Jul 08 - Day 06 2015 Tour - Billings, MT

Today began pretty much as any day on the road, lots of bumbling around getting started, doing the put-your-pants-and-boots-on drill and then realizing you didn't put your knee-pads on so you get to start over. Nothing to see here folks, move along..Then there's the scarfing down the obligatory motel free-for-nothing "breakfast" which really isn't free and quite possibly not really what you could call breakfast. More like eating with strangers who never make eye contact.

Before leaving home I made the decision to not change out the tires figuring I could get at least another 1000 miles out of them so I'd buy new ones somewhere along the way. Good thinking sport. This morning I decided it was time to get serious about them and started surfing the 'net to see where the nearest BMW dealer was located. Turns out they're in Missoula where I spent yesterday, now a mere 225 miles behind me and the next one is in Sturgis, SD, only 500 miles ahead. Presuming you want to go to Sturgis that is. Ugh. The annual gathering of the loud-pipes-saves-lives tribe is beginning to swarm and I usually run the opposite direction full speed when that happens. However I need tires so the reservation lady at my Comfort digs set up a night in Billings followed by a 2nd night in Sturgis which works well with my Friday morning appointment at the beemer dealership. After that's done I can amscray in any direction I please.

It took her a fair amount of time to get things in order but once done I set out in a more or less easterly direction towards Billings. Lunch pangs began to dig at me and I pulled off the highway into the little town of Judith Gap. It's a friendly little place populated with rancher type people who were also in the mood for mid-day eats.

I arrived just a few minutes ahead of the herd and scored a table in what must be the social center of town, the Basin Trading Post, a deli-antiques emporium. It was that or one of the cowboy bars across the street. I can do biker bars but cowboy bars I don't know about. I had the special, Sloppy Joe sandwich with potato soup & coffee, eight bucks thank you very much. Turned out they're a cash only place which after spotting two bucks for a tip left me with a whole dollar. Won't get far on that I expect.

I love towns that have two grain elevators right down town

The barber shop was piping out cowboy music. You gotta like that. Hey, it's Montana.

And a wagon full of posies. What's not to like?

After lunch I rejoined the high speed low volume traffic heading east. The posted limit is 70 so I probably ticked a few guys off by only going 63-65. Hey, I'm retired, the sun's shining, I'm in no hurry. Eh?

Moccasin was the next point of interest, another small town dying, no wait, dead but not everyone's giving it up yet.I rode through the gravel streets, shot some pics and provided directions to the post office for a couple of tourists. Maybe I look local. Or maybe the sidecar rig gives me the look of authority, even wisdom. Maybe I've been riding in the sun too long...

Main street Moccasin, MT.

Pretty fancy building at one time. A school perhaps? Bank? Hotel?

I'm lovin' the paint scheme on that 5th-wheel

Lean baby, lean

I know where the post office is. Just ask me.

So onward and upward to the next attraction, this one a bit off the road and although the memorial sentiment was understandable the artifact thingy seemed a bit odd to me. 

Nice that local kids take care of it but why the chain link fence?

Maybe they're worried that someone will steal the pointed  thingies - there's two of them.

I encountered two lengthy construction zones today, both several miles long. I was grateful for the warm sunshine, they'd have been miserable in the rain. Like Alaska for instance.

Long bumpy stretches of wash board construction

Road stops were infrequent but I did encounter a few. Delays were usually not very long, maybe 20 mins..

The worker bees flagged me to the head of the line, much to the delight of everyone who'd passed me. Har de har. 

Nice lady worker bee, thanks very much! It was nice not having to eat tons of dust

Riding east again and out of the construction zones. There are so many roadside attractions it's hard to choose which ones to stop at. Mostly I select the ones with the greatest amount of human interest.Like this one for instance.

Wow....are you people serious? 

Hey Mom, can we go to Ryegate's for the festival? Please?

So tell me people, is it a spectator sport?

 Moving on I came to what would be the last point of interest for the day. I spotted the hotel a long ways away and spent several minutes trying to guess what it was.

Lavina's experiencing a bit of revived interest or at least people are redecorating the few buildings that line the highway. I'm glad they are, otherwise they'll soon look the same as Moccasin and that would be sad.

 And lest you find yourself in Lavina with nothing left to do but chase tumbleweeds there's this to think about:

Another day in the saddle ends, this time a bit early. The Comfort Inn is nice but since the biker gathering in Sturgis is on the horizon the owners are pumping the prices up. I guess I can't blame them for accessing windfall profits but it's a bit annoying. Ah well, I'll be clear of this area in a couple of days.

Keep the faith.

LL 

Jul 07 - Day 05 2015 Tour - Great Falls, MT

Got a fairly late start this morning, mostly due to catching up with yesterday's blog report. Sure felt good to crash early last night though so it was worth it.It was almost ten o'clock before I was loaded up and back on the road. zzzzzzzz  zzzzzzzzzz  zzzzzzzzzz

First stop was to gander at one of the biggest lumber operations I've seen so far on this trip. Montana seems to be very conscientious about timber management and it looks it while you're traveling through.

 

Today's ride would take me along MT 200, another scenic road running along the Blackfoot river and through some beautiful range country.

Blackfoot River

Montana ranches must be among the most beautiful in the world, all lush and looking well tended, even the smaller spreads.

Some of their houses look like they might belong to a Hobbit or two

While riding along the Blackfoot I spotted a sign directing tourists to the ghost town of Garnet. I was hooked even though it was an eleven-mile drive, the first half paved and the rest gravel. Dusty gravel. Real dusty gravel...cough cough!

 First stop was to look at the tiny cemetery where five miners were buried.

Next was a way-point cabin where travelers could find shelter and emergency rations. It's still in use today.

You might have to share your space with cirtters

Today's fare included two cans of fruit cocktail & a filtered smoke

Arriving at Garnet you're impressed with how orderly everything is. Very friendly people working there.

This is a marvelous place to spend a few hours. It's easy to imagine what living here must have been like.

Kitchen in the hotel

Hotel dining room

Ghostly person with big ol' belly looking for food

Newlyweds cabin 

Free rent for newlyweds -wotta deal!

I probably spent way too much time wandering around Garnet but it was sooo interesting. After getting back on the road and not having any luck scrounging for food in the old hotel dining room I was ready for lunch.

Not too far down the road I came across Trixi's Antler Saloon which from the outside looked like a rough biker bar. Hey, I'm a biker right? 

Trixi's  Antlered Saloon, home of the porky sandwich 

These be antlers. Montanans  know what art's all about

So you didn't believe me about the Porky sandwich, eh?

Done with the Porky it was time to move along. I'd planned on making better time but the ghost town had really held things up so my day was pretty well shot. I stopped for a quick photo of the Continental Divide sign and a looksee at the Fort Shaw sign, then hightailed it on into Great Falls to look for lodging. Love my GPS, it found the Comfort Inn right next to a Wendy's so I'm in for the night.

So there we be boys & girls, a grande day spent chasing ghosts in the Montana hinterlands. The only wild life I saw was an eagle souring overhead but too far away to photograph. Still a great day all told and I'm ready for a lie-down. Even did me laundry! 

Today's miserable mileage a meager 204.

LL