WOS camp to Cow River I awoke at WOS camp before sunrise and once again lingered in my warm cozy sleeping bag. Once I forced myself to get up, it really wasnt that bad and I turned out my first cup of coffee pretty quickly. I felt good and excited for the day, and refreshed after my slog of the day before. At least by my lowly standard, I got loaded up reasonably early and was ready to roll at 8:30. In pondering my sluggish feeling of the evening before, I decided to try a new strategy: start slow for at least the first half of the day. Then, if I feel good I can speed it up at the end. Off I went toward the metropolis of Lima, MT. I often have expectation, or at least an idea of what the route will be. I looked at the profile of the route from WOS camp to Lima, and given the terrain I started in, I expected rolling sage hills and a slowly rolling and gently winding country road. My expectations were met for about the first 10 miles, while I coasted and pedaled easily downhill. Soon I found myself in a completely unexpected visual and natural gem of the Big Sheep Creek drainage. It started out with the creek cutting through white and gray chalky cliffs riddled with small caves and countless swallows wheeling in the air. I saw the largest herd of big horn sheep I had ever seen—probably close to 50 animals! The geology quickly changed to more basalt-like rock with the creek increasing in size and volume as it went. I saw a flock of about 6 kingfishers—unusual, as they are typically pretty solitary. (SIL Heather: if you are reading this let me know the proper collective for a group of kingfishers😜). As quickly as I entered the canyon, I was spilled out onto a flat pasture, with the creek meandering through the meadow. I could see the freeway ahead in the distance with traffic looking like ants racing winter. By the time I got to the freeway about 3 miles ahead, I looked back and realized no one would know the beauty of the little canyon unless you knew about it! I reached the freeway, and mercifully didn’t have to ride on it. There was a nice frontage road that took me all the way to Lima and a cafe I hoped would be open. I arrived at the only cafe in Lima at 11:30 to see a sign on the door “closing at noon for Labor Day”. I asked if they were still serving—they were—and found a seat next to a coveted electric outlet (if you’ve bike toured, you know!). I ordered lunch and an extra sandwich for dinner, and ate pretty quickly so the cafe could close at noon. I rode up and down the Main Street of Lima like my own personal parade, looking for a grocery store. There isn’t one, but the gas station has some items, and coke for a dollar! I called Jill to check in and hear her voice, then hit the road for the final 30 miles of the day. As opposed to the morning route, the evening one was slightly uphill the entire way, so I paced myself and felt good. The route followed a small river up a wide, shallow drainage for miles, skirted by a small dam, then by a very large, shallow lake created by said small dam. The terrain was flat, vast grass and sagebrush plain with the lake always visible in the distance. It reminded me of Christmas Valley or summer lake area back home. The road surface varied from smooth gravel to pretty bumpy rocks, and all things between. Overall, it wasn’t bad and the utter lack of traffic was nice. I stopped at one clean looking creek and rinsed off my shirt. Refreshing! I arrived at my planned stop feeling good—at least not dead tired! Upon arrival at the camping spot designated on the map, I wasn’t sure I was in the right spot!? After quite a bit of thinking and looking at maps, I determined I was indeed in the right place. I even found signs of previous camping. Turns out it’s an area of tall grass adjacent to a bridge. I had visions in my head about swimming and maybe rinsing out my clothes in the river, but this is cattle country and the river is a slow, meandering brownish hued waterway that I’d rather not swim in. In fact, I decided not to drink it either, so I’m getting on the road in the morning with one water bottle—and I will limit myself to one cup of coffee. The horror! I’m reasonably confident I’ll find a water source not to far from here. Another day in the books! It went well; I think my strategy of going slower early is going to work. I’ll try it again tomorrow and report back. Good day today; excited for tomorrow!