Going Home!

DAY 25, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2013

Jan and I were roomies last night again.  Our alarms sounded at the same time.  We, both, had the same feelings of not wanting to get up, knowing that this was our last day.  We did get up; however, and did our ritual.  We got dressed, packed and took a couple of our bags to our Motors.  The others were out with their Motors packing them and wiping them down.  Jan and I went to the breakfast room and served ourselves our breakfast.  The others followed suit.  There was a table for six and that is where we sat.  Our last day and our last breakfast together.  We might as well sit together.  We ate and talked…and ate some more.  We had to face the inevitable..it’s time to leave.  We finished packing our Motors and we rode to the lobby, lining up and getting ready to leave.  We left at 8:10 AM with Jan in the lead.

Chuck and Jan had discussed the route that Jan was going to lead us through.  We turn right out of the parking lot and rode through the town of Cedar City and onto Highway 14, a scenic road in the Dixie National Forest.  This road was one of those that we long to ride!  It had twisties, up hills, down hills and forest all around.  We started and the temperature was 64 degrees.  We had all put jackets on except for Ken.  Ken don’t need no stinking jacket, he’s a “wild man!”  As we rode, the temperature lowered to 52 degrees.  We rode for 46 miles and stopped at a Chevron gas station in Alton, UT at 9:01 AM.  Jan stopped, thinking that someone would be needing a pit stop.  He was right!  We all needed it.  After speaking with the clerk inside the mini-mart, Jan told Chuck that he would not have enough gas and we should all gas up.   We did.  We also took off our jackets and put them away.  We left at 9:25 AM with Ken in the lead.

Ken led us south with instructions to stop at Jacob Lake, AZ for a pit stop.  Ken led us and we were riding quickly through the forest, lakes, rivers and some amazing sights.  We rode in and through Kanab.  After going through Kanab, we crossed over into Arizona.  Yaaaaay!   We are back Home, and, gained another hour.  After crossing into Arizona and also riding through Fredonia, it was desolate!  We were in the Indian Reservation and not many trees or grass.  The mountains; however, were beautiful!  We continued and then stopped, after riding 80 miles, in Jacob Lake at 9:47 AM.  We parked our Motors and made a pit stop.  We didn’t see any lake there.  I think that it was just a sign to draw people there and NO LAKE!  I didn’t see it.  It must have been hiding!  We left at 9:58 AM.

We rode south again.  We rode through the Navajo Nation.  We rode for 118 miles and stopped in Cameron, AZ at 11:41 AM.  We gassed up and, while we were there, made a pit stop.  It was so much fun, that I made a second pit stop.  We got ready to leave and Chuck suggested stopping in Flagstaff at a Subway for lunch.  We left at 11:59 AM.

We continued through the Navajo Nation.  It was getting a little warm.  It got up to 93 degrees and when we got closer to Flagstaff, it lowered to 88 degrees.  We rode into Flagstaff and after riding 52 miles, we stopped at 12:47 PM at a Subway in a mini-mall on Route 66.  We ate our lunch.  I had asked Jan if he wanted us to stop with him in Camp Verde.  He told us that he could just ride onto the exit and head for home.  We told him that we would stop and give him a good send off.  With it getting closer to the end of our ride, the conversation in the Subway was hard to terminate.  We left, reluctantly, at 1:29 PM.

I led the Group to I-40 and the two miles west to get on I-17.  You know, it sure felt good to ride I-17 again!  We headed south at about 80 mph.  We rode 59 miles to Camp Verde and arrived at 2:17 PM.  That was a quick 59 miles!  We stopped at a Chevron gas station, made a pit stop and said our Goodbye’s to Jan.  We left at 2:32 PM and Jan was still with us.  He exited a few miles away.  See you later Jan!  

We continued south towards Phoenix.  At times, we got to 85 mph!  You think that maybe we wanted to get home?  Yes, we were definitely ready to go home.  We finally entered Phoenix.  I checked the temperature and it was 104 degrees.  Welcome home!  I exited at Happy Valley Road and went east and stopped at my Daughter, Lori’s, Chiropractic office and got adjusted.  My leg had been hurting a lot the past four days because we were riding for long periods of time.  The longer we rode, the more my leg hurt.  I limped into Lori’s office, she adjusted me and my leg and I didn’t limp when I walked out!  WOW!  I felt better.  I left at 3:49 PM and headed home.

I rode for 7 miles and arrived home at 4:01 PM.  Laura and Connor were outside waiting for me to arrive.  That was a nice welcome.  Laura welcomed me, as a wife would, and Connor welcomed me by laughing at my beard and touching it, laughing some more.  It was good to be home!  By the way, Gabriel was inside the house with his sister, Andie.  Gabriel’s face lit up when he saw me.  He wouldn’t let me put him down for a while.  Also, my dogs were very happy to see me!

Today, we rode for 435 miles.  Of course, others will have a different total for the day.  You have to remember, this is MY blog. I rode 435 miles today.  If they object, they can write their own blog and post their mileages!  We rode through 28 different states.  Some states we entered more than once.  I had a total of 8,458 miles.  I would have had more miles had I not been down for a day.  We met some great people and some that we just wondered about.  As I have stated before, nothing in this Blog was written with any malicious intent.  I simply wrote what happened.  There are some things that I didn’t post that really happened.  Similar to the Las Vegas saying, “What happens on the Ride, stays on the Ride!”  Like I’ve said before, many people go out of the country to vacation.  Why don’t they just stay here and visit the many wonderful sights that the good old U.S.A. has to offer?

Many thanks go to Laura for allowing me to go on the Ride and leaving her home with the two Grandsons.  Believe me, I will make it good! 

Next year, I heard that we may go to the Southeastern States.  As you have read my Blog, thinks can change!  Who knows where we will end up next.  We shall see.  So, until NEXT YEAR… 

       

O.M.G.!

DAY 24, TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013

Our alarms went off at the same time.  Jan and I got up and did the usual, you know, get dressed, pack, take a bag to the Motor and go to breakfast.  I packed my bag in my Motor and the others were doing the same.  Ken came up to me and we walked to the breakfast room.  We all had breakfast and then finished packing our Motors.  We decided to ride across the street to the gas station and gas up before we left.  We did and we left at 8:14 AM with C.E. in the lead.  He stopped before exiting the gas station parking lot, checked the traffic and turned right.  There was a sign across the street indicating that I-15 was left.  Chuck, Jan and I looked left and the interstate was about 2 blocks away.  Chuck looked at Jan and asked, “Where is he going?”  We all turned right because, that is what we do.  We rode for about a half mile, turned right and another quarter of a mile and stopped at a red light at Broadway.  C.E. was first in line, then Ken and Chuck.  There was a car between Chuck and Jan, Bruce and me.  C.E. turned right on a red light and even though there was a car coming, Ken managed to turn right also.  A couple of vehicles passed and Chuck was able to turn right.  C.E. and Ken continued westbound.  The traffic cleared a little and the car in front of us turned.  We were able to turn right also.  We accelerated past the car that was in front and we were headed west.  We got to a point where I saw that Chuck had pulled off of the road and was waiting for us.  I motioned for him to get going and he did.  As we rode another block or two, we saw Ken stopped at a gas station parking lot waiting for us.  We motioned for him to go on, but we were too close.  We all pulled into the parking lot and Ken rode out.  Chuck followed, as did the rest of us.  The interstate was just ahead of us and we saw C.E., turn right,  get on the cloverleaf, past the underpass.  We followed and just as we were getting on the cloverleaf, C.E. was getting off of the cloverleaf on the left side.  There was a frontage road with a small opening leading to it.  He was on the frontage road as we all continued on the cloverleaf and got on I-15 South.  The speed limit was 75 mph; however, we were only going 60 mph to give C.E. the opportunity to make a u-turn, get back on the cloverleaf, onto the interstate and catch up to us.  C.E. caught up to us and got into his lead position.  Whew!  We were back on track!  We rode at 80 mph on I-15 and stopped in McCammon, ID at 9:18 AM after riding 76 miles.  While we were there after our pit stop, a busload of Asians stopped and the Truck Stop was mobbed!  I went in and it was funny to walk amongst them and all I can see was the tops of their heads!  One nice gentleman asked me to take a picture of him with his camera in front of the Idaho map, which was displayed outside on the wall.  We left at 9:44 AM.

The Truck Stop was at the southeast corner of I-15 and US 30.  As we left, C.E. got us back on I-15.  YEA!  We were headed south.  We rode out of Idaho and into Utah.  We rode for a short distance and off to the right, I could see the blue waters of the Great Salt Lake.  We continued on and after riding for 108 miles, we stopped in Ogden, UT at 11:09 AM for gas.  We gassed up and took a little break, including a pit stop.  At this point, we all took off our jackets.  We were ready to go and we left at 11:34 AM with Chuck in the lead.

Chuck led us south and the speed limit was still 75 mph.  We were going about 80 mph, going along with traffic, and at times, we were passed by other cars.  We rode through Salt Lake City.  We continued for 72 miles and we stopped at 12:33 PM in American Fork, UT at a Subway.  I bet you didn’t see that one coming!  We finished our meal and went out to our Motors.  Chuck looked in the map for the nearest Harley Davidson Store and found one nearby.  It was lunch hour here in American Fork…where?...American Fork.  It was tough to get out of the parking lot to go left.  We all finally got out of the parking lot and into the roadway and headed for the Harley store.  Remember that yesterday, I told you that Bruce led us into a parking lot of one of the geysers in Yellowstone and Jan turned in the parking lot, hitting a pot hole and breaking the spring to his kickstand?  Well, we were going to the Harley store to get it fixed.  We left at 1:15 PM.

Chuck took us through the city of American Fork…where?...American Fork and to the back way to the Harley Davidson Dealership.  We could have just gotten back on I-15, rode for a mile or two, get off and ride into the Dealership.  NOPE!  We rode for 5 miles through town and at 1:25 PM we arrived at the Dealership, in Linden, UT.  Jan went in and bought the spring.  He asked the service guys if they could install it and it was done in a matter of minutes.  I think that the price of the spring, plus the install was less than $20.  Jan was lucky!  We were ready to continue on and we left at 1:48 PM. 

We continued on southbound on I-15.  We rode for 111 miles, which didn’t seem that long, and stopped in Fillmore, UT at 3:11 PM for gas.  Chuck came to my Motor and stated, “Hey Al, I GOTTA PEE!”  This was a good time to do that!  I had told him the same thing when we stopped earlier today in McCammon.  We took a short break and we were ready to roll.  We left at 3:39 PM with Jan in the lead.

Jan took us back onto I-15 and we were headed south at 80 mph.  We couldn’t believe that 80 was the posted speed limit.  We were talking later that the last time we saw an 80 mph speed limit was when we were in Texas.  We rode for 111 miles and at 5:09 PM, we stopped in Cedar City, UT.  Jan knew exactly where to go.  We stopped at a Holiday Inn Express.  Apparently, two years ago, on the “couples ride,” they stopped here at this Holiday Inn Express.  That was the year that Laura and I didn’t go with them.  I know that the couples didn’t have as much fun without Laura and me!  Jan, Ken and I went in to “make the deal.”  The deal was made and a good price was given to us.  We checked in, unloaded our Motors, took the bags to our rooms and waited for about 20 minutes before we all met in the lobby to go to dinner.  When it was time, we rode to the other side of I-15 and went to an Appleby’s restaurant.  It was mentioned that this being our last night on our annual ride that we ate at an Appleby’s.  The first night of our annual ride, we ate at an Appleby’s in Albuquerque, NM.  We finished dinner, returned to the hotel and “tucked” our Motors in for the night.

Today, we rode for 488 miles.  We are about halfway home from where we were last night.  If all goes well tomorrow, we should be riding home in the afternoon.  We shall see.  So, until tomorrow… 

     

Bear Tooth Pass & Yellowstone National Park

DAY 23, MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2013

Stereo!  My alarm and C.E.’s alarm sounded together.  We got up, got dressed and packed.  We took a bag out to our Motors.  Some of the other guys were already at their Motors packing them, wiping them or talking to the other travelers.  I went to the breakfast room first and ate.  The others followed.  As I was eating, there were several others there eating also.  A Lady Winger asked me, “Do you know what a Harley rider gets after he dies and goes to heaven?   A GOLD WING!  You know, I’m sure that they do!  The Harley boys were told that and they laughed.  While we were having breakfast, Chuck told me that he had looked on the internet and found that the American Motorcycle Association had a poll of many riders and made a list of the Top 15 rides in the U.S.  On this year’s ride, we have done the top 3!  We did them in descending order.  We rode #3 first, Tale of the Dragon, #2 was second, Blue Ridge Mountains and #1 was last and that is Bear Tooth Pass.  All three were awesome to ride.  We all finished breakfast and we left at 8:06 AM and I was leading.

We headed south to Bear Tooth Pass.  It was 57 degrees and clear.  We passed a sign that read, “Bear Tooth Pass is Open.”  We rode on this awesome road with curves, uphill’s, downhill’s, switchbacks and decreasing radius turns.  Bear Tooth Pass has an elevation of 10,947 feet.  The traffic was light and we almost had the road to ourselves.  We rode for 25 miles and at 8:33 AM, we stopped at Rock Creek Vista Point.  We walked over to the guard rail and looked down to the bottom of the mountain.  It sure was a long way down!  There was a minivan with a family of four playing and feeding the chipmunks.  There was also a long walkway to the end was a scenic view.  Just before we started walking to the scenic view, we heard that the dog inside of the minivan had locked the doors and the family out of the van.  We didn’t understand why the father would leave the keys in the ignition and leave the dog alone in the van.  We went to the scenic view area while C.E. stayed with his Trike.  When we returned, there was double the amount of Motorcycles parked in the parking lot than there was when we walked away.  The minivan was also gone.  A couple of highway workers helped the father get his minivan open.  We saddled up and left at 9:00 AM.

We continued up the steep mountain for another 8 miles and stopped at 9:12 AM at the Bear Tooth Basin, which is the summer ski run.  There were several skiers there and the ski lift was in operation.  There was one guy there with a snow mobile.  We took some pictures and then left at 9:23 AM.

We continued on through this beautiful countryside.  There was a lot of snow in the area and by the side of the road.  We rode on and crossed over into Wyoming and soon after, crossed back over into Montana.  We rode on and soon came into Cooke, MT at 10:11 AM, where we stopped for a pit stop after riding 58 miles.  Cooke was a neat little town.  It was funny that when I was leading and decided to pull over into the parking lot of an Exxon gas station, Jan parked across the street.  Ken was behind Jan and followed the leader and parked next to me.  C.E. was next in line and followed Ken and parked with me.  Bruce and Chuck parked across the street.  Hondas on one side of the street and the Harleys were on the other.  At least we didn’t have to worry about riding over the oil!  We made our pit stop and took a short break.  Ken and I went into the Trading post and came out with a couple of purchases.  We soon left at 10:46 AM.

We rode on and soon entered Yellowstone National Park, or is it Jellystone?  Hey Boo Boo!  We made it through the guard shack and entered the Park.  This was the first time for all of us to go into Yellowstone through the north entrance.  We rode through the beautiful Park and soon we came upon some buffalo!  First we saw one or two.  Later we saw several in a small herd.  We rode for 118 miles and at 11:32 AM, we stopped at the Tower-Roosevelt Junction.  We stopped there because we were going to turn left; however, there was a sign that read that the road was a dirt road for at least 10 miles.  We stopped to check the map and maybe go a different direction.  While we were stopped, Bruce got off of his Motor and walked to the restroom for a pit stop.  We found what we were looking for and then we were off.  We left at 11:43 AM.

We headed west and after a few miles, we had to stop because of traffic and two, young female forest Rangers.  The two females told us that we could continue; however, there was a black bear a little ways off of the road and we could stop for only a short time and take a picture.  We rode about 100 yards and there was a male forest Ranger standing by his marked, Police car.  He was there to make sure that no one walked up to the bear.  I asked him where the bear was, as we couldn’t see him.  The Ranger pointed up towards where the bear was and I saw him.  The bear was lying on his back and it looked like the bear was waving at us.  By this point, thanks to the Bear Tooth Pass, the battery to my camera was dead!  I wasn’t able to take any pictures.  Jan, Ken and I continued, as Chuck waited a little while, got his camera and took a picture of the bear.  We then continued.  It was close to lunchtime and we didn’t know what to expect in the way of someplace to stop and eat.  We rode for 18 miles and at 12:14 PM, we stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs.  There were a few elk lying in the grass of the businesses there with signs warning people to leave the elk alone and not to approach them.  They were does.  We parked in front of a medical clinic.  I walked in and asked them if I could plug in my camera battery and recharge it.  The allowed me to do it.  We went on to have lunch and when we were done, I went back and picked it up.  We had decided to gas up there and go.  We left at 1:23 PM with Bruce in the lead.

We continued on enroute to Old Faithful geyser.  We came upon another, smaller geyser and the parking lot was full.  A lot of people were walking up to the geyser.  Bruce slowed to turn into the parking lot.  Jan was riding second.  Jan told Bruce NOT to turn in, but Bruce did.  As Jan turned in after Bruce, Jan’s Motor hit a pothole and broke the spring to the kickstand.  Jan told Bruce to make a u-turn and get out of the parking lot and go on to the next one.  Jan immediately stopped, as did Ken and I.  Jan got off of his Motor and asked Ken to hold it up while he looked at the kickstand spring.  He made a quick repair, for the meantime.  Jan got back on his Motor and drove out of the parking lot, telling Chuck, who had parked across the street with C.E., that he was going on.  Ken and I followed.  Bruce also followed and eventually we caught up with Jan.  Jan turned into the Old Faithful geyser parking lot.  Bruce stayed at the turn off to wait for Chuck and C.E.  Jan, Ken and I went on and parked by the building by the geyser at 2:42 PM after riding 55 miles.  The others finally arrived.  We discussed where we were going next to get Jan’s Motor fixed.  Two places came up.  Jackson, WY. and Idaho Falls, ID, both, have Harley Davidson Stores.  It was decided that we would go to Jackson.  Jan suggested that he ride down quickly, take care of the problem and then wait for the rest to arrive.  I told Jan that I would go with him.  We left at 3:09 PM.

Jan and I rode south towards the South Entrance.  We were make pretty good time on the road.  We followed Yellowstone Lake and eventually made it out of Yellowstone.  As we exited Yellowstone National Park, it started to rain.  We stopped just long enough to put on our rain jackets and we continued on.  We rode into Grand Teton National Park.  We also rode along Jackson Lake.  It was a big lake and when we got to the south end, we turned west.  As we turned west, there were numerous cars and trucks parked alongside of the road.  All of the people were out of their vehicles looking north.  As we rode past the vehicles, I looked north and saw a large grizzly bear.  I told Jan that there was a bear north of us.  We stopped and took out my camera and took pictures of the bear.  Soon there was another bear running after the first.  I took pictures of both bears.  I even took a short video of the bears running and playing.  We soon continued on.  We rode for 101 miles and at 5:37 PM we stopped at the Harley Davidson store in Jackson, WY.  We went in and found that this store only sold clothing.  Jan got a phone message from Chuck that they had changed their minds and were enroute to Idaho Falls, ID.  Jan and I left for Idaho Falls at 5:55 PM.

I led the way out of Jackson, WY and on to Idaho Falls.  We rode over Teton Pass.  What a road!  Unfortunately, we had a few cars and a tour bus ahead of us and there was no passing allowed on the Pass.  Bummer!  We made it through Teton Pass and stopped after riding 25 miles in Victor, ID at 6:30 PM for gas.  We put our jackets on because it got down to 52 degrees!  We didn’t stay very long.  We gassed up and left at 6:38 PM. 

I led again.  We rode for 71 miles and rode into Idaho Falls at 7:50 PM at an Exxon Gas station.  Jan got on his phone and found that he had a message from Chuck.  Chuck had left a message saying that the rest of the Group was at a Best Western in Idaho Falls and gave the address.  I put the address on the Navigation System and away we went.  We left at 7:58 PM.

We rode for 5 miles and stopped at the Best Western where the Group was.  We arrived at 8:03 PM.  We checked in, and the guys were in the lobby waiting for us.  Chuck had secured a room for us at their rate.  They were waiting for us to unload our Motors, take our bags to our room and “tuck” our Motors in for the night so that we could walk across the street for dinner.  We did all that and went to dinner.

Today, Jan and I rode for 380 miles.  I don’t know how many miles the other guys rode.  We went on a great ride with Bear Tooth Pass.  We saw some critters in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.  We didn’t get Jan’s Motor fixed but we will do that tomorrow.

We plan to head south and end up somewhere in Utah.  I’m not sure where.  Tomorrow should be our last night outside of Arizona.  We should be home by Wednesday.  We shall see.  So, until tomorrow… 

       

South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana

DAY 22, SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013

Well, Good Morning People!  After last night’s storm in Spearfish, S.D., I finished my blog and pictures by 9 PM.  I actually got to sleep by 10:30 PM!  I had eight hours of sleep and I woke up to my alarm at 6:30 AM, refreshed.  C.E.’s alarm sounded just as mine did.  We got up and dressed, packed and took a couple of bags to my Motor.  I wiped my Motor from the rain last night.  There were older gentlemen there with old, classic, restored cars.  One was a 1956 Chevy, 1961 Chevy, 1978 Olds Cutlass and others.  They all live in Washington and, once a year, they go out riding the country.  Does that sound familiar?  It was a CLEAR day and it was brisk.  We had breakfast and were soon ready to go.  We left at 8:09 AM with Jan in the lead.

Jan led us through Spearfish and into Belle Fourche.  On our Four Corner’s Ride, we rode into, stopped and took pictures in Belle Fourche.  This town is the geographic center of the United States, including Hawai’i and Alaska.  I accidently found it in the map when I was doing the blog and getting information from the map.  It was very fitting that we stopped there since we were doing the Four Corners.  After going through Belle Fourche, we turned onto US 212 West. This road is a two lane highway with farms, grasslands and hills.  We rode for a short distance and before we knew it, we came upon a sign, “Welcome to Wyoming.”  I wasn’t prepared for it.  I tried taking a picture of it but I missed it!  I did; however, take pictures of antelope and deer.  They were a lot of them scattered in pairs and small groups.  We passed an unmarked Police SUV who had pulled over a midsize, white car. A female wearing pajama bottoms had just gotten back into her car as we passed them.  She drove up behind us and a few miles later, she passed us…in a “No Passing Zone.”  We rode for 112 miles and stopped in Broadus, MT at 9:44 AM for gas.  When we rode up to the Conoco Station, the white car was parked there and the lady in the pajama bottoms was walking out of the mini-mart.  We also needed a pit stop, as I showed the guys when we pulled up.  I was the second in line and stopped in front of the mini-mart and went inside to the restroom instead of gassing up first!  The others followed suit after gassing up.  We left at 10:11 AM with Ken in the lead.

Ken got us back on US 212 west.  We rode passed more farms and grasslands and then entered Custer National Forest.  We rode for a while and came upon a town called, “Crow Agency.”  There was a road leading to the Little Bighorn Battleground.  Ken stopped at the Exxon and thought that maybe we could take a break.  Chuck rode up to Ken and suggested to continue on and stop elsewhere where there was a Subway for lunch. We continued west, and after riding 127 miles, we stopped in Hardin, MT at 12:12 PM at a Subway.  The Subway was connected to a Casino and bar.  We didn’t go in to gamble.  We left at 1:04 PM.

Back on I-90, we headed for Billings, MT.  We didn’t need to go very far.  We rode for 49 miles and stopped at 1:44 PM at a Conoco gas station.  We gassed up and parked our Motors at the opposite end of the parking lot.  Everyone got off their Motors to go into the mini-mart and I was the last to leave the Motors.  I walked away, stopped and turned back to get my water bottle.  I noticed that all of the Motors were shut off except Chuck’s.  Chuck’s Motor had its headlight on.  I went and turned the ignition off for him.  After we were all back at our Motors, I went to Chuck and looked at the map to see where we were going.  He told me that we were going to Red Lodge, MT.  I put it on my Navigation System and we left at 2:04 PM and I had the lead.

As we were going west on I-90, the mountains to the west of us were snowcapped.  I haven’t been in this area before so I wasn’t sure if we were going in that direction.   We exited on Exit 434 and went west on US 212 West, again.  It was a two lane road with a 70 mph speed limit.  We couldn’t go much faster because of the traffic.  After riding 62 miles, we arrived in Red Lodge, MT at 3:03 PM at the Comfort Inn.  Jan, Chuck and I went in to “make the deal.”  We did get the price lowered too much because the young lady at the counter told us that there were no specials.  We asked her a question and she had to go to the back room and talk with the manager.  She came back with her final offer.  We had no choice but to take it.  We all checked in, unloaded our bags from our Motors and took them to the rooms.  Jan, Chuck and Bruce rode about a mile away to the Bear Tooth Harley Davidson store.  I bet that you would have never guessed!  I also bet that you can’t guess what they got at the store. 

While the Harley Boys were gone, I got my computer and went to the breakfast room and started my blog.  I am determined to finish this blog and the pictures that I can get another 8 hours of sleep.  It is now 3:51 PM here and I am about finished.  Eight hours of sleep is definite for tonight.  We will be riding to a dinner place.  We will go and have dinner and when we return to the hotel, we will “tuck” our Motors in for the night.

Today, we rode 350 miles.  We had great weather and no problems.  Life is good!  Tomorrow, we will ride Bear Tooth Pass and ride into Yellowstone National Park.  I have never been there and am fortunate that I will be leading the Group through the Park.  Stand by for plenty of pictures!  I don’t know where we will end up tomorrow.  We shall see.  So, until tomorrow…

  

Honda Repair...Again?

DAY 21, SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2013

 

Well, this was a first!  Last night I was finished with the Blog and pictures at a little after 9 PM.  I couldn’t believe it.  I showered and packed a few things and got ready for bed.  Jan and I were watching TV and it was turned off at about 11 PM.  We were ready to go to sleep but we stayed up talking until just before midnight.  Both of our alarms sounded at 6:30 AM.  We got up, got dressed and packed our bags.  I went through our room to make sure that we had collected all of our stuff.  We walked down to breakfast and all of the guys had breakfast together.  C.E. told Chuck that he heard a “rubbing” on his Trike and was concerned.  He told Chuck that he wanted to stop at a Honda Dealer in Rapid City.  I finished and went to my Motor and wiped it down.  I went to my room and I got my bags to pack them.  We all packed our bags in our Motors and we were ready to leave.  We hoped for a long day of riding and racking up a lot of miles.  We left at 8:08 AM with Greg in the lead.

We rode out of the parking lot and turned right.  Greg in the lead, followed by Ken, Bruce, Jan, Me, C.E. and Chuck.  After turning, we rode onto the Bridge of the Missouri River.  What a beautiful, picturesque sight.  We rode along the river for a while.  Greg had accelerated to 5 miles over the speed limit of 75.  We all accelerated to keep up with him.  There was a slight gap between Ken and Bruce.  C.E. was about a quarter mile behind me and Chuck was about a half mile behind C.E.  Greg accelerated to 85, back down to 75 and back to 80.  Ken rode up to Greg and yelled to him to SET his cruise control.  Ken yelling at Greg must have worked because we continued at a very steady 78 mph as per my speedometer.  We continued west.  We rode for 75 miles and stopped at 9:06 AM at a Pilot Truck Stop in Murdo, SD.  Just as we all parked together, Chuck told everyone to get off the bikes, go in and pee and get back on the bikes so that we could go.  We were all still there when Chuck made the announcement, then I ran inside to the restroom!  We all used the facilities and went outside by our Motors.  I went inside to get change so that I could pay Jan the difference for the last two nights hotel stays.  As I got to the cashier, Greg was in line with a large cup of hot chocolate!  Chuck didn’t even buy coffee!  After Greg went outside with the guys, he got yelled at for getting the hot chocolate and not hurrying.  Chuck told Greg to stop at Wall Drug.  We have passed numerous signs advertising Wall Drug.  Greg downed his hot chocolate and we were off again.  We left at 9:25 AM. 

We all lined up along side of the street, across from the Pilot Truck Stop, waiting for Greg.  He came out and we got back on I-90 west.  We rode on and Greg set his cruise control to 80 mph.  Again, there was a large gap between Ken and Bruce.  Jan and I were behind Bruce.  C.E. was about a quarter mile behind me and Chuck was at least three quarters of a mile behind C.E.  We rode like this for a while and Bruce wasn’t closing the gap.  We were all in the right lane of a two lane interstate.  I was in the left lane.  Jan changed to the left lane and motioned to me as to say, “shall we pass?’  I motioned to Jan, “Yes, do it!”  We screamed by Bruce, passing him and we positioned ourselves behind Greg and Ken.  The gap between Bruce and Me increased.  I was watching my rearview mirror and saw that C.E. had changed to the left lane.  They were very far behind me and Chuck was very far behind them.  I saw C.E. then pass Bruce and closed the distance between him and me.  C.E. was now behind me, close by, and Bruce and Chuck were very far behind.  We continued until we got to the exit for Wall, SD.  Greg exited and we were in this little town of Wall.  We followed the signs to Wall Drug.  I expected to see a large building, such as a Costco.  It appeared to be about four square blocks of stores.  We parked the Motors at 10:34 AM after riding 85 miles.  We started to walk the sidewalks and I noticed above each door, there was a sign that said, “Wall Drug 1^st Main Entrance, Wall Drug 2^nd Main Entrance, Wall Drug 3^rd Main Entrance, “etc.  Now, I followed Chuck, Bruce and Jan.  Guess where they went?  Yes, you are right!  They went to the “Badlands Harley Davidson” store.  They each bought a quart of oil and a Harley shirt.  I bet you would have never guessed!  We walked around for a few more minutes and found C.E. and Ken sitting in a coffee shop.  We soon all headed back to our Motors to get ready to leave.  We left at 11:20 AM.

Prior to leaving, Jan told Greg that Chuck had about enough gas to go another 20 or so miles.  Greg led us back to I-90.  After riding 15 miles, Greg stopped at a Mobile gas station at 11:35 AM in Wasta, SD.  The drive off of the road was a little shaky.  The driveway was rock.  It made for interesting riding to the pumps.  There was a U.S. Marine Jet parked, for display, just a short distance from the pumps.  We all gassed up and Ken suggested to Greg to walk over to the Jet so that he could take a picture of Greg and the Jet.  We all got back on our Motors and left at 11:44 AM with Jan in the lead.

Jan got us back onto I-90 and we were going about 80 mph, steady.  This was very beautiful landscape and everything was GREEN!  At one point, I saw a small herd of about 15 antelope by the side of the road on the right side.  Nobody else saw them and we passed too quickly for me to take a picture, so I guess I didn’t see them and it didn’t happen!  That’s the standing rule!  We went a little further and there was a sign that stated that we were in a different time zone.  We gained another hour.  We rode for another 41 miles and arrived at Rice Honda & Suzuki in Rapid City, SD at 11:23 AM.  That is the correct time.  Remember, we gained another hour!

We rode up to the parking lot of Rice Honda and parked.  C.E. rode to the Service Department.  Earlier, Greg told C.E. that he was familiar with Rice Honda.  At last year’s ride, this is the Dealership that took care of him when he wrecked his Honda.  His Honda was towed to a Dealership in Casper, WY.  They couldn’t fix it and Rice Honda could.  The Motorcycle was shipped to Rice Honda to be repaired.  The Motor was “totaled”. One of the mechanics was the one who bought Greg’s wrecked Honda from the insurance company.  I walked into the store and was immediately greeted by a young lady at a table with pizzas.  The store was having a Victory Motorcycle celebration.  There was free pizza, juice, tea, Klondike Bars and popcorn.  We all enjoyed the “free” food.  This took the place of having to go out to lunch.  I couldn’t resist getting two slices of the Little Caesar’s Pizza.  Ken saw a Motorcycle that he really liked.  Jan told a salesman and he went to try and help Ken with the purchase.  They talked and Ken tried to deal.  They went out to appraise his Motor, but the bottom line was that they wanted too much for the Motorcycle. I called the salesman, who we spoke with in Chattanooga, TN.  He told me that Rice Honda wanted too much for the Motorcycle and that they could do a MUCH BETTER deal in Chattanooga.  I told Ken.  Ken didn’t buy the Motorcycle.  We waited for a while and checked out the “toys” in the showroom and those parked outside in the parking lot.  We were told that it would take about four hours to fix C.E.’s Trike.  Also, C.E. was lucky that this Dealership also builds the same kind of Trike that C.E. has.  Greg told us that he was leaving the Group to head back to Washington.  We said our goodbyes and told C.E. that we were going ahead to find a hotel and we would text him the address.  We left at 1:23 PM.

Jan led the FIVE of us west towards Sturgis.  There is a Best Western there and we hoped to stay there for the night, thinking that C.E. would be tied up for another four hours.  We arrived in Sturgis at 1:53 PM after riding 31 miles.  We arrived at the Best Western and a couple of guys went in to “make the deal.”  They came out and told us that there were not enough rooms available.  Chuck, Jan and I checked on our phones looking for a hotel in the area.  I had received a text from Greg that C.E. would be ready to leave in 10 minutes.  Chuck found a hotel in Spearfish and held the three rooms with his credit card.  C.E. arrived to meet us at about 2:45 PM.  C.E. told us that Rice Honda was in the process of “building” a Trike from the same conversation kit as C.E.’s.  What they did was to take the parts that they needed from the kit and put it on C.E.’s Trike, under warranty.  We all left at 2:51 PM.

We got back onto I-90 again.  The sky was getting darker in the direction that we were going.  I listened to the Weather Band and heard that in the area, there was a 70% to 80% of a hard rain in the afternoon.  We rode for 23 miles and arrived at the Day’s Inn at 3:17 PM.  We went in and checked in, got our rooms, unpacked our Motors, parked them under the awning and “tucked” them in for the night. 

After getting my bags into my room with C.E., I took my computer to the breakfast room to do the blog.  Soon after I got into the breakfast room, it started to rain.  There was also a very strong wind.  Reports told us that there were wind gusts of 60 mph.  As I was looking out of the window, it started to hail, and then GOLFBALL sized hail.  I seriously thought that the windows were going to break.  WOW!  We were all very glad that we ended up staying here for the night.  If we continued, we would have definitely been caught in this storm.  As I’m typing the Blog, C.E. told me that the Weather Service reported several tornado sightings in a few counties.  We don’t know which county we are in so we are going to think that we are not affected!  How is that for thinking?  That’s the Power of Positive Thinking! 

Well, today we only road 270 miles.  We were able to get C.E.’s Trike fixed.  We lost another rider and we escaped one hellacious storm!  We didn’t get to our destination; however, it’s better than the alternative…getting caught in the storm.

Tomorrow, depending on the weather, we hope to get to Red Lodge, Montana.  That is the start of Bear Tooth Pass.  Last year, they guys were snowed out and were unable to ride it.  Hopefully, this year, we will be able to ride it.  We shall see.  So, until tomorrow…  

        

Thunder, Rain and Tornadoes

DAY 20, FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013

NOTHING like waking up to rain, thunder and news reports of tornadoes, especially when you are riding a Motorcycle!  My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM, but I was already awake.  Jan was awake also, because of several claps of thunder before the alarms sounded.  Jan was awakened by the thunder and the sound of rain hitting a tin roof.  Well, it wasn’t a tin roof.   It was the window that the rain was hitting.  Jan had put the Weather Channel on the TV in his room and heard the report that there was a tornado warning for Rochester.  I heard the thunder, but to me it sounded like a Harley rider revving up his engine close by.  We got up and got dressed.  I looked outside and everything was wet!  We packed our bags and then walked across the street in the rain to go to the hotel lobby for breakfast.  We were the first to arrive; however, the room was crowded.  Apparently, there were a lot of guests in the hotel.  A lot of the young girls were part of a swim team.  This hotel also caters to the Families of the Patients who go to the local Mayo Clinic.  It was apparent that we were going to leave with rain gear on.  I went back to my room and put my gear on and loaded my Motor.  The other guys stayed in the breakfast room and finally got back to the rooms at about 9 AM.  Jan told me that Chuck said that we would leave at 9:30 AM.  We all got packed, put on our rain gear and left for the nearest gas station.  We gassed up and left at 9:39 AM with C.E. in the lead.

C.E. got us back onto I-90 West.  It was windy and the Weather Band reported 39 mph wind gusts.  We were sometimes riding slanted to the left, like as if we were making left turns.  We rode through a town named Austin.  There was construction on the interstate.  There were large traffic cones closing off the right lane.  All of the traffic was required to drive on the left lane.  There were exits allowed and the traffic cones marked them.  We were riding about 40 mph because of traffic.  C.E. was behind a truck and really couldn’t see around the truck.  At one point, the truck took an exit from the interstate.  C.E. was so close to the truck that he followed the truck and we all got off of the interstate.  I, along with others I’m sure, was wondering why we were getting off of the interstate.  We came up to an intersection with a Stop Sign.  We stopped, and then continued straight up the ramp to get back on to the interstate.  I was watching the traffic on the interstate going westbound.  It didn’t appear that the road was closed and forcing everyone to exit.  Well, we all got back on; however, we were separated by traffic.  After riding for about a mile to two, the road opened back up and we had two lanes again.  At this point we all got back together again.  We rode for 58 miles and stopped at the Oakland Woods Roadside Rest Area in Albert Lea, MN at 10:32 AM.   The first thing that we did was to take off our rain gear!

When we arrived, C.E. didn’t say anything to anyone as to why he got off of the interstate and then back on.  We didn’t ask.  When we were done, we continued westbound.  It was still very windy.  The road was very good, but it was kind of warm.  It was 86 degrees and it was getting us very tired and sleepy.  Don’t worry!  We all stayed awake.  No one slept while we were riding.  I simply took a short nap.  No harm, no foul!  We rode for 87 miles and C.E. stopped at 12:03 AM at a “Kum & Go”…a what?!, for lunch at the Subway.  It’s a good thing that we got in when we did because after we got served, it got very crowded!  We finished our lunch and then we were off at 12:56 PM.

C.E. didn’t have much more gas in his tank.  We rode for 45 miles and stopped at 1:36 PM for gas in Worthington, MN.  Some of the guys got coffee, others got pop, while others got snacks.  I couldn’t resist the good, old ice cream sandwich.  We had seen on the Weather Channel this morning that there was another storm front going east and was in South Dakota.  We knew that as the storm traveled east, we were riding west; we would meet up somewhere in South Dakota.  The sky to the west was getting darker as we rode west.  We left at 1:53 PM with Chuck in the lead.

Chuck took us west on I-90 at a quick pace.  Don’t worry!  There were other cars and trucks passing us.  We rode and it was still 86 degrees.  The wind had died down a little.  We were all enjoying the ride and the “Welcome to South Dakota” sign came up on us unexpectantly.  We passed the sign so quickly that I was not able to get the camera out and take a picture of it.  Sorry to you, South Dakota fans, who won’t be able to see a picture of the sign.  I’ll try harder next time!  We rode for 100 miles and stopped at 3:10 PM at a Roadside Rest Area in Salem, SD.  We all went in for a pit stop.  We spoke with the couple behind the counter.  They were very helpful by answering all of the questions that we had, especially Greg.  He seems to have more questions than anyone I know.  The lady behind the counter told us that they received a report that a tornado had touched down in a small town 50 miles north of the Rest Area.  As she was telling us that information, the lights in the building flickered and then turned off!  The sky was very dark to the west and north of us.  The lights came back on.  Chuck got his phone and had the Doppler Radar of the area.  The storm was going in a Northeastern direction.  We were trying to decide whether to put on our rain gear and continue west or stay put and wait out the storm.  With what Chuck found out about the storm on his phone, we didn’t put on any rain gear and we continued west!  Gutsy or stupid, we did it.  It was 86 degrees and very windy when we left the Rest Area.  I watched how the wind was pushing Chuck left and right.  At times, he was having some difficulty keeping his Motor in his lane.  He actually slowed his speed to the posted speed limit!  It started to cool down the more we rode west.  Within 18 miles, the temperature went from 86 degrees down to 68 degrees!  It was very cool and some of the guys complained later that they wanted to stop and put on a jacket.  I thought that it was nice riding.  I put my heater on my Motor and enjoyed the ride!  You gotta love the Gold Wing!  It was a good ride.  The wind was pretty strong.  I checked the Weather Band and it was reported that we were experiencing wind gusts in the upper 40 mph.  I don’t remember the specific number.  As we rode, I was trying to break the monotony.  I rode up to Chuck and handed him a Tootsie Roll.  I then slowed and waited for Jan to catch up and I handed him a Tootsie Roll also.  Something to do!  It kept me awake.  We rode for 101 miles and stopped for gas in Chamberlain, SD at 4:58 PM.  We talked about the last stretch of riding and thought that it was pretty cool what we rode in.  The clouds, possible rain, possible tornado, the wind, the Tootsie Rolls; they were all the topic of conversation.  Also in this town were other gas stations and hotels.  One of which was a Best Western.  We talked about possibly riding further west.  Chuck and I checked our phones to see where the next hotel would be.  We couldn’t find one on our phones.  We decided to go to the local Best Western to see if they had a South Dakota Map with BW hotels listed.  We left at 5:25 PM.

We rode through town and after 4 miles; we arrived at the Best Western at 5:38 PM.  It was awesome; not the hotel, but just south of the hotel is a big bridge.  This bridge spans over the Missouri River.  We will ride over the bridge tomorrow.  I will take some pictures of the bridge and river tomorrow.  I went in to “make the deal” with the clerk so that we could stay here.  I made a deal; however, not as good as I had hoped.  Nevertheless, we are here for the night.  We got our rooms, parked the Motors, unloaded them and took the bags to our rooms.  We rode about a half mile to Charley’s Restaurant, family owned, and had dinner.  We returned to the hotel, parked our Motors and “tucked” them in for the night.

We rode 395 miles today.  We didn’t get to Rapid City, SD where we had hoped to get to today.  It was a far stretch because it was more than 500 miles from our starting point.  Tomorrow, we should get out of South Dakota and into Wyoming.  I will make sure that I take a picture of the sign!  Once we cross the border, we will be getting into another time zone and we will gain another hour.  I’m not sure where we will end up tomorrow.  The Weather Channel is calling for more showers in the area.  We shall see.  So, until tomorrow…

p.s. I forgot to mention on yesterday’s blog.  Last night, J.B. texted Chuck just before dinner telling him that he is home now, safe and sound!  

                                           

Lost My Book!

DAY 19, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

Last night, I couldn’t believe that I actually finished the blog and pictures early!  I was able to go downstairs to the lobby and talk to Laura for a while.  I got to bed BEFORE midnight.  My alarm was set for 6:30 AM, as usual.  Wouldn’t you know it, my eyes popped open at 5:50 AM?  I fell back to sleep and the alarm woke me up.  This time, I didn’t want to get up!  I got up and started getting dressed.  Chuck got up and looked outside.  He saw 5 Motors, clear weather and he was happy.  We got dressed and packed our stuff.  We each took out a couple of bags to our Motors.  A couple of the guys were busy with their Motors and bags.  We went to have breakfast.  We were all eating and it was very quiet.  I guess we missed J.B.’s conversation, whit and opinions.   We finished and went to our rooms to get the rest of our stuff, packed the Motors and we were ready for the day.  Ken got with Chuck and both looked at the map and Ken was full of the knowledge as to where we were going.  I bet his helmet felt a little tight!  We left at 8:22 AM.

Ken took off like a bat out of hell.  We went around the lake and through an intersection.  Most of the guys got through except for Jan and Me.  We got caught at the red light and the Group had to stop and wait.  OK, the light turned green and away we went.  We rode through the town, passing the Country Club, the golf course, houses, farms and we finally got to I-94 westbound.  We wanted to get to LaCrosse, MN.  We were trying to get close enough that tomorrow; we could meet up with a good friend, Gary Mulleneaux, somewhere close to Rochester, MN.  We rode to downtown Chicago, because C.E. had never been there and has never seen the skyline.  We got close to the city and were on the interstate with a speed limit of 55 mph.  It’s a good thing that we didn’t go 55 mph, because if we did, we would been run over!  Those people drove like, “insane people!”  They would change lanes into our lane when there was a car length and a half between riders.  The big trucks would change lanes in front of us.  It was about 9:30 AM and it looked as though the morning rush hour was still happening.  Thank God that our resident, “Wild Man,” Ken was in the lead!  He did a great job in getting us through Chicago.  I was taking a lot of pictures of the city while we rode through it.  We continued on and after riding 96 miles, we stopped in Wilmette, IL at 9:56 AM for gas…and a breather!  This was the MOST expensive place that we have bought gas.  I am NOT going to print the price because I promised Laura that I would not get vulgar on the blog!  We took a little break to calm down from the roller coaster ride that is called, The Express Freeway of Chicago.”  It was my turn to lead and I had my notebook on my back seat so that I could get to it easily to write down the time we leave; however I forgot to write down the time and didn’t secure the notebook.  We left at 10:22 AM.

We headed towards I-94.  As we got on the interstate, we accelerated.  Jan was behind me.  He rode up to me moments later and told me that I lost my notebook.  It had been blown off of the Motor and Jan told me later that it came close enough to him that he almost caught it!  I was bummed.  Luckily, I had already posted everything except what we had done this morning.  I remembered the “numbers” and locations that I had written in the notebook.  We rode on and all I could think about was my missing notebook.   We rode for a while and then rode through the City of Milwaukee.   As we rode north and turned West on I-94, Lake Michigan was to the right.  HUGE!!!  We continued on through the city and I took pictures.  We passed by Miller Park for the Milwaukee Brewers Professional Baseball Team.  It was a strange looking building but it looked cool.  The traffic in Milwaukee and west was heavy during the lunch hour.  The Group got separated a couple of times; however, we managed to get back together.  It was getting time for a break and I was riding in the curb lane with Jan behind me.  I saw a sign for a gas station.  I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Motorcycle headlights behind a big truck.  I figured it was the Group and they would see me turn off of the interstate at Exit 304.  As I was getting on the off ramp, I saw and heard Jan yell.  I got off and headed for the gas station to take a break.  As we got to the gas station and parked, I was bombarded by the guys that they were not prepared to take the exit, they were in the second lane, they had to scramble to get to the exit, etc. blah, blah, blah.  Chuck and Bruce didn’t make it to the exit and continued west.  Greg was already on the phone with Chuck.  Greg gave me the phone and Chuck told me that they were at Exit 297 at a Subway.  They would wait for us.  We headed back to the interstate to go and meet up with him.  I saw Exit 304 and at Exit 303, there was a Subway sign.  I thought that they had gotten off at Exit 303.  Exit 297 would have been another 6 miles.  I didn’t think that they would have gotten that far.  We made it to the Subway and Chuck and Bruce were not there.  I called Chuck and he told me that he and Bruce were at the Subway off of Exit 297.  We decided that they would eat there and we would eat at the Subway that we were at.  We went in and ordered our sandwiches.  As we were sitting, Chuck and Bruce came walking in.  We were together again.  We had ridden for 93 miles and arrived at the Subway at 12:12 PM in Pewaukee, WI.  I finished my lunch quickly and walked to the end of the mall, guessing about 400 yards, to a Dollar Store.  I needed to get another notebook and binder clip.  I bought them and returned to my Motor and copied the information that I had written on my windshield with my red, dry erase marker.  I’m back in business!  We were all ready to leave and we left at 1:05 PM.

We rode on I-94 west riding past farm after farm.  The road was very good and so was the weather, except it was 86 degrees.  It was OK if we were moving, so we kept it that way.  We rode for 87 more miles and at 2:21 PM we stopped in Portage, WI at a BP gas station for…gas!  We lucked out because under the roof of the building of the station, were other businesses.  There was a Subway, Dairy Queen and a restaurant.  Dairy Queen sounded very good to me.  Apparently it sounded good to everyone else.  We had a treat!  OK, we were all gassed up and ready to go.  We left at 3:05 PM with Bruce in the lead.

We continued west on I-94.  The Group rode in a tight formation.  No one lagged behind, no one got separated from the Group and we rode at 75 to 80 mph.  We passed more farms, and farms with cows.  WOW!  Those cows STINK!  We also passed farms that smelled of manure.  It was very strong.  We rode for 85 miles and stopped at a gas station for a pit stop in Sparta, WI at 4:17 PM.  We took a break and we were all sitting either on a bench by the side of the building or sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against the building.  Jan called Gary Mulleneaux to let him know that we were headed his way and if he was available to meet with us.  Gary was in Wisconsin at a concert and was not available.  We sat around and discussed riding to Rochester, MN.  Chuck checked on a Best Western in Rochester.  He got the address and gave it to me to put it in my Navigation System.  I did.  We left at 4:50 PM.

We left Sparta, now on I-90.  I was enjoying riding at the back of the Group.  We came upon a big bridge and the sign before it read, “Mississippi River.”  I quickly got my camera, turned it on and got two pictures of the River, left and right side.  No sooner that we crossed the bridge, there was a large sign up against a mountain that read, “Welcome to Minnesota.”  I got a picture of that sign also.  As we rode along the River, I took several pictures.  That River is WIDE!  We continued onward.  We passed more farms and there is much beauty!  We were riding and seeing nothing by farms when I looked to the right and saw a small skyline of a city.  It was Rochester, MN.  Bruce got us into the city and pulled into a parking lot of a mini mall.  Chuck told me that we were in Rochester and didn’t know how to get to the hotel.  He asked if I could now lead.  I did and after riding 100 miles, we stopped at the Best Western in Rochester at 6:28 PM.  Three of the guys went in to “make the deal.”  They came out and told us the good news on the price.  We told them to get the rooms.  After we got our rooms, we rode across the street to the other buildings where our rooms were.  We unloaded our Motors and “tucked” them in for the night.  The laundry room was next door to our room, so Jan and I were going to do our laundry later in the evening.  Ken, C.E. and Greg rode about 1 ½ miles to the nearest laundromat.  In the same strip mall were a couple of restaurants where they went and had dinner.  Chuck, Bruce and Jan went to the hot tub for a while and later returned to their rooms.  We walked across the street to the on property restaurant, The Twig, and had dinner.  Jan and I returned to our rooms.  I checked the laundry room and the two machines were available.  Jan and I did our laundry.  I did tell Chuck this morning that I needed to do a load of laundry tonight, otherwise, I was going to use some of his clean clothes.  Chuck responded, “We will find a Laundromat!”  

Today was a long day!  We rode for 465 miles and it was a little warm.  I lost my notebook; however, I have replaced it.  Some of the guys thought that they were safe from “The Blog” because I lost the notebook.  They’re not!  Tomorrow, we continue to head west towards Yellowstone National Park.  I’m not sure how far we will get.  I do know that we will get into South Dakota;  we are shooting for Rapid City.  We shall see…