Monday, June 16, 2025
Day 16
Thompson Falls, MT to Paradise, MT

Miles: 37.26
Elevation: 984
Time: 5 hours 41 minutes

Total miles: 752.46
Total Elevation: 34,820
Total Time: 77 hours 19 minutes

And the thunder rolls.

Third driveway past Highway 135 at the green tractor- our destination for the day.

Leaving Thompson Falls and a most beautiful room in the cleanest resort I’ve ever visited, our trek eastward continued.
We left foggy eyed thinking we’d overslept only to later realize we are in a new time zone. lol!
So we approached the day as an active recovery/ day off point of view choosing to ride slow, laughing and loving a life we’ve created kind of day. Somewhere along the journey between now and then, we realized we will not get out alive so we embrace, we celebrate every moment. And the day did not disappoint.

We rode along an area that warned of Bighorn sheep. We didn’t see any but knew they saw us.
Along the way, we saw two rattlesnakes, dead along the road…maybe 5 foot or so with maybe 8-10 rattles. It reminded me of growing up in Fontana. Just a part of life.
As we got closer to Plains, a deer was dead on the side of the road. In 2023, I didn’t post any dead photos but am choosing differently this time. In honor and recognition of life and how precious it is, I am sharing this. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow or even the next hour. Be grateful. Celebrate!

As we rode into Plains, we had difficulty finding a place to grab lunch where we could see the bikes so we went to McGowan grocery. Never let a hungry chef into a grocery store! Two full bags later, we had gourmet food for lunch, dinner and breakfast in the morning.
Sourdough, pepperoni, salami and provolone sandwiches. Chicken breast Caesar salad. Apple. Coffee for AM. Yogurt, protein smoothie, cottage cheese, tuna, dried fruit food for lunch, dinner and breakfast. Oh, and cider for happy hour.
We arrived at Piece of Paradise to our beautiful camp along the river. Third driveway past….
Happy hour with cider, cheese and Fritos.

The sky to the east was dark.

The thunder rolled. And we lived yet another best day ever.