Day 489 – US – Montana [Big Timber to Reed Point]

06/08/21

39km

  From Big Timber (Montana) to Reed Point (Montana)

North America

Back to standard distance under a clouded sky and very mild temperatures

Menacing skies early morning

I was happy for the shorter run today. I headed out of the motel and the sky was very dark and menacing. I have not yet run under a thunderstorm. And I am not looking forward to it. Thankfully it stayed mostly dry and I did not have to deal with thunder. I realise this is very lucky, August in this region could be really hard, dry and scorching hot. It may turn soon. But right now I am grateful for getting a break.

The road all by myself

Running on the frontage road all along, no traffic, very quiet. I was in prairie-dog territory. They look harmless, like little marmots. But in effect they are apparently attracting rattlesnakes and black widow spiders. I did not manage to get a picture of any. It’s like a nature-sized game of whack-a-mole. They go up and whistle, you turn around to look at them and by the time you see them, they go in hiding again. Very smart creatures who have created hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels. (Taxidermy is an art here and I got to enjoy my lunch next to one of the prairie dogs!).

Lunch by a prairie dog at Reed Point saloon!

I’m staying tonight at Reed Point, a tiny place hosting 96 inhabitants, known for its annual labour day sheep drive and a great access to the Yellowstone river for fishing and boat trips. I’m camping again, hoping for no thunderstorm in the night. There’s just a RV park, a saloon and a convenience store. That’s gonna have to be enough!

Fires outside my friend Lisa’s place in Athens

Note again about Europe: I have looked at the itinerary I followed last summer (2020) in Europe. Down the Dalmatian coast in Croatia, Albania, around the Peloponnese in Greece, across the Corinth Canal into Attika, around Athens and up North towards Thessaloniki and further up north to Bulgaria into the Balkans. If I was on this route this summer, I would not be able to proceed. Roads are closed, villages and forests are burning. My friend Lisa who lives in the northern suburbs of Athens has sent me pictures from her balcony, the mountain is on fire. It’s all pine trees, the weather is dry and very windy. I hope the firefighters will take control of it soon. It is very sad to think that the beautiful road I ran through last year no longer is.

Check out today’s flyover video: https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vj1DYYLJq

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: