Well I didn't get
going until around 10 today, and repeatedly searching for my
sunglasses throughout my stuff and the house did not speed things
along any. After giving up looking for them, I headed out along
Route 12. I knew I wasn't going to make it to Lolo or Missoula
today given my start time, but that was okay as I hadn't contacted a Warmshowers host
there. I was actually making pretty good time as it was a very gradual uphill with no 'kickers' what-so-ever.
It was a great day for riding as I didn't have to keep an eye
on my Garmin for directions as I was on the road the entire day. The weather was great as well and there was only a hint of dampness on the road from some rain the previous night. There was almost no traffic and the views were spectacular. I
particularly liked the sign that mentioned 'Winding Road Next 99
Miles" right outside of Kooskia. Supposedly it is one of the
greatest motorcycling/driving roads in the region and I can defintely
see why. Every few miles (sometimes even several within the course
of a mile!) there were national campgrounds, scenic pulloffs, or
fishing access points.
Another interesting thing of note that I saw
were some cable cars that crossed the river that went over to houses
on the other side as there was no road or bridge access for the most
part to the other side. At one point, a guy in a car turned around
and drove back to talk to me as I was taking a snack break and talked
with me about my trip. He was driving west and had talked with other
touring cyclists that he had seen along the way. 
As evening
approached, I came across a group of women who had pulled over along
the highway photographing something in the river. When I saw they
were photographing a moose (or elk?) and one of its offspring I
pulled over as well and attempted to get a good photograph but it was
dark out and the high ISO needed to capture it semi-competently
has made it quite grainy.
I talked with them for a bit and they
mentioned that there was a lodge a few miles ahead. I continued on hoping to find another one of the numerous campgrounds and sure enough, a few miles down the road I found one (with another one a quarter of a mile further
down the road) where I stopped for the night. As it was 'closed', instead of pitching my tent, I set up underneath the awning in front of one of the bathrooms and called it a night, ready to tackle Lolo Pass the next morning.
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