Leaving the Salish Lodge was kind of hard. I know it was time to go, but the uniqueness of this place, the view, and the sound of Snoqualmie waterfalls was hard to leave behind. Anyway,  we managed to get back on the road by 10:00 am.

The first hour of riding was a gradual  climbing up the Cascade Mountaines. As we approached Stevens Pass, 4,061ft elevation, the temperature dropped to 15C. We were not prepared for that kind of chill, and we were glad when we started descending.

Fourty minutes later, we were in Leavenworth. Leavenworth is a very unique town. If you didn’t know better, you would think you were in Bavaria,  Germany. All the houses, restaurants, and stores went out of their way to replicate the Bavarian look and feel.

When in Germany, eat what Germans eat. Therefore, we both ordered the Wiener Schnitzel and pretzel. 

After inhaling all that food, we felt too sleepy to ride, so we decided to find the best espresso bar in town. The winner was J5 Espresso Bar. And they delivered. Their espresso was exceptional.

After Leavenworth, the landscape started drastically changing. First, it turned into a desert with a very high temperature, but soon, we started climbing to a plateau with a more tolerable temperature and endless fields of wheat. Hundreds of kilometers of nothing but yellow color around us.

At one point, we noticed a column of dust on a horizon going from the ground and climbing some 100 meters towards the sky. It took us a moment to realize that what we are facing is a vertically oriented column of dust commonly known as Dust Devils. In terms of thermo-physics, they are comparable to tornadoes but usually harmless except in the rate cases when they grow so big that they could harm people or properties.

The first and the second Dirt Devels were quite tall but not very wide.

But the third one looked much bigger, and it was heading toward our road. When it reached the road, it was obvious that it was as wide as the entire highway. Somehow, it also split Sasa and I. We ended up taking pictures of this magical moment of nature from the opposite sides of the road.

A couple of hours of riding through this crazy landscape took us to Spokane, and soon after that, to Coeur D’Alene in Idaho, our destination for the day. After dropping off  our luggage at the hotel we went to a local restaurant where we had an excellent dinner including some really good wine. A couple of restaurant stuff complemented the wine we selected, which led us to share some of it with them. They were very grateful.

Both of us made a standard mistake tonight. After a large dinner we decided to have a good size desert too. The guilt of this act led to a decision to walk 2.5km to downtown, where we found one bar that was still open.

It just happened to be a karaoke bar. The torture of listening to a few people’s interpretation of B 52s Love Shack, Whitney Huston, and Bohemian Rhapsody (Qeen) could be ony be compared to having dental work without any anesthetic. But somehow, it didn’t distract Sasa from being busy on his laptop. What a hard-working man.

In the morning, we started our 380-mile ride to Belgrade, Montana. The whole ride was on the I90 interstate highway with a speed limit of 80 ml/hour. It was a fast and uneventful ride through beautiful Montana nature.

As Sasa mentioned earlier, both of us were born in Belgrade. Obviously not Belgrade, Montana, but Belgrade Serbia. And finishing  the joint part of this year’s bike trip in a town called Belgrade had some symbolism.

The first order of business was to find some food as both of us were starving. After some research, we picked Bar 3 BBQ. And, it was an excellent choice.

We ordered an unreasonable amount of food. Each of us had a rack of ribs and half a chicken plus a few oder things.

Even though it looked impossible to eat all of that food, after a half hour or so, it was all gone.

Every time we sow a sign that had word Belgrade in it, we took a picture.

Including police station and police cars.

The door was open at Belgrade Mercantile, so we decided to explore.

The first thing we ended up facing inside was this big boy.

At the bar, we had some beer, and we got some Loca shirts.

But this bar closed right after we finished our beer. The friendly waitress suggested we go next to the American Legion Bar. There, we had some more beer, but we also managed to find more merchandise with word Belgrade in it.

The bar tender Ashley and her Friend Alex were amazing to chat and learn more about the town and the overall area.

The next morning, based on the recommendation of local people, we ended up in Cafe Havana – “Best Havana in Montana”. The food and coffee were excellent.

When in Belgrade, read Belgrade newspaper.

After we finished breakfast, it was time to say goodbye and start heading in different directions to our homes. I have one day of riding (800km) to my home, and Sasa has over 2500km that he is attacking in three days. Today, he is also planning to ride 800km, to a small town in South Dakota, called Lemonn.

My ride through Montana was enjoyable through endless agricultural fields and ranch land. With occasional attraction worth stopping and taking pictures.

At one point, the Canadian Rockes started appearing  on a horizon – a sign that I am close to the Canadian border.

After a short wait in the lineup at the customs, I was in Alberta, Canada.

A couple of hours after the border crossing, I was at home.

Along the way, my bike and my riding gear were plastered with bugs.

When I arrived home, I texted Sasa. He arrived approximately at the same time to his destination for the day – Lemonn. I can’t wait to read about the nightlife in Lemonn, South Dakota, in Sasa’s next blog.