This morning consisted of more straight roads with views of open agricultural land. Birds of prey circled overhead and the occasional field of cows broke up the swathes of wheat. Around 10 miles apart along the highway are regular towns built up around granaries next to the railroad. Most have populations of around 100 to 200, and names from all over the world such as Zurich, Kremlin and Devon. A woman at the bar last night said they used to just spin a globe and see where their finger landed to name the towns.
We had a strong headwind all morning which made it feel like cycling uphill, barely exceeding 10 mph. By 1230 we had only done 30 miles or so and we decided to take a break in Dodson. The County Fair was gearing up for its 100th year with the local scout group running a food stall that we stopped by for lunch. We saw people preparing their horses and livestock for the rodeo on Sunday, and banger racers pulling up for their turn to race tomorrow afternoon. Had the events been happening tonight we would have stayed to take in the atmosphere. After an hour, and a chat with a couple of locals who were "blown away" by our accents, we moved on for Malta.
We swept through Malta, stopping only for some insect repellant, suncream (which we are going through like it is going out of fashion) and I collected some antihistamines; the mosquitoes are getting overwhelming.
We opted for the "Alternative Route" from Malta to our campground at Sleeping Buffalo, which turned into a dirt track with steep rolling hills that was painfully slow going and started to take its toll on our knees, bringing back a few niggles that were easing off after the Rockies. The route went through a nature reserve, and with the heat and scenery it looked very much like we were in Kenya rather than Montana!
With temperatures soaring above 40C, fatigue was setting in and spirits were low coming into Sleeping Buffalo. We had heard rumour of hot springs and were glad to find a large spa facility which we were able to enter for $8.50 (around 6 pounds) with natural hot springs at 107F as well as a cool 50F pool, the same as the river we washed in at Libby Dam. This was a blessing for our joints and the day turned from one of the worst to one of the best. Although the mosquitoes are unrelenting where we are camped.
We have heard of another Fair at Glasgow, 50 miles from here, and feel that a rest day at the fair is in order on Sunday.
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