Corner #3!!!

Day 48 - 281 Miles

Guess who I found!! Kip!!



Kip met me yesterday at my sister's place more or less as planned. Somehow a day later than I expected but it gave me a day to kick back and catch up on my mail again.

"Just" a day-trip today. Out and back, to Blaine Washington. The 'official' motorcyclist's northwest corner. No T-bags, tents or other non-riding gear, just us and our bikes. The weather was a little overcast as we headed north for the "last time" but cleared and turned sunny by the time we hit Blaine.

We decided to hit the Peace Arch Park as our photo opportunity/proof.









As we drove through town, we came across the City Hall and took a second set of photos...







...and yes, I'm still loving that V-Twin appeal.






Total Miles: 13,722

Into Washington

Day 47 - 311 Miles

I overnighted near Spokane and headed west again. Through the Washington farms lands where they are growing a large variety of crops. I only saw one field of corn. LOL

The most impressive part of the drive is the descent into the Columbia River Gorge and back out the other side.













I really think, what with the successful technology of the Alaskan Pipeline (oil of course) we could benefit by piping some of the water from the Columbia River to California. It'll never happen... but why not create some infrastructure to move resources from where they are overly abundant to places where they are scarce.

Nice bike eh?



Overlooking the Gorge, from the other side of the freeway, is an art project originally called the Four Horses. The herd has grown. Too bad it's so far from a convenient place to stop. Here it is at 8X. Click the pic and you can see it better.



The mountain passes, Cascades?, are gorgeous and uniquely different than California because they are fully tree covered despite the apparent cragginess. Is that a word? Cragginess? LOL






Total Miles: 13,441

More Montana

Day 46 - 596 Miles

After staying a few days near Billings with friends, I delved into Western Montana and it's even more spectacular than the eastern side of the state. Last year, on my way back from the Sturgis/Black Hills Bike Rally, this part of the state was on fire and the air was thick with smoke, so I really enjoyed this part of the ride.









A popular method of touring here includes horseback and pack animals, with the requisite mangy dog. Missed the picture opportunity though...

I was anxious to make it to Seattle in short order to see my sister, so once again I find myself buzzing through Idaho and into eastern Washington. At least this way there won't be so many miles tomorrow.



Total Miles: 13,130

Big Sky Country

Day 45 - 290 Miles

Eastern Montana is a mix of high plains, rolling hills and valleys, of course, big skies.









This year, I'm passing through during the height of the prairie blooms and there is yellow undershot with green as far as you can see.







I used US-212 again, though I didn't go to the Devil's Tower as I did last year... and passing through Broadus, I stopped for lunch and realized I was a repeat customer at the Cashaway Diner. The waitress who served me remembered me from last year. LOL. I guess I'm memorable eh?

I also bypassed the Custer Battlefield Memorial as it looked like rain... and I was right. It came down in buckets. I found an underpass before I really got wet and donned my now dilapidated Frog-Togs... (something sturdier next time I think...) and headed on toward Billings. But of course, whenever I get the rain gear on in time, it stops raining almost immediately. Luckily it wasn't steamer weather this time and I rolled into Billings completely dried off but not cooked.

Total Miles: 12,534

The Center

Belle Fourche.

A rich history within the lore of the old west...






but I came for the geography.







...and learned that Belle Fourche is also one of the largest "producers" of bentonite clay which of course also makes it the cat litter capital of the world. ;^D

The Badlands

Day 44 - 198 Miles

I was really glad I took the time to go into Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and the Badlands National Park. Last year, after Sturgis the weather was mediocre and I skipped this... and now I know what I missed.

The weather is perfect and so is the sky... so the grass is very green and the lakes are very very blue. (A bad picture... but you get the idea... Time for a new camera maybe...)



And then you come to the badlands and boy... it's abrupt! And magnificent.







I drove the entire length of the park except the 25 mile stretch of gravel roads... not with these tires.








I bought some stuff for lunch at the visitor center / lodge, and headed back into the park to a picnic area near the famous "Pig Dig" and checked that out too.





Then onto Rapid City where they serviced my bike immediately. No whitewalls, but at least the tires match. Looks okay too. Different but okay. Then onto Sturgis, but the main attraction this time of year are the biker bars and that's not my bag... at least not at this point. Too many miles to go and I don't drink and drive the bike.

Then onto Belle Fourche. Center of the USA.


Total Miles: 12,244

The Plains

Day 43 - 485 Miles

After taking a few days off, just resting and roaming the area, it was time to move on from Minnesota. My rear tire is looking like a slick and the front is not much better... I wouldn't want to ride them through another torrential rain, let alone a light street slickening drizzle, so I chose Rapid City as an eventual destination... I know that Rice Honda is there (from my Sturgis trip last year) and I'm hoping they'll have my tires there.

I met some South Dakota bikers near the Minnesota border and they gave me some ideas of places to go, but most of those places are on the Interstate and I'm intent on following US-14. That worked out well but it's straight and mostly flat through South Dakota.





I liked this custom trike one of the ladies was riding



The detours though... whew... through dirt roaded residential areas... and across some of the slowest freight lines. This one took 15 minutes to pass.



I did note that the S.D. farmers aren't all hopping onto the corn bandwagon and saw a lot of wheat, oat, and other grain fields. None-the-less, all the gas stations also pump E85 (meaing 85% ethanol). But they also offer ethanol-free regular gas. So the 89 octane with 10% ethanol is actually cheaper than the 87 octane gas... and my bike has been running fine on 10% ethanol that's offered in the rest of the country in the regular. The E85 is about 75 cents to a dollar cheaper than the cheapest gas... but I don't know if that makes up for the premium you pay for an ethanol burning car/truck. Are the convertible? Or are you stuck driving them in S.D. and the nearby states because I didn't see a lot of it offered further east or south and it's certainly not in California yet.

I ended the day in Wall South Dakota and took in the "famous" Wall Drugs. The town is dedicated to tourism at the entry to the Badlands.








Total Miles: 12,046