Day 19 Homeward Bound

July 1st. With great regret and excitement simultaneously, we set out for Ohio today from Bay City , MI. What was supposed to be a short day turned into 330 miles because we were detoured about 5 times. I actually lost track. There were 2 or 3 detours just on route 13 as we were leaving Bay City, which took forever, and then a few others later. Going around Toledo was pretty stop and go traffic, and I was glad we weren't closer to the city, or worse going through it. We were on US 20 and the contrast between the US routes in Ohio compared to the US routes in Wyoming, S. Dakota, or Montana was extremely dramatic. We were both exhausted the whole time. I think because it was our last day our bodies finally gave into the fatigue, not to mention that we somehow ended up riding about 40 miles more than we were supposed to. We took US 20 which got better after the Toledo suburbs, to US 18 through Medina and down Market Street in Akron, arriving home safe and sound at about 8:30 in the evening. We were glad to see home and the dogs, but sad that our adventure was over and it was time to face life again. I got most of the attention because of the size of my bike. More than once someone commented on the fact that I had ridden a "dirt bike" from Ohio, or just commented on my general fortitude. I actually enjoyed my little bike immensely. I liked the upright sitting position, it performed amazingly, and I don't need to go any faster. We covered some 4800 miles, saw some of the most amazing National Parks and just generally amazing landscapes in all of the US and we did it at a rate where we could actually enjoy it. We camped about half the time and did motels when we needed to because of weather or rest. We stayed at some great private little motels and got some great bargains and felt cozy and safe. We left our helmets on our bikes when we ate, and only felt like we had to lock and alarm the bikes twice on the whole trip. It was an amazing journey and we are already planning our next one.

Ps. Check out the wear on my tires after 4800 miles.

Day 18 The Last Full Day

June 30th. We left Manistique and headed out for Bay City which was our destination of the day, which is north of Saginaw, MI. The ride was fairly windy at first, more than a little uncomfortable, but as we moved away from the water it got better. The biggest obstacle was crossing the Mackinac Bridge, which is very long and high off the water. Normally it begins with two concrete lanes and then in the middle it switches to an interior steel grate lane and an exterior concrete lane. Noticed I said normally, can you see where this is going? There was construction on the concrete lane, so on a nice windy day, over the crossing point of Lake Michigan, about 200 feet over the water, I got to ride my lightweight bike with knobby tires over a lane that causes me to track like crazy. Luckily there was a big slow truck and everyone was going about 20 miles an hour, because my bike was all over that lane. I was trying to relax, but it was just impossible, and this bridge is long. I made it though. Micah on his sport bike with sport tires, did fine of course, although he did feel the effects of the wind. Luckily the rest of the ride was calm and cool (not cold), and I am just enjoying our last full day of our vacation. We stayed at the Euclid Hotel after driving all over Bay City trying to find something downtown, but all the downtown hotels were truly dives.

Day 17 In and Out of Wisconsin

June 29th. We left Duluth and headed out across Wisconsin, which I think we crossed in all of 2 hours, and headed into Michigan. This area looks so much like NE Ohio except that it is disturbingly Caucasian. The sites of interest are a little different out here. We saw an old guy on a bicycle with shorts on that I might have worn in 7th grade in 1980. You remember those Nair "who wears short shorts" commercials of the 70's and 80's, well these would have put those to shame. Tried to get a pic, but didn't manage it. We ended in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan after a 340 mile ride that was very wooded and hilly. Micah had made a motel reservation the night before in order to push us to ride all the way to Manistique, but he didn't count on it being absolutely frigid outside. Now, you non-riders won't get this, but it was 50's and 60's and windy. With the tree coverage we were in the shade a lot, and it was partly cloudy. I was colder than I had been in the mountains of Big Horn, Yellowstone, or Glacier, because in those areas when you headed back down it got warmer. We were already down and it was just cold. When we would stop the sun would warm us back up again, but I would usually have at least one white if not blue fingernail at each warm up break. We made it to Manistique, and we pushed through the last 54 miles with the setting sun and cooling air at a higher speed in order to get there quickly, but I was like a Popsicle when we arrived. I realized about 10 miles from our destination that I couldn't uncurl my left hand. I had forgotten to keep it moving. It warmed up quickly and despite the late hour (about 9:30) we were able to get some dinner, and we were literally on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Day 16 Duluth

June 28th. Last night in the tent, I woke up to the sound of rustling plastic, unzipped the tent and saw nothing. It happened again later, and I was much faster, and looked out, saw an animal and was about to shoo it away when I realized it was a skunk looking at me from a distance of about 3 feet (from my face). I let out a quick "oh my god" and zipped the tent shut and hid my head in my sleeping bag. Micah asked me what was up, and I whispered that there was a skunk outside. We both laid there as still and quiet as we could. That could have been very bad.

Took the day off from riding and hung around the campsite. This campground has such potential and if you people are reading this pay attention. The location is great, but they get $28 for a tent site ( which is more than a freakin' KOA) and they have pay showers. The bathrooms were not well kept up and were dirty. They had some flooding but the flooding was over, and someone needed to spend some time cleaning it up. At least prop the door open so it can dry out. We paid for a site without water, because to get water you needed to be at one of the RV sites, away from the bay. That was fine, but the only way to get water was in the bathroom or the laundry. There was no spigot outside. There was also no indicated dishwashing area, and the only utility sink was in the laundry, and I wasn't going to wash my dishes where people clean their clothes. They just seemed terribly unorganized.

Now the positive. The sites were large and relatively private, especially compared to some we have had on the trip and the campground is waterside, along a bay. We did use our day to visit Aerostich which is made in Duluth, they do have a tiny storefront there, and we noticed that a lot of the local riders wear their product. I spent most of the afternoon just gathering dry wood for kindling for a great fire to cook our Nathan's hot dogs on tonight.

Day 15 Riding to a day of rest

June 27th. We have decided that we are going to give ourselves and actual non-riding day and give our butts, and my wrists, which have been killing me since leaning on them too much coming down the mountain at Glacier, a much needed rest. We want our journey home to still be a vacation, not just a racking up of miles. So, we left East Great Fork and crossed Minnesota. It was rather uneventful. Although we had been warned about a possible lack of gas, compared to other areas especially, the opposite seemed to be true. Even towns with populations of 1200 would have 5-6 gas stations right along route 2. Only the large expanse of the National Forest in Minnesota seemed to be gas free, and if you were cutting through that at a diagonal, I could see how that would be a potential problem, if you hadn't planned for it. We only went through about 40 miles. We ended in Duluth, MN and we got a campsite at a rather overpriced campground called "Indian Ridge".

Day 14 Goodbye N. Dakota, Hello N. Dakota, Goodbye N. Dakota

June 26th. We rode 340 miles across North Dakota, stopping at a mall in Minot for tools as my electrical gremlins are at it again. On the way back, before Havre Montana my clock and my tripometer suddenly reset and did it a couple times in a row, about every 10 minutes for about 40 minutes. Of course this meant that I lost my total miles for the trip, and made it more difficult to know when I needed gas. Every day I have had a glitch at some point and then it goes away again. It hasn't affected anything else, seems to be just the electronic dash, but I realized that I did not have the right tools if it became more serious. The ride was relatively uneventful, sometimes windy but not bad, ending in East Grand Forks, MN, which is right across the bridge/river from Grand Forks, ND. We got an inexpensive motel room (no tax!) as a thunderstorm was headed our way and set out to get some dinner. We walked a bit over a small bridge and yes, we were back in North Dakota. We ended up at a small bar that smelled like pizza, and it was awesome. The name was Rhombus Guys and it was known for their pizza. We had a backpacker's pizza, which I can only assume was named because it had ingredients that you could not take backpacking with you, fresh mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, artichokes and feta, yumm.

Day 13 The horses lie down in Montana

June 25th. On our way our of Montana I had to lament that I may never again see the sheer volume of horses that just lie on their side and lounge in the sun. I had always thought that a horse lying down was a sign of distress, but here in Montana the horses think differently. Whole herds on their sides, sometimes rolling on their backs like a Labrador in tall grass, kicking up their hooves playfully. It is an amazing site, and I never got a picture. We rode over 300 miles and barely made it into North Dakota. Montana is almost 700 miles across, just massive. In the very last section of Montana we would occasionally see street signs hanging over an intersection that simply said, "Canada" with an arrow pointing left. We thought at the first one when we first saw it that it was the name of the road to the left but we realized that it was simply pointing to Canada, as in "do you want to go to Canada?, then turn this way." Now, if we can just make it out of North Dakota without encountering a tornado, everything will be fine.

Day 12 There and Back Again

June 24th. Ok, yes, I stole the title from Bilbo, but it fits. We went in and out the east end of the Going to the Sun Road (which will open later today) and we are now heading back towards home. (Oh yeah, that is a bear.) We are taking a more northern route, heading back predominately on US 2, unless the road stays as boring as it was today. It was a little too straight and there was very little to look at, especially after the visual overload of Glacier National Park. We ended up in Havre Montana, at a campsite that is attached to a gas station, that also has a Casino, and somehow it is linked to the Best Western on the other side of the gas station. The bathrooms are clean, but we are feeling a little exposed at our campsite. Definitely will be alarming the bikes tonight. Got some laundry done, but we are both feeling the letdown of knowing that the destination of our journey is over and we are on the way back, but we plan to make the most of our journey home.

Day 11 Up and Down the Mountain

Headed out for West Glacier to head in the Going to the Sun Road. It was not completely open, but we were able to go in 29 miles and then headed out the 29 miles back. This time we rode 172 miles on our non riding day. The pictures say it all.

Day 10 The other side of Great Falls

June 22nd. Great Falls, Montana is a shining example of why gambling should not be legalized. What could be nice town is peppered with casinos and strip clubs. None of it felt safe, nor particularly unsafe, just plain odd. 89 north of Great Falls could not be more different than 89 south of Great Falls. The road was curvy, hilly, less trafficked, and cars were less aggressive. We were rained on a few times and there was some wind but it was really a pretty great ride. We arrived safe and sound in the town of East Glacier, which is in the Indian Reservation. We got a small motel room for $58 a night (no tax) for two whole nights, which will be our first time staying in one area for more than a night. Our room is cozy and we had a great meal at Serrano's restaurant after a quick ride out to the Two Medicine lake.

Day 9 Where did that car go?

June 21st. Headed out of Yellowstone this morning, stopping in Gardiner for breakfast. We took 89 North headed toward Glacier as an alternative to the interstate, but 89 is still 70 MPH which was not the speed that we went. We managed to avoid I-90 in Livingston (where 89 and I-90 become one for 8 miles) by finding a back road that reconnected with 89, and we actually saved some miles doing it, and it was a great riding road. Most of 89 was empty, and really straight. Cars would come racing up from behind every now and then, and stay behind us for a while and then we would look back and they would be gone. We would not even remember having seen a road, although there had to be one. At the very end of the ride there was tons of gusty wind again, scary shake and move the bike winds, but we made it to Great Falls and got a motel room for some good sleep.

Day 8 Yellowstone

June 20th. Minutes after leaving Cooke City we saw a red fox sitting upright, groggy, and curious by the side of the road, right by someone's driveway. Two minutes inside the park we saw our first buffalo, but there were many more to follow, hundreds in fact. It was a beautiful easy ride. The road leading into Yellowstone was super twisty, but the road in Yellowstone was a nice easy curve. We went in through the Northeast entrance and road across to Mammoth, which is full of Elk, along the road, standing in the front yards of the houses...absolutely amazing, and there is gas here (yeah for me and my small tank). The campground in Mammoth, which is inside the park has some motorcycle only sites and we arrived around noon and unpacked all our stuff so we could explore the park unloaded. We rode about 100 miles on our "non-riding day" as it was originally scheduled, both getting into and exploring aspects of the park. Love my husband. Love this trip. This is amazing and I could stay here for days.

Day 7 Out of the Cold

June 19th. Beautiful trip out of Big Horn after a very cold evening in the tent. Made several shopping stops in Cody; hatchet, fire starters, and additional blankets! There were small showers now and then but it is a warm, gorgeous and twisty ride. The Sherpa is holding up great. We decided to stop just before Yellowstone in Cooke City Montana and we rented a cabin as the temp was dropping and it was threatening to storm, and after the 30 somethings the night before we opted for indoor heated accommodations. It was a super cute town with great food and the cabin was cozy and warm with a gas fireplace. Couldn't have been a better choice if we'd planned it that way. I fell asleep around 7:30 or 8 and slept solidly until the next morning. Don't think I got enough sleep in the cold tent the night before.

Day 6 Leaving Custer

June 18th. It was a beautiful morning especially after the afternoon before. Left around 9 am and headed out. As we were passing repeated ground I had a few flashbacks from the day before, but it stayed relatively calm. We headed to Newcastle and had breakfast and got gas, and while there made plans to go as far as Dayton and camp. Wyoming is absolutely beautiful. The landscape is surreal, different on all sides. Saw antelope, deer, and huge cattle farms with equally big bulls.We had lunch at Dirty Annie's in Shell Wyoming, which served as gas station, casino, restaurant, bar, and gift shop. I had an amazing burger with jalapeno peppers and spicy sauce. We heard the waitress answer the phone and say to one of the guys behind the counter, "I am supposed to tell you the cows are coming". We wondered about it for a while, and later found out that a free range herd had wandered onto the owner's land and was harassing his horses. Only in Wyoming people.

We made it to Dayton and the campsite that was promised on our AAA map was a piece of crap, and was full to boot. They were willing to squeeze us in for a $20 fee, which is more than I would have liked to have paid for here on a day when we were the only ones. We decided to eat and move on even though it was getting late and we were heading into the Big Horn forest (thanks to Peter's recommendation). We had a conversation with a woman at dinner when she saw us with the map, scouting out campsites and she told us that there was tons of camping in the forest and we would probably be able to find a spot.

We headed into Big Horn, and had to pull over a few times because of a long line of cars following a construction vehicle who was slow going. It was steep and twisty and he just couldn't go any faster. On one pullover Micah had exclaimed how great my little bike was doing and when I went to pull out I stalled. Did this a few times, was starting to worry and then my foot bumped something while checked the gear. Freakin' kickstand was down. Ugh! We found a great campsite up by a lake. It was beautiful and clean and crisp (ie cold) and all of $15 and we were in the middle of this beautiful National park.

Day 5 Does wind have density?

Left early this morning, on the road by 8:30. The wind was crazy and strong, if not fast. We found out the wind was leftover from tornadoes that had hit North Dakota. It almost blew me of the road in the badlands. We also had to go through some nasty road repairs, with dirt covering sections in the road with pretty serious ruts. Was worried more about my husbands sport bike more than mine, but I was not liking the fact that we were in a long line of cars going over this for miles. We made it through that and stopped to get a parks pass at a ranger's station and I realized that I had lost my tank bag after the last gas fill up. Drove back 10 mile with the wind, and luckily they had it, but we had to face the headwind and crosswind again. We rode by Mt. Rushmore, but on the other side of it the wind was almost unbearable. Drove through Custer SD, and then we were heading onward, but the wind suddenly got worse than it already was. I was like a rag doll being tossed back and forth and having to push forcefully through a tremendous headwind. I had just seen a sign saying something like "road narrows, dangerous curves, no shoulder, next 8 miles". Our communicators were dead, but Micah had pulled over to take a picture of some forest fire remains in a little spot off the road. We talked about pushing on, but after he pulled out, and I stood there just trying to hold my bike upright against the wind while sitting still, I found that I couldn't move. I just didn't have it in me. We headed back to Custer and got a motel room to wait the wind out overnight. There were high wind warnings on the news, and I shot some video of the wind outside our room, although this wasn't the worst.

Day 4 South Dakota smells like the ocean

June 16th. Morning was nice, had tea, coffee, and nuts for breakfast. Showered - yea! Took off around 9:30. We opted for 44 over I-90. We had to get on I-89 for 1 mile and the speed limit was 75 and it was busy. Was glad to get off. 44 through South Dakota was beautiful. We were making amazing time, noticing tons of water along the sides of the road and that it seriously smelled like sea air. There must be salt deposits. Suddenly there was a road closed ahead sign (water on the road) but no detour sign. We tried continuing on 44, even going through one of the water sections that was about 6-8 inches deep. But the real water was ahead. What had been a small river was enraged by all the rain they had, and it was now flowing over the bridge. And it was fast and rather deep, feet rather than inches. We had to find an alternate route. We met a local who besides being rather colorful gave us some sketchy directions, which with our GPS eventually got us to the town of Menno where we got some other directions around the water. Almost all the roads were closed at some point, except the interstate. We found out that Menno was named so because of a mistake the railroad made years ago. The sign of Menno was supposed to go to a town that was predominately Mennonite, and Freeman was supposed to be dropped there, but they got switched and have stayed that way ever since. They kept trying to send us on a gravel road, which would have been the shortest route. Kept saying it was "good gravel". No gravel is good gravel on a motorcycle as far as I am concerned, even the dual sport. We were on our way again after the 20-30 mile detour. 44 once again was gorgeous, curvy, and empty of cars for tens of miles. Met a guy on a V Strom, think his name was Steve Miller, and he rode with us for a little while and gave us some tips on routes to choose.

It's not the deer, it's the killdeer

On 44 there were plenty of animals and we were warned about the deer, and there were deer crossing the road, but it was the birds that were the greatest threat. Pheasants running out across the road, and killdeer flying out from the brush in front of the bikes. Cows watching us everywhere we went, several deer, one snake, and some bisons, and badlands we have arrived.

Day 3 Earplugs make me faster

June 15th. Everything was wet except the essentials stayed dry. Site was cheap but unmanned, and the bathroom was pretty disgusting. I don't think it had been checked in at least a week. It was gray and overcast in the morning, and the air was so foggy it was like riding through a cloud. We got rained on a bit and then sunny skies the rest of the way and it turned into a perfect day. The wind in Iowa was crazy when we headed northbound. I swear it was trying to blow us back to Ohio. Spent many miles tilted to the left. I realized at one point that I had forgotten to put my earplugs back in, and the wind noise in my helmet made me go a little slower as it was so much more dramatic. Won't be forgetting those earplugs for a while. We are hopefully 1 day away from the badlands. We ended up camping in a city park, in Rock Rapids Iowa.

Day 2 Valaparaiso to Edgewood IA

Stayed ahead of the rain all day. I thought my butt and hands would never make it. We rode all the way through Illinois. The Chicago Heights area was desolate. US 30 was crazy busy, there were way too many towns and strip mall after strip mall, absolutely shopping chaos. We moved down to 52, which was a beautiful old highway that was barely used any more, with few gas stations or other cars. There were no motorcycles all day, only a handful of scooters were willing to brave the threat of rain all day. We camped at a funky little campsite. It stormed all night, and I questioned sleeping in a tent with aluminum poles. We stayed dry, but our stuff was definitely a little damp in the morning.

Day 1 Going to the Sun

My husband and I are on our first day of a motorcycle trip to Glacier National Park and back, from Akron OH. It is Day 1, June 13th and our first day on the road. Micah is on a 2000 Honda VFR Interceptor (800 cc 4 cylinder). I am riding a 2000 Kawasaki Super Sherpa (a 250 cc dual sport). It was beautiful out. We lunched after about 100 miles at PJ's Brickhouse in Bascom, OH. When we arrived after some 300 miles total in Valparaiso, IN it looked as if it might rain, and it was predicted, so rather than tent it our first night out, we opted for a room in a motel. There were lots of other bikes out today, as the whether was perfect, and much of our trip was in Ohio.