Wednesday, June 17, 2009
CFR - Day 4
I rode about 10 miles into Helena, which seems like a nice little town, and had breakfast at a McDonalds. The trip to Great Falls was very nice as interstates go, winding along the head waters of the Missouri River.
The Rainbow Falls Dam east of Great Falls was on today's list. I plugged the coordinates into the Zumo, and it directed me, right into a construction closure. Unwinding the closure required a 14 mile detour — they apparently don't believe much in railroad crossings — but I found it in time. It was quite windy at the overlook, but I managed to tie down my placard well enough to get in a few pictures. There was no good way to setup the mini-tripod to take a picture of me with the bike and the dam; I contemplated asking the couple in the parked car if they'd do the honors, but I decided they were either there for a drug deal or were otherwise unavailable, so I left it alone.
Leaving Great Falls I headed northwest, first on I-15 then on US-89. I wound up in Browning, MT, a sad Indian town with too much wind and too little money. The Mexican fast-food place had run out of rice, and wasn't sure when they'd have more — what? — but I found something to eat, and filled up the tank with 40 miles showing on the reserve odometer.
I got twisted around and wound up taking MT-464 north and then west into Babb, which was probably a good choice. 464 was almost empty, and quite fun to ride. From Babb I headed up MT-17 to the Chief Mountain border crossing. The Canadian officer was great, and we compared notes on great riding roads in southern Alberta and southeast British Columbia.
The Waterton Springs Campground is only a few miles north of the border, and turned out to be really nice. I found a great tenting site, far enough but not too far from the restrooms. I had a granola bar for dinner, did a load of laundry, and took a nice shower (at CDN$1 per 4 minutes).
The view of the Rockies to the south and west was fantastic, but once the sun set below them it cooled down quite a lot. I watched Iron Man on the Archos, and settled in for what turned out to be a very cold night.
From Clancy, MT to the Waterton Springs Campground in southern Alberta. 312 miles.
My campsite was at the star below.
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Rainbow Falls Dam