Day 63: The Horror, The Horror...

Goodness Gracious. Today was absolutely freezing.

I woke up at 2am last night and it was raining, but I really had to piss… so I pissed somewhere in the pavilion… but I can’t remember where when I woke up this morning. Should I warn Matt? Did I actually urinate, or was it a dream? I assume if i did, then it was probably in some remote corner of the pavilion, so we should be cool.

I wake up and it’s absolutely FREEZING! So COLD… The Horror, The Horror. I can't get out of my sleeping bag. Its only going to get worse from here on out, so I better get used to this, huh.

Matt and I grab some food at a diner, much to the dismay of all the patrons. At some point, I think Matt senses my hesitance to ride in the wet/cold weather, and in a commanding voice affirms that he really wants to ride today, despite the disgustingly cold, wet and windy weather. He doesn’t realize that I really want to ride today as well, as it’s our last FULL day of the Prairie. I assure him that I am just as committed to leaving Chester, and we shove down some great food that I have become too desensitized to enjoy.

We go back to the pavilion to do some last minute emailing, and the weather gets significantly worse. At this point we decide to merely "explore" our options with motels. We still wanted to ride to Cut Bank... but were just curious to know if a motel was a possibility. $47 for a double room with wireless internet and a kitchen. Hmmm....

30 minutes later, after we had thoroughly deliberated and then got thoroughly settled into the warm dry room, we load up on groceries and get started on the day's task of planning the next week.

Tentatively:

Matt and I are going to try and make a LONG day out of tomorrow and ride to Browning (100 miles). It's a sketchy reservation town, so we will definitely be staying in a hotel. From there
he will take Duck lake Rd up to Many Glacier, and I will take Hwy 89 up to St Mary. Its very flexible from there, and i'm not quite sure what I will do, but a lot of it will be dictated by weather.

I download both new episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We watch Fargo and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Matt reminds me to do laundry, but this means I have to go back outside to the store to buy detergent. The ride is actually fantastic. The night sky over the plains is dark and shadowy in some amazing way. Its one of those things that is too sensitive to ever be captured on film. The town is quiet and empty, and suddenly not so dingy. I guess when its sleeping, its easier to look upon it with the safety of an inanimate object... knowing that I won't have to interact with it. Its beautiful though. A sleeping, lumbering bear of a town, filled with some pretty great people.
Today a guy told me he moved here because the people were so much nicer here than where he came from... and the town he came from? Condon, Mt... an even smaller town from a more remote region of Montana.

I get back, and Matt is watching Shine. Inspiring, but a little blunt with its story beats. It "indicates" how we should be feeling with the most obvious of cliches. A character will drop their jaw and bug out their eyes to let us know that we should be impressed with the piano playing. Its really not a subtle film.

I gotto go do laundry, but I should hopefully have internet tomorrow night. If not... then you can expect a delay in the updates while I am in Glacier National park. It will be a few days probably. This is going to be one of the cooler weeks of this trip. Though it is definitely the beginning of the end. I am excited, but a little apprehensive at the "century" we will be riding tomorrow. Wish us luck.