Montana 200 is a desolate little bit of twolane blacktop that runs east from Missoula through Great Falls and Lewistown all the way to Duluth on Lake Superior. A short leg south allows it to hook onto the 94 approximately 200 miles west of Bismark. Outside of those major centers lies not much of anything, and perhaps that makes the leg I traveled today one of the least-traveled roads I’ve ever been on. I don’t think I encountered more than a dozen cars the entire day while riding the more isolated parts of the highway.
The roadside motels all look like they’ve seen better days, but that doesn’t mean that they’re bad. I stopped at a brand new rest area east of Lewistown and encountered another biker who told me about a 40 dollar room in Jordan, so here I am. It’s not too bad — single story, very old, but it appears kept up. The bathroom is small, which means that it was probably built in the 50s or early 60s. When the main air conditioner kicks in, the entire building shakes and buzzes. Entertainment appears to be sitting in the box of the pickup in the parking lot and talking on a cellphone.
But that’s all right. The sheets are clean and should it rain, it looks like the roof won’t leak. And by the forecast, the weather tomorrow will be sunny and warm, just like today.
The road is good to me.
So far, I’ve dug out an old suit – the only one I didn’t throw out; suspenders to go with the pants; a shirt (my last dress shirt, or reasonable facsimile thereof). I had to buy a tie, since I threw out my collection of hundreds – my only vanity, and a pair of Converse high-tops. There’s no damned way in hell I’m wearing shoes, since I threw all of those out too and I wholeheartedly refuse to buy more.