stay in the proper lane and the rain again made riding difficult.  After reaching Missoula I decided to call it a day and found a motel room downtown with the hope that Thursday would be a better day.