Todays Highs and Lows

A highlight of this trip will be a stop we made in Butte today at the Outdoorsman, which happens to be owned by the Leipheimer family. They sell all kinds of ski, skate board and bicycle gear. It was a thrill to see all of Levi's awards and winning jerseys around the walls...

AND

to meet his brother and mom!

You can tell how proud they are of Levi. They are also very nice. They told us they will be bringing in a big-screen TV for the Tour d' France and invited us to come and watch on our days off. Now, how cool is that!

Our second "high" of the day was hearing that our friend and fellow volunteer, Bill, was being released from the hospital following an apparent attack of diverticulitis. Larry and I stopped by their campsite for a short visit and were sad to hear that they have decided to park the 5th-wheel and end their retirement of volunteerism. On Wednesday, they will be leaving Deer Lodge and traveling to Boseman where they are purchasing a condo. We have enjoyed our time with them and will miss them. On the other hand, they said they have a guest bedroom in the condo and they will be happy to have us drop by when we are in the area.

We wish them all the best and know that they will find many ways to be of service to the Boseman community.

That's all for now. Tomorrow we are loading up the camping gear and heading to the Bitterroot Mountains for a couple days of hiking. 

A last note, some of you have asked if we were near the tornado in Billings. I'm happy to say that we missed this very rare event by a couple hundred miles and over a 7,000' mountain. However, here is a pic I took last evening from the ranch that apparently is a remnant of the system that spawned the tornado.

Storm on the Mountain