Since I last posted, it rained. About midnight there was lightning, loud thunder, high wind, and heavy rain. I made sure the tent was staked well when the wind picked up. It rained a few times during the night.

I woke at my usual early time and started packing. Everything in the tent was dry. I just about had the tent rolled up and packed when it started raining again. By the time I drove away it was pouring and it poured the whole way to Bozeman, about 120 miles from the campsite.

It turned sunny in Bozeman and I had brunch with a good friend, Sandy. We’ve been friends since 4th grade.

The liner of my new jacket is waterproof and can be worn outside as a rain jacket. It’s a good idea, but inadequately implemented. The cuffs are just elastic-trimmed and water gets in and comes up my forearm, soaking the inner jacket. The hem is too short, so the middle of my body gets wet.

I checked out REI, Sportsmen’s Warehouse, and the Harley dealer. I ended up getting an inexpensive rain jacket at Sportsmen’s. It has Velcro clasps at the cuffs so it can be tightly cinched around the wrists. The hem comes down over my hips and has an adjustable, elastic draw string.

As soon as I purchased the jacket, the black clouds started rolling in from the west. I took the tags off the jacket and put it on. I rode through rain all afternoon. I decided to get a hotel room in Great Falls, MT and let everything dry out.

I had dinner at a lunch-counter style restaurant down the block. There were juke box song selectors at each booth. The menu said they’d been in business 61 years. The food was good and plentiful.

Tomorrow I head to Glacier National Park and cross into Canada.