Day 12

JUNE 20 Riverbend Campground to Eureka, MT

Honestly, not a ton happened... the road was full of long, rolling hills; there was barely a flat section all day. For much of the ride, dad and I "discussed" (read "argued") about nature vs. nurture... a light topic for riding. It did help make the miles pass faster. We caught up with Michael and Steve (who were out of camp before we even woke up) right as we all stopped for lunch. We were at the top of one of our steeper climbs, between two stubby rock walls dotted with climbers. We climbed out onto a small ledge overlooking Lake Koocanusa to eat; dad and I ate our usual: cream cheese and bagels, trail-mix, roasted almonds, and apples. Steve had a more interesting meal: spam and sardines. The really surprising part was that he enjoyed it.
The rest of the ride, though bumpy, passed relatively quickly. In town, we stopped at Jax Cafe for milkshakes all around: mom had chocolate, dad, Michael, and Barb had huckleberry, Steve had a root beer float, and I had strawberry, my old standby (I'm going to get across the country on strawberry milkshakes, and m&m blizzards!) It was the best milkshake so far.I stopped in at the Library, then went to the city park where we were camping. The site was okay (although it was a Friday night and no one in Eureka has a muffler) but the bathroom easily won the award for worst on the trip; it was dim, dank, and all around unpleasant. As Michael said while leaving it, "I can't see without my glasses, so I didn't really see anything in the shower. I think if I had, I wouldn't have showered." (That means a lot, since one of the cardinal rules of bike touring is NEVER PASS UP A SHOWER. That come right after "never pass up a dairy queen")
For dinner, we went to a restaurant in Eureka with Bill, Pat, and Dave. The waitress took our drink orders, and when she came to Pat, he ordered a beer. I didn't say anything, but I was pretty sure he was only 19. Later (once we left the restaurant) Dave explained it to us, "Pat's been getting away with it for a while now. Especially out west." Since then, Pat has had beer with dinner most nights, and he's only been carded once. I too have been offered beer twice (the waiter will bring out a pitcher of beer, and bring me a glass). I haven't taken them up on it yet, and I don't really plan to. Just a reminder that we're in Montana!

I know, it's a short entry, but as I said it was a slow day. And, as I write this in a hotel lobby, a cheap sounding soap opera is playing on the TV above my head. I'm not watching, but it makes it really hard to focus.