Williston turned out to be the Mosquito Capital of the trip so far! I feel like one big welt after a night in their city park! Walk through the park and clouds of mosquitos arise out of the grass! Until this experience I've had a bite to two to deal with all the time, now finding any one through the others is a challenge. About 10 miles out of Williston we met 5 Adventure Cycling tourists doing the Northern Tier and enjoyed 5 to 10 minutes of roadside chat. In Bainville, MT, where we had lunch, we talked to the other 5, and talking to other tourists is always a highlight. Here in Culbertson as I arrived at the city park, two other tourists: Tom and Dick arrived at the same time. Harry (really) had planned to ride with them, but had some scheduling problem so wasn't there! We had dinner and breakfast together. Pam, David's wife, arrived today to drive along somewhat and see David in the evenings.

28 Jun 03: 61.3 miles, 5:32 riding time from Culbertson, MT to Wolf Point, MT Chris and I left Culbertson without David today as he joined the other four of us late. He had Pam drive in front of him and drafted off the van in order to catch up! Later that day we met 5 girls who had just been graduated from college this spring and were celebrating with a cross country tour. We were fighting a headwind of 5 to 10 MPH and asked them about the wind. The replied "wind hasn't really been a factor on our tour". That's good for a laugh! With no experience touring and little as cyclists, they apparently haven't noticed the mild tail wind they've been enjoying since deparing Anacortes! Nonetheless, we really enjoyed their youthful enthusiasm coupled with their growing knowledge of touring.

Customer service in Wolf Point isn't very high. I ordered the local equivilant of a blizzard from the local ice cream store and said I wanted chocolate in it. The waitress informed me that the owner was "very strict that no chocolate was to be put in the blizzards"! I thought the waitress was joking and treated it that way, but she pointed out a sign on the wall! I guess I should have thought to order a chocolate shake and a cup of ground heath bar chips on the side! Wonder if there was a "rule" against this? We had dinner a few minutes before 5:00, and David was told he couldn't have his choice until after 5:00, so he ordered something else. Then he ordered dessert a few minutes after 5:00 and was told it was too late for desserts! Really, this actually did happen. The look on his face caused us many laughs and ended his teasing me about the chocolate in my blizzard!

29 Jun 03: 59.0 miles in 4:30 riding time Wolf Point, MT to Glasglow MT Pam fixed our breakfast so we wouldn't have to ride back the 1.5 miles to town (small route deviations are a big deal to Chris and David!). David left late again this morning- the effect of having his wife around- otherwise he's first out of camp. Chris and I missed the small town of Oswego and our rightful first break, but I did notice Frazer 0.8 flat miles off route. Chris wasn't sure it was worth the ride in. When we got into town, we couldn't find the store. We talked to two wise old Indians for a while, and asked where the store was. After 5 to 10 minutes of converstation, they asked if we were a father son combination greating insulting Chris! Of course I'm still having fun with that.

Just outside Nashua we met another couple doing the Northern Tier. He says her favorite thing in the tour is talking to other tourists, so we talked alongside our bikes for a good 10 minutes. They gave a hearty recommendation to the little ice cream store and cafe in Nashua where we had a big roast beef dinner (followed by ice cream) in the middle of the day's ride! Finally, the headwinds which have been hitting us for day broke and this afternoon the wind switched to a eastern wind, but I was in camp by 1:00; something I don't like in small towns even if I'm not missing a tailwind!

30 Jun 03 75 miles in 4:55 riding time Glasglow, MT to Malta, MT No mosquitoes in Glasglow- finally a break from them though passing cyclists keep warning us, and I warn them of Williston! Chris mailed home 4.5 pounds of goods today (pots, pans, and stove) which he's only used once. We had a 5 to 10 MPH TAILWIND today until about noon when the winds seemed to reverse, and we're back to the normal (for this area) wind out of the west. We were in Malta by 1:00. There are so few choices of towns in eastern Montana that we couldn't extend the ride unless we added nearly 40 miles, and Chris vetoed that after the wind reversed. Here in Malta we finally caught up with Aaron, a 76 year old cyclist doing the Lewis-Clark route we've been chasing for days. Because of the heat he took a day off here in Malta. Chris decided at the last minuted (because of the 90 degree mid-day heat) to get a motel room, so I'm camping with Aaron tonight.