Jerry;

The paragraph simply means that I (Bud) am the primary author and that you can assume that everything is written by me. If Doc wishes to add anything, it will be pointed out in the narrative that Doc is "speaking." Same with the photos; you can assume that all the photos were taken by me, and if a photo by Doc (or someone else) is included there will be a note giving them credit. That's all. Thanks for following along,

Buddy Hall

Kelly;

Thanks - FWIW, I think that I am improving - it may be a bit early to say so (only 1 day after starting the antibiotic), but the pain has subsided this afternoon. I'm enjoying your journal, best of luck,

Buddy Hall

Steve;

Your comment made me laugh - you should see the place we are in in Cut Bank - room service? That's funny...:>) It is a good suggestion, but the time it would take to get somewhere to a nice hotel, get the oral surgery done, recover, then get back to the route - that's more time than we have to spare. So the plan/hope is that the antibiotic will kill the infection for now and that I can finish the tour and then have the tooth extracted soon as I return home. I wasn't certain this morning that such a plan would work, but as of now I think the antibiotic is doing the job and that I will be able to continue - maybe not tomorrow though, it may have to be the day after - we'll see. Thanks,

Buddy

Thanks Greg - I also thought about Tom Hanks and the ice skate, though at the time it didn't seem funny to me! I'm only 1 day into the antibiotics but I think they are working - it's probably too early to tell but I'm hopeful. That awful pain was enough to send me home, but it doesn't seem to have been as bad today - tonight will be the test. I'm hanging in if I can. Best wishes,

Buddy Hall

Tooth pain is the worst. It's relentless. And drugs provide almost no relief. It's no wonder Tom Hanks used an ice skate to knock out his own tooth in "Cast Away." Maybe you could do the same with your chain ring.

Sorry about that joke. I really do sympathize. I'm pretty sure I'd already be on my way home if I were in your situation. I truly hope the antibiotics are the solution because I'm really enjoying your journal.

Bud…..here’s my UFO Report….”unsolicited fatherly observation”…..call the dentist you saw yesterday and ask if he, or a dentist he can refer you to, can remove the tooth. Then stay in a nice motel for three days to recouperate. A hotel with room service so you can have some soup, oatmeal and chocolate milk. Then continue your journey. It will work and you’ll do really well. Just give yourself a break and do it. That way you just have a half a week of down time but you will still be on your trip. See….it will work!!!

Bud…..I hope your toothache has subsided. I feel so bad for you having to deal with that. Consider having it removed and recouperating in a hotel with room service for a few days.

Dental pain is exquisite, in a very bad way. My total sympathies to you.

I hope the AM brings improvement.

NOW BUD….you might have fun at the casino, if you drop in the found money you might hit the jackpot!!!! Then you could buy a coffee shop franchise !!!! Try it and let us know how it goes….BTW….hope your toothache gets better….casinos always have fun diners and they could be good for a second breakfast. Our casino in Point Arena has great scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns….all day long.

Wow! I sure didn't see that price when I was looking last year. Good for you.

The rain is bouncing in the parking lot outside. We have delayed as long as we can - we were hoping at least for a little window of drizzle to get out the door.
64 degrees here, Traverse City, MI.

Kelly,

At first we found rooms for $330 at the lodge -but looking a bit more we found the Red Eagle motel for $120. I like that price much better.

Buddy Hall

If I may ask, how much did you pay for lodging in St Mary's? We planned to ride through there last year and couldn't find anything. We ended up reserving in Babb (we planned to ride Mariahs Pass instead of Going to the Sun).

Our plans changed again because of COVID closures on the reservation. We went around on Seeley Lake/Swan Lake. We were headed north.

Re “ Unless noted otherwise, Bud (that's me) is the author and photographer. When Doc wishes to add commentary, it will be noted that he is now "talking." And when Doc's pics are shown, it will be noted that the photo credit is his. So now you know. ”.

George, or are you Doc, please try explaining what this means. I assume this paragraph was meant to stand alone. Sorry, buy I don’t get it.

Buddy

Last year when I was contemplating making the big climb to Hannagan Meadow in AZ and forfeiting my day off, a friend said to keep my eye on the prize of going border to border and not on the small goals. I took the day off.

Which is a back door way of saying you can choose the easiest route to accomplish your ride. Sometimes the big climbs are necessary and sometimes they are an ego boost.

Can you smell the oats yet? As my Grandpa would say about the horses headed home in the evening.

Kelly

Kelly;

We still have Going-to-the-Sun road to ride, the continental divide to cross, 5 mountain passes in Washington state - so it's not a foregone conclusion that we will make it. Montana is a tough state - we will be a bit more confident when we get through it. But I appreciate your confidence in us!

Buddy Hall