10 June 09

This morning we got up at 0600 fully expecting to hear the sound of rain. After all, we have had rain every day so far so why not today. Imagine the joy at seeing a hint of blue sky. On the other hand we did have frost on the bikes so it was below freezing. No problem for these intrepid travelers, we simply plugged in the electric gear and rode off onto US2 headed west. We quickly found ourselves in Montana and did our normal 100 miles before breakfast. By that time I was more than ready for a hot cup of coffee and a break from the chill of 70 mph when it's below 40F. We ate at a small cafe where the other patrons were local and much older. Imagine what they thought when thee guys came in dressed like space men. It did not take long for most of them to find a way to say Hi and find our what we were doing. The couple at the next table strongly recommended a side trip to the Fort Peck Dam.


Our planned destination was Shelby, MT, 380 miles away, so we had time for a short side trip. Off we went to Fort Peck and I can say that it was well worth the extra 30 miles. The Dam was built in the early 30's as a method of controlling flooding on the Missouri River. The final product is the largest earthen dam of its type in the world. We watched a Corps of Engineers movie all about the construction and now I feel like a walking history book. This was really neat. The center also had lots of information and displays concerning the prehistoric animals that lived in the area long ago. Once again, pretty neat stuff.

Mark, the vet, just had to see what I would be like with horns:




Back on US 2 we blasted west. This part of 2 is two lane with very little in the way of trees or brush so you get to see the huge vista of the great plains.


The speed limit is 70 and we tried to stay within a few miles of that....well, less than 90 most of the time. In short, we were rockin' and rollin' across the state. The miles rolled under our tires and we started to see mountains in the distance. About that time (just after Mark and David passed some large trucks but I did not) my oil pressure light came on. That's the red one in the middle of the dash that is telling you STOP RIGHT NOW OR YOU WILL DIE. I pulled over. Nothing wrong that I could see. There is oil in the engine, it runs fine, no funny noises. I had cell coverage so I called Dave Lillard in Yorktown for a conference. He is convinced I have one or more bad sensors and that I can ignore the light. Mark and David showed up, listened to the discussion, put duck tape over the warning light, and agreed that we were ready to go. That's easy to say when you are not riding the bike. Well, the next town was nearby so we got gas there and took another look. All OK. The town after that was 100 miles away so off we went, but now at a moderate pace of 70mph. Within 30 minutes I was cresting a hill and saw a car approaching....the car was a cop....he flashed his lights for about 2 seconds....either to say 'neat bike' or more likely to say 'slow down' which I did. I was only going 74. Not long after that we saw two antelope by the road, one actually in the roadway. Now we had lots to think about. At the next town (Shelby) we found that the road through Galcier National Park is still closed due to snow so we had to adjust our plans. We finally ended up near St. Mary and are now in a rustic lodge at the end of a dirt road.


We were the only guests there. Some locals showed up for drinks and heard stories about the fights they have every weekend. The lesson here is 'don't mess with the locals'.

Quaint is the vest description I can think of. Now, after a few beers and dinner I feel much better. This might be our best day so far, maybe because it is the first with no rain. We covered 528 miles today.

Mark here - thought I'd trying blogging for the first time in my life (from somewhere on a Blackfeet Indian Reservation.) Today was undoubtedly the best riding day thus far - NO RAIN. (Minnesota was nothing but rain - the "land of 10,000 lakes" now has enough rain to make it 10,001.) Brought out my sunglasses and dialed the Yamaha on. Actually, found out it tops out at 140 MPH in top gear (at 8400 rpm; redline is 9,000 rpm.) Will need to tune it up so I can run faster. The Yamahas get about 40-41 mpg at 80 MPH, the Ducati about 38 mpg. I expect a congratulatory letter from Obama for not taking the police car (7 mpg) on this trip. We're putting in about 10 hours on the road, which is about enough. The cold Budweiser at the end of the day is the "carrot" that keeps us going. We heard that it the daytime temps in Canada and Alaska is in the 70s - about 30 degrees warmer than Wisconsin and Minnesota. Yeah! We cross into Canada tomorrow morning - will need to buy some Canadian money at a bank. The trip is going well thus far -good traveling companions. Talk to you blog readers tomorrow.