Hilly ... Most Hilly (July 4, 2019)

In the days of riding over the several Cascade Mountain passes, the climbs were long and tedious.  For the past several days the climbs have been short, but highly repetitive.

Since leaving Noxon, we have covered the 54 miles to Libby, 70 miles to Eureka, and the 56 miles to Whitefish ... all in Montana.  Today we are taking a rest day in Whitefish.  Since it is July 4th, I assume there will be a parade celebrating Independence Day ... but I have not seen any tanks, so they must not be taking it too seriously.

Hills.  Yes, hills.  To give a true picture of how hilly the terrain has been the past three days, I should construct a paragraph consisting of only the word "hill".  But this paragraph would consist of approximately 100 to 150 repetitions of the word "hill".  Then when one is tired of reading the word "hill", I will add another 25 or so "hills" ... but this paragraph would also include some rain and some headwinds.

As in previous days, the scenery is spectacular ... but come on ... some flat roads and a slight tailwind would be appreciated.

Tomorrow we enter Glacier National Park, then head south to Missoula.  I arrived in Portland about a month ago, and have covered about 1,000 miles in those 30 days.  The beauty of the Northwest is a constant companion.  Still somewhat amazed that I get to do this.

Speaking of beauty, the adjacent photo has nothing what-so-ever to do with bike touring ... it is simply a photo I saw on the Internet some time ago and found the simplicity of the photo to be quite beautiful.  If I knew who the photographer was, I would certainly give that person credit ... but I don't, so I won't.

For those amongst us who have not reached the vaunted status of retiree, I wish you a glorious 4th of July day-off from work.