Keeping the Streak Alive

Today got off to an inauspicious start. After spending the morning running some errands in the “big city” including a Wal-Mart stop for Brett, we hit the road with plans to eat before getting out of Butte. We rode a few miles southeast before realizing that we were almost completely out of town. After some advice from a local, we looped back to the west for lunch.  Upon arriving at another Mackenzie River Pizza Company, we spotted Brett’s Walmart across the street and out own hotel just down the road. 5 miles into the day and right back to where we started.

After having spent some recent nights in the relative luxury of various hotels, in both small and larger towns, we have gained some wisdom in picking a place to stay. In the smaller towns, the choices are limited, with virtually all lodging in the 1-2 star range. However, in the larger cities, there is a greater range of choice. Despite how tempting it may be to still stay in a $60/night motel in a city, there is something to remember: shady motels in small towns are where truckers stay, but shady motels in big towns are where people stay after they steal your truck.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful with the exeption of two events. We hit our 5th Divide Crossing, and we almost ended our streak of having a drink every night of the trip (with the exception of night 2 due to our inexperience in planning between cities). However, some ATVers camping next to us bailed us out with some Bud Lights.