Day 9: Tuesday June 7, 2022

Guess what?  Yep we once again woke to rain!  However watching the news it looked like the storm was circling north and east while we were headed south.  We took a leisurely time getting out hoping the rain would subside.  After getting gas for $4.66 a gallon ($2.20 less than I paid in California) we were on the road at 0930.  The rain was steady but not too heavy.  After about an hour the rain was a light mist and eventually we were riding on dry roads with beautiful blue skies and breathtaking cloud formations. We rode passed acres of farmland on highway 87 before riding into the mountains of Lewis & Clark National Forest where the temperature dropped to 48 degrees as we reached the snow line. No photos taken in the mountains as the road was narrow and no safe place to pull over.  We came out of the mountain and arrived in White Sulphur Springs.  We stopped at Jesse Pepper’s BBQ for lunch. This was the first BBQ place that Dave and I have eaten at on the ride (which was unusual based on our previous rides).  The food was outstanding, so much so we actually bought dinner and had it boxed up to go. The restaurant is a family owned business and we had an opportunity to talk to the owner before we left.  Her story is one of tragedy.  The owner Melinda (Mel) Peppers is a divorced woman who had a son that was working as a chef in Bozeman. Her son Jesse told his mom after her divorce that she and him should open a restaurant. She acknowledged Jesse but he said “mom not lip service… we need to make this a reality”.  With tears in her eyes Mel mentioned that her son Jesse was coming home one winter night from Bozeman when his girlfriend who was driving lost control of her car and crashed in a blizzard.  Jesse’s girlfriend survived the crash however Jesse did not.  Because she made a promise to Jesse to open a restaurant, on March 5, 2022 Mel and her children opened Jesse Peppers BBQ.  We were touched by her story and her emotion and asked her if we could pray for her.  She agreed so we held her and prayed for comfort, healing, family and success of her restaurant. She thanked us and we said goodbye.  

We rode out of town on highway 87.  What a fantastic, beautiful, fun, peaceful, scenic country road.  Here I was able to stop and take photos from the middle of the highway as there wasn’t any other vehicles on the road.  There really isn’t much else I can say about the ride so I’ll let the photos speak for themself. 

BTW you can click on the photos and you can see them in full size.  Also, the photos are not retouched or edited with filters.  They were taken with an iPhone 13.

We rode 302 miles today for a total of  2,397.  Dave’s total 4,037.

We are down for the night in Bozeman MT  Tomorrow we will see Yellowstone  

John 16:22  So with you:  Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 

                                                      Acres of farmland along highway 89