Nate Hegyi, rural reporter for the , is embarking on crisscrossing the continental divide in August and September, interviewing and listening to Americans ahead of the 2020 election. You can follow Nate on , an and this map.
August 28: Hamilton to Sula, 40 miles
An important note here: These are my first glance takeaways. Think of this as a reporter鈥檚 notebook. A mosaic of voices over the next few weeks, cycling 900 miles across four states and dozens of small towns.
My first night on the road, in Hamilton, I can鈥檛 sleep well. There鈥檚 the ding-dinging of a Taco Bell drive thru and a motorcycle cruising around town. Soon the first light of morning is washing the Bitterroot Mountains in a warm glow and the sound of morning commuter traffic fills my ears. I camped at the Ravalli County fairgrounds 鈥� it鈥檚 a mainstay for cyclists riding along two bicycle routes that cut through town: The TransAmerica and the Lewis & Clark Trails, established by the nonprofit Adventure Cycling Association.
The fairgrounds is listed as a camping spot by the organization, so groundskeeper Josh Soller isn鈥檛 surprised to see me. He鈥檚 28 years old with a ballcap, some stubble and a gentle smile. He and his wife moved to Hamilton about a year and a half ago from Fort Collins, Colorado and they recently bought 3.5 acres of land to begin an organic farm. They鈥檙e having a baby in a few months.
鈥淪tarting a family 鈥� that鈥檚 the biggest thing on my mind,鈥� he says. 鈥淸health care] is something that鈥檚 going to continue to be a struggle for us.鈥�
He鈥檚 on the county health care plan but his wife isn鈥檛, and her Affordable Care Act insurance isn鈥檛 cheap in Montana.
鈥淪he鈥檚 paying out of pocket. And as we add a kid to that it鈥檚 going to get more complicated,鈥� Sollar says.
He鈥檚 also worried about bringing a baby into this world during the pandemic 鈥� they鈥檙e working with a midwife to have the child outside of a hospital.
I know this is going to sound strange, but it鈥檚 refreshing, as a journalist, to hear Soller worry about something else besides the political divide or growth in the West.
As he leaves, I begin packing up my camping gear but I鈥檓 stopped by a commercial truck driving instructor, Curtis Bunton, and his middle-aged student, Richard Roznowski, who are both curious about my adventure. Bicycles are strangely magnetic. Folks get excited about your rig and it鈥檚 a good way to start a conversation. Before long, Bunton and Roznowski have agreed to an interview and we chat about politics, Trump and, most importantly 鈥� Kevin Costner.
His hit television show, Yellowstone, recently moved production to the Bitterroot Valley. It鈥檚 brought a lot of business to restaurants and hotels and has led to a surge of demand for housing, according to locals I spoke with.
Roznowski moved from Denver to Hamilton recently after losing his job because of the pandemic. He was excited about the valley鈥檚 relatively inexpensive housing options, 鈥渂ut unfortunately with the movies and all that going on I can鈥檛 find anything.鈥�
"The World Is Purple" changed everything. The cast breaks down the epic conclusion to season 3. 鈥� Yellowstone (@Yellowstone)
Yellowstone is essentially a soap opera set in the modern West. I don鈥檛 really like the show but I imagine it鈥檚 had a hand in driving people to move to western Montana during the pandemic. After all, some of their dream homes are similar to Kevin Costner鈥檚 ranch kingdom, seen in the show.
Riding out of Hamilton, I see manicured green lawns surrounding two-story log mansions with big windows facing the Western skyline and overlooking Trapper鈥檚 Peak, a jagged shark鈥檚 tooth of a mountain that juts up from the Bitterroot range.
For 8,000 years, that view belonged to the Salish. But waves of white settlement eventually drove them out. First, there was the lapping tide of fur trappers and missionaries. Then the fierce storm of the U.S. army and pioneers, followed by miners, loggers and ranchers. By the late 20th century, however, industry was swept away, in part, by the environmental movement which re-beautified the West and led to the greatest population boom it鈥檚 ever seen, culminating in a new gold rush 鈥� one where the money is pouring into the hills, not out of them. These multi-million dollar fantasy cowboy spreads are the result. Two centuries of abrupt change and violence ending with a view of Trapper鈥檚 Peak from your own back porch.
As night falls, I camp a few miles south of this peak. I bathe in a creek and wash the sweat and salt off. It鈥檚 too hot to climb Lost Trail Pass, I figure, so I save the hard riding for tomorrow. That鈥檚 a mistake.
Copyright 2020
