We are in St Regis, MT tonight. Leisurely 186 miles today. No museums or events but stopped and had lunch at a nice rest area and simply enjoyed the view. We are at a small but lovely campground. Alan is thrilled 😆 because there are trees which means shade. We are enjoying our first camp 🔥 since we started on our journey. As you can see Boy Scout America has kicked in.

We will be here for 3 days so Alan can do some fly fishing (wink, wink). He says he is getting up at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Again -wink 😉 wink. Sadly, we had to pass on Glacier Park. We had planned on visiting but because of our delayed departure there wasn’t enough time.

I love the idea that we are sitting in Alan’s mom and dad’s chairs while enjoying our evening.

P.S. Auntie is finally coming home from the hospital tomorrow. And Big Al’s eye is finally looking ok.

When a tree dies at a site someone turns it into a carving. They are all over the campground.

Late start today. Seriously slept in. Oops. But I think that’s called vacation. Finally got on the bike around 11. Took 1West which was a scenic loop. Thought it would take us higher up in the mountains. Tried 2 different side roads. The first one simply ended which meant a u turn. The second one turned into a bumpy dirt road which involved a second u turn. Oh well, not the best of rides but parts were pretty. Had to come back by I90. Stopped in Drummond, MT at this kitschy little restaurant where it’s all about CocaCola. The menu had 135 types of hamburgers listed. However, we decided to order triple berry bread pudding a la mode. OMG. To die for. Apparently, everything is home made right on the premise. Easy day. On to St Regis, MT tomorrow. Allan hopes to pretend fish while we are there for two days.

Today was a travel day. We crossed the Continental Divid. Stopped in Livingston, MT to visit a railroad museum. It was the original train gateway to Yellowstone. At one point it was going to be torn down but once again there was a group that had the foresight to preserve a piece of history. We spent almost 2 hours there. Only $4.00 to enter. It would have been $24.00 in Rhode Island.

I loved the above photograph – Stephanie came to mind immediately.

Went to Dan Baileys – he was renowned for his fly tying for fishing. Alan bought several flys so that he can pretend he knows how to fly fish in Washington and Alaska.

We made a lunch and lingered in their city park to enjoy. Could not go into Yellowstone as the access from Livingston is still closed. We were told that several homes were lost due to the flooding. We are now in Butte, MT. we only have about 310 miles to our meet up destination in Washington. Hope to find some nice riding tomorrow. We shall see.

Welllll we stopped in Columbus Mt last night because we wanted to ride the Bear Tooth Pass today. Please see below

Road closed because of flooding about a month ago that washed out the bridge. The detour to get access on the other side was 160 miles. Go figure. A bit disappointing. So we basically took another road best described as Marlboro country. Does anyone remember the add for Marlboro cigarettes? Stopped in Red Lodge. Came across this bronze of Plenty Coups who was a Chief of the Crows. Absolutely brilliantly done.

What also moved me today was the wind rustling through the trees nearby. Looked like hundreds of shimmering silver dollars. It is amazing when one takes a moment to sit still what they can really see with their eyes and heart. There is a lot of artwork out here. Went through a town that had life size bronzes of different presidents on almost every corner.

Saw a sign for Subway “Free napkin with every purchase”. Clever. Went by too fast to take a picture. Went by several Amish carriages. One gentleman had his horse going at a quick trot. Absolutely poetry in motion. Once again when you take a moment to really see.

Stopped at this store today. I had initially thought it was an antique shop but it was not. However, this is one of the loveliest tourist traps I have ever been in. A treasure trove of various items and NOT from China. Definitely a step above the average. Everything displayed so nicely. Good thing I do not live closer. If your ever in the area of Columbus, MT………..

p.s. once again DO NOT slap the bull on the roads less taken

Short travel day today. Had to find a vet for Big Al. I think Roxie and Big Al got in a little argument yesterday and Big Al’s eye got hurt. It’s pretty swollen. Vet says there is a small scratch on his cornea. Hopefully, with some ointment it will be better. Said to give it 2 days, if not better will have to use steroids. Fingers crossed. Got a call that Auntie is in the hospital again. If same issue as before not much they can do and they will send her home. This is when it’s hard to be away. Our RV was looking a bit worse for wear after 2500 miles so we stopped and gave her a beauty treatment. Truck washes are quite common out here. $50.00 to do the RV and $40.00 for the truck. Pretty good deal if you ask me. While waiting our turn met people from the Netherlands. Lovely accent. Just going to chill out tonight with a glass (or two) of wine

Short day today. Only traveled 90 miles. Started a little late then stopped at The Little Big Horn. If you are a history buff or interested in the strategy of war this is the place for you. We spent about 2 1/2 hrs there. The park ranger gave an enthusiastic recount of the Battle of Little Big Horn. Obviously knew his history. Had trouble finding a site for the weekend but found a one night spot in Hardin, MT. Not the best place but a place to sleep. Plus they serve ice cream at 7:30 – 3 scoops for $3 – how bad can it be!

Slow day today. Did laundry, a little housework – it’s amazing how that kind of stuff never goes away. It just keeps following us. Went to two museums. One was interesting, (was very wealthy in his time) the other not so much. We thought there was a bit more to do around here. Turns out that there is a huge rodeo coming to town but we cannot linger. It would have been interesting to see the Indian relay races where one person changes mounts three times in three laps. When to the town of Bighorn and saw a BIG longhorn. Came back to the RV and just relaxed. Another severe storm predicted for tonight. Hopefully it fizzles like last night did. Very hard to predict. Early night to bed.

Today was a travel day. Stopped by Devil’s Tower. Went through the parking lot 5 times and gave up! Mob city- and very small parking lot. Could not even get to the visitor’s center. Disappointing. We are in Sheridan, Wyoming for the next two days to do some riding we hope. They had 18 inches of rain yesterday. Tonight severe thunderstorm warnings for this area. Hope not.

Weather predicted severe thunderstorms and quarter inch hail so we took the truck today. As it turned out was a nice day. We rode up to the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. Great motorcycle roads but not when your two up and traffic is bumper to bumper which it was. Would have been very frustrating. Had to pay a second 20.00 entry fee to Custer State Park because the tag was on the bike and we had the truck. Damn. It was pretty neat to drive through a tunnel and as your going through Mt Rushmore is framed before you. The man who developed this road had a vision that took in the views. He certainly was successful. Saw more prairie dogs!!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Took the dogs with us today. We went to the Badlands along 40 miles of gravel roads. Saw hundreds of prairie dogs. No buffalo today. Stopped at a prairie sod house from 1909 that Mr & Mrs Brown homesteaded. One of the few original in existence today. What humble beginnings. Cost $80.00 for 160 acres after living there 5 years and cultivating 5 acres. Turns out that in this area 160 acres can only support grazing for 8 cows. Can’t imagine the struggles. When you drive through the Badlands the landscape looks like another world. Stopped at the visitor’s center for lunch. Lingered for a bit to enjoy the sunshine. Just a nice leisurely ride. Went back to Mt. Rushmore for the night time closing. Was busy but not overly crowded as we had expected. The ceremony was not (to us) as awe inspiring as it used to be. Wish they sang our national anthem the way it was meant to be sung. No enhancements please. It was nice to see our veterans brought on stage. All of you who know me know how I feel about the military. i. e. the Army brat I am.