June 29, 2003 We rode from Havre to Great Falls, MT today, and had a long, but wonderful ride. Great Falls gets its name from the wonderful falls that used to be here. In the early 60's, the Army Corps of Engineers built three dams on the Missouri for flood control and recreational purposes. One of the dams put the "great falls" under water. The "great falls" were a "great" challenge to the Corps of Discovery - they had to get around them to get upstream. This was an uneventful day as far as mechanical problems with the bike. All went well. The Team did well too, and we are tired, but very satisfied with our ride. The weather was kind to us. It was a little chilly when we started out, but warmed quickly. We were out of arm warmers and vests at our first stop at about 21 miles. Shortly after that stop, the temperature on the road was 83 degrees. At about 2:00 pm, the temperature had reached 100 degrees, and after some overcast developed, it dropped to 93. The wind was mild today. It came from several directions, offering us a tail wind when we started, a helping side wind for a while and then a hurting side wind. We were able to finish with a combination of tail wind and helping side wind. For the most part, it was a very sunny day. We went through one valley where the air was just not moving - needless to say, it got very hot. The ride today was fairly flat. The road, to start with, was wonderful. It had just recently been repaved, and was as smooth as a baby's butt. They had not lined it yet, so we just hung out at the side, and the traffic worked around us. After we lost the new road, we had a good shoulder for a while, and then that disappeared. As the afternoon progressed, the traffic became very heavy, and some of the motorists weren't too kind to us. Most, however, gave us plenty of room, so we felt comfortable. There were a lot of people who were apparently coming home from weekends, so they were a bit impatient. As we came into Great Falls, it became very busy, and we had to be aggressive to keep our space. The streets in town are generally a mess, so we really had to pay attention. There were several things of interest today. First of all, we skirted the Bear Paw mountains to the West as we rode south. We had seen them from a distance, and enjoyed them. We really enjoyed them up close. Later, we started seeing another range - the White Cliff Mountains. They entertained us nicely as well, and they were also to our left. We went through a couple of little towns, and you have to wonder how they survive. There just aren't many people out here. Further down the road, we came to Fort Benton. We had decided not to go down into the town because of the extra mileage and a monster climb out. However, there was a vista point right there, so we got to see most of what was there to see. As you look left, you see the town of Fort Benton, straight ahead are the Bear Paw Mountains, and in the foreground is the Missouri River doing a really nice horseshoe bend. In the center of the bend, someone has fit a field that in irrigated with a circular irrigator. The crops are planted at varying radii from the center, so there are concentric circular crops showing differing color and textures. It is an interesting juxtaposition of a wonderful creation by nature and some nice man-made infrastructure. Shortly after Fort Benton, we came upon a valley that had the appearance of a mini-badland. Just out of nowhere, you drop down into this valley that has all sorts of formations that are very rough. The whole area is very dry, and presents a marked contrast to what we have been used to seeing. After we climbed out of this valley, we came to the little town of Carter. We had been told that there was a bar here where we could get water. As we came to the town, there were signs for the bar and the town - the town sign said to turn left. We did, and suddenly found ourselves on gravel. We did okay for a while, but soon hit some uncompacted stone, and the bike washed out from under us. We both managed to get unclipped, and we landed on our feet. No damage done - we just felt like idiots. We walked the bike over a couple of more streets, and found the bar - it was out on the highway we had originally been traveling. The rest of the ride was just a pretty flat go to get us to Great Falls. A few more words about Fort Benton are in order. This location was discovered by the Corps of Discovery, and the original fort was built. Over time, a levy was built just off the heart of downtown (The levy not only provided flood control, it created a place for ships and barges to tie up and unload), and the fort became the most inland port in the US. Because of its strategic location, the fort became the center of commerce for all of the northwest US and Canada. Because of the contours of the area, it was possible to build roads to virtually every part of the Northwest. Fort Benton was the number one city in the Northwest for many years. In the mid-1800's, the railroads came through, and the Fort was no longer useful as a port. It survived by becoming a center for farming, cattle and other livestock. It survives today as the number one tourists attraction in Montana. Quite a reinvention for the oldest city in Montana. The Corps of Discovery focused a lot of attention on the Fort Benton area. Downstream about 15 miles is the confluence of Maria's River and the Missouri. The Corps was not sure whether it was the Missouri or Maria's River that led to the mountains. Lewis and Clark, as was their habit, involved their men in this decision. The men favored Maria's River, but Lewis and Clark were of the opinion that the Missouri was the right river. Lewis explained their reasoning to the men, and the men supported the decision, and wisely so, for had they selected Maria's River, they would have spent months backtracking to the Missouri, and the Expedition would probably have been a failure. The Northwest quadrant of the confluence is called "Decision Point" to commemorate this momentous decision. Tomorrow is a combination of rest day and bike maintenance day. The bike needs a little TLC, as does the Team. Then on Tuesday, we begin what will probably prove to be the most difficult week of our journey. We make a swing south, then west and then north that will cover 450 miles and 13,000 feet of elevation gain. This route is as close as we can come to the original L&C Trail. The original has some 27 miles of gravel roads, and we have decided not to do gravel roads. Ron Note from LaValle... You'll find the captions to the photos on the Photo page have a bit more of a narrative quality to them. This may become a new format.