It was hot. Really hot. The sun beats down on you like a drum. When the heat gets over body heat temperature, the wind actually starts to cook you like a convection oven. I closed my helmet visor to cool down my face as I rode US Highway 2 heading west, running parallel to the Canadian border. The goal is to move as far west as I can so I can cross the border
Then, looming off in the distance in my path was a dark horizon. Dark ominous clouds were headed my way. I had to continue west into the pathway of the storm because my campsite for the night was at a free, public-land campground on the Fresno Reservoir near Havre, Montana.
I was zooming into trouble. The clouds were looking even worse. Flashes of lightning really started to worry me. I was heading right into it. A motorcycle heading my direction didn't give me the regular 2-finger down sign-- he saluted me. As if he's saying "Good luck, kid."
I'd have to set up the tent FAST, then hunker down. I'd probably be drying off the tent into the morning.
As I beat a train to the turnoff, I noticed a tavern. I then thought to myself don't make this any harder on yourself. Just have dinner and wait for this to blow over. Such is the life of a motocamper.
I pull in, rousing a few hoots and hollers from the ranchers outside having a smoke in front of the bar. They saw the direction I was coming from, they see the stickers on the panniers, they figure I'm an out-of-towner that's already in trouble.
I go inside, explain the whole situation to the barkeep and a couple sitting next to me listened in. They were familiar with the area and were going to even help me get to the campsite after the rain blows over. The rain, however, was not going to blow over. It was going to get worse. That's when Sherry, the wife of the couple, suggested I stay with them! Bob, her husband thought about it and said, "You know what? Why not." I asked for their address to give to someone to protect myself and that kind of put everyone at ease with the risk. It isn't every day you pick up a hitchhiker, you know?
We pushed into the first wind gusts and showers of the storm to get to their home. They were super welcoming! They let me sleep in a spare bedroom, I had my first proper shower in a week, I put my tent out to dry on some tables in their garage (it had rained overnight the night before on me in Teddy Roosevelt NP) and they invited some neighbors / friends over for a few beers and we swapped stories all night as the storm passed over! In the morning, they made me breakfast and Bob rode his Harley with me to the Canadian border, about 45 minutes to the north. Not without picking up a Montana sticker, of course. The border? Took only 2 minutes to pass through the Wild Horse checkpoint / crossing. Canada's ArriveCAN App has made it super, SUPER easy to cross.
I believe that people are inherently good on an individual basis. Everyone has good and bad days too, however. Media will have us thinking the world is scary and 'out to get us' so they can generate clicks and drum up viewership. Sometimes though? You find the right folks on the right day, with the right conditions and you have a wonderful experience that you'll remember for the rest of your life.
JT - 7/12/2022