Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Ride Home 07





On leaving Polson we rode to Lewiston, Idaho where Lynn and Jana stayed with relatives. The ride down the Clearwater River canyon is truly awesome. We had a nice lunch at a little place toward the bottom on the canyon. (Only other option was a lodge further up the canyon.)

Chuck misplaced himself just north of Lewiston - he and Peggie continued on home alone.

Larry, Steve and I stayed in Lewiston over night and headed for Klamath Falls, Oregon -- 500 miles the next day. Longest day's ride I've ever ridden.

On arriving in Klamath Falls we stayed at the Super 8 at the north end of town.

An easy ride home in temperatures that did not exceed 80 degrees. We stopped at the Bear Creek Vista Point on Highway 20 for a break before continuing into Lake County. While we were stopped, Chuck and Peggie rode by. It was nice to know they had made it that far safely.



On leaving Polson we rode to Lewiston, Idaho where Lynn and Jana stayed with relatives. The ride down the Clearwater River canyon is truly awesome. We had a nice lunch at a little place toward the bottom on the canyon. (Only other option was a lodge further up the canyon.)

Chuck misplaced himself just north of Lewiston - he and Peggie continued on home alone.

Larry, Steve and I stayed in Lewiston over night and headed for Klamath Falls, Oregon -- 500 miles the next day. Longest day's ride I've ever ridden.

On arriving in Klamath Falls we stayed at the Super 8 at the north end of town.

An easy ride home in temperatures that did not exceed 80 degrees. We stopped at the Bear Creek Vista Point on Highway 20 for a break before continuing into Lake County. While we were stopped, Chuck and Peggie rode by. It was nice to know they had made it that far safely.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Big Sky Montana

We rode out of Billings on July 7th - lots of pasture land getting to East Glacier. Stayed in a VERY cute motel, Mountain Pine. Little cabin like rooms in a mountain setting. We ate dinner and breakfast at the Whistle Stop Restaurant.

Would recommend both places with a return visit.

We left East Glacier for the Road to the Sun around 9 a.m. yesterday. Traffic wasn't too bad, the weather was great and the road was open all the way. Kudos the the park staff that keep that road in very good condition.

On leaving Glacier National Park we headed toward Polson, Montana. Stopped in Kalispell to have lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ - which was not as good as the food at the same restaurant chain in Billings.

We rode south on the West side of Flathead Lake to Polson and stayed at the Flathead Inn. An okay place, just no pool!

It is cherry season in Polson - so far haven't found at cherries cheap enough to buy!

Today we are headed to Walla Walla, Washington. Lynn & Jana will leave the group is Lewiston, Idaho and the rest of us will head home via Highway 101.

Monday, July 2, 2007

July 1 and 2

We met Lynn, Jana, Chuck and Peggie at Highway 20 and Highway 53 at 6 a.m. on July 1st.



A lovely cool morning to begin the trip.



The ride turned into a major slog as the day progressed. We rode over to I-5, then to I-80 and on to Battle Mountain, Nevada. Between the heat and the wind the 450 miles seemed to take forever.



On reaching Battle Mountain we stayed at a nice Super 8 motel that had a pool, hot tub and WiFi - what more could we ask? A good restaurant would have been nice. We ended up eating at the McDonald's next door because we were so tired.



While at the Super 8 we met Dean the truck driver - he decided he was Larry's new best friend. On leaving the pool area Dean actually put his arm around Larry. After that he knocked on our door and offered us chili hot dogs for dinner......we couldn't decide whether he was just very lonely OR HE WAS THE PSYCHO TRUCK DRIVER YOU SEE ON TV. With relief we saw he had left the motel before we did this morning.



The ride from Battle Mountain over to Wells was nice. We then rode north on 93 to Jackpot where we had brunch at Cactus Pete's ----and my telephone rang. Steve Biggs was in Boise headed for Rexburg.



So the 7 of us are at the Super 8 in Rexburg, Idaho - another nice motel. Just no pool.



At a rest area between Pocatello and Idaho Falls we met two guys from the Bay Area headed for Billings. After talking with Marty I walked past the other guy and realized he was someone we had ridden with before....I did the "I know you.....we rode the Carlos Ramos Ride." John and Marty were on the C.R. ride a couple of times. (For the life of me I can't remember their last names!)



Except for meeting some nice and interesting people the ride has truly been uneventful - exactly what we were hoping.



Tomorrow we leave at 7 a.m. to go through Yellowstone, over Beartooth Pass and on to Billings.