The highs and lows:

Priest river - Thompson Falls = 191km
Thompson Falls - Missoula = 163km
Missoula - Darby = 114km
Darby - Dillon = 194km

Right the highs, I believe so far the highest pass was yesterday at 7360 feet known as " Big Hole Pass". So that was a good lung opener. But it was only one of 4 passes i went over yesterday, not in too quick a succession as i was on the bike for 194km. The lowest was 6760feet and is known as badger pass. In the middle of the passes then a huge plain opens up where there was a big battlefield from the 'big hole battle' between indians and the army.
 I am now well on my way out of Montana and should be out by tomorrow at some stage, taking it a little easier today heading for Ennis, and just been through Nevada city a ghost town here in Montana. When i got to Dillon last night there was exactly 1400km on the clock so moving along nicely. Of course the other highs are the temperatures where it is getting up to the low 90's some days. So i am taking a colour well of course, and the tan is coming along nicely. The phone coverage is very bad, it would have done me a lot of good if getting attacked by one of the local grizzlies, cougars or wolves that they have roaming around here, to be ringing emergency services for help. Huge wildfires happenning here at the moment too. First saw them on my way down from Missoula, by the Bitterroot river, billowing smoke, now more of them have taken off with the winds (thankfully no real headwind of note so far) and are blazing through thousands of acres of forestry. Apparently one has already taken around 30,000 acres so far. Been to Hope Idaho, beautiful spot overlooking the Pend Oreille lake, Paradise Montana, where it was far from it sounds, and a bite of lunch in Wisdom, in the hope of some enlightment.
Montana is real cowboy country, the bigger the trucks the better, the larger the camper or motor home the better, and now that hunting season is on, you have to have a few quadbikes on the back of all that, or a raft, or as one truck i saw driving down the road had strapped to the roof a Deer head. The truck had been white before said deer head was placed on top. Huge plains, with big mountains on either side of the long valleys, with cattle, and round bales of hay covering the valley floors. Passing through a few indian reservations along the way and a lot of historical points along the way. Spotted a Black Bear on the railway tracks around Dixon and a few Moose aswell. But the place is worse than home for deer. They put up signs saying what it has cost so far in the year for damage to cars when they have hit animals as a warning to slow down.
Enjoyed a nice dip in Jackson Hot Springs yesterday and got back on and did 40 someting more miles after it, so it must have been good, should be getting to see 'old faithful' in a few days so might have to take another there. Still seeing a few cyclists but all heading west, must have missed the memo on that one. People are still letting me know that i left it late in the season, but the temperature is just about right during the day for me. A few good microbreweries opened here to clear the dust off the tonsils at the end of the day.

Oh yeah i mentioned lows, there was ice on my tent this morning, and there was supposed to be some snow in the higher peaks of West Yellowstone earlier in the week. So i might have to pull out the thermal pyjamas... and the saddle sores are slow to heal... anything for a bit of sudocreme