Sunday, July 27
Beginning of week 4.
Today was just a travelling day to get from here to there. Interstate 5 north through Portland and I5 to Seattle. "There" is the house of a motorcycle forum friend Terry, just east
ofSeattle.Helivesin an area with a maze-like warren of streets. Even the authorative lady's voice on my smart phone couldn't find it. I came across another motorcyclist who lives in the
neighborhoodwhokindlyescorted me to Terrys place.
Terry and his lovely wife, also a retired teacher, took me to a nearby town for the best hamburger I've ever eaten. A half pound of ground beef smothered in sautéed onions, cheese, and BBQ sauce.
Terry had the rodeo burger too, and will be eating nothing but fish, veggies, and salad for the rest of the week in penance.
Terry told stories of his motorcycle (and vw van) travels across the country, including up to Alaska! We planned a route for me the next day: route 20 across the northern cascade mountains, and
then onward eastward on route 200.
Monday, July 28
Today began with an oil change and the filter was courtesy of Terry - thanks!
Terry rode his 1970 CB750, which he bought new, after a bad year with a BSA Lightning bought new the year before and then traded in towards the Honda. Terry's wife rode her Honda 750 Shadow, and
they took me along back roads until the point where we stopped for breakfast, and where they could point me in the right direction.
Terry's bike's battery was dead after breakfast. We used my jumper cables to start it, but it would die when the lights were turned on. Terry decided he'd buy a set of jumper cables and use
themtogethis bike home, using the Shadow's battery when necessary. Sorry to leave you this way, but you've got it handled.
I had an issue with my bike too. After getting gas, I noticed that one of my fork tubes had slipped 1/2 inch above the triple tree. It could have happened yesterday, as I hit a few potholes
trying to find Terry's place. Before getting on the mountain road, I found a shady place to loosen a few bolts and set it right. I had to un-weight the front wheel, so with the bike on its center
stand, I dangled my tank bag off the back to act as a counter-weight.
The north cascade mountains were beautiful! Very nice ride, with wider sweepers than the mountain passes in California and Oregon.
Today, i rode rough oso, a town that was devastated by a giant landslide that claimed 43 lives and demolished about 50 houses. The randomness of that is sobering. Anonother area I passed through
today at Twisp, was subjected to a wild fire which destroyed many homes and burned thousads of acres. I rode out of the mountains into heat that I had not experienced since Utah. I saw a digital
display sign showing time and temp, and it said 102 F.
I made it to Omak, a town suggested by Terry as a good destination for the night. For some reason, all the decent motels were booked up and I stayed at the Stampede.
I met the owner/manager and he seemed like a cold guy. He had a great tie-dyed shirt. $40 was a good rate. The curb-appeal of this motel is low, but the rooms are clean, if dated. Think varnishedpine
boards. The owner seems to be trying really hard to keep it up, but he's outmatched.
The owner, Cliff, was chatty. I had to break away from him after u packing my bike because after this hot day, I wanted some cold beer. When I came back from the gas station, gas stations sell beer
in the US, I offered Cliff one and we sat outside the rooms, next to the parking lot, chatting for a couple of hours.
I think that I'm an empath, (like Deeanna Troy, for you Star Trek fans) and I'm a good listener. These traits made me a good teacher, IMO. Anyway, I won't begin to tell you about the content and
level of detail that Cliff told me about his life story. I really should have chosen psychological therapist as a profession. Here are a couple of pics of Cliff.
And good night.
Tuesday, July 29
Today was another hot day, over 100F. Omak was an agricultural area. I met 2 young couples from Montreal who were picking cherries in the Omak orchards before heading south into California. Their
car didn't sound too healthy when they drove up to last night's motel. I hope they make it.
Three
times today, I had to wait in the baking heat, 15-20 minutes for single lane road work. I'd turn off the bike, get off, and find some shade to sit in.
I crossed a few low mountain passes, and the area became more touristy/resort-like. This continued into Idaho as the road followed a river/lake system.
At Sandpoint, I make a wrong turn and drove 20 miles before stoping to check. At least I got those garage and wooden ruins pictures because of that. I turned around and rode back to Sandpoint and
found the route I wanted. Still resort-like, and towns were few and far between. I felt lucky to find a motel room at Clark's Fork for $65. I was running out of options and was contemplating
spending the night homeless.
Atthe motel, I
dealt with 2 motorcycle issues. My rear wheel wobbles quite a bit. This causes premature tire wear and stress on the wheel bearings. It is rectified with tweaking the wheel spokes. I used a bar of
motel soap to mark the sideways travel of the wheel. I did my best. If I were to come across a motorcycle shop on the way, I'd inquire about getting it done right.
The other
problem is that my rear light and brake light weren't working. This happened before and the cause was a bad bulb. I replaced the bulb (I had a spare) in Omak in the morning, but that did not fix
the problem this time. At tonight's motel, after trying to true the back wheel, I took apart the tail light assembly. I found that a collar that was required to supply the ground for the tail
light electrics had vibrated loose. This, I was able to fix.
Wednesday, July 30
I woke up early this morning and was on the road by 7am. I continued to follow route 200 east. It was a cool morning, which was nice after the heat of the last few days. I've very lucky with the
weather. The only day that began as a rainy day was the second day of my trip when I entered the US.
After a couple of hours, I stopped in Thompson Falls, at Mimi's Montana Cafe. It had booths to sit in, but it also had an old time counter, and for the first time ever, I sat at it to eat.
Due to more single lane road construction, I was stuck in Paradise today for 20 minutes. It's not all it's made out to be. ;)
I stopped at Dixon's Bar. It's for sale. No, I didn't drink and drive.
In Montana, there are casinos everywhere. Even at a McDonald's.
This is Roger's Pass in Montana on route 200. It is also the continental divide on this route. To the west of the pass where I was coming from, rivers flow into a westward watershed. To the east of
the pass, where I'm going to, all rivers flow into an eastward watershed. Cool. (And just to mess you up, the bike is turned facing the way I came, because I turned around to come back to this
turnout.)
Now I was entering the grasslands of Montana. Totally different landscape.
I got stung again earlier today by some stinging insect that managed to find its way into the cuff of my jacket and up my sleeve, where it attacked my elbow. I pulled over and stopped just to make
sure it was gone. I was stung 2 times before on this trip, once on my belly and another time on my hand. Here's what's left of a bumble bee that kamakazied on my glove. The rear end that was left
continued to try and sting my glove.
I made it to Great Falls where I thought I'd spend the night. I wasn't feeling it, so I continued on. But no motels along the way until Lewistown. That made today an over 500 mile day. Found a
motel8. Ouch! $80! I'll have to slum it on the next few stops to average that out to about $50.
Here's a pic of a cool tree sculpture a bit before Lewistown.
Thursday, July 31
Continued on 200 east to Jordan, then took a turn south to avoid North Dakota with its oil drilling activity. Route 22 south to Miles City, then 59 south to Broadus. Becomes 212, and finally out
of Montana! Through a corner of Wyoming, to Bella Fourche, in South Dakota. I plan to ride throught Sturges a week before the big party officially begins.
I don't know if it's trip fatigue, or just Montana fatigue, but I know that when I finally get back home, I'll be ready to be back home. Montana, east of the divide, with its straight roads
was kinda boring. Here are a few pictures.
The motel room in Belle Fourche was very nice, and cheaper than last night's, but still not in my snack bracket. I couldn't be choosey though, because of the proximity in time and place to the
big bike rally in Sturgis. The motel owner, a cranky Polish guy, also ran a bar next door, and he promised to give me a free shot of Polish vodka because of my last name. Here are some guys from
Kansas, in town for Sturgis. Motel/bar owner in the back.
Friday, August 1
So, I woke up later this morning, and got moving slowly. ;)
Took route 34 into Sturgis. Small town already taken over by biker mania and the party doesn't officially start till next week. There were bike paraphernalia dealers everywhere. Very
commercialized. It was 10:30 in the morning, already 90F, crowded, and I didn't stop, just rolled through. I had seen enough of Sturgis. Didn't even take a picture.
Route 34 west in South Dakota was no relief from eastern Montana. More straight road, grassland, hay fields, grain fields. Here are some pics.
On route 34 at Howes, I turned north on 73 which got me to Faith on route 212, which I continued east on. Less desolate, but still straight road. I've been a bit spoiled by the more interesting
andtwisty roads on my trip.
Coming through central South Dakota, I'm in part of America's great plain/bread basket. I saw thousands of round bales of hay, big combines harvesting grain, and ripening corn fields.
And finally, a $40 motel room, penance for me and my previous extravagant ways. (Really, I didn't have much choice.) Here is a pic of the inside of the room door, and what every motel room should be
equipped with: a fly swatter! Not to be missed, this is the Westside Motel, in Faulkton.
Good night, I hope!
Saturday, August 2
It was not a good night. Two of my three bee stings were still bothering me. There were only two very thin pillows were provided; each about 4 inches thick. With my hip and knee issues, I need a
pillow between my knees, leaving just the one thin pillow for my head/neck. Do thin pillows really save the motel a lot of money? Why not 2 thick ones? Two nights ago at the Super 8, the 2 queen
beds in my room had 4 thick pillows each! I was even hugging one.
Here's a shot of the outside.
There was rain overnight and the morning was nice and cool. I should have put on my long sleeved jersey but didn't feel like stopping and untying my duffel bag to get it out. It would warm up soon.
More of the boring, straight road 212 through farm country, and while I was riding, I was wondering what to post this evening besides, "It was a boring ride." Then I came across this gem. Meet
G.B., a simple soul with a primitive artistic bent. I saw the colourful car and just had to stop. I was careful of course to determine if my stopping was okay with the artist, and he seemed
friendly.
I complimented him on his work, and then came the life story. I have a knack, I tell you. G.B. is 67, his father was a school teacher in Mississippi, G.B. dropped out of school early and has
beenaround, including Oregon, Alaska, and Tahiti. He showed me "plans" for a gazebo he "designed" and tried to get financial backing to build commercially. The plans included nothing structural,
justlots of geometric shapes. He was told that he was "ahead of his time."
But he was a sincere fellow and we talked some American politics and about police, etc. As I've said before, fascinating stuff to talk with someone built from a non-standard mold. It certainly
made my day. I got a couple od black and white film shots of him with my Rollei.
I should mention that he lived in an (abandoned?) motel with a very cool vintage sign. This is
located just west of Clark, South Dakota.
A funny thing happened after I said goodbye to G.B. which is a difficult thing to do because he just moves seamlessly from one story to the next, I put on all my gear, climb onto the bike, hit
thestarter button, and it doesn't start! Holy cow, this is not good. I'm still quite a ways from home!
I get off, take off my gear, and roll the bike into the shade of the motel to figure things out. I could tell from the sound that there was no spark being delivered. I began to plan on removing
the gas tank to check the black wire to the coils. Luckily, before I got into it, I noticed the kill switch that I used to cut off the motor as I was rolling up to G.B. so as not to disrupt him
too much, was on off! I put my gear, jacket, ear plugs, helmet, and gloves back on, roll the bike out, get on, set the kill switch to on, hit the starter, and drive off. Crisis averted! :)
Driving through Clark, the town that G.B. lived on the western edge of, had a few interesting and totally unexpected sculptures along the road, including these 9 identical cars placed in a
field.
So, I continued east on route 212. Around where I left south dakotaand entered Minnesota, the landscape changed from feeling like the Midwest, to feeling like my familiar Ontario
landscape:muchgreener and with more trees. Just after Steward, I turned north onto route 15. While heading north, I looked to to be riding into rain clouds. By St. Cloud (ironically), I caught upto
it and gotabit wet. I stopped at a McDonald's to check out trip advisor and found the cheapest motels to be Days Inn and Thrifty Motel, both listed at $70. I decided to continue on route 23which
headedtowardsan interstate highway near which one can usually find motels. I headed east, got wetter, and spotted the Days Inn. My life is worth $70, so I went to the front desk to get aroom.Sold
out. Whatday isit today? Oh yeah, Saturday. So I continued east on 23, getting wetter, and saw the Thrifty Motel. $50, all right! Here I am. The pillows don't seem to be so thin, andthere's no
flyswatternecessary.:)
Extra big bonus: the front desk guy let me put my bike into the manager's garage for over night to keep it safe. There are some unsavory type characters hanging around the front of the motel,
which is in a shady area.
Good night. End of week 4.