Yellowstone to Rockvale

I got ready and headed the five miles into town at Big Timber and got water. The truck stop was out of jugs, but they let me fill out of the fountain. I then continued on with a great tailwind all day. That seemed to be a theme in Montana and pretty much from my second day in Washington all the way to Laurel, MT. Nothing big happened today and I was again fighting clouds that surrounded me, but always seemed to hold off. I stopped at a rest area 20 miles west of Laurel and took one last break and noted the rain falling over Laurel. The wind had picked up and was probably 15+mph at my back. This blew me into Laurel, where I got wet for the last mile into town. I headed to Wal-mart to get some supplies and then to McDonalds to warm up and get a bit of energy for the last ride. The clouds slowly blew over and the sun came out for the rest of my ride. I headed south and got to a campground that I had found online.

It was only $7. I had to self register and the place looked abandoned, so I was worried if it was even open. I paid and went to set up. When setting up I noticed a guy out on a tractor mowing. He didn't come over, so I just kept to myself. I went to use the facilities and they were locked. Eventually the man got off the tractor. It took him quite a long time, but then he got in is hybrid car and drove over the tenth of a mile to where I was set up. He began to tell me his life story and how he is a physicist working on sonofusion in the Ukraine(and how it came to be in the Ukraine) and how he has worked on this concept since the late 40's. He wore glasses with one of the lenses out of the frame. We talked for a bit and he said they weren't quite open yet, though the sign said April. When he said he was leaving he said this would probably be the last I saw of him, and it was. He had opened the restroom and I went and got a shower. I went to fill up my water bottles and it reeked of minerals, so I headed the tenth of a mile to the gas station and decided to eat at the casino/restaurant that was there. It was very good. I got my water and went back and fell asleep and hardly stirred all night long.