Day 16 - a "short" day. Havre, Montana to Malta, Montana.

On we go over the plains.  We did 89.4 miles and about 230 foot climb to Malta, Montana - almost nothing!  We had a favorable wind too, at least not in our faces.  Now, we seem to be following the Milk river and there are more trees - at least along the river.  We did go through the Assinibione Indian Territory and a fellow there told us the beavers were coming back in spades - and chewing the trees down.  He also had a coffee machine on his property, but he didn't use it.  He said it scares the deer away.  Go figure?  Here is the machine.

Next, we met Gayle in Harlem, Mt.  She had been chatting with some of the locals (there are not very many) and they gave her some milk type stuff.  She was proud of the acquisition.  They were impressed by the shirt too.

As we have been barreling along, dodging the trucks and cars, it is very nice how friendly the locals are - just like with Gayle.  Here is one such place.  We didn't drop anything though.

One of the interesting things is how they name the high school teams.  When we were in Chinook, Mt., we saw this sign.  The sugar plant looks closed and I did not see any sugar beet fields, but history is history.

As we are following the railroad (BNSF) it is great to see the trains go by.  We even saw the Amtrak train flying along.  Track maintenance seems to be an ongoing process, and we have talked with some of the workers at lunch, etc.  Here is a picture of one of the repair trains and the neat thing it still has a caboose.

Finally, there are a lot of abandoned farms, houses, stores, and it appears even a church.  This one probably has a real history indeed.  We did not have time to stop and investigate.  The door was locked.

Tomorrow on we go.  We hope to find a bike shop where are can get some things and then off into the eastern wilderness!