Road Trip 2013 - Day Ten, Continued

After the ride through Glacier, we stopped for the evening in Kalispell, MT on the edge of the Flathead (which is a really HUGE lake. The largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi). Our hotel was on the outskirts of town, just down the street from the Harley dealer.  This all worked out really well.

We pulled in, registered, and began to unload. That's when we discovered we had lost a few screws from the saddlebag. A quick trip to the dealer and we were all patched up. Good thing because we want the top of the bag to fit snuggly, not fly open while riding, and be able to lock it up.

None of us wanted to ride to dinner and all we had nearby was a gas station Mini Mart. What to do? We had pizza delivered and sat out on the balcony having dinner, enjoying wine, and chatting with our new best friends (other riders who had stopped here for the evening).

We had our plan for the next night, the laundry was finished, and off to bed we went.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Ten

When I tell you that AIS is before 8, please remember that we are now an hour ahead. So it means that I have my butt on the back of a motorcycle before 7 in my body's time zone. And I shouldn't need to remind you how much I dislike getting up early. Being married to Dave means early mornings. I knew this when I married him, so here we go.  Off we go to ride The Road To The Sun. 

Just before we enter the road, we stop in Browning to put on more layers (which we ended up not needing since it wasn't as cold as we expected. Once again, we continue the blessing of perfect weather).  Browning is one of the many Indian/Native American Reservations in these parts. It is creepy, yucky, and poverty ridden. We even were approached by a young man that was high on something. Just breaks your heart when you see that.

This is one of the top motorcycle roads to ride and it is great! The road goes through Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. The road just opened last week and still has a bit of snow around the edges. This ride exceeded all my expectations. Just spectacular.

Big lake, snow covered mountains, water falls, long horned sheep, walking through snow, red cedar trees. So much beauty.

And yes, we did sing tunes from The Sound of Music while riding through the park.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Nine

AIS was 8, so a slower start today, the miles are low. You never can tell how long it will be though. We might find a stop that looks interesting, or road construction slows us down. Lots of road construction this time of year in these parts. With the severe winter weather, they need to get it all done in the summer. It really slows travel and the gravel & dirt roads are no fun.

Today we left Billings and stopped for the night in Great Falls, MT. The weather is still good, but it was hot. Especially sitting on the road waiting for the pilot car, and then stopping at every light while riding through Great Falls. I cannot imagine traveling across the country in a covered wagon.

Lodging in this area is limited. We're planning on traveling through Glacier National Park and riding the Road to the Sun. That road is only open a few months a year, when they can get in to clear the snow. Accommodations are limited and we missed out on three rooms two weeks ago because we dawdled. Now we got as close as we could on the East side, Great Falls. We have booked rooms as close to the Park on the West side, in Kalispell.

While driving through town, we passed the Harley dealer where we discovered it's the Montana Bike Rally while we're here. They had the Bison cheerleaders (Great Falls High School) washing bikes. Not sure how I'm feeling about that. My daughter's cheerleading squad washed cars to raise funds. This is for a Motorcycle Rally. It just seemed creepy and exploitative.

We checked in to the hotel and that's when we saw the poster. The Rumble is scheduled for tonight. What's that? An annual Fight Force (MMA style event......street fighting). Well, that's a first for us. Interesting demographic.

Unloaded the bike, got in the room, laid down to test the bed....woke up an hour later. Dave told me if  I wanted to go to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center I need to get up, I rolled over & slept another hour! I didn't even think I was tired. I was planning on doing laundry....good thing we still have clean clothes! I must be finally relaxing....or perhaps it is the heat.

For cocktail hour (I keep calling it that but there are no cocktails, only wine & water) we ended up poolside. It's a lovely  New Orleans style with wrought iron and plenty of trees and plants. Really lovely.

We ate dinner at the hotel and it was amazingly tasty. Our entrees were duck (yes, in Montana and it was fabulous), roasted chicken, chicken hunter, florentine salad with chicken. For dessert, I ordered the featured chocolate caramel pie for all to share. It was the least I could do since I've been tasting theirs all week! Great service and tasty, LOVE!

Tomorrow I should be able to find spectacular postcards for the boys!

Road Trip 2013 - Day Eight

Today we leave Keystone and say good-by to Annette. We're down to two bikes and our chase car and yet another day of fine weather. It did get a tad warm, but no rain, thunder, lightening, or high wind so we're calling it wonderful. Nothing that taking your shirt and wetting it in the sink can't fix, or if you're Bret, dunking your head in the sink.

It was a long day of riding. We went through three states.....South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. We saw plenty of antelope grazing in the fields along the highway (and yes, I hummed "Home, Home   On the range, where the deer and the antelope play" each time). We missed a turn and ended up in road construction on a gravel road. Our lunch was at the bowling alley in Broadus, MT, population 455.

Our big stop was at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, location of Custer's Last Stand. I thought they did a very good job of explaining the battle, historical significance of the event, and honoring of both sides. Why, oh why does man continue to inflict harm on one another? And the government hasn't changed much either.

We arrived safely to our hotel in Billings, MT and we love it. The ladies that checked us in were fabulous, one is a CA transplant. Our room minimum is going to take a beating and may need to be adjusted. There was a little communication trouble and I realize I need to take more responsibility and help Dave. I was so enjoying being the fluff on the back of the bike.

Two of us went to Fiberworks, a quilt and fabric store. I was in heaven. The woman that owns this store is an artist. I saw fabrics and designs that I have never seen before. I will be purchasing from their website. The woman that helped us is yet another CA transplant. Very interesting discussion on why she moved here (husband's family) and what changes in lifestyle she has experienced. She was explaining how the weather isn't that bad, I'm not convinced. Then she explained the town is close to 100k population but including the surrounding communities it is 400k. Then she told us that if you need medical treatment for "big stuff" (explained as cancer treatment and most complicated surgeries) you had to go to Minnesota or Washington. If Dave tells you I moved here, look for my body.

Here's one of the MANY fabulous quilts. Just a little different than what you usually see.

Quick cocktail time and then my favorite road trip dining establishment, CRACKER BARREL! Great waitress, good food, low price of $17!

Road Trip 2013 - Day Seven

Today began with singing Happy Birthday to Peter who turned.......we won't say because it's a big scary number. Then we were off for a ride to Deadwood. We've been through here before and thought it was a really cute stop. We got there before everything opened up, paid $4!!!! To park. Not terribly impressed. The riding was beautiful and we are blessed with yet another day of perfect weather.

We walked in to the Midnight Star, a casino (which are seriously all over the place), to use the bathroom. Awesome old style building. A employee stopped us, we thought "oh no, she's going to say something about the bathroom is for customers only". We are so wrong. She told us about the place and to go upstairs and look around. People in this part of the country are super friendly. She told us the place is owned by Kevin Costner. He made the movie "Dances With Wolves" around here. We were wondering why there were photos of Kevin. Now we know.

We continued on to Sturgis, the place where they hold the big, raucous motorcycle rally. We took photos that I wish I could include but I still can't figure how to get the iPad and blog to behave.
We said good-by to Tim & Deb, they were headed back to Indiana.

We rode through Spearfish and along a beautiful byway road. It's such a wide open scenic country. The beauty and diversity is amazing. They do not appear to be ethnically or culturally diverse, mostly white people that are really wide. We aren't in CA, that's for sure.

Some went to Devil's Tower (we've seen it, once was enough), and Iron Mountain Road (which we rode a couple of days earlier). We went back to the hotel and went swimming.

Some of us had lunch at Culver's, a fast food place with frozen custard. I think this would be a hit in CA. I LOVE frozen custard, which is big in the Midwest.

Another fine cocktail hour (sharing bison stories) and then a very tasty birthday dinner at Gideon's, this is a new, higher end place in Keystone. We are so spoiled living in the SF Bay Area, an abundance of fine dining, not so in these parts.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Six

Today we rode through the Badlands, way out in no where, and tried it find out how far we could go on a tank of gas. Fortunately we stumbled upon a gas station before we found out. Old rule is once again a new rule, ALWAYS FILL UP BEFORE YOU HIT THE ROAD. Seriously, services are few and far between in these parts.

We visited the Minute Man Missile Center and were reminded that we all lived in fear of a foreign terror strike. Gee, there really is nothing new under the sun.

We stopped at Wall, S.D. For lunch. A funky tourist stop that has been a popular stop along the highway since 1931. Very cute story about how it started during the Depression. Cars drove on by until they came up with the hook of giving out free ice water. They still give free cups of ice water. But now they own the entire block with a cafe, string of shops, and a huge dinosaur.

The wind kicked up on our way back. Dave and Bret's hands were going numb from fighting the wind. Gee, please tell me how this is fun. We stopped in Rapid City at the Harley dealer. Huge place. All the people were so friendly. They fixed my communication device. The clip cracked and no longer secured the boom to the helmet. My boom was hanging loose. So annoying. But now it's fully attached, and they charged nothing. So great!

We returned to the hotel, showered, had cocktail hour and then next door for what might possibly be the most horrible dining experience ever.  Less than mediocre food, messed up orders, one didn't get food until the other eight were done, and then they shorted the change. We complained to the owner, but we're pretty sure he was drunk. Then we checked Yelp. Ugh, should have looked before we ate there.

Tomorrow is another day.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Five

The rest of the gang returned to Mt. Rushmore and we went for a ride. We stopped in Hill City where we walked along the street in this really cute town. Mostly stores filled with what Dave calls crap. We did find one store with good crap. I found two absolutely adorable board books that our grandsons must own. We ended up at the post office and mailed them off. There isn't a ton of room on the bike and this gives them a package to open. Really, who doesn't love getting a package in the mail? The clerk was incredibly nice, helpful, and witty.

We road on the Needle Highway and Iron Mountain Road. The Iron Mountain is a big deal, especially for bikers. It has twisties, awesome views, amazing tunnels (one that frames Mt. Rushmore), pigtail bridges, and herds of buffalo.

We found ourselves stopped on the road surrounded by a herd of buffalo. I may have been scared stiff, trying not to move, and praying that they keep on walking. There were so many of them, within six feet of us, and we're sitting on a bike. I could go on, but without the photos, did it really happen?

We came back to our hotel and went for a swim. Then another cocktail hour and dinner at Ruby House. It's a funky restaurant on the main drag where the decor and uniforms are all frontier saloon style. Great service and good food. Yet another walk around town, looking at crap, and then back to the hotel for bedtime.