Day 20, 21, & 22

 Day 20 from Wise River, Mt  to Bannack State Park. We rode 56.6 miles and had 2916 ft of elevation gain. Today the route  was all pavement. We had great sunny weather with a crosswind. The climb today was to 7852 ft. It was still hard, but easier  on pavement. We didn't  stay at the 4th of July  campground, but we did ride by it on the 4th of July. We went by a ski resort I have never heard of, Maverick Mtn. We camped in a hiker/biker campsite  in Bannack State Park. Bannack was a gold rush town in the mid 1800's. The town is a well preserved ghost town with over 50 building. 

Day 21 Bannack State Park to Deadwood  Gulch  Blm campground.  We rode 68 miles and had 3314 ft of elevation gain. Our route today was al on gravel and dirt. We were so happy the trail  was dry most of the the day. We could see how bad this road would  have been a week ago. It had 2 ft of snow on towards  the top of the climb. Water was scarce on the climb so we filtered out of a cattle water tank. The weather  changed dramatically  with high head winds, lightning and rain. We had to shelter  in a field behind a row of bushes for about 20 minites. We went from 5837 ft to 7865 in a gradual  climbs for miles then the last 1.25 miles was brutal. We both had to walk about half of it. The descent  was about 14 miles that got us to Deadwood Gulch Blm campground. We were the only ones there.

Day 22 Deadwood Gulch Blm campground to Lima, Mt we rode 12.75 miles and had 275 ft of elevation gain. We stopped and talked to a woman  on the road walking her dog. She told us she was over eighty and gets out every day. She said we have to keep on moving. After three days  of no cell service  we stopped  at Lima to check the weather. The forecast was for thunderstorms with possible  hail. We are staying at the Beverhead inn tonight. We decided this would be a good stop to do laundry, get a shower, and relax. There is not a lot for services for about 100 miles. There are about 12 other riders  here. We shared information  with the north bound riders. It was nice to get my triple 16oz mocha. Scattered thunderstorms  tonight then hopefully  sunny tomorrow.