Day 17 - Missoula, MT - Riders Arrival Day
A large group of riders had already arrived at the hotel in Missoula, MT this morning. So far, I have met the Duerrs, Annamarie Mecca and her husband Rick, Wes and Corniela Garbee, Jim Kervick and a few others.
After breakfast, I took Jim to the bike shop to pick up his bike and then we went to the National Bison Range at Moiese, MT. It was just wonderful. We saw bison, elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn atelope, some sort of grouse and a magpie.
Tonight we had a map meeting at 4:30 pm and then we went for a group dinner at 6:30 pm at MacKensie River Pizza Company.
The American Bison has been called "buffalo" for so long that we now use the names interchangeably. Bison are well adapted to life on the open grasslands. Their heavy coasts protect them from both summer sun and winter winds. Their thick winter coat is so well insulated that snow can lay on their backs without melting. Bison appear slow and docile, but are in fact quite agile and can run as fast as a horse. A bison bull weighs about 2,000 pounds and have heavy horns and a large lump of muscle which supports their enormous head and thick skull. They have a mass of fur on their heads and a heavy cape of fur even in summer. This enhances their size and protects them when fighting. They are especially ill-tempered during breeding season. Cows weigh about half as much as a bull.
The view is just amazing.
Awesome!
Jim poses for a pic while admiring the view.
Tomorrow is the first day of riding and we are off to Ronan, MT.
No comments:
Post a Comment