Life On A B-I7

The birds start chirping at 4 AM, almost on the dot. By 4:15 they’re in full voice.

It was windy last night. That is putting it mildly. It looks like today I’m going to get my West wind. So far I have slept in cold, in rain, and now high wind. If I had to choose between the three, I would take wind. The tent performed better in the wind than it does in the rain. One thing you don’t have to worry about in high wind is condensation inside the tent.

It turns out the wind was out of the Northwest, but it still helped riding. The Northwest wind pushed me slightly forward, but also away from the white line, which is helpful.

The Sweet Grass Hills (see photo below) possess special powers for the Blackfeet Indians. According to legend, the Creator Napi fashioned the hills in the distant past from remnants left over from the creation of the Rocky Mountains. Napi liked the hills so much that they became one of his favorite resting places. The Blackfeet people used these hills as a vantage point when hunting game and watching for enemies. Because these hills are so closely tied to the creation of the earth, they are a spiritual place for the Blackfeet people. Often teenage boys would go up into the hills on a vision quest to help guide them into adulthood. Many epic stories have been handed down through time of great journeys and important discoveries made by young men on their vision quests.

Sweetgrass Hills outside Northwest of Joplin.

Horse of many colors.

Itinerary