8/14/15

At roughly 6:00 am I was awakened by the sound of thunder. Got up and staked down the rain fly on the tent so it would do a better job of keeping me dry than it would have in its current state. However, it turned out to be a false alarm as the storm bypassed me. Today would end up being one of the most difficult yet, due to a long climb combined with a stout headwind. Talk about getting down on spirits, a wind in the face will certainly do it. One I was on the other side of the Big Sheep Pass I still had a headwind but at least I was heading downhill and that helped.

After traveling several miles of open Montana landscape the route took me into a very cool canyon for 17 miles. Not only was it all down but I had left the headwind behind as well. After leaving the canyon, I would meet up once again with Interstate I-15. At this point, I had a choice to either turn north away from the route and head to the little town of Dell, MT, or head south to the slightly larger town of Lima, MT 6 miles away. There was one compelling reason to head the 1.5 miles off the route to Dell and that was a little restaurant mentioned in the guidebook.

Just prior to entering the canyon after Big Sheep Pass.

The canyon after Big Sheep pass.

Looking over my shoulder to the southwest, towards Lima, storm clouds were forming making a decision to follow my stomach to Dell easier. Once in Dell, I found the Calf-A Restaurant which is housed in an old school-house. The guide-book recommended the hot beef sandwich and for good reason, it was really good and very filling.

The Calf-A obviously a family run affair because with the place nearly empty, I easily picked up on the fact that the young teenage girl waiting tables was not happy to be working, giving her mom who was manning the kitchen all kinds of mom/daughter grief.

After having a delicious dinner I rode about one block to the convenience store/post office/gas station. Asked there about camping in the area and they said I could stay across the street at the park. Perfect! And right in my price range too… Free! Back in 3G cell service, it was time to read emails, and do a little catching up on the blog, which has gone several days without updating.

Calf-A restaurant. Dell, MT

 

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