Riding I-90 east in Montana. Looking to Doug's right front you
can see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
This is another view of the ride east on I-90.
The countryside was one scenic view after the other. BNSF railroad
tracks paralleled much of I-90 along our route of travel today.
We stopped at Little Bighorn National Park, which is always worth
the time to stop and visit.
Day eighteen. All is well. Overnight in Sheridan, Wyoming.
We had enough of the rain and cold, and according to the weather prognosticators the storms that had been very strong along our intended route of travel had either dissipated or passed on through the area. This was also what we could see on various internet weather maps, so we loaded up the bikes and headed out. Although we were ready to leave the area for something a little warmer we regretted that the weather was not more favorable which would have allowed us to spend an extra day or two in Montana.
When we left Missoula the temperature was 44 degrees, and the skies were overcast. We have grown accustomed to cool temperatures since leaving San Diego two weeks ago.
Our planned ride for the day kept us on I-90 all day, and because of that we made 475 miles for the day, with an overnight in Sheridan, Wyoming (Pop. 18,000). This was the most miles we have covered in one day on this trip, however, because it was all interstate it was not very tiring at all.
Our ride (mostly southeast) was cool until we passed through Butte, Montana (Pop. 32,000), where it was somewhat warmer. We crossed the Continental Divide just east of Butte, at Homestake Pass, at 6,393 feet, which was above the forecasted snow elevation for the two nights before. It cooled as we climbed in this area.
When we passed over "The Divide" we saw no indication of snow anywhere near us, and the temperature was in the high 40's. And, although it was overcast there was no precipitation until we passed Billings, Montana (Pop. 165,000). Billings was a lunch and gas stop, and although we could see the precipitation ahead of us on our internet radar I assumed that it would not cross our paths until we were through that area.
But, I misjudged how fast the weather moves in this part of the country, and with a strong wind blowing the storm, which was a strong wind and rain, it reached I-90 before we arrived at the path of travel for the storm. Before we entered the rain we stopped under an overpass (There are very few overpasses on the interstates in this part of the country.), which not only provided protection from the rain which was beginning to fall, it also shielded us from the 50 miles per hour winds that carried the storm along.
Although the weather maps we were looking at showed the storm to be fairly large it had passed by the time we reached Little Big Horn, which is 65 miles east of Sheridan. By the time we had completed the tour at Little Big Horn, and listened to the park ranger lecture (40 minutes for the lecture), the storm had long since passed, and we rode to Sheridan under blue skies and temperatures in the high 60's.
After getting checked in to our motel we quickly went to a very good local restaurant (Wyoming's Rib & Chop House, 847 North Main) where we had a tasty dinner, in a pleasant setting.
Another good day.
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