By Cindy Mullet
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
Many parents work to build family cohesion by trying to eat a meal together once a day. Nate and Melanie Watson decided to cycle across the country.
With two tandem bicycles, two trailers, eight pannier bags, two coolers and a “bazillion” water bottles, Nate, Melanie, 10-year-old Amelia, 8-year-old Rowan, 6-year-old Truett and 4-year-old Imogene rode into Glendive Wednesday, two months into their 13- to 15-month trip across 19 states.
Seeking family cohesion was part of their motivation for the cycling adventure, Melanie said. They also wanted to slow the pace of life, get a better perspective on wants and needs, see the beauty of the country and help their children realize the benefits of working together.
“It’s been even more enriching than we expected,” she said, explaining that while they were planning to have to be self-sufficient, they have instead found random people rallying to their cause with impeccable timing, adjusting plans to help them, offering advice on routes, opening their homes, or helping them through rough stretches.
“That’s been humbling and heartening,” she said.
When they stopped at a grocery store in Forsyth another cyclist pulled up, saw their bikes and came to talk to them. When they learned the camp they had planned to stay at for the night was flooded out, he invited them to come camp at his house. Once they arrived, he amended the invitation, telling them his wife said they should stay in the couple’s RV. For the children, that was like “walking into Buckingham Palace,” Melanie said.
In Glendive they were hosted by Joan “Mutt” Dickson who had seen their photo in a Facebook post from someone in Bozeman, checked out their blog and contacted them. They spent two nights in Glendive sleeping on her office floor. She also contacted people and set up a couple of additional places for them to stay along the way, Melanie said.
Their route has taken them from their starting point in rainy Seattle, south to Portland, Ore., along the Columbia Gorge, across Washington, Idaho and Montana, Nate said. They followed back roads along the Lewis and Clark trail to Missoula and then headed south following Clark’s return route through Bozeman, Billings and on to Glendive.
After Huntley, they left back roads for the interstate. Viewing scenery from the interstate is not as enjoyable as along back roads, but the Montana interstate has wide shoulders, drivers are friendly and they found it safer and easier to bike on than on some of the other roads, he added.
For the ride across North Dakota, a family member will join them and provide a support vehicle to haul gear and lighten their load, Melanie said. Other friends and family members plan to meet up with them to help with support along other parts of the trek.
In a lot of places people say, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change,” but in Montana that can really happen, Melanie said. When they started across Montana they hit snowstorms and were worried about surviving cold weather. Now in Eastern Montana they are battling heat and worried about hydration.
Even with the extremes of temperature, they have enjoyed their ride across the state, have been impressed with the friendliness of the people along the way and appreciated the parks with playgrounds they have found in small towns. The freedom they’ve seen children enjoying in small towns has also been refreshing, she said.
While most of the people they’ve met along the way have been supportive and encouraging, a few have expressed real anger and told them they are putting their children at risk on this trip, Nate said.
There have been some rough days for all of them, but when they look at the dangers Lewis and Clark faced on their journey, they feel they have it pretty easy, Melanie noted. They may not have all the comforts of home, but they have good maps, cell phones and GPS and there are towns all along the way.
“It’s not all blue skies and butterflies, but the net outcome is positive,” she said.
For Amelia and Truett the best part of their adventure has been the wildlife they’ve seen as they ride. Rowan’s favorite part is going downhill while Imogene looks forward to the nights they spend in motels.
The children are definitely learning independence and responsibility, Melanie noted. They each have assigned tasks for setting and breaking up camp. They use two tents, one for the adults and the second for the children. When they are packing up in the morning, the “bigs” help the “littles,” and all pedal along the way.
One day Rowan was sick so Melanie told him she and Truett would do the pedaling and he should just ride. It was a grueling day, pulling the extra weight against a head wind, but Truett hung in there and at the end of the day remarked, “I did really good today,” adding, “I’ll do it again tomorrow.”
Seeing that growth in his awareness of the importance of his role was rewarding and so was hearing Rowan tell him, “Thanks for pedaling for me today.”
That was a moment when they really came together to realize the team goal, she said.
They know they still have a long way to go, across the Midwest to the East Coast, down to Florida and then back west to Houston, Texas, but they will continue to take each day’s challenges as they come, keep their sense of adventure alive, and treasure the helpful people who cross their path.
As Melanie notes in her blog, dandelionsandtumbleweeds.com,“We feel blessed and loved. What more could we ask for? God is good.”
Reach Cindy Mullet ar crmullet@midrivers.com.