Fort Peck, MT to Jordan, MT- Day 35-36- 98.38 mi.

Nearly 100 miles of nothing! From Fort Peck to Jordan, the only thing we saw the whole day that suggested any sign of civilization was a small rest area at about the 62 mile marker. The night before, we had prepared for the next day by trying to get a very early start. Our original plan was to leave at sunrise, about 5:00. This plan left us without breakfast, as the hotel's restaurant didn't open until 7:00. The manager of the hotel told us that there was a convenience store near the Fort Peck Dam that opened at 6:00. So, we set our departure time back to 6:00 and slept in for a while longer. After leaving the hotel, anxious for food, we biked to, over, and past the dam without seeing a convenience store. We were both disappointed because not only did this mean we would miss breakfast, but we would also have to take the time to cook along the way. At about the 43rd mile, we stopped and cooked a freeze dried meal. After that, we kept biking our hilly route until we came to a blessing... a rest stop! There were bathrooms as well as a place to fill up with cold water. We took this opportunity to cook a bit more food and get re-energized. With only 36 miles to go, we tried to bike quickly to beat darkness. Our maps give us a profile of how hilly the terrain is from place to place, and the route looked very flat. We thought we could average a high speed and get to the campground before dark. Well, the maps were wrong. The route was very hilly, and it took us a long time to get to Jordan. When we did get to Jordan, the moon was shining brightly, and the "Garfield Motel" shone even brighter. Not wanting to set up the tent in the dark, we settled on the motel for the night at about 10:00. After eating a pizza for a late supper at 11:00, we went to bed very tired. We had completed a day less than 2 miles short of 100. Lewis and Clark mentioned having very difficult, tiring days on their journey, and this was one of ours. When we woke up in the morning, we were both still very tired. We decided to take a rest day. During the day, we changed to Kamp Katie, bought groceries, updated blogs at the local library, and had delicious smoothies at a coffee shop.
Seventh Grade Question: We biked a total of 98.38 miles today in 15.5 hours. What was our (pathetic) average speed?

- SpokeWrench

Not everything was bad on this long, long day. We saw a number of deer and antelope. We saw some antelope up close for the first time. One was bedded down next to the road. The cars apparently didn't bother it, but the bicycles spooked it out. As we were biking to Jordan around dusk, I looked to my left and saw a lone antelope standing on a ridge. It was silhouetted against a full moon. I would have loved to put this image on the blog for you, but it was too dark for my camera...I do have it stored in my mind though!

-ClarkWheel