I wasn’t on top of things in the morning. I had to get my phone and battery charged and plan out my route for the day since backtracking wasn’t in my original plan. I needed power and WiFi neither of which were available at the hiker biker campsite. So after breakfast and packing up camp, I migrated over to the visitor center. Once on the road the morning evaporated pretty quickly and I found myself eating lunch (Mexican PB&J) about 1:00 in a school parking lot. Shortly after which, I saw the most immense Lombardi Poplar I have ever witnessed next to the road.
In an attempt to stay off the busy road I had ridden the other day, I was trying to take the smaller parallel roads but would run into more hills and in some places the pavement gave way to gravel. Eventually I ended up passing the Mennonite Church I had camped at two nights ago and was stopped taking a picture when this guy Tim road up on his carbon fiber gravel bike and asked me where I was headed. He said he would show me a nice route that would keep me off the main highway, was very scenic and would dump me into the town of Big Fork that was right next to the State Park I was going to camp in that night. After a while of trying to keep up with him on my fully loaded touring bike, we were passing a house and he said “That’s my house, let’s stop, I want to give you some cookies my wife baked. She bakes and sells at farmers markets.” I laughed and told him I was a Farmer Market baker for 10 years. His wife Wendy was home and they were kind enough to give me a tour of her well equipped bakery space. Make sure if you’re in Montana, that you get to the Kalispell Farmers Market early so you can enjoy Flathead Bread’s marvelous products.
Tim is an Electrical Engineer but likes making high end furniture on the side and is trying to market his sleek turntable consoles that he expertly creates. Meeting Tim and Wendy was one of those magical serendipitous bike tour moments. They sent me off with some cookies and some route directions into Big Fork. Thanks Tim and Windy!
I had been through Big Fork on the highway 3 days ago and didn’t stop. Tim’s route took me into town on the Swan River Nature Trail. It was gorgeous and ended right in the middle of Big Fork. Big Fork was cute and the tractor beam from the ice cream shop almost pulled me in. The only reason it didn’t was I lied to myself and told myself I would come back after I ate a good dinner at the State Park. While in Big Fork I met a couple from California that was visiting their friend who moved to the area. The husband had ridden a bike across the country a few years ago with his wife and daughter driving an RV supporting his ride. He was a minister and said a prayer for my safe travels.
I had been staying at a few Hiker/ Biker campsites since I was just coming out of Portland but I think Wayfarer State Park is the Zenith when it comes to Hiker/Biker campsites. It had just about everything. The tent pads were level and had a nice layer of gravel that was like pea gravel. There was a picnic table/ shelter that had electricity to charge your devices and a bike stand to work on your bike! It had a water spigot. Bear proof trash cans and food storage boxes. Access to the campground bathhouse. It was all right on beautiful Flathead Lake and only cost eight dollars.!
When I rolled up to the campsite, I met Ed. He is riding the Continental Divide trail in sections. For this current section, he started at the Canadian Border and plans to ride home to Bolder, CO. I was embarrassed by the obscene amount of gear I am carrying on my bike when I looked at his svelte rig. I set up camp, went for a swim in Flathead Lake, took a short hike and settled down at the picnic table to make dinner where Ed and I had a wonderful conversation. I learned he was an Outward Bound Instructor and mountaineering guide. He told me about growing up in Massachusetts and deciding he belonged out West shortly after High School. He worked a number of jobs in different fields before he found himself gravitating toward a career in outdoor leadership. I enjoyed the conversation we had about his adventures and some of my early misadventures. Thanks Ed.
Slow and Steady 
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