Jul 13 - Day 11 2015 Tour - Malta, MT

Today was really something, weather-wise. About the only thing I didn't get to experience was extreme cold. No snow or ice, but the point is it changed from super hot to torrential downpours nearly all day. I knew first thing this morning it would be cool, maybe even cold so I switched back to the leather jacket over a T-shirt. That worked fine for awhile until I hit the first monsoon.

The weather channel got me again...why have I started believing in weather reports?

I rode for quite a long time before I saw anything that caught my eye. Then I saw this enormous field - acres & acres of purple flowers which I'd never seen anywhere before. I took a few pics of it, then a few miles down the road I began seeing lots of them. I've no idea what they are or what they're used for but they're beautiful to look at.

The next thing of interest were the natural gas burn-off towers. I didn't realize North Dakota had huge oil reserves but apparently it's so. What I really didn't like was the intense diesel smell floating over the highway. At first I thought it was coming from a pickup ahead of me but it continued after he turned off and I realized it was from the oil wells. I'd hate to have to breath that stuff in 24/7, your lungs would probably develop one of those scary sounding diseases you see advertised by lawyers on TV

One of the gas stops I made was at an unmanned station. You filled up the same way using your credit card and if you needed to use the bathroom they were available inside the station. I did and on the way out - the office area usually occupied by an attendant was devoid of anything - there was a big sign on the door saying "Thank you for using our fuel". Unmanned....think about it, no cash, no employees, zippideedo overhead. Not a bad idea.

Darned if I can recall the name of this little burg

No waiting in line to get gas

Later in the afternoon - I think it was when I'd reached Montana - I rode through a small town on one of the many reservations. Nothing unusual about it but this burned-out motel caught my eye so I rode back to take a photo of it. I think the name did it for me - The Jolly Swagman Inn. Stuff catches fire all the time but on the way out of town I noticed another business burnt to the ground, this time a service station. I also noticed a number of political signs around the area so maybe it was a rowdy election. Notice I resisted suggesting it must have been a hotly contested race?

Who's jolly now Mr Swagman?

One of the many stops I made to change rain gear was after I reached Montana. The heat was building up fast so I shucked the rain jacket and went back to the leather one, this time was the final one for the day.The highway runs for miles through grazing land and it was apparent that oil wasn't the top priority for the state.
I know from past experience that coal is a big deal to the state but I was really glad to get away from the stink of raw crude. I also like the pristine look of the open range.

It seemed like it was getting late so I began the hunt for a motel and quickly realized all the places in every small town were booked. I finally decided to ride the next 70 miles to see if I could find something and it turned out to be a good decision. The town is Malta and it's typical of old western towns, nearly every business looks like it's been around for 75 - 100 years. The train tracks run right through the town so you get the benefit of their noise. Sleep tonight should be interesting...

You get the feeling you're stepping back into the 50s until you notice the old motels advertise "We have DSL" Yes, it's WIFI but way back in the beginning that's what a lot of people called it. My place, The Sportsman Motel is one of them and nice as it is there's only one other guest if you count cars. Or maybe it belongs to the receptionist. For dinner she suggested The West End Cafe and it was great, right out of the sixties and serving home-made food.

All was more or less well for the day until I discovered the cover on the sidecar had developed a large tear in the fabric. Tomorrow first thing will be a run to the local hardware store for Gorilla Tape, that should fix it.

Arrrgh! Dammit anyway!

Oh, I nearly forgot, it was a somewhat boring day but 350 miles wasn't so bad.

LL

Jul 12 - Day 10 2015 Tour - Bismarck, ND

This morning was decision-making time for me, where to head out from here. Against my better judgement I tuned in the weather channel and that was all it took. Reaching Labrador may be fine for salmon swimming upstream to spawn as they don't expect to survive. I have a different slant on things. To make things worse Mother Nature is wrecking havoc throughout the entire central plains clear down into KY, KS, and MO, all places where I have friends I wanted to visit. I'm slow on the uptake at times but this was more than I wanted to deal with, at least on the sidecar, so I turned a full 180 degrees and pointed the Bumble Bee north again. Maybe Northwestern Canada will be friendlier....

The ride back up the way I came was uneventful, it was hotter today or so it seemed so I changed out of the leather jacket into a Kevlar shirt by Draggin Jeans. It's not as protective but lots cooler and heat stroke I don't need. I've kept myself re-hydrated by chugging down Gatorade at rest stops and sipping water from the Camel Back in between. Its foul taste has begun to diminish a bit but it's still yucky. I'll look into treating it when I get home but for now it will do as is.

The first 79 miles out of Valentine were torture, the road had cracks and repairs done poorly so that the bike bounced all over the place. To make matters worse there was a constant hard driving wind from the west so by the time I rode out of the bad pavement section I was ready for a long rest. No such luck. I did take a break at a gas stop where I met a Harley guy and his wife who were from Indiana. He told me they'd come through Kansas City and it was the worst rain storm they'd ever seen. Today they were heading home and not looking forward to it. Somehow I felt a bit better about my decision to skip riding into those areas.

Moving on the first stop of interest today was at Pierre, the capitol of SD. Being Sunday and all it seems the legislators slept in, typical for politicians everywhere. Not a big deal, I parked in a shady spot and got what I wanted, a brief look at the Capitol building and a couple of pics. It's a nice little town with lots of older homes kept in beautiful repair.

The next time I stopped for a photo was really just an excuse to get off the bike for a couple of minutes. SD is another state that grows corn by the boxcar load so why not use that as subject matter? I pulled off at a small turnout and was standing on the pegs shooting away when a state trooper pulled in beside me. Hells bells I thought, it's probably against the law or maybe he thought I was an agricultural spy from Iowa or something..

I hopped down from the bike and said "All's well officer, I'm just taking a few pics of your fine corn crop to show the missus when I get home."

"No problem" sez he, "I just thought I'd see if you were alright and not broke down."

"Hey that's great, I really appreciate it. Would it be alright if I shoot you?" (Arrgh, gag, sputter noises) "Um, actually what I meant was shoot your picture, not the other kind."

He said "Sure" and I didn't have to say smile as he was cracking up.I got off two quick shots and he was gone. I saw him stop to check on another driver a little ways down the road, then drive on and do a 180 pulling in front of yet another stopped car. By the time I passed by he was hooking up jumper cables to their stranded car. Nice guy. Really nice, I wish all cops were like him.

Corn....how exciting is that?

SD Law Man

Off to rescue another motorist

Not far up the road I came upon a neat little village called Agar and it was calling out to have its photo taken, just like the cornfield. I pulled over to take the shot and sure enough, an older couple stopped beside me and asked if I was broken down. I showed them my camera and said "Nope, I'm just a tourist taking pictures of your fine little community." They smiled and nodded like people were always doing strange things like that and they somehow understood, then drove away. I should have asked them if they'd like to be in the book I'm writing but everything went too fast.

Agar - population 77

Hay bales & Horse hocky, the best of everything. I even love how it all smells.

BB posing in the township of Agar

Once I'd cleared the Agar area I rode for miles and miles and often saw clusters of bovines, all squeezed together in tight-knit groups, heads down, tails switching, and probably a lot hotter than if they'd just loosened up their space a bit. I understand cows are social creatures and the herd's the word but by gawd when it's this hot out you have to wonder about them.

All alone again

This is why I like to ride the back roads.

Before long I crossed over the state line, out of South Dakota and into North Dakota. Not much going on at the border, just a few flies buzzing around and that's about it.

Bye bye SD

Yeehaw, it's ND!

As if North Dakota wasn't exciting enough all by itself they've got bragging rights to their own special native son Lawrence Welk! Hooee! OK boys and girls, here we go, a-one anna-two.
.

OMG...it's true, he really was from ND

Sol that's how my day went, buzzing along on the Bumble Bee, talking to total strangers at every gas stop & rest break about traveling by bike, the weirdness of sidecars, etc, until eventually I reached Bismarck. I'm holed up in another Comfort Inn where the A/C works wonders on the environment. I grabbed dinner at a place called Hong Kong where they serve up a decent Chinese buffet at a reasonable price. With that out of the way and the blog finished I still have time for a smattering of TV. Maybe I'll see what's on the Weather Channel.

LL

Jul 11 - Day 09 2015 Tour - Valentine, NE

First priority this morning (after a really meager motel breakfast...arrrgh!) was to wizz on up the road and check out the big boy heads on the mountain. OK maybe that sounds disrespectful but on the other hand if those guys were around today they might be in a pickle given their questionable social practices. Like owning slaves for instance. Tsk tsk...

Note how the handlebars are canted sideways? The front wheel was stuck in a really deep rut & I damn near didn't get out of it. A family of spectators stood by watching my ordeal Probably posted it on  Facebook. 

Long, long shot with a cheap camera operated by a shaky photographer 

Used my Fuzzy lens for this close up. Yup.

After topping off the gas tank I rode up the mountain, took two or three really fuzzy shots from the roadside, pulled a U-turn and headed for my real goal of the morning: The Slither Circus! aka Reptile Gardens. I've no idea why they call it a "garden", probably should look that one up.

Oh man, this is THE place, the real deal!

It's like, Wally World on steroids!

I arrived just a few minutes after they opened, got the special senior discount - zero - and headed straight for the bad boy snake department. I mean, gators are cool and all that but slithery slimy snakes are the main deal, right?

They're all in here, the snake palace, the Taj MacSnake, Whoa!

The folks don't appreciate your taking high intensity flash pics of the critters and I've yet to figure out how to disarm mine so I tried just one time with crappy results.

No doubt he's still seeing green circles

After the snake fest I moved outside via their jungle-like display of flora, fauna, birds, lizards, and one big honking Boa Constrictor hanging just overhead on his branch. The bushes were teeming with little lizards who will no doubt grow up to be big ones provided the birds don't snack on them first.

This guy tried to say something to me but his English isn't so good and I couldn't get what he was saying. 

Birds can be somewhat feisty around tourists. Unfriendly even. Bad bird, no cookie!

Hissss....slither....hissss....

Yeah, like I'm gonna touch that sucker? I don't think so.

Outside the sunny day was perfect for reptile watching.  

The next stop was the lecture on snakes, big monster ones, itty-bitty venomous ones, squeezers, biters, even hissers. Fun stuff all around.

The snake handler was showing how unfriendly Cobras can be if startled. Definitely not nice critters.

He put on a fascinating show, draped a huge Python over his shoulders - it weighed over a hundred pounds. I kept thinking how it might looked all filleted out ready for a big iron skillet. More hissing.

When the snake show was done everyone headed over to the gator pond for another show.. Same guy shows up to do the lecture, Mr Multi-tasker himself. He fooled around with them, told us what the differences are between gators & crocks. I already knew, crocks make better shoes. I stayed for the show just the same, you never know what you might pick up in the way of tricks, like how to mount up on a gator, stuff like that. Handy stuff..

Easy there sweetheart...

Alright, let 'er rip!

There was another show following this but I'd had enough for one day and decided to move on. The morning was nearly over and I'd begun thinking about food. Back on the slab I rode east for another forty miles or so when all of a sudden there were signs for Wall Drug Store. The Big One. The Granddaddy of them all! So much for my day's mileage goal, this was turning out to be fun!

Inside there were at least a jillion touristas milling about looking for ways to spend money. The Wall people really have things figured out, I managed to escape with only one item but doing so took all my will power.

Tell me everything you know about Lyndell's big longhorn. Don't leave anything out.

While visiting Wall's I stumbled into a small shop selling pharmaceutical items and I remembered I'm supposed to be taking something for my low-level "electrolytes", the cause of muscle cramps. Pickle juice isn't all that easy to carry around so Gatorade is the next best thing. I asked the lady clerk where I might find some and she pointed me towards Wall Foods two blocks down the street, "you can't miss it." I missed it twice. The third time I found a gas station complete with a convenience store that sold Gatorade and a Subway shop! I'm now an old hand at ordering up a meat-a-ball sub weetha mozzarella and plenty-a-marinara ona Italian bun. Lunch today was a replay of yesterday with the left-over half saved for dinner.

Leaving town slightly heavier than when I arrived I came upon a tempting sign posted by an exit, another unscheduled diversion but highly compelling. 

It turned out to lead nowhere and I was tempted to see if I could pinch it but being unfamiliar with SD laws regarding such matters I left it as is. A little further along I decided seeing the infamous Badlands was in order, I felt sure I could find a place to stay the night if the hour grew late.

I set off down the road leading into the National Badlands Park but before I reached the entrance I stopped to see what the Prairie Homestead attraction was all about. Stopping in their parking lot to take a couple of pics I was nearly ran over by an aggressive tourist vying for a parking spot. There were only a hundred or so available but he seemed anxious so I cleared out of his way. Maybe his air conditioner wasn't working right.

This was the place, still don't know what all the fuss was about

Deciding to pass on the Prairie Homestead I headed on to the park entrance where I waited behind a half-dozen cars. By the time I reached the ticket window I realized the Badlands Loop Road would take me back to Wall where I'd already been. Bummer! I U-turned and got back on the slab heading east. Before long the Gatorade kicked in and I pulled into a rest stop. While there I took the following pic of a sign posted on the lawn. You have to admit it, SD is an interesting state.

I was riding through the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and stopped for what I thought was an entrance to their tribal offices. Turned out to be a cemetery. What is it with cemeteries and me anyway? I didn't go in.

That was about it for the day's picture taking. I stopped for gas and continued riding but now I was off the slab and really enjoying the ride. The land around me was greener than what I'd been seeing earlier and everything seemed to be prospering. I arrived in the town of Valentine where I would spend the night at the EconoLodge. It's a brand new facility and one of the nicest places I've stayed at so far. Dinner turned out to be a real surprise, Gatorade and half of a meatball sub. Mmmm....

Tomorrow? Why east of course.

LL