Late start this morning. Mainly from me. The late nights are not compatible blogging at the end of the day so I have been trying to push these out early before anyone gets up. Slept well at the Blue Gables Motel and Coffee Cafe. The lady who runs the place loves to talk and will serve you all the coffee you want in the morning.

I was still goofing with the blog, trying to get it to upload and my 4 other compadres were suited up, sitting on their bikes. It was a hint. So about 10a we got on the interstate and blasted north to head back over the Bighorn mountains. Common theme on this trip. Up and down mountains. Losing track of which ones.

This was no less spectacular than the others. The only hinderance was the haze generated from the wildfires in Washington. It seems to take at least 2 hours for these sojourns up and down the passes. Jonathan took the lead on this one. I ended up getting to the summit 5 or 10 minutes behind. Mike and I enjoyed the scenery. Alex, Jon and Pat were waiting at a turnout at the top. The way down for me is the anxiety side. 10 % grades. Usually I am in low gears just letting the engine control the speed. Blind curves. You never know how tight they will be.

At any rate made it down the mountain and scooted through fantastic canyons for about an hour. Mountain ranges in the distance. After an hour or so we ended up in Lovell, WY. Lunch at the Switchback cafe. Simple place. Good food. Talked with a young man with his Suzuki 250cc. The owner and the cook came out and explained that the young man cut lawns, saved his money and bought the bike.

Got a tip on some entertainment up in Montana from a local. He gave us directions for a back way in. So we headed to Montana. After about 30 miles or so we turned and headed through the high plains desert. It was surreal. Chalk line straight road disappearing into the horizon. Hot. Very Hot. After about 20 mile we saw a sign with warning lights. ‘Danger Do Not Enter if Flashing’. Gas Fields. Make you wonder about fracking at times… About 10 more miles the road ended. Appears we took the wrong road. Spoke with a real nice field engineer from the gas fields who steered us the right way. We turned the bikes around and made the reverse trip.

After a while topography began to improve. Crossed into Montana. Needed fuel. Found some in Belfry, MT. One gas pump. Cash only. I pulled in. It looked like it was abandoned. An elderly lady came out slowly, saw the 5 motorcycles invade her establishment and said ‘Oh my!’. She assured me she had gas. Her husband, whom we found out was 90 (wife wasn’t far behind) came out even more slowly. Enjoyed chatting with them, making them laugh. They said they have owned the place for 40 years. That means he started when he was 50. Sure beats fueling up with someone behind a bullet proof glass.

Passed through Bear Creek. Saw the Bear Creek Saloon and Steakhouse. Apparently they have pig races on Friday and Saturday night (tip from the local in Lovell). Headed over another hill into Red Lodge, MT. Picked one bar out of many on the historical mountain town main street. Had a beer and the owner gave us some great advice on camping. We saddled up, stopped at a liquor store and headed down some roads. Found a campsite in the Custer National Forest. Can’t beat it. Probably 7000-7500′ elevation. Heavily wooded. Secluded. Right on a mountain stream. And, its free. Set up our tents quick and headed for the pig races. Can’t miss the pig races.

Went back over the hill to Bear Creek. Pulled in. Place was starting to fill up. Great saloon. Heard they had great steaks. Races started at 7. Every 15 minutes. Smaller place. Maybe 15 tables. Can’t eat at the bar. Lady asked if we had reservations. If we wanted to eat right away she could squeeze us in. Oh yeah. Great steak. Betting window was open. Lines were forming. This is a family affair. Table next to us must have been a little girl’s birthday. 6 or 7 little ones, maybe 5 years old with mom and dad going to the Friday night pig races. Time for post. Everyone in the dining room just got up to grab their favorite spot on the rail.

Funniest thing I ever saw. Betting is done by squares. $2 a square. Winner gets $25. Last race is $100 winner. 12 races. 5 pigs in each race Proceeds go for scholarships in this little remote mountain town. Names of the pigs like Nota Hot Dog, Ham Not Spam, Oink Vey, Nancy Pig Losie, Seapiglet and the list goes on. What a hoot.

We watched about 4 or 5 races. Did some side betting amongst ourselves. We got in one race through the betting window but they fill up fast. Very popular with the locals. I can see why. Thought it best to start heading back as the sun was going down fast. We made a quick stop to look at an abandoned mine. Apparently the site of Montana’s worst coal mine disaster in the 1940’s. 70+ miners killed in a fire. Eerie remnants.

Back over the hill towards Red Lodge. Stopped at a gas station and picked up ice. Late night. Huge fire. More talk. Problems solved. Bottles emptied. Slept like a rock. Got very cold.

Life is good.