The first order of business on our rest day was to check out the three pools that our accommodation boasted. There's a very small, very cold pool, a huge warm pool, and a small hot pool. The hot pool felt great on our bug-bitten bodies and we soaked for a good while before finding it necessary to relocate to the warm pool for a while. Then we'd get cold and return to the hot pool. The cold pool was only for those who were raised in cold climes (i.e. me) and would likely induce hypothermia if you stayed in for more than a minute. I think the longest I lasted was 10 seconds. Mike got in as far as his knees.
The second order of business was to complete some paperwork to renew my green card. It was neither exciting nor restful. It was nice, however, to be able to use the resort's conference room to hide from the mosquitoes that were out for blood (literally). We celebrated the form's completion with a beer and cheese pizza. Then we took naps. We returned to the pools for another dip after dinner.
We set off from the Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs Resort refreshed and ready for a longer day. Today's route took us west along Highway 2 all day. I thought we might be done with those vicious mosquitoes that were able to bite us while we rode but, alas, they lived along this stretch of the road as well. Like an awful game of Twister (TM) we called out the locations of mosquitoes on the other person: "Lower, back, right!", "Left, shoulder!"
After 20 miles of riding we reached the town of Malta where a new jersey was waiting for Mike. On the way into town we swung by the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. Many fossils have been found in this area and the museum boasts quite the collection. It was a screaming deal at only $5 each. The docent even sent us on our way with some fresh cucumbers she had recently received. During a break in the city park Mike noticed a group of people selling homegrown produce and baked goods. His food-radar is very strong. He spotted them from 300 feet. He went to investigate and returned with a delicious loaf of banana bread. We ate most of it within 20 minutes. Later we were riding past a casino and we thought we spotted the same group again so we went to say hi. They were actually a different family but both families were Hutterites - an ethnoreligious group local to the area, somewhat similar to Mennonites. That explained the very similar clothing that caused our mistake. We chatted about our trip for a while until the father and teenage son began arguing good-naturedly about whether Mount Rushmore was in North or South Dakota, and whether it has the faces of three presidents or four. We left the family to their bantering and continued our ride.
Malta was the only town of interest until we reached our final destination of Harlem this evening. Apparently when officials were naming towns in Montana they resorted to "globe roulette", where an employee would spin the globe and stick their finger on a place in order to draw inspiration. Hence, the towns of Glasgow (named for the city in Scotland), Saco (named for the town in Maine), and Malta (named for the Mediterranean island). Tonight we are camping in the city park. The town hall helpfully had a sign posted instructing us to call Becky in order to get the sprinklers turned off. We have done so and are about to settle down for a hopefully quiet night. Good night!
Today: 67 miles
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| Enjoying the pool |
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| It wasn't this green in real life |
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| New meets old at the Museum of Antique Transportation |
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| Ford Model A but Pete already knew that |
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| In front of the dinosaur museum |
Were any mosquitoes breeding in those green swimming pools?
ReplyDeleteRide safely.
Cheri
They kept it really clean. No mosquitoes.
DeleteWe had a little excitement last night. At about 9:20 p.m. there was a loud crashing noise and then a roaring hissing sound, similar to high pressure water escaping from a pipe. I had done some irrigation repairs earlier in the day and thought the valve had popped off and that water must be spewing from the broken pipes. I grabbed my big flashlight and tore out to the front of the house where I had done the repairs. Nothing. All was well with the irrigation. This hissing continued. I aimed the powerful flashlight beam at the neighbors property but saw nothing amiss. I then walked out into the street. A small SUV type vehicle had smashed into the monument which was in front of the Martin's old house. The hissing was emanating from the East side of the street but it wasn't immediately clear what it was. No water jetting into the air. In the crashed car, there was a teenage male slumped in the front seat who was for the most part unresponsive. He moved around every once in awhile but the windows were all up and the doors were locked. A couple were driving by in their truck and had cell phones. I was wearing just a pair of shorts and only had the flashlight. The couple reported the accident to 911. By that time, there was a strong smell of natural gas in the area. The hissing was from a broken gas line. It was very loud and who knows how many cubic liters of gas were spewing into the air. The couple managed to get the kid to open a window and then they got him out of the car. Fireman arrived first and told everyone to get out of the area because of the possibility of an explosion or fire. The folks who live in the Martin's old house were evacuated and eventually spent a good part of the evening at our house. San Diego Gas and Electric eventually showed up but they did not shut off the gas leak until midnight. Why it took them 2 1/2 hours is beyond me and seemed to be rather dangerous and pathetic. The kid was carted off in an ambulance and we still have no idea what caused him to crash. He first went off the road on the East side of the street about 40 meters from his final resting spot. He tore through shrubbery, then the gas lines and power boxes and ended up crossing the road and went straight into the one ton monument (large, 4 foot tall, 3 foot by 3 foot square brick and concrete post marking the driveway) which stopped all forward progress. The monument was knocked askew and was canted about 30 degrees toward the house. If the monument had not been there, the car may have ended up hitting the house. The street was blocked off and no one could get in or out due to the gas leak which noisily hissed away until shortly past midnight. The police ended up driving the poor family who was evacuated to a relative's house a short distance away. Cheri and I eventually got to bed shortly after 1 a.m. But other than that, nothing much going on.
ReplyDeleteWoah! I'm glad the neighborhood didn't explode.
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