8/12: Crowsnest Pass, Beaver Mines, Pincher Creek, Twin Butte, Waterton Park

It's resolved - we're going to ride 3 more days and then take a rest. Today and tomorrow will be moderate; Sunday will be very hard, with the longest climb (and descent) of the tour. Still not feeling 100% refreshed in the mornings. Could use a hotel night between having showers and ability to was clothes and electricity to charge up devices. That part is up in the air. Matt has the least tolerance for staying in hotels for various reasons and is always campaigning against them in his usual way. 

This morning, our neighbor recommended a place to eat breakfast, well, cinnabuns, at the first town we'd hit.   When we got there, we decided to stop, and sure enough, the neighbor was also there! I wonder how he would have felt if we'd pedaled on as he drove in?

The landscape has really changed. I feel like I'm in the midst of turn of the century cowboy tales. It's natural to sing Home on the Range.  

Although the landscape looks flatter, there's still endless up and down hills to crest. At least all rain in the area passed by in front of us. We decided to stretch our mileage to reach a camp that had showers (and by extension, running water). This campground is full, but the operator let us use a spot for a season camper who's not here. 

An extra 8mi to get here plus a navigation gaff courtesy of Gabe nets out at 77mi. The afternoon and its series of hard (for me) climbs felt endless. 

When we reached the tiny incorporation of Twin Butte, we saw a country diner where half the patrons had on cowboy hats and shirts. We really wanted to get dinner there, but still had to make camp just under an hour away. That's the thing with bike touring, you either do it now or say goodbye forever. 

Tomorrow, by the apparently inaccurate 2nd map for our tour route, promises to be extremely hard, with multiple climbs. I'm not sure how I'll feel in the morning, but we'll manage.