Roxy and Linda's Bicycle Blog

18th posting on July 10, 2013 ..... Back to the welcome page and listings for other links

Day 30 Belgrade, MT to Livingston, MT - 37 miles ........... 1107 total miles
Woke up early to a beautiful morning in the Rockies, loaded the van, said goodbye to Jules & Mac and drove down the canyon to the airport in Belgrade. After returning the vehicle we rode 8 miles into Bozeman on a frontage road and took a short break. We were looking forward to our LAST mountain pass, Bozeman Pass. The climb was gradual and we had a wonderful downhill to Livingston, along the Yellowstone River. We arrived early in Livingston and decided to call it a day. After checking in to the motel we walked into town for lunch and sightseeing. The Railroad museum was close, so we went exploring thru the exhibits. The Northern Pacific ran from St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA. Livingston was mid-point, so it became the maintenance hub. The current exhibit is photos from the early 1900s. They were created from the original glass plates that had been found in a basement! We then took a stroll thru what we called the avenue of yellow ribbons. The park had many, many huge elm(?) trees with yellow ribbons & pictures of local folks serving in the military. It was truly heartwarming.

Day 31 - Livingston, MT to Columbus, MT - 84 miles ......... 1191 total miles
Today starts the second month of our adventure! We should know by now that things don't always go as planned. We started the day with a monster tailwind and after cruising 3 miles found the road closed! We had to turn around and pedal back to where we started, nice little 6 mile warmup. Our tailwind was with us most of the day and we continued following the Yellowstone River downstream. The scenery just kept unfolding all around us as we rolled along. The mountains became more distant and the hillsides drier. Our plan was to take a break at Reed Point and probably stop for the night as our map indicated all services available. Well there are NO services at Reed Point except a private RV park. We chatted with the owner and she graciously offered us water and opened the restroom for us. She said bicyclists often stop by looking for nonexistent services and she's always happy to assist. After sitting in the shade for a bit we rode 18 miles to the next town, Columbus. Thankfully Columbus is larger, around 2000 people, and does have a variety of services! We found a motel, showered and had some dinner. Columbus is in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains. The town began as a stage station on the Yellowstone Trail. Happy to be here, we'll sleep well tonight!

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