Day 27, Sula, MT

Miles – 0

Ave Riding Speed – 0 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 0

Weather – Sunny and 88

We hit the sack about 9:30pm last night and slept pretty good in our logged framed double bed. We aren’t used to sleeping that close to each other, but it was a cool night and we were tired and even turned on the little wall mounted electric heater.

Kim and I were up at 7:30am and walked over to the little store/restaurant and learned the restaurant wasn’t open today, but we were able to find some eggs and hotdogs and buns to cook up for breakfast in our cabin. We poured a cup of coffee and sat down at one of the café booth tables in the store and chatted with Becky, the owner. Becky had purchased the “lodge” about 4 years ago and we commented how quaint and peaceful it was. She said her and her husband purchased it just after her bout with lobular breast cancer. It was a similar story in almost every way to Kim’s. It was a mass, spread to her lymph nodes, mastectomy, multiple infections with reconstruction, etc., at the same age as when Kim was diagnosed. Pretty amazing to hear her story. That of course led us to plenty to talk about and our fundraiser goal of $100,000 for the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance.

About that time a couple long distance bicyclists pulled up. Ty and Chris. They’ve got thousands of miles between them and shared some of the stories and advice. Ty did a fundraiser ride a few years ago and raised over $120,000. He’s also spent a few months in the hospital after getting hit by a car three years ago in the big city, California.

Chris rides a bunch and is also a Warm Showers host. There are thousands of these hosts that welcome people into their homes for bicyclist and do so via an app, kind of like Airbnb for travelers. He hooked us up to his Facebook and we’re going to check it out.

I went to cook up breakfast, scrambled eggs, hot dogs and hot sauce, and Kim was reviewing the maps to see where we could meet our son, Colton, next weekend, as he lives in Bozeman and works in the Big Sky area. Kim did end up finding a camping spot and Colton will be in charge of the grub and cold beverages for a 2-day layover to catch up. We’re excited to spend a couple days with our youngest.

After breakfast I cleaned up the dishes and told Kim I was going to walk over to Dave and Lori’s RV and see if we could bum a few minutes on their hotspot. Dave happened to be walking through the camp and I waved him down. He said, “of course’” and waved me over. Lori gave me the code and I sat on their redwood-stained picnic table on their corner lot next to the East Fork Bitterroot River, that runs behind our spot as well. I was able to upload the blog from yesterday and send a few e-mails.

For the rest of the day, we are laying low, recharging lights, reading, napping and having a great time doing nothing. I’ll reiterate that this is a relaxing place at the foot of the Lost Trail Pass and Chief Joseph Pass. I told my kids this is a perfect family spot where the kids could be outside, fishing in the kids’ pond, playing miniature golf, playing on the small playground, watching the river water flow by or just sitting on the porch.

Tonight, it’s eggs and hotdogs for dinner, pack and get ready for an early start.