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"Two Guys, a Girl, and a Melting Glacier"

Why spend a week's vacation in the "been there, done that" of another Sturgis, when you can take the long way there and still keep a 20 year streak of attending Sturgis in tact? So a plan was hatched to have a very small group turn a 650 mile trip into a 3,300 mile trip. And to keep the budget reasonable by cashing in a ton of points from Choice Hotels.

Day One-    Urgent business required tending to some loose-ends at Aurigatron's world HQ, so the trip began on a Tuesday at 3:pm. Destination: Fargo ND with a strategy of being able to wake up Wed AM and hit the open road with no rush hour Hoopleheads. Accommodations compliments of Main Stay Suite with dinner at Space Aliens. The room was awesome, (second bedroom had a door on it!) dinner was OK-sort of like Chucky Cheese except with beer and ribs instead of pop and pizza. Day's mileage: 264

Day Two-   Kickstands up at 9 and it's time to get North Dakota behind us. (no offense to ND but we got places to be) So we rode hard from the east border to the west border and beyond. Speed Limit is 75 so set the cruise for...well, you know. When you're making good time you can treat yourself to sit-down meal so in Bismarck we sought out the much bally-hooed Walrus. A narrow restaurant squeezed into the unremarkable Arrowhead Plaza strip mall, about 2 blocks West of the Capitol. A decent crowd for the lunch hour but we managed to secure a table. The 14 beers on tap went unsampled in favor of Tea or Coke and lots of water. There's still a lot of road ahead. I had the salmon special and we all enjoyed our selections. So back on the road and burn another tank to Dickinson, but save the rest stop for Medora at some saloon with hats stapled to the ceiling. Then hammer down into Montana making it to Miles City and another free room at the ageing gracefully EconoLodge. Brand new parking lot & fresh-painted throughout. Happy Hour and a primo parking space factored in to having an economical and adequate meal next door.  Day's Mileage: 479

Day Three-   Thursday morning, kickstands up at 9 but first order of business is to air up the tires. Thanks to Michael for thinking that higher elevation would impact the tire pressure. Sure enough, all were down to ~28-30 psi. Then 30 miles in the wrong direction to see what photo-ops might be in "Angela, MT". Literally nothing there but a Post Office. Even the GPS was 3 miles off on the location. Talked a little bit with a rancher who came from who knows how far to collect his mail. Then 30 miles back to Miles City for breakfast next door to motel. Breakfast was lacking at the motel. Funny how things work out, this detour allowed us to stop back at the hotel and collect some forgotten belongings that almost fell victim to that dreaded hook on the back of the bathroom door...never to be scene during a scan of the room. So now we are fed and gassed and heading West on US-12. I know this is Montana, but this is one lonely road! Works for me. Stopped for gas in Roundup and the gas station canopy was the only shade around. So after filling up and getting some refreshments we rolled the bikes over to the pump with the "Out of Order" brown bag over the nozzle. Some rancher pulled into the busy station and seemed to cast us a dirty look as we loitered at the shaded pump with our drinks. When he came out of the station he remarked that he thought we were just clogging up the pumps and hogging the shade, but "now I see you're not in anyone's way at all...have  a great ride!" We rode 12 to US-89 N and enjoyed a winding road through the pines with a babbling brook alongside for the bottom of the valley sections. This took us to the hot and crowded Great Falls and the Business Route to pickup I-15 for the final leg of the day to Shelby, MT. Tonight's lodging is courtesy of the Comfort Inn. Dinner was at the odd steakhouse behind the truck stop next door. A non-descript cinder-block building housed a richly decorated sports bar/steakhouse that was definitely priced to keep the riff-raff out. Day's Mileage: 532

My 401(k) lost how much money? Screw-it. Let's Ride!	Angela and Ben being silly just E of Dickinson ND at beginning of Enchanted Hwy	Angela strikes a pose in front of Post Office.	adding a little Octane-Booster	'tis hot, dry, and windy. Seeking shade.	Riding N on US-89 from White Sulfur Springs to Great Falls	actual Camp Disappointment was 6 miles further N

 

Day Four-   Friday marks the start of the weekend, and we deserve a break. Pretty decent breakfast to fuel our start and hit the road at 9:45, heading West with a helluva a crosswind on US-2. Stopped to read a historical marker that told story of Lewis and Clark setting up camp here looking for a shortcut that didn't work out so they named the place Camp Disappointment and there was a monument 1/4 mile up this rocky path marking the Northernmost Point of the L&C Expedition. Uhhh, anyone want to ride up there? Michael answered with no hesitation..."I'm up for a little adventure!" So we gingerly made our way up this rutted path so as not to dump the bikes or spook the horses milling about. Wish I had a anemometer to have measured the wind at the top of the hill where the pock-marked obelisk sat surrounded by shards of beer bottles. Back to the task at hand, with the mountains looming in the west. I tried to imagine the thoughts of the pioneers in their wagons thinking "Whoa, look at those storm-clouds up ahead," only to realize "Those aren't clouds... must be the mountains I heard about, are you kidding me?" As we arrived at the gate where you pay admission to GNP, the sign lists a price upwards of $25 for cars. It also listed $15 for "hikers and bikers", surely we don't count as "bikers" in that context. The Ranger said we DO.  Cha-ching! So with maps tucked away we headed up the "Going to the Sun Road". Bright and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky, and the road stays close to the shore of St Mary's Lake before starting the climb up the pass. We parked at a trailhead near the west end of St. M's Lake and I did my best to keep up with my physically-fit partners along a 8/10 mile path to see a waterfall, and it's deep pool of azure water. Then no more photo ops until just before the visitors center near the summit, then it's all down hill from there. We were lucky to be going from East to West as the road is all torn-up on the downhill side and further lucky that we timed it right and didn't have to sit parked for 1/2 an hour thru the one lane portion. It was such a long descent that shortly after leaving the visitors center I shut her down and coasted for at least 8 miles. The western side of the summit looked like rain, but apparently it's caused by the air compressing to get over the mountains cause back down near Kalispell all was well. There's a nice restaurant and large gift shop at the western shore of Lake McDonald. The brochures and visitors center made a big deal out of how the park will be changing with the approach of Global Warming. But hasn't the earth been warming since the end of the last Ice Age? When glaciers retreated from Iowa and Illinois leaving moraines and boulders in freshly sheared prairie? But I digress. I'm just glad I didn't have to go thru the park on a propane powered bus. We checked into our free room at the Kalispell Rodeway Inn. An attempted dinner at the mexican sports bar had to be abandoned as the lone waitress was crunk! So it was Pizza Hut to the rescue. Oh yeah, you can get beer anywhere EXCEPT a liquor store. Day's Mileage: a scenic 176.

St Mary Lake	St. Mary Falls at end of .8 mile hike.	That water's cold. "Yeah, and it's deep too!"	Why ride 1,500 miles when you can get any backdrop at Olan Mills?	Approx. 6,400 feet elev.	No net, no guardrail.	OK, we played along and banned Leaded Gas, CFC's, and DDT. And now CO2? Gag me.	Angela and Ben engage in more karate kid silliness at Lake McDonald.

Day Five-   Livingston, MT Comfort Inn. Day's Mileage: 337

Day Six-   Cody, WY EconoLodge. Day's Mileage: 208

Not a closed course, but even if it was it couldn't have any less traffic.	Tepees out front of Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody WY	"Aawhhh"	Climbers spotted thru Monocular. Picture taken thru scope.	All that practice and now you say I can't hunt the disease ridden varmints?

Day Seven-   Spearfish, SD Holiday Inn Express. Day's Mileage: 366

Well who isn't? (on road to Devil's Tower)	"Now we're not just gonna let you walk out of here." Who's WE sucka? "Me, and Smith, and Wesson."	Gentlemen...there is one rose remaining.	3 dudes in bucket hats touring the US with a babe-magnet pup named "Damage". (and no, we don't have any rolling papers)

 

Miles Total to Sturgis: 2362        Total Miles upon return to Aurigatron World HQ: 3276

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Last modified: 02/18/08