No Go Lolo ... (August 2, 2009)

I do not have a clue what the raft in the picture to the right is ... it appears that the raft can be moved from bank to bank, and the large drum rotates due to water flow. My guess is that the rotating drum may be some kind of generator. Any thoughts, anyone?

I am currently in Missoula, MT, in a KOA Kampground Kabin for a kouple of days ... these facilities are really krappy, but cheaper than hotels.

The ride from Powell, ID to Lolo, MT on Friday was relatively uneventful, other than the 13 mile Lolo Pass climb to start the day. It took two hours and was not overly physically taxing, as compared with the 13 mile climb to get to Winchester, ID earlier in the week. Once over Lolo Pass, the ride was primarily downhill into Lolo ... total distance for the day was 51 miles.

The real highlight of the "Lolo experience" was the campground. I had a very large expanse of lawn all to myself ... unlike most RV parks. The evening was very quiet, and the temperature was very comfortable. Due to the fine weather, and no threat of rain, I did not attach the fly to my tent. Big mistake ... at 4:00 AM the sprinklers came on. I battled the sprinklers, in my boxers, for the better part of 25 minutes. Once the sprinklers finally stopped, I (cold and wet) bedded down into a wet sleeping bag. In this case, it was not a sleeping bag, it was a miserable bag.

Sooooo .... No Go Lolo ... ever again.

The next day, yesterday, I rode the 16 miles into Missoula, and got a Kabin at the local KOA. This place is insane. There is so much traffic, and the tent sites are so close together, that there is little in the way of privacy/quiet. I had a "two nights for the price of one" coupon, so I got a Kabin. I would guess that last night there were 6 tents within 5' of the exterior of the Kabin. A large number of the tent sites were filled with Harley-Davidson riders heading to Sturgis for the Annual Harley-Davidson get-together. While these guys are not the "Hells Angels" type of guys, the majority of them are in the 50+ year-old range, which means they have had years to practice their "snoring with volume" skills ... and skilled they were.

Today is a rest day ... I plan on going downtown to watch some bike racing, then come back to my Kabin and get caught up with laundry and accounting chores.

I will be going down to the Adventure Cycling Assoc. office tomorrow to talk to someone about suggested routes across Montana. I had planned on going through Yellowstone Park, but several riders have indicated that it is neither safe nor enjoyable to ride in Yellowstone.

Campsite conditions aside ... life is good