Day 45- Montana

96.3 miles- West Yellowstone to Alder, MT

I passed through some beautiful country today. As I started off I was on a desolated lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The place was deserted except for a few workmen building log style hotel cabins along its edges. All I could hear for the twenty miles I followed the resevoir was the sound of oarlocks in my head. It would be the flattest and most stunning place to row that I have ever seen in this country.

As I continued descending, I left the snowcapped mountains and entered Madison Valley. The area is characterized by the miles of openness and low population towns like Wyoming. However, the number of resorts and shops catering to tourists shows that this place is given far more attention. Fly fishing seems to be the biggest attraction, taking advantage of the wide, shallow, and low-banked Madison River.

Towards the end of the day I climbed 2,000 feet in 6 miles to Virginia City and Nevada City. They reminded me of towns like Staunton, VA in that all the old buildings were preserved with exhibits of their original use. They were old mining towns that are obviously survived by tourism.

The weather today was the best it has been in weeks and I was on a high. I was planning on doing 70 miles but didn't want to stop. I can take pictures again, but my phone (which I use to write these posts and upload photos) does not seem to read my camera card. This means that I can only upload pictures from libraries. I will try to get to them as often as possible.