A shoulder shot

Dorr Skeels campground on Hwy. 56 on the Bull River reservoir to Libby, MT.  Distance 29 miles
2:18 ride time, 4 hrs saddle time (including breaks). Total miles 352
Day 12
We had an easy (really) 29 mile ride to Libby, MT. It seemed like it was all downhill!  I think the next leg we'll be paying for that as it's up and down along Lake Koocanusa, the dammed up lake of the Kootenai River.
It is beautiful country with the Cabinet Mountains along side the road. We are in a wide valley so it's got a lot of wide open views.
We came down off Hwy. 56 to Hwy. 2 and immediately encountered construction.  It actually worked out in our favor
They had the traffic stopped to use one lane while they asphalted the other side. We decided to use the shoulder which was quite wide. We started and got ahead of the traffic going in our direction.  We sailed down the hill first down the shoulder, then in the center to avoid the trucks. The guys just smiled and waved at us and one said "nice bike".
Far different from Lorriann and Dale who were told to stay in the lane and go after the traffic. Ken's blog said that they wouldn't let him ride the day before and gave him a ride in a pickup. It pays to not ask in some cases.
Dave has had a flare up of an old rotator cuff injury. It turns out it has been sore almost since started but he hasn't been feeling it while riding until yesterday. It's been affecting his sleep at night. 

The staff at the hotel have been so nice. They gave us a ride to the urgent care center and came and picked us up. We went in to the new hospital in Libby and the doc gave him a cortisone shot in the shoulder. He mentioned that he recommended giving it a day ro settle down but also added that he is an ultra marathoner and he immediately mountain biked after getting a cortisone shot in his younger years. So we went with the more moderate recommendation of a rest day tomorrow since the numbing medicine will wear off and the shoulder will be sore. 

The mosaic was an art piece at the hospital. The artist is Kim Rust.

So we may lose the buddies we have been connecting with each night since I think they aren't ready for a rest day just yet. Although maybe we will find them again further on down the road. See you later Lorriann and Dale. We'll be reading each other's blogs.
I saw a really pretty moth that had reached the end of its lifespan. So at least it held still while I took a picture. It is a western sheep moth. Thank you to Carl who identified it.

http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82144-Hemileuca-eglanterina

Several folks have told us that Glacier Park had a snow storm last week that closed Logan Pass. The National Park website says that there were 60 new avalanches on the Going to the Sun Road that they will be clearing. They expect that they may be able to run shuttle busses only part way to the top starting July 1. So it looks as if we won't be going over Logan Pass (even though we are at least a week away from there) unless they really work some miracles. Of course we may be much slower than a week. Also not sure if we will be getting there around the fourth of July which could be crazy busy. 

Here is the road status. 

http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/Aroadstatus.cfm

You'll have to cut and paste since my Blogger app isn't working very well right now.

There are some amazing photos of the current snowplowing. (Again you will need to cut and paste the address into your address bar).

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/glaciernps/

Sometimes they clear the pass enough for just bikers and hikers to go through a few days prior to opening to cars. That would be ideal since we wouldn't be pressured to get to the top before 11 am (and share a narrow road with cars).