Got on the road soon after 7. Very low clouds, mostly fog, but looked like it should pour the first couple hours. Fortunately, the sun came out and burned it off. So, no rain today. However, we did have a good storm last night and the bike path had 5 separate lakes that I had to go through, anywhere from 1/2 inch to two inches deep and up to 15 ft long. All but 10 miles of the bike path was nice and smooth, but those 10 miles had hundreds of expansion cracks, and my butt really got a beating. It was so nice to not have to ride the highway because there was LOTS of commuter traffic. It was a 4 lane road all the way to Hamilton, and the bike path parallelled it all the way. Yeah!

I really have to watch the road so can’t be gawking off very far for very long. Consequently, my major focus was on the vegetation along the bike path.

More leafy spurge and the deadly Nightshade plant. And I’m pretty sure I saw Dalmation toadflax, a close relative of the common toadflax known as butter and eggs. Some of the worst weeds have the most beautiful flowers, which may be one reason why they take over since people often don’t try to control them. I really enjoy identifying the flowers and weeds I see. I’d say Montana has a rather extensive noxious weed problem. There was a fairly big sign along the path that said something to the effect of “help us control noxious weeds!” I just laughed to myself.