Day 57 Jordan, MT to Winnett, MT 76.2 miles Total 2,813.4 mi

Today was a tough one... maybe the toughest yet.  Definitely tougher than the Kank, and even tougher than that next to last day in southwestern New York.  The wind made the difference.  It blew 17 mph from the NW with gusts up to 27 mph.  Steve, as always, just put his head down and pedaled. Normally he could do 75 miles in about ~6 hours.  Today, with the rolling hills going more up than down, the heat, and the wind pushing back, it took him 8 hours.  He had one climb that was 6 miles long.  It would look like the top was just ahead, but when you topped the rise, it would even out and continue up.  His elevation gain was the highest of the trip so far, at 3,262 feet.  The total elevation gain for whole trip totals 85,930 ft.

We did meet up a couple of times.  These antelopes were waiting just down the road.

52 miles down the road was the Rest Stop.  Nicole, from Jordan, with a blush and a chuckle, told us that the locals call it the Million-Dollar-Shitter.  It is, to be honest, a very nice building with 4 ladies' rooms and 4 men's rooms.  And very handy out in the middle of 75 miles of nothing but road.

The black shale rock, known as Bearpaw Shale, seen in this area represents the muddy sediment deposited by the last ocean to exist in what is now Montana.  It contains fossils of sea creatures that lived and died 70 million years ago. This inland ocean extended north to south, dividing North America into two subcontinents.  One of the largest creatures to live here was the Deinosuchus, a 40 foot-long crocodile.  The first remains found of the croc was near Mosby.  Summer is high season for fossil hunting around here.

Eventually we came to Winnett.  Pronounced WINN-it.  Here it is in the distance.  They do have the big W on the dune.

We try to find something nice and interesting about each place we visit.  I guess it is interesting how sad and dilapidated this poor town is.   

The General Store was open.

The Winnett Bar and Grill was closed July 4th and 5th (today)

It was somehow easier to take pictures of the abandoned buildings.  Many of the occupied buildings were in no better shape.

We were lucky to find a small house on AirBNB.  We made our own dinner....big salad, YAY!