Day 9 – Sunday, 10/10

Cold and Rainy. Low 40’s.. Excellent day for the Park! No worries. We’ll see what we can see. Internet still out. Relaxed. Showered. A little work on the blog. I can work on the narrative off line, and move all the days pics into one folder, but most of the stuff requires that interweb thingy..

Headed out about 10a. Wx abated a bit. Rain was more like a mist and it looked like the sun was trying to peek. We came this far by golly.  We’re going through this park.  Went down the road a few miles to the park entrance. More cars queued up than I thought would be especially with the weather. I pulled out my senior unlimited national park pass. I had the presence of mind to buy I don’t know when for $10. Not sure what the rate is, but worth it if you’re going to visit a national park once or twice a year. Continue reading →

Day 8 – Saturday, October 9  (no internet for 4 days)

Nice morning in Havre, MT. A little overcast, but supposed to clear up. Good coffee at those Hampton Inns. Loaded up with ‘to go’ stuff and got on the road. Westbound US 2. Continue reading →

Great morning.  On the chippy side but supposed to be sunny and into the 50’s and 60’s.  Morning routine,  Coffee (yeech), blog, shower, pack, scoot.  First stop, find some coffee.  Found a little place on the way out of town.  Very good.  Should I have the pleasure of living in Williston, I would go there again.

Again on US 2 west.  Stopped at our first historic point.  History of some of the forts along the Missouri River.  Continue reading →

Up early again. Watched the sun rise. Hampton Inns have pretty good coffee. Showers, more coffee, then on the road.

Heading north then west of Fargo for a big surprise… Irena was dubious but we pushed on. As soon as we got just north of Fargo city limits the traffic disappeared. Not that there is a lot of traffic anyway but a nice drive on the interstate for a bit.  Got off about 50 miles north of town, blasted down some county road and there it was.. Continue reading →

Up early. In-room coffee was undrinkable.. 🙁 We are finally getting into a pack and go routine. I cant believe things I brought that didn’t need and stuff I forgot. Out the door. First stop – Starbucks down the street.

Back on US 2 heading west. A detour first. Minnesota’s Itasca state park. Another beautiful day. Sun. 50’s. Trees in color. No traffic. At speed the whole way. Stopped for a break mid-morning at Cass Lake. Its amazing how much time you can wasted before you realize you need to scoot.

The day just got better and better. Warmer.  We basically had the whole road to ourselves.  The farms and the forest clicking by.  Just what you would want. Continue reading →

Tuesday morning. Good night’s sleep. Up fairly early, pushed out the blog and we were on the road by 9a. Need to keep pushing today. Got on the road to foggy patches along the shores of Gitche Gumee. But you could tell it was going to be sunny.  Leaving Houghton was very nice indeed…

Continue reading →

This day turned out different than I thought it would. It was a nice day. I pushed the first blog out ironed out the tech issues I have at first on the road. We finally got out of petunia farm by 10a and headed west on US2, at the top of Lake Michigan. The motel had a Keurig coffee maker. Nice.

We stopped a few times at some of the many turnoffs and parks set up. In the 60’s and overcast. Continue reading →

Now that the Autumnal Equinox has arrived and the Druids have cleared out, its time to get back on the road..

The blog is being fired up again! Next weekend, Irena and I are heading out on a road trip for the month of October. Other than visiting our son in Seattle mid-month for a few days, we have no plans, have made no reservations and plan on just meandering.

We are having some work done on our house and we need to vacate. They say they need three weeks but I am betting at least four. Continue reading →

A good night’s sleep in the petunia room.  Showered.  Coffee from the in room Kuerig machine.  Packed quickly.  Backed the bike up a bit so as not to annoy the other guests while the bike was warming up.

Out the door before 7a.  I stopped at the Pierre Marquette monument (founder of St Ignace) to get some bridge shots.  Sun was just coming up. A spectacular day.

Left the park, got onto I-75 south and went through the toll booths.  Traffic was very light.  I got pushed over to the middle lanes because of construction in the outer.  I don’t like the middle lanes.  Steel grates.  Wet from mist.  Slippery.  The tires seem to wander trying to find traction.  Probable more in my mind than anything.  Mackinac Island off to my left.

Got to the other side, made it passed the fudge shop and ferry exits and picked up speed.  Set the bike to about a 70mph cruise to let the others pass.  Heavy fog in some areas.  But for the first 200 miles or so – an easy ride.  This section of Michigan is beautiful.  Rolling hills, forests, lakes and streams.

Fueled up a couple of times.  Negotiated traffic that began building south of Bay City.  The final 75-100 miles was typical instate travel.  Up to speed but with traffic.  All in all I was home by noon.  Irena was waiting.  Good hugs.

Stripped the bike down and got rid of the ‘Grapes of Wrath’ look.  Needs a thorough cleaning.  Have to get the remnants of those Oklahoma grasshoppers and whatever else is hiding on there.  Maybe this weekend.  Pushed it into the garage.  Showered. Unpacked.  And, finally able to get clothes laundered.  Yes, I had a cigar.

Looked at my herb garden.  Wow.  Averaging all over 6′.  One is over 8′. What an amazing world we live in.

Final thoughts.  Very therapeutic.  I would do it again.  I just need to talk Irena into it.  4,400 miles +/-.  Neat country.  Back roads are the best.  The bike, did not miss a lick.  Did not push any oil.  All the rain.  It kept performing.  Did everything that it was put to.  If I had trouble, this story would be different.  I am a Honda fan-boy.

Great to be home.  Thanks for following!

Life is good.