Day 13 Heading home... Kalispell to Bozman

We head out today going down Route 35 along Flathead Lake. It was really beautiful, Cherries for sale the whole route.  Saw my first ever Golden Eagle. It almost flew into Mike's motorcycle!!!

We Stopped at Stella's for something to eat. It was run by Mennonites. Everything was house made and sourced locally.

Everything was really good... Soup and a Sandwich for $8.50 Route 93

After lunch we gassed up... then hit the road again. We went about 40 Miles and the skies in front of us darkened as we got closer the temperature started dropping.  We pulled over and put on our rain gear. good thing because not long after we hit with rain and hail... 

Once we rode out of it. We pulled over so Mike could clean his glasses. Then the wind picked up. We got back on our bikes and head out, the wind lasts for about 20 or 30 miles, the lets up. Then we find ourselves right in between two storms.  We rode between them.

We go to Bozeman and call it a day.... I'm glad we did... the Storms were to the south of us and were heading up to Route 90.  I walked around the parking lot of the hotel and watched the storms,

They are all around us... 

I think we are going to get an amazing sunset!!!

Why.... Yes, we do.... The Sunset was amazing all the way around.... a 360 Sunset... 

Amazing!!! Just Amazing...

Yes, I was a crazy lady in the parking lot running around trying to capture it!!!! 

We will see what tomorrow will bring! 

Day 12 Many Glacier

Sir Luis left around 7 am. I was able to say goodbye to him. He's headed to Deadwood, there is a Road Glide Rally there. He'll have to haul some butt to get there. 800+ miles.

Then there was two

Mike and I head out to Many Glacier.. We take the road to the Sun to get there, it is on the east side of Glacier. It's really nice out only 10% chance of rain. It's a little cool, but, we are dressed for the weather. We want to get to St Mary's without stopping.

We Get on the Road to the Sun, and we are glad there are not as many cars in like to get into the park! We get past Lake McDonald, we start gaining altitude and we get behind a very slow car and truck.  It was very frustrating and dangerous on the motorcycles. we were in 1st gear going around hairpin turns and we were almost had to put our feet down... I was following Mike and he was having a tough time too.  On a bike you have to throttle going around turns to bring you though it. We weren't able to do that. It wasn't fun, and we had to really pay attention. It was very frustrating.

The "Slow" cars didn't pull over till after Logan Pass.  When they did, we had no problem into St. Mary's We get to Many Glacier, and a storm starts rolling in. We head to the Lodge parking lot and the hail and rain hits. We run to the Bathrooms for shelter. The storm passes fast, we go back to the bikes and get my camera.  I turn off the GoPro... (I will regret this for a long time) We go into the Lodge, and another storm blows in …. and then another Storm blows in with some great lightning. (My GoPro would have caught all that... But.... I turned it off)We wait out the storm, it passes, we head back to St. Mary's

From the Lodge at Many Glacier

At St. Mary 2 more storms blow though... I get a warning on my phone of another storm coming over Glacier …. and that is where we have to go.... We decide no matter what... we have to leave at 7 pm from St Mary to get back to the hotel before dark...

We make a run for it.... get back on the Road to the Sun... It doesn't look that good to one side, but, blue sky on the other side... It all depends upon how the road turns to whether we get wet or not.  Don't you know it.... We get behind another slow car... we do a bad... and pass on a straight away.  we start making some good time and then we.... yes.... behind another slow car that drives in the middle of the yellow line.... Needless to say it was a very long 50 miles to Route 2.. With threatening weather all around us... but, we seem to miss it all.... Thank the L-rd!

Once on Route 2 we made some good time.... we are almost to Kalispell.... and there is another huge and very charged with lightning storm ahead of us... We are heading straight for it... Not again, we are about 3 miles away from the hotel, and big drops of rain land on my windshield. I'm thinking.... Not now... come on.... we are almost there... The lightning getting more frequent … The drops stop.... and I head up route 93 to the hotel.... where there are 4x4 metal plates covering the road.... I go over one and I feel my bike slip.... it's ok.... under control.... now I know to avoid them at all cost....

I see the sign for the hotel.... I pull in park... get all my camera equipment off my bike.... get into the room... within 4 minutes.... I hear rain loudly pelt the window of our hotel room.....

Home safe and sound..... What a day..... Tomorrow we hit the road and start heading back home....

I'm pooped....

Day 11... Sunny at Glacier National Park

We set out again for Glacier. It's sunny and not a cloud in the sky.
We get closer to Glacier and I see clouds lifting from the mountains. I say I'm not going to pull over and take pictures till Logan's Pass... But, the clouds lifting off of the mountains at the lake was so beautiful that I had to pull over. I took some photos at Lake McDonald. It was just beautiful

As we rode, I was in awe! thinking... Wow... this is what I missed yesterday... The clouds were so low yesterday I couldn't see anything that I was seeing today! Wow!!!!

We Stop a few times, it is just amazing... the peaks the flowers,

We went to Logan's Pass and there was motorcycle parking... It made it easier. The parking Lot was really full...

We went to St Mary's had a bite, then head back the opposite way on the Road To The Sun

I saw some people stopped taking pictures of wild life, but, I couldn't stop and I didn't see what they were taking pictures of, then I saw some Big Horned Sheep but, couldn't pull over, but, passed the information to people that were walking there... Then we stopped at a site, and there were mountain goats. A mom and a young one.  Too cute.... I also saw a bald eagle at the information center in the morning. A wild life day!!!

We head back to the hotel.... It's Lou's last day, he is leaving in the morning. He is heading home via Dead Wood.... LOL … we are staying 1 more day... then we will start heading home.

Tomorrow Mike and I are planning on going to Many Glaciers...

Day 10 .... Glacier National Park!!!

Finally it is upon us.... we are heading to Glacier Nation Park.  We are excited... but, the weather isn't looking as good as what they forecasted.

We get to the Information Center Who do we run into???? Yehonathan, his wife Sarit and their daughter . Yehonathan asked if they could get a picture of their daughter on my motorcycle.

 What a sweet family! <3

We then head into Glacier. It is misting on us. We don't pull over anywhere yet. We are just excited to be heading up to Logan Pass... Praying that there will be a parking spot for us! 

As we get a little further in it starts raining hard, and we start getting pelted with hail.  I pull over to put my rain paints on, and I just look at Lou and Mike and say... screw it.... I jump on my bike and turn around.... we head back a little ways where it isn't raining.. we probably went about a mile or so to get out of the bad rain.  We pull over and get some coffee to warm up.. we talk and decide to leave the park.... Crap.... we came all this way..... and … well... There is always tomorrow... and it looks good for tomorrow.  

At our Coffee Stop

I talk the guys into going to the Montana Vortex... We passed it on the way to the Park... They figure what the heck.... Mary is buying.... LOL....

We go on the tour and it was pretty strange... 

This spot is supposedly level and depending upon what side you stand on you grow taller or shrink

***NOTE.... crooked house behind people***

here is Mike and Lou....

pretty strange..... Now check this one out.....

Pretty strange..... I took this picture... standing in the same place.... I have the same tops of heads in both pictures.....   Makes you want to go...… HUMMMMMM

After the tour we go to Kalispell Harley Davidson. We meet a couple from Kitchner, Ontario. They just came from Glacier.  They said it took them 7 hours.  They got rained on, hailed on, they could hardly see in spots.... I'm so glad we turned around.... We will try again tomorrow.  

This will be Lou's last chance …. he starts heading home Wednesday morning.... We are staying Wednesday.... and will start heading home Thursday...

Days 8 & 9

I joined these together....

Day 8.... we did a short ride from Missoula to Kaliaspell… it was pretty uneventful. We wanted to get to the Hotel before 2 because that is when the storms are said to be our way.

We get to the hotel and just chill after we shower up. Just hang out and watch the storms around us. As a young couple with a very young child come from up the street.  They walk up to the hotel... we start talking.  Yehonathan and his family are here from Israel on vacation. Yehonathan and I hit it off as I tell him of my trip to Israel in 2001... 16 days after 911.

Called an Uber and went out to dinner.....

Day 9....

This is what Sunday looked like all day... 

We took an Uber to a cool diner

It was really good. All power goes out in the town.... Darn, we wanted to walk around. 

We get an Uber back to the hotel.  We just hang out all day at the hotel. The mountains where we are breaks up the storms, so they mostly go around us. We just get sprinkled on a little as we hang out in the parking lot next to our bikes.

Later in the Evening Peter, another Biker who is staying in the hotel comes back by our bikes, we hang out a while talking and sharing biking stories into the night. Then all of a sudden a car gets pulled over and pulls into an adjoining parking lot right next to where we are standing.  We watch all the interaction between the policeman and the car.  The policeman is very professional... and will not let his guard down. walking backwards to his patrol car with the drivers license. He went back to the car and gave the driver a ticket of some sort.... The policeman walked backwards back to his patrol car. Then the Policeman pulls away.  The car he gave the ticket to was there for a minute or two... then he pulled away blaring "Bad Boy's, Bad Boy's, what you Gonna Do....." After all the tension in the air..... we hear that, and just started laughing and clapping..... 

We are going to Glacier Tomorrow.... Woot..... The Weather is going to Clear!!!!

Day 7

We are in Missoula, Mt. We drove through some rain. To get here. This morning I found out the gentleman who I met yesterday lives in Hamburgh Germany. I just so happened to have my Mammoser’s Tavern baseball hat. The back says Hamburg, NY. He was very happy with it. Roland took a selfie with us. I gave him my business card. 

the group of Eagle Riders getting orientation in the morning before their ride

We took route 78 out of Red Lodge. It’s not a scenic route on the map.. but it should be. It was spectacular. And I didn’t have my Gopro on. Poop..... it was lush green rolling hills with mountains on the left and an amazing road… until we got to the construction.... but, the first part of the road was worth going though the gravel road construction

We just missed some storms riding today. We got rained on twice.  I Encouraged us leaving one rest stop because of some storms headed our way. We came from Red Lodge to Butte... all of those storm had .5 inch hail in them.... we missed the storms.... just got a rained on a little... but, missed the bad stuff.... we just rode though the side of some of the cells... we were blessed Woot!!!!

We got to the hotel without incident. After dinner, I took a walk scouting for sunset pictures. I found a river near by almost a mile I walked to it. I needed the excise anyway. 

Mike and Lou chilled with a game of ping pong at the hotel....

Tomorrow we head to Glacier. They are calling for some bad weather. I hope we can avoid it.

Day 6

This morning I woke up early.  I went to the breakfast nook to edit photos. I didn't want to wake Mike. I started talking to a couple who had just left where we are going. So I got some great tips. Lolo Pass.... and go on the East side of Flathead Lake.... and Stop for Cherries!!! I love Bing Cherries! And they told us to stay on the West Side of Glacier, that it is more picturesque, than coming in from the East.

That is what is great about bikers... they help each other out.... Like someone unpacking their bike and over hearing a conversation about laundry detergent.... Then she walks up with some for Lou.  You meet the nicest of people out on the road.  You really do.

Today was just a chill day.... Mike hung out at the hotel. Lou and I did Chief John Scenic Highway, then Beartooth. We went Clock wise this time.... opposite of yesterday.  Yesterday I thought Chief John Scenic Highway was nice..... But, Today..... OMGosh! The Vista! The view.... no where to stop and take a picture... So it is in my memory.... It was just Spectacular

lookover on Chief John Scene Highway

Mountain Wildflowers

All of a sudden we hear a bunch of Bikes pull in, all around our Bikes... 

They are all with a tour group called EagleRider Motorcycle Tours

That is pretty cool... Lou and I talked to one of the guys on the tour. He is from Germany. He said there is 7 different counties represented in the tour. They are started in Seattle, going to Yellowstone, then going up to the Canadian Rockies! Wow.... it's a 2 week tour. 

If I had any tips for anyone today..... if you are going to do the Chief John Highway.... do it Clockwise.... It is so much more picturesque. 

Tomorrow we start heading to Glacier. We are only going to go half way tomorrow.  Weather is going to be iffy... So we will take it slow... That's it for now.... Have a great night!

Day 5

We all decided to go up and do Beartooth. I told the guys that I wanted to go up myself. I was ready to go, they weren't going to be leaving for a while.

I head out with my cameras, and my gopro. I stop a few times at overlooks, Then I pull over at one, I put the kickstand down, or so I thought.... and.... yes.... it goes down... there is a few people up there, they run to my aid. help me lift my 800 lb bike up...  My left mirror breaks off. They try to help me put it back on, but, it is stripped .

That's it..... I'm done for the day.  I have to head back down... I do.... as I'm heading down.... I see Mike and Lou.... they are heading up.... I smile and wave... thinking about... how upset Mike is going with be with me... Dumb... dumb.... dumb.....

I am thinking I'm going to have to head to Harley dealer... an hour away …. I see a shop I stop... they just sell merchandise. She told me to go to Napa . I do… It is closed for lunch.  I go to town eat lunch and head back to Napa... as I am I get called over by they people that helped me on top of Beartooth. Mike. the gentleman who helped me... said he met my Mike and Lou... and he told them what happened to me.... I'm Like MIKE!!!! What the Heck!!!   That's it... I'm never speaking to you again!!! LOL... I'm pretty flustered....

I go to Napa... the owner believe it or not fixes it for me and charges me $1.00.  I'm in disbelief … I offer him more. He refuses.... I thank him and tell him I will say some prayers for him..

I go on my way... Now is my time to go up to Beartooth.  I try calling Mike, and Lou.... No luck... I leave a message.... I go back up the mountain.... I keep going right past where I had my.... incident. When I do stop I am blown away..... This is what I see…..

This is me at the Beartooth Summit. 

it was a great ride.  I will be a while going though pictures... 

Even though I had the mishap... I'm ok with it. It turned out ok. The Man from Napa saved my butt... my next step would have been going to the HD dealership. I was saved that trip, and I was still able to go to Beartooth Highway.  Which is why we came.  

The views were amazing.  I hope that I was able to capture it.  Too tired too look at all the photos tonight.…   Good Night..

Day 4

Today we got an early start. We knew it was going to be a long day.

We started out with extra cloths on because it was pretty cool out, then it got hot out, we shed the extra cloths, and then it got hotter out. As we pulled into Red Lodge I was cold again talk about extremes.

As we pulled away from our hotel today we went a little ways then got gas to see if we were warm enough. After we gassed up… All of us getting crappy mileage again… we headed west on Route 94. I Kind of want to go back that way…. OMGosh…. There were so many sunflower fields that I couldn’t believe it, just a handful of flowers were opening… I can’t imagine what it will look like when they are all in bloom at the same time!!!! There were fields and fields of them…. For miles and miles there were sunflower fields. To see them in full bloom would be just amazing!

As we traveled on in North Dakota, still on route 94, as the road turns then the whole landscape changes. All of a sudden it looks like the Badlands…. I had to pull over to turn on my Gopro.

We have to stop every 100 miles to gas up because we all were getting such bad gas mileage and stations are far and few between. We did not want to get stuck out in the middle of no where! It was 95 out, and super dry. So it was good to stop all those times to stay hydrated  and to fight off heat fatigue.

dill pickle … Cheese and sausage sticks…. it's what's for lunch

We cross over from North Dakota to Montana, we Had to stop and take a picture!

We also ran across the street to take a picture of the North Dakota sign since we couldn’t on the way in to North Dakota from Minnesota.  

We cross over into Montana, and the speed limit is 80MPH… woot!!!!

It is going to feel strange coming home and driving 55….  The secondary roads in Montana have a speed limit of 70…. But not at night…. At night it’s 55.


We went to the Beartooth Harley dealer…. Mike changed my plugs and we got a quart of oil …


Then we head to the hotel in Red Lodge.  At the Harley dealer it is 93 out…. As we get closer to Red Lodge it gets cooler, and I actually get really chilled.  


We Settled into the hotel, we will be here till Friday AM.
 Just got Subway for dinner… We were exhausted… Sat outside talked…. And decided instead of taking a day off tomorrow we are going to do Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highway. We came all this way…. We are going to try to enjoy it to the fullest….. We’ve rode just under 1,800 miles in 4 days…. Add on another 340 for Lou, because he rode to our house from New Jersey.

Day 3

We Left Woodberry Minnesota this morning and high tailed it to North Dakota. We were making some great time, no big cities to go through, and the speed limit is 70 in Minnesota, then goes up to 75 in North Dakota. we are just staying on route 94. Minnesota was beautiful. rolling hills, and a lot of old farm houses.  North Dakota also very beautiful, in a different way... it is flatter but, has a lot of water large ponds? on both sides of the roads. I saw an eagles nest, and some egrets, I got to see a little more in North Dakota because the traffic was more sparse than in Minnesota.

I'm getting excited because we are getting to darker skies too.

We were making great time, but getting really bad gas mileage..  mine went down to 34 MPG... I'm not liking that. But we were hitting some pretty bad cross winds too, so that doesn't help.

I rode for a little today without my chaps, I was just so hot yesterday.... I didn't feel comfortable at all, so at the first gas stop I put them back on.

We hit about 4 rain drops today. and the weather seemed cooler up here, but, actually it was still pretty warm, but, the humidity was very low... 34%. Some pretty bad storms came though here yesterday, but blew threw during the night.... Good for us!!!

We stopped for the Night in Bismark, North Dakota. We went to the Space Aliens Grill and Bar for dinner. within walking distance from the hotel. We really enjoyed the décor and the food. The Building was super cool on the outside too!

Tomorrow we are headed to Red Lodge Montana. Once we get there we will take the day off... do some laundry check out town... and see where the wind blows us

Day 2

Today was long and hot. We didn't get as far as we wanted because Chicago traffic on a Sunday AM was terrible. Before we got into the Miles of very slow traffic... we were forced to go 70 and people we passing us... 

Everything was pretty uneventful except for a crazy thing that happened to me at a gas station.  I pulled in first to a pump. Mike parked next to me so he could fill up next with the same pump when I had an incident I was filling my tank, and the pump malfunctioned.  It wouldn't shut off... gas went every where... it got in my glasses,  all over my bike and hot engine! My face was burning.... It was super scary. The relization that I could have been very hurt hit me hard. I was blessed. We are in Woodberry, Minnisota... Heading to North Dakata Tomorrow

Setting in for the night.... Gnight... I'm Tired 

Side note.... Wisconsin is beautiful!!!! I wish I could have stopped a few times and taken some pictures of it.... But, we are trying to make time, so...… Nothing yet.... and I haven't set up my gopro yet...…   

Day 1

Day 1

We got a late start.... but, rather make sure we have everything and pack it right, than rush, and possibly forget something.  We didn't get into a grove much today. Everything is new... Haven't ridden this hard core since 2015. 

We made some wrong turns... looked for a hotel forever it seemed like. In my head I expected to be in a hotel by 7 pm getting ready to chill, but, we had a hard time finding a room.  Thank goodness we hit the time change already! It will make tomorrow a little easier. 

We went about 540 miles today. we did make some good time when we were riding.... 

Trying to find a hotel was a chore, we went to 4 different towns looking for a room. Everything was full. We finally found  a room  in Hammond, IN at the Comfort Inn. 1 room for the 3 of us. A room with 2 double beds.  
it was about a 1/2 hour ride to get to the hotel.When we found the place and checked in.
The gentleman said that he upgraded us!!!!! 

Yeah!!! The first Blessing of the trip... I call it the Magic ... I'm always grateful!!!

Here is our picture of our luggage loaded on the luggage cart.

Here is our room!!!!

our unexpected  upgraded room!!!

The hotel also has a hot breakfast in the morning. So we will make sure to get some good nutrition in the AM. We didn't really eat that much today... Mike and I split a piece of pizza... and we had White Castle for dinner.... 

I have triangle sunburn on both   wrists. and sunburn on my face. not too bad.  forgot to put on sunscreen today... I have it unpacked to put on tomorrow.  I carry 85 with me. I can't believe I forgot to put it on...   

We are going to try for St Cloud Minn Tomorrow. I think it's about 500 Miles from here to there. 

Goodnight... It's Past Midnight...