I explained that the idea of it was a little too much for me, so I had stayed north and avoided Sturgis. She said it was interesting to see, but it was really crowded.
We got to talking a little bit about bikes, and I told her about the trip I was taking, and some good roads we'd been on, the usual biker talk. Then, somehow, we got to talking about all kinds of wonderful things. From Helena they were headed to Lummi Island in Washington to see one of their sons get married, and that brought up the pleasure and joy to be found in a close family. Out of that we got into the cultural differences across the country and for a moment pondered the possibility that the rigidity of the Midwestern character is due to it's straight and flat roads. It could be, you never know…
It was a true delight to spend my morning with Barbara, and later Billy. Thanks for being there, guys, and I'm sorry that we didn't get to ride together today, but some other time we will.
After the best free breakfast of any hotel I have ever stayed in I got to have another wonderful little encounter while packing my bike. Two women, who's names I never asked, were helping one of their daughters move to Helena. These two women were incredibly interested in the trip, and we got to talking about a trip to Alaska. (Don't worry Mandy, it's not planned.) They told me that if I was going to go I should take a ferry or a cruise because the Al-Can is all just trees and nothing else. "If you've seen ten miles of it, you've seen all of it." Thanks for the tip, Ladies!
After her mom and aunt left I chatted with the daughter, Dana, for a minute. Dana is a new teacher just out of school and Dude bless her for it. Although I've talked about it a lot I'm not sure I could ever do it. She even asked me if I was a teacher, too, and when I told her that I was a writer she said, "Yeah, you look like a writer." In my mind I was thinking, 'At least I look the part…' Thank you, Dana, for giving me an added boost!
It was a wonderful morning for people, and I was really glad I had ended up in the hotel I did.
I left Helena on County Road 297 and was ecstatic to be back in the mountains. The road was fun, and this part of Montana is beautiful:
Unfortunately, as a result of warm winters, there are bark beetles that lay dormant in the trees and then eat them in the summer. The result is that there are vast amounts of trees that are dying or dead throughout the forest.
I have to believe that there is some kind of a reason for this, but it makes me really sad to look at it.
The rest of the ride to Bigfork was in and out of little rainstorms and a little uncomfortable, but I pressed on and pulled into Wayfarers State Park just in time to get the last available campsite and set up my tent before heading to a meeting.
The meeting was another book study, and also and inadvertent men's meeting. It was great to spend the evening chatting with those guys about making amends and how they still come up after many years. I was reminded again that none of us are really all that different, and that none of us ever graduate from this thing. Thanks, Bigfork!
When I was leaving the meeting it was raining again, and I didn't want to get wet before getting into my tent for the night so I went and found a little cafe in town for a cup of coffee. I had another one of those moments where I was certain that things had worked the way they did for a reason. The place was cozy and wonderful, and when I asked for something dessert-like the woman told me that she could bake me a scone if I liked. Well, duh, of course I would love a fresh baked scone!
As I waited I was thinking about the day and just as I was thinking about Barbara and Billy they called. I was really glad that they did, because I wanted to thank them for being in Helena this morning and starting my day the way they did. They had made it a fair amount farther than I had, and we talked about the day a bit, and then Barbara and I talked for some time about how the people we meet and the experiences we have are a result of what we attract and what we think about. It was great to hear something like that coming from a non-program person, and it really touched me. Thanks again, Barbara and Billy, for being who you guys are!
When I got off the phone I had a nice time chatting with the cafe owners, and I even got to sample their french onion soup, and I have to say that it was pretty darn awesome. I ended up staying at the cafe until they were ready to go home, and when I asked what I owed them they said that it was on the house, that the conversation was payment enough. What an incredible day, and a wonderful reinforcement of my faith in people!
