Day 30

Picture 1 - Sunflowers growing in a field. Picture 2 - Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji, MN. Picture 3 - Paul and Babe but this time in Oregon taken several days ago. Picture 4 - Large Muskie outside of a bar in Minisota.

This morning I started in Minot, ND and rode to Grand Rapids, MN; a total of 325 miles altogether. The riding was easy and fast. With the speed limit at 70 in North Dakota I was usually running at 75 mph most of the day with spurts up to 80 from time to time. The terrain started out much like yesterday, mostly flat farm land or grazing land. The farther east I went, however, the more I began to see some ponds in the fields, then bigger ponds, and then lakes and bigger lakes. It was nice to see some lakes along the way, but the lake were pretty much wide open. That is, there were no trees around most of them. They were just lakes in a field. Once I crossed over into Minnesota, that is when the landscape really changed. Northern Minnesota looks a lot like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Covered with trees and the lakes are surrounded by trees. I felt like I was home again; and it felt good.

Let me say something about highway US-2. Before I started my trip a number of people warned me that US-2 might not be in that good a shape because it is not the primary rode for cross country travel like it used to be. I was, in fact, a little apprehensive about taking that route at first, but now that I have been on it from Seattle, WA to Grand Rapids, MN I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with this road. Ever since Montana, the speed limit on the road has been 70 mph (except for in the towns) and 70 is a comfortable speed for the condition of the road; which is good. What I like most about it is that you can travel just as fast as on the interstate, but with much, much less traffic and very few trucks; and you get to see all the little towns along the way. In Montana, US-2 was a two-lane road for the entire state. But with so little traffic, it presented no problem because there was hardly ever anyone to pass along the way. In North Dakota US-2 becomes a four-lane divided highway, but it is not limited access. The four lanes obviously makes passing easier, but still there were very few people on the road to pass anyway. There are only about 30 miles that are not four-lane but they are currently working on that section and it will probably be done this year. Once I got to Minnesota the speed limit dropped to 65 and in Bemidji, MN the road again turned into a two-lane road. In Minnesota the towns are a little closer together than in the other states.

As I rode today, and also a few times yesterday, I came across several huge areas of sun flowers growing in fields. It was quite nice to see some color other than the tannish brown wheat fields that I have see ever since Washington State. I stopped to take a picture of one of the fields, which you can see above. In Bemidji, MN I had to stop to take a picture of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. This is not the first time I have seen these characters. There was a statue of them in Oregon as well; right near the California border and the redwood forests. I have included both pictures above. Halfway between Bemidji and Grand Rapids, I came across a bar that had a huge muskie outside of it. The muskie was actually a building. The doorway was in the mouth and you can see windows on the side as well as a small chimney coming out the back near the fish’s dorsal fin.

Day 29

Today I took only one picture so I decided to include three pictures from two days ago. Picture 1 – Bridge over Lake Koocanusa about 30 miles north of the Libby Dam. Picture 2 – The gorge and river in Glacier Park where kids were jumping into the river. Picture 3 – A close up of the pool they jumped into. Picture 4 – An old steamboat that was used on the Missouri River near Wolf Point, MT.

Last night I stayed in Glasgow, MT and I rode to Minot, ND to end my day; a distance of about 280 miles. Rain threatened all day but I never got any rain until I secured my motel room in Minot. Then we had about 5 minutes of drizzle. In Williston, ND, which was about half way on today’s ride, I stopped for lunch and checked out the weather channel weather map on my computer. There was a huge band of thunder storms about 60 miles south of my position that stretched almost the entire width of the state. This would have put it smack dab on top of I-94 which made me glad that I was riding US-2 rather than the interstate.

Having left Montana, let me summarize my thoughts about this state. First of all, Montana is one wide state. Riding on US-2 from the Idaho border to the North Dakota border is about 680 miles. That is the equivalent of the distance between Lansing, MI and New York, NY. On the western end of Montana the terrain in mountainous and heavily forested and I might add; it is quite beautiful. Riding through Glacier National Park was some of the best scenery that I have seen anywhere. Once I left Glacier Park, I entered the town of Browning which was probably one of the dumpiest towns I have come across on my trip. Later I found out that it is a town on an Indian Reservation that has an extremely high crime rate and murder rate. Four people had been murdered there in just the last two months with the most recent being just one day before I passed through the town.

From Browning all the way to North Dakota, the terrain changed from mountains to flat dry farm and grazing land. The roads changed from twisty to fast and straight. Riding on US-2 was nice for a change but the scenery got to be a little boring. All along US-2 there were little towns dotting the way about every 20 miles or so, with absolutely nothing in between. The towns were obviously populated by Native Americans because I have never seen so many casinos in my life. Every town had at least one casino and in some towns there were dozens. There were casinos everywhere. They were in gas stations, liquor stores, restaurants, and casinos all by themselves. In my mind, I imagined that Montana to be all mountains and lakes. Boy was I wrong. It is like that only on the western third of the state. Otherwise, it was flat prairie land.

On today’s ride I stopped at three historic sites. The first told about how, in 1837, the Little Girl Band of Assiniboine Indians were exposed to smallpox by the European trappers. The exposure wiped out 94% of the entire tribe. Numerous other tribes were exposed to the disease as well with almost as devastating results as the Assiniboines had. The second was at Wolf Point, MT which told about the Lewis and Clark Expedition which passed through that area in 1805. I might add that I have crossed over the Lewis and Clark trail several times in the last few days. Wolf Point got its name because in 1879 trappers killed several hundred wolves and piled them up along the Missouri River for the steamboats to see as they passed by. The final site was tribute to the steamboats that used to run up and down the Missouri River bringing supplies to the settlers and forts that were populating the area. I have included a picture of one of the steamboats above.

Day 28

Picture 1 is the picture of the dinosaur at the Philip County Museum in Malta, MT. The picture was actually 4 separate pictures that I took and then stitched together using the panorama feature of my Olympus Master editing software. Picture 2 are some antique clothes from the museum.

Today there isn’t too much to report today. Before leaving I noticed that my cycle cover had some white stuff on it when I went to take it off. At first I didn’t know what it was but then I figured out that it was ash from the distant forest fires that are raging in Idaho and Montana. I left Cut Bank, MT this morning heading east on US-2. For the most part US-2 is as straight as an arrow and has a speed limit of 70 mph. The riding was easy, but the scenery left a little to be desired. Ever since I left Glacier National Park, the land flattened out and became wheat growing or cattle grazing farmland that stretches as far as the eye can see. It has been that way for well over 300 miles. Except for the river valleys, there are almost no trees anywhere. Actually the straighter road riding is kind of a relief from all the twists and turns that I experienced all along the coast and through the mountains that have dominated my riding for the last two weeks or more. Riding US-2 is also a whole lot better than riding the interstate highways. There is definitely a lot less traffic.

Because of the lack of scenery I started to stop at most of the historical markers that were along US-2 near each of the towns that I rode through. I found out about people like: Chief Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce Indian tribe; Flat Nose Curry, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid; the slaughtering of the free range buffalo in the 1880s; and things like the various kinds of cattle brands. In the town of Malta, MT I stopped at a museum. The key item at the museum was a complete skeleton of a brachylophosaurus dinosaur that was found near there. This dinosaur is an early cousin of the T-Rex. It measured 28 feet long. The museum nicknamed the dinosaur “Elvis the Pelvis.” I included a picture of Elvis above.

Day 27

Picture 1 – Mountains in Glacier Park . Picture 2 – Entrance to Glacier Park. Picture 3 – Upper Libby Dam and Koocanusa Lake. Picture 4 – Libby Dam

Today was a really great day. It started out with a ride up to the Libby Dam on the Kootenai River which creates the 90 mile long Koocanusa Lake. Forty-two of the lake miles are in Canada, the rest are in the USA. Although the dam does generate electricity, its primary purpose is to control flooding in the area by storing up the spring run off and releasing it over the summer and fall. As I rode along the lake I stopped to watch some people that were rock climbing. There were actually several groups of people.

Glacier National Park was simply fantastic. People told me that it was beautiful, but until you actually see it for yourself it is hard to imagine what it looks like. When you first enter there is a large lake on your left which is really beautiful. Then you begin to rise in altitude and the lake changes to a river and the mountain tops start to come into view. As you rise up further the mountains become more visible and more majestic. They are breathtaking. Part way up, I stop by a waterfall in the river to take some pictures. Just above the falls area is a neat canyon where the river forms a deep pool that swimmers were jumping 15 feet off the canyon walls into.

As you ascend further the mountain become even more rugged than before. During the first part of the ascent, I was on the inside lane, but after negotiating a very sharp switchback I was then in the outside lane for the rest of the ride on the Road to the Sun. About 5 or 10 miles before the end of the Sun Road as I approached the town of St. Mary, another lake appeared but this time on my right. When the lake ended the St. Mary River started.

Once I was out of the park I got on MT89 and headed south. This road took me through an area that was recently burned out by a forest fire. In a few more miles the mountains turned into rolling foot hills with horses and cattle roaming on a free range. Some of the horses were even on the roadway. The farther east I rode the flatter the terrain got and the drier it got. Then the wind started to pick up. It must have been gusting up to 50 miles per hour. I was glad when I turned east so that the wind was at my back. I was traveling on US 2 at about 75 MPH but it didn’t seem that fast because I didn’t feel the wind as much.

Day 26

Picture 1 - A neat restored schoolhouse near Reardan, WA. Picture 2 - Kootenai River in Idaho. Picture 3 & 4 - Kootenai Falls in Montana. Picture 5 - Me standing in front of Kootenai Falls.

This morning I left Davenport heading for Shumate Harley Davidson in Spokane, WA. I just turned over 6,000 miles and needed my second oil change of the trip. My first oil change was at Santa Barbara H-D in Carpenteria, CA, just a couple of weeks ago. Although I am not in the business of writing about dealers on my trip, I think a comparison of the two might be in order. I called ahead at both dealers to see if I could get an oil change and both could accommodate. Both were very friendly and both had me in and out within an hour. Now let’s talk about the differences. In California they tried to add on all kinds of extras which would have cost me $341. After I objected and said all I wanted was and oil change, he backed out some of the items. When it was done I ended up with a bill for $145 for an oil change. This was the first time I ever had my oil changed at a dealer before so I did not have anything to compare it to. Today I was surprised to find out that my cost for the oil change in Spokane, WA was $66 and they even checked over the bike to make sure everything was still in place and nothing had come loose. I realize this is a small sample from which to base an opinion, but when an oil change costs more than twice as much, at one dealer over another dealer, I am forced to state my opinion. First I want to express my thanks to Shumate H-D in Spokane for doing a great job at a reasonable price. My recommendation to anyone planning on making a long trip on a Harley; don’t get your oil changed in the Los Angeles area and especially not at Santa Barbara H-D in Carpenteria, CA. I am not sure that the price was high just because it was near LA, but I would not want to test the theory if I were in the LA area again.

While I was at the dealership in Spokane, a delightful 68 year old gentleman overheard that I had ridden Route 66 and he couldn’t stop asking questions about my experience. I filled him in on some of the generalities of the trip and advised him to check out my blog if he wanted more detail about my experience. He told me that he would definitely do that because he wanted to ride it next year.

After leaving the dealership I programmed my GPS to take me to Glacier National Park. Because I was already east of US-2 the GPS pointed me to Idaho 95 which would head north and eventually connect with US-2. This seemed reasonable to me so I followed the GPS, but did that ever turn out to be a mistake. The problem was not with the road or the route, it was the fact that this route took me past a large amusement park in Sandpoint, ID. This being a weekend, the traffic was especially heavy on this road and to make matters worse, there was a major accident just north of the park which completely closed down the road. This created a major traffic jam that took me about an hour to get through, and when I finally thought I was through it, I found out that I then had to take a detour around the accident that was ahead.

After getting through the traffic problems I eventually linked up with US-2 and the ride again became delightful as usual. It wasn’t long before I was riding in the Idaho mountains next to the majestic Kootenai River. The longer I road along the river the nicer it got. I eventually came across a turnout that boasted a view of Kootenai Falls. I almost passed it up, but decided to make the stop; and am I glad I did. This river was one of the most powerful rivers I have seen on my trip. The falls are not large in terms of height, but the rush of water through this gorge and around the rocky islands was overwhelming. I was totally blown away. I took some really good video of the falls and some pictures as well. The pictures are good but they do not give the total impression that you get from the videos. Even the videos don’t capture it all, however. One aspect not captured on the videos is the thunderous sound that engulfed you as you stood near the river. The videos could pick up the sound of rushing water which by itself was impressive, but what it didn’t pick up was a thunderous din which emanated from the falls and reverberated from the surrounding mountains and canyon walls. At first I wasn’t sure it was there, but the longed I stayed there, the more I was aware of its presence.

You may recall that I had previously talked about the Meryl Streep movie, “The River Wild,” which was partly filmed at the Hellsgate, Canyon on the Rogue River in Oregon. I have now discovered that the movie scenes involving the major rapids were filmed at this site on the Kootenai River. I can easily see why they chose this spot.

Currently I am at Libby, Montana which is about 100 miles west of Glacier National Park which I intend to visit tomorrow. I have passed the 6,000 mile mark on my odometer and I have now been it 15 different states on my trip. When I started this journey, I had a vision of what I expected to experience. Although some of what I envisioned has been correct, the extent of what I have really experienced has far exceeded the vision. This is probably not unusual because how can you know what is there until you actually get out and see it for yourself. If you aren’t able read into the meaning of that statement, let me spell it out for you. Get out and discover America. You will never regret it. This is one great country.

Day 25

Picture 1 - Grant and me heading to Davenport. Picture 2 - Chris, Zach, and me going for a ride. Picture 3 - Leena and Donny's front yard. Picture 4 - Front of their house.

I stayed at Leena’s house today and did not travel so there is not too much to report today. This morning I took Grant with me into Davenport to go to the post office to mail
Heather’s car keys back to her that I had in my pocket when I left. I also mailed out another package as well. While I was in town, I parked outside of Donny’s office to connect to the wireless internet so I could post my blog and to check my email. After that we headed back home and I gave the other two kids a short ride on the motorcycle because they have been bugging me for a ride ever since I arrived yesterday. While I was in town, I also called the Harley dealer in Spokane to see if they would be able to change my oil on Saturday morning. They indicated it would not be a problems so I will stop there on my way out tomorrow.

Once I leave Spokane, I will be getting back on US-2 to head toward Glacier National Park in Montana which is 330 miles from here and probably about 275 miles from Spokane.
Last night we all went out to dinner at Milford’s Seafood in Spokane, WA. Following dinner we dropped Donny and Grant off at the railroad station so they could take a train to Montana to pick up Donny’s truck.

Day 24

Picture 1 – Pike Place Fish Market. Picture 2 – Bear and Yokoyama at Fish Market. Picture 3 – Wenatchee River along US-2 in the Cascade Mountains. Picture 4 – Leavenworth a Bavarian Village in the Cascade Mountains. Picture 5 – Svea, Zach, and Grant.

Today I left Heather’s house in Yelm, WA heading toward Seattle. My first stop for the day was going to be the world famous, Pike Place Fish Market. The fish market was one place that I could not pass up. Many of you are familiar with the Fish Philosophy training that I did at West Shore Community College. This training was based on the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, so I had to stop. In the training I dress up like Bear, one of the prominent characters in both the Fish book and Fish video. As it turns out Bear still works there and I was able to get a couple of pictures of him at the market today. Many of the employees are new since the Fish video was published, but there were two of the old guard that were still there and working today: Bear and the brother of Johnny Yokoyama. Johnny is the owner of Pike Place Fish and the person that helped to make it world famous.

One thing that surprised me about Seattle was how steep the streets are that lead to Pike Place. It reminded me of San Francisco. I felt a little uneasy riding down them and then back up as I was leaving. I think going up was worse because I hit every red light and had to keep the brake on to keep from rolling backwards while trying to feather the clutch and give it gas to get going all at the same time. I didn’t stay at the market long because parking was $5 for half an hour. Pike Place Market is actually a whole bunch of shops connected together. It was really crowded and difficult to move around. The best activity was around the Pike Place Fish market which is where I spent most of my time.

After leaving Seattle, I headed a little north to get on US-2 which would take me to Davenport, WA where my niece Leena lives with her husband Donny and their four kids: Grant, Svea, Zach, Maija. The trip there from Seattle was about 280 miles, but I had already ridden 60+ miles from Yelm to Seattle. What struck me most about the ride today were the changes in terrain and climate. For about the last two weeks, I have been riding along the coast and have always been west of the Cascade Mountains. Along the coast it has been extremely cold with temperatures mostly in the 60s for highs and the lows have been in the 50’s with a time or two in the 40s. As I headed up the Cascade Mountains I was struck by their beauty. Much like the Olympic Mountains, they looked a lot like the Swiss Alps. In Seattle I was pretty close to sea level. At the highest point in the Cascades, I was at just over 4,000 feet, but the surrounding mountains were much higher than that. The temperature was cool at that elevation but it began to warm up as I descended down the other side. For a long time US-2 followed the Wenatchee River which was a beautiful blue\green when it wasn’t boiling over in the rocky areas. US-2 was extremely beautiful through this section. With the mountains rising up on both sides of the road and the river running along my right side, it was all I could do to keep my eyes on the road as I traveled along. On the eastern side of the Cascades was the town of Leavenworth. This was a delightful little town that was patterned after a Bavarian town nestled in the Alps. It looked a lot like Frankenmuth, MI except that it was surrounded by mountains. Shortly after leaving Leavenworth, the terrain and climate made an abrupt change. The lush green mountains gave way to brown un-vegetated hills that looked more like the desert southwest than the northwest. The temperature jumped significantly as well. After passing over the Columbia River the elevation began to climb again as I rode up the desert-like mountains. What really surprised me was when I got to the top of the mountain (about 2,800 feet above sea level). There the land opened up into a vast area of wheat farms as far as the eye could see in every direction. The road at this point became straight as an arrow. The only curves in the road were the up and down undulations as the road contoured itself to the rolling terrain of the farmland. This lasted for pretty much the rest of my trip today which was at least 100 miles. I don’t think I have ever seen this much wheat farming in my life.
In Davenport, where my niece lives I discovered that her house was actually 16 miles north of Davenport and US-2. As I headed north I was again seeing nothing but wheat farms in every direction. It was only in the last few miles when I turned onto Porcupine Bay road that the scenery changed to pine covered mountains that were just beautiful. When my GPS took me on the last turn on the last road to Leena’s house, it wasn’t quite sure where her house was, so it took me past her house down a gravel road and left me in the middle of no where; and I me no where. Luckily they heard me go by and sent their son Grant out on his dirt bike to retrieve me and get me back to their place. I was relieved to see Grant coming because, as I said, we were in the boonies and I discovered I had no cell phone service