And on to Missoula, MT.
The final leg of our ride was mellow in comparison to all previous days. It was about 60% off road and the rest road. Most of the ride was through Kootenai Preserve which contained a lot of waterfowl, chukkars, sage grouse and turkey. I’ve honestly never seen so many wild turkey.
We crossed the border into Canada for a few minutes to get some pictures then went back to Port Hill to grab lunch at Big Daddy’s BBQ which was awesome.
Port Hill has 3 businesses. It’s definitely on a cycle touring route as all 3 businesses cater to bikers.
The previous night we went into the ‘big city’ of Sandpoint, ID for dinner. Dinner was superb and the atmosphere was great, but you notice something very quickly. There is no time to chat with the staff. They’re just too busy. It’s too loud. They have no time to make small talk. Our wait staff was fine, but I didnt catch a name, strike a conversation or even interact with any other locals. I certainly got tired of bar food most nights in the small towns, but you definitely got to interact with the locals.
Big Daddy’s was like this. It was just Mark and I and Kim, the bartender and cook. She moved to Port Hill 3 years ago from Seattle to be near her daughter who left home (at a young age) to be with her boyfriend who took her to Port Hill. Kim followed after her divorce and lived in a nearby camper for a year before getting her own house there.
Her story is like many others in these small towns. Very few folks were born and raised in them. Most moved from somewhere else usually tied to some life event, divorce, family moved there, trying to get away from complex lives and the hustle, and retirement. Chelsea from Lochsa actually said she liked not having the drama of Internet access.
The view from Port Hill looking into Canada. 
We rolled into Missoula this evening and enjoyed a good dinner but ran into the same thing here. No chats with locals or the staff.
We did strike up a conversation with another visitor though. An SF guy rolling into town for some language training. Mark and I traded some military stories with him and called it a night. One thing is for sure, when you run into other military members or vets there is instantly a common bond. It goes back to my earlier post about credibility when you roll into some Podunk town and the Led Zepplin skips on the jukebox while everyone is staring at you. They find out you are from a small town or in the military and you have a bond. No matter Mark and I are cyber geeks and this guy is the tip of the spear. We probably could have hung all night with this guy.
2geeks2bikes 