BAKER, MONTANA: Somethingness (sic)

August 20, 2017

My original plan was to continue riding west to Mako Shika State Park, but I changed my mind for two reasons. (Well, maybe three reasons, but the third one isn't very good--I just felt like it.) The first legitimate reason was that I would have had to ride 26 miles there and 26 miles back, and, man, I HATE backtracking. Even the two out and back rides I did in the north and south units of Teddy Roosevelt's National Park were hard for me to endure.

The second legitimate reason was that I wanted to get as far south as I could in order to get the best view possible of tomorrow's solar eclipse. If I had planned this trip a little better, I could have ridden to Casper, Wyoming to experience TOTALITY.

Anyway, Mako Shika means "no good land" in the Sioux language, and I've heard the state park has the best example of badlands in all of Montana. Just because I didn't go there doesn't mean you shouldn't.

So I went south in on Montana Highway 7 straight into the famous "Big Sky Country." I thought North Dakota had pretty big skies, but I think Montana's skies really ARE bigger--if that's possible. I mean, how big can a sky get? Let me tell you that the sky can get a lot bigger when there are no view blockers around to limit its size. And you can quote me on that.

Highway 7 had almost no shoulder, but it was quiet and had minimal traffic. It would have been even quieter if the wind hadn't shifted and hadn't been blowing in my ears all day. Whhshshshshshshshshshshshsh! Whooooooooooooooooooshshshshshsh! Rooaarrshshshshshshshshshsh!

I know other cyclists might have a different opinion of this route. They might trudge through here, all the while thinking "this is messed up. Forty-five miles of nothing. Not even a place to get water."

Nothing? Are badlands nothing? Are animals nothing? Are grass and sagebrush nothing? Are hills and buttes and mesas nothing? Is being able to urinate out in the open while straddling your bike nothing?

May I start with the animals? In my opinion, no bike ride of any length can be boring if there are animals to be seen. That is particularly true when the animals seem to adore you.

As in the previous state, Montana cows like me and I like them.

Horses want to meet me as well. They know a nice guy when they see one.

This is a seriously distorted picture of a herd of pronghorn antelope. I should probably invest in an actual camera.

There were also many hawks and other birds. And grasshoppers. And a lot of dead animals--victims of motor vehicles. There were the usual roadkills: raccoons, deer, a skunk, a coyote, several porcupines, little rodents, etc., plus another animals I couldn't quite identify.

This one appeared to be some kind of prehistoric animal. It had some of the characteristics of a stegosaurus, but it was much smaller.

This isn't an animal. It's sagebrush. You know you're truly out west when you see sagebrush.

Despite forgoing Mako Shika State Park, I wasn't totally shut out from seeing Montana mako shika. It wasn't as spectacular as some of the North Dakota badlands I had seen, but they were still pretty nice. Here are a couple of examples for your viewing pleasure:

I've always wondered how they create badlands.

According to a roadside information board, that mound to the right is an example of a "gumbo butte." I love gumbo. Garlic, onions, celery, green pepper, andouille sausage, chicken, shrimp, chili peppers, roux, etc. Now I have another reason to like gumbo.

I made it to the town of Baker, picked up some food, and settled in at a pathetic little campground in the city park. I thought it might be fun to write a beer review now that I've mastered the art of wine reviewing.

Uberbrew's "Iconic Pale Ale." Oh, that's some gooood stuff.

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Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 262 miles (422 km)

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