Day 13, July 17 2022... Monkey Business On The Road

Day 12 is completed, and we have landed in Burns, Oregon at the America’s Best Value Inn.  And it is a steamer out there.  98 degrees according to the H-D Panamerica dash thermometer upon our arrival around 2pm local time.  We are now in the Pacific time zone, as well.

In hindsight, I really should have paid more attention back in 86’/87’ in Mr. Mazaraki’s geography class, instead of trying to get the attention of the cute neighbor girl.   I had no idea, until yesterday, that Idaho and Oregon have regions that are “The High Desert”.  Boy, have we all been shocked by the terrain and the temps we have traveled thru. Rocky mountain, baron, desert mountain ranges have all we have seen the last 2 days, with temperatures in the high 90’s to low 100 degrees.

Last night, after a few cold ones in the 2 bed suite with couch pull out, we had dinner at a quaint little joint that served some real upscale food.  I had the crispy cod, and I saw a serving of the Elk Meat Balls, and I don’t recall much more.  The only beverages were wine or a German variety of beers.  No domestics or soft drinks here. 

We only indulged in a couple of the German Pilsners, as we discussed at dinner our next days overnight stop, we also discussed getting an earlier start to try and beat some of the punishing heat we have endured. Call time was set at 7am.  Or so I thought.  I recall at dinner negotiating for 7:30, but I don’t recall any body chiming in to agree. But apparently they did, because I was up, showered, packed and standing by my bike at 7 bells.  I have never missed a call time ( I remind these guys of this on the daily ), and I wasn’t about to be the last ready at call time today, either. However, everybody else showed up between 7:15 and 7:30, with the reasoning that I had changed the call time at dinner.  Anywho, we were on the road right around 7:30am. 

A quick fuel stop down the block, and off we were.  Very comfortable temperatures we started out in.  About 60 degrees, a partial overcast, with the looming threat of rain clouds to our west.  The direction we were headed.  We were on the 20/26 HWY for our departure.  We eventually hit Interstate 84 for a 50-70 mile stretch to make some time and get past Boise, Idaho. 

Our first run out of Sun Valley was a stretch of about 100 miles. We stopped at the Pilot truck stop that abuts the entrance ramp to 84 for a quick stretch, swig of water and/or snack.

While flying down the highway, my eagle eye caught the familiar sign of the local H-D dealer, High Desert H-D.  I shot up to our navigator, Ski Doo, and motioned for the next exit.  I had to get my Tshirt, shot glass and sticker. 

We entered the parking lot around 10:30 am, and there was a motorcycle training class taking place in the large adjacent parking lot.  But when we pulled up under the portico to the front doors, the sign said they didn’t open until 11am.  We took advantage of the outdoor porta potties, and by 10:40 we were ready to abandon the mission and get back on the road, when some of the employees began showing up.  One kind young gentleman engaged us in conversation about our ride, asked where we were from, and said he had relatives in Port Huron Michigan!  After a few minutes of banter, I asked if we could possible get our t-shirt, shot glass and sticker, because we needed to get back on the road.  He kindly obliged us, and by 11am we were out.

But not for long.  The Monkey strikes again.  About 8-10 miles down I-84, Ski Doo motions for us to take the next exit.  When I pulled up next to him at the red light with a quizzical look upon my face, he stated that Monkey had called his Bluetooth enabled helmet and had left his glasses back at the dealer.  And we had to turn around to retrieve them. 

So, we traveled back the 8-10 miles, hoping to find his glasses either on the check out register, or in the parking lot under the portico.  No such luck.  Another pair of lost glasses.  I wish I could say this was the first time Monkey had lost a pair of glasses but another occasion about 10 years ago at Silver Lake on the west side of Michigan, I also recall Monkey losing a pair at the bottom of the lake.  But we won’t go there.

Back on the road, with an extra 24-30 miles on our totals for the day.  Our total run was calculated at around 324 miles, according to Ski Doo’s GPS.  We were not stopping much today, and trying to knock down as many miles at a stretch as possible to beat the heat.  Our next real stop was in Juntura, Oregon, where we stopped at The Oasis Café.  As we entered the friendly young server, Mya, informed us that they were closing in 20 minutes, but she wouldn’t let us leave hungry, just order a burger or something that can be prepared quickly.  No problem, cheese burgers all around. And ice cold water.  It was 98 degrees when I got off my bike.

We quickly ate, bemoaned going back out in the stifling heat, and picked up our journey to Burns.  More curvy, rocky mountain terrain to traverse.  And we switched time zones about 10 miles outside of Juntura, hence we are now in the Pacific time zone.

Upon arrival in Burns, after 357 miles, not 324 due to our wazzey cazoo on the highway, we checked in as quickly as the gentleman at the front counter would allow, and proceeded to put our room air conditioners on the Blast setting. The others went to the indoor pool with some ice cold rocky mountains that Monkey Brother Rick picked up along the way. And I took a nap.

I awoke with a middle toe cramp, with the middle toe pointing down, and the other 4 pointing up.  That will get you up in a hurry.  But anywho, we are ½ way thru Oregon now, and the Pacific Ocean is in our sights for tomorrow. 

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

PS: There are no pictures today because I was really slacking in that regard today, plus it was just more of yesterday

Day 12 July 16 2022... High Desert Heat Riding Continues

Day 12 is DUN, done.  245 miles thru the High Desert of Idaho, and settled in at the AmericInn in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Last night we quickly showered and dressed and made our way to the world famous Million Dollar Cowboy bar.  We didn’t get to belly up to the bar in one of the saddle seats, as it was 6:30pm on a Friday.  But Hedgehog did help a couple tourist by using their camera phone to take a picture of them sitting in the saddles, but no such luck for us. We swished down a couple cold rocky mountains, and headed to dinner at the Snake River Grille, a favorite of mine, for our 7:30pm reservation.

Dinner was fabulous, as usual.  I had the Ribeye, Hedgehog and Monkey had the Bolognese and Ski Doo had the chefs special 8oz duck breast.  Pre-dinner drinks were old fashions, a Jameson, and the customary double double Grey Goose and soda water, however, on the advice of our server, the double double was a single cuz the bar tender has a heavy hand.  We indulged in desert this evening with 3 rhubarb pies, ala mode, and one strawberry sorbet.

After dinner, we got the customary picture under the antler arch in the square, and headed to the Silver Dollar bar, where we bellied up and enjoyed a few night caps with the local band playing in the corner.  We had a great evening in Jackson Hole.

This morning, we were kinda lazy, the altitude what affecting us (wink, wink), and we wondered around town trying to find a breakfast spot, that didn’t have a line out the door.  The place the front desk recommended wasn’t open as suggested, so we wondered down the block and came across the Harley retail store.  Had to get the customary Dealer T-shirt, sticker and shot glass, you know.  After our morning shopping, Stick & Monkey grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the gourmet store across from the Antler so I could finish my stupid blog, and Hedgehog and SkiDoo went to The Hatch diner for a 41$ breakfast that consisted of 2 breakfast burritos, hashbrowns and coffee.  Jackson is not the place to pinch a penny. 

It was approaching 10am, we only had about 4 ¼ hours of riding, so we made one last stop at the souvenir store a block away from the motel, grabbed our Jackson Hole stickers that we are covering our saddle boxes with, and were on the road by 10;30am

There was only 3 riders today, as I mentioned earlier, Monkey’s brother Rick, missed his connecting flight yesterday, and spent the night in L.A.  He was scheduled to land in Jackson around 1:30 today, so long as didn’t miss another flight.  Monkey chose to stay behind, and pick Rick up at the airport, and get him acquainted with his new wheels for the day. I got a text around 1:30pm local time, that Rick did indeed make is flight and they were hightailing it to Sun Valley to rally with us.

So, Ski Doo, Hedgehog and Stick headed west our of town and to first fuel station to top off our thirsty rides.  And this is where the day took a kick.  While re-mounting his stead after fuel, Ski Doo says his hard box bags connected with Hedgehogs hard box bags, and next thing Ski Doo was jumping to the left, and the bikes were falling in unison to the right.  Now I had to make a decision… Do run to assist, or do I get a picture first.  Hedgehog was already on his way, a guy working in the parking lot was in a jog to assist, so my decision was pretty easy… pictures.  I consider this a two-fer and Ski Doo now has only one more bike drop to catch up with my 3.  No serious damage done, a bent highway peg on Hedgehogs bike that they quickly pried back into position, and a bent brake lever on Ski Doo’s KTM, that they quickly remedied as well.

We were finally headed into the mountain road of Hwy 22 leading to the Idaho boarder.  We made our customary stop at the state line for a quick picture, and mounted back up headed west.  Our first stop in Idaho was at the local Harley Dealer, in Idaho Falls, Grand Teton H-D, for the customary Dealer T-shirt, shot glass and sticker.  Plus 2 stickers, by request, for the Monkey. 

After enjoying the cold A/C in the dealership, and our shopping complete, back on the road headed west.  For the next 50 miles it was a long hot stretch, but made enjoyable with the mountains on both sides of us.  We passed the Three Buttes, with them on our left, and came into Arco, Idaho.  We topped off our thirsty rides, and then went to the Pickle restaurant, where we all had the Atomic Burger, hamburger with grilled mushrooms, grilled onions and cheese.  Pretty good, as we were hungry.

After walking out of the Pickle, as I was putting on my riding gear, I glanced across the road at the rock mountain, and inquired with Hedgehog what he thought the large painted numbers were that defaced the rock mountain.  He said, well there’s a sign over there, lets ride over and see if it tells us.  It wound being that since the local high school class of 1920, the graduating class has a tradition of scaling the mountain and painting there graduating class year on the rock!

After a couple quick pictures, we motored down to the two little sheds that housed, respectively, a nuclear submarine museum and next door a history of the local significance of nuclear power.  The kind veteran gave us a quickie tour, and it was fascinating to learn that the nuclear testing facility we had just passed was where all United States submarines that are nuclear powered, which since 1999 the entire fleet is nuclear, were built.  Further, Arco was the first town in the USA that was nuclear powered, way back in 1955, I think (I am working from memory here, google it yourself if you think I’m incorrect).

The Sail of nuclear submarine

Our trip continued thru the High Desert, and the heat was rising.  About 96 degrees according to my dash.  Our next scenic stop was Craters of the Moon National Park.  It is a vast area of lava flows from, I assume millions of years ago, with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush.  For you conspiracy theorists’, this is probably where the moon landing of 1969 was filmed (it’s a joke).  Pretty cool thing to see, that I am relatively sure I will never see again.

On thru the desert highlands again, with another about 50 miles to go in the blistering heat.  We made one stop at a road side rest area for a quick gulp of water for hydration, and back down the trail to Sun Valley.

We got in around 5:30 to the AmericInn, Monkey and Brother Monkey were about 60 miles behind us rolling hot, to catch up.   Because it is Saturday night in Sun Valley the room accommodations were limited.  One 2 bed suite with a pull out couch, and one room with 2 beds.  I got short straw, and get the pull out couch.

It is now about 7pm local time, Ski Doo Matt has secured us sink full of ice with cold rocky mountains, and Monkey and Brother Monkey have just arrived. 

Monkey Brother Rick, the new Truck/Trailer Driver arriving at the Jackson Hole Airport… finally.

We haven’t discussed tomorrow nights city yet, but it may be in Oregon.

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

Day 11, July 15 2022... The Griswalds Go To Yellowstone

This morning’s ride out of Cody, WY, began with the most appropriate song playing thru my bluetooth helmet speakers… Can’t Find My Way Home by Blind Faith. We were on the road by about 8:15am and the beautiful scenery continues on.

Last night we went downtown Cody, and had dinner at the Irma. The Irma was built by Buffalo Bill Cody in 1902 and was used by travelers to stay on their way to the east gate of Yellowstone National Park. Pretty cool place, I thought, and steaks and country fried steaks, with a fresh salad bar were had all around.  And of course, a couple double doubles.  After dinner a couple guys were ready to retire for the evening, and a couple others were ready to have a couple more adult beverages.  I forgot to mention that while I was writing yesterday’s blog in the room and doing laundry, the other 4 were tailgating in the parking lot.

The BBQ restaurant in the same parking lot as our hotel only served beer and wine and did not have  a bar for us to sit at, so Ski Doo, Monkey and Stick continued the tailgate party in the parking lot.  After a quick couple pops, some lively conversation, and we retired as well.

The ride to Yellowstone was only about 50 miles and we passed the Wild Bill reservoir and park, some more beautiful scenery and went thru a couple of tunnels on our way to the east gate of the park.

While I have been to Yellowstone one time prior, it was winter and quite frankly I did not enjoy that visit.  We were 2 sets of adults/parents with 5 teen agers/ preteens, and it was an 8 HOUR snow coach ride.  The snowcoach went about 15 mph, and 8 hours in a Ford Econline van with each other and we were all at each others throats!  Enough reminiscing about good old times, this trip was much more enjoyable.  We saw buffalo up close and personal again, elk, deer, and more beautiful scenery that is just un-imaginable.  It was also cool to see the visitors stopped along the road in turn outs and picnic areas enjoying the views.  And there was plenty of fly fisherman casting their lines in the abundant streams and rivers.

We did the Big Loop around the park, which was about 145 miles.  Me made plenty of stops for pictures, viewing and breaks.  We had a lunch break at the Old Faithful Grille, and decided it was time to move on to Jackson Hole. 

Jackson was about 90 miles to our south.  Truck/Trailer Brian’s tour of duty driving the support vehicle that stays ahead of us was coming to an end.  He had a flight out of Jackson Hole early in the afternoon, headed to Chicago.  Apparently there was a couple snafu’s that he encountered with our scheduling system.  The flight I booked was for Friday the 29th, not the 15th.  Oops, again, for you kids at home blogging and being a travel agent, while at the bar, do not mix!  Also, while booking our stay at the Antler, Ski Doo thought he had called the motel direct.  Apparently we did not.  The friendly male voice on the other end of the line said Yes, we have plenty of trailer parking. Yes, of course we have a shuttle to the airport.  Of which, they had none of the above. And upon our arrival to check in, the friendly female host said “we don’t even have a male that works the counter/office”.  Booking.com did a great job of misrepresenting themselves, just saying.  Anywho, Brian was able to snag the last seat on the plane leaving for Chicago, and the airline worked with him so there was no additional fees.  Thank you Truck/Trailer Brian for your service, the cold rocky mountains when we came in each night, and the friendship. 

We will be getting a replacement driver this afternoon when Monkey’s brother Rick flys in from Vegas to take the wheel of the truck and trailer.

We got into the Antler Motel around 5:30pm and with about 280 miles on the odometers.  We have dinner reservations at 7:30 pm at one of my favorites in Jackson, the Snake River Grille.  But first we are going to the Million Dollar Cowboy bar to sit in the saddles that line the bar to have a cool down.

BREAKING NEWS: Monkey Brother Rick, missed his connection flight in LA and is now stuck waiting for a flight on Saturday morning.  Monkey genes run deep, apparently.

Well, tomorrow the riders take off for Sun Valley, Idaho, and continue our journey west to the Pacific Ocean.  Recent conversations suggest we will hit the big water somewhere in Oregon.

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick.

Road Apples Day 10, July 14 2022...Bullwinkle Was Spotted

Day 10 is in the books.  We are now at the AmericInn in Cody, WY.  We only rode about 150 miles today, but they were some of the best miles yet.  Wyoming is probably my favorite state for views, just breath taking.

But let’s pick up where we left off last night.  After I finishing punching out the words for the daily blog, while sitting at the Oasis hotel bar, we went to dinner in downtown Sheridan WY.  I don’t remember the restaurant name, but the BBQ shrimp, mashed potatoes and double double vodka for dessert filled the ticket. 

After dinner we made our way to The Mint, a legendary local bar that was established 115 years ago, according to our bar tender.  Pretty cool place with walls full of taxidermized local wild life.  There was a rattle snake skin about 10 feet long, fileted and mounted above the bar directly in front of us.  If I had seen that rattlesnake in the real world, I would still be running and probably getting close to Colorado.  I hate snakes.  Deathly afraid, actually.  Think what you will, I don’t care. After a couple cold ones, we each got the obligatory T-Shirt from the Mint, and headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, a night cap was in order, and final double double was had.  Our call time this morning was 8am, we have a short ride and we want to beat the afternoon heat that will be approaching 100 degrees, again.

We were close, we actually pulled out around 8:30 am and headed west.  The ride was absolutely stellar.  We traveled the 14 thru Big Horn National Forest.  Absolutely stunning views and abundant wild life to be seen.  We saw a big Bull Moose grazing in the meadow on our left, and turned around to get some pictures.  This was a super awesome sight to see.  And he was BIG.

After watching the moose, and listening to Hedgehog use his best moose call to no avail, we motored on down road, where we saw 2 more moose on our right hand side, grazing in the meadow.  We stopped, took some more pictures, and motored on. 

Along the way we did run across Bear Lodge Resort at about 8,300 feet of elevation. Pretty cool lodge for guests to stay with a nice restaurant and bar area. Looked like a great place to come stay and snowmobile out of this winter.

The twisty, canyon bordered road took us to a peak elevation of around 8,300 feet.  Majestic views of the canyons and mountains, rivers and waterfalls were all around us.  We made many stops along the way, to gaze and take pictures.  We had a short run, and we wanted to take this national treasure in to the fullest.

Coming out of the Big Horn, we entered the small “town” of Shell WY, and stopped at the Shell Store Café for great lunch break.  Monkey & I shared the Hickory Burger, Hedgehog had the chicken ranch wrap, and SkiDoo had a refreshing poppy seed chicken salad.  I wish I would have snagged one of the chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting for a snack right now.

Oh yea, while we were walking to our table and awaiting for our food order to be made (you order at the counter and they give you a buzzer to notify you when to come back to the counter to retrieve your food) we passed a table of 5 pleasant ladies with a big yellow cake with white frosting and strawberries on top. Hedgehog gently inquired if they were going to share that big ole cake with us weary riders. A resounding “no” came from them all in chorus. Jeez, not even a sliver of cake and 4 forks? Stingy broads.

After lunch, the heat was rising.  We stood in the small rectangle piece of shade outside the door, getting our gear together, and promptly said in unison, lets get going, its frigging hot.  We had about 70 miles to get in.

The road in was now mostly straight as the eye could see, some pretty regular car activity, and quite a few semi’s blew by us going east. And it was getting hotter.  I think my dash said 94 degrees when we landed at the AmericInn around 2pm local time.

We took advantage of our early arrival be doing laundry, and I am going to catch you up on pictures that I missed during my 3 day sabbatical.

Tomorrow we are headed to Yellowstone National Park, and end up in Jackson Hole, WY.  One of my favorite towns to visit.  I am forewarning you now, there is a high probability of no Road Apples tomorrow night.  It's Friday night in Jackson Hole, I am planning on saddling up at the Million Dollar bar, throwing back a couple cold ones, and we have dinner reservations at the Snake River Grille at 7:30pm.

Before I sign off, I did get a response from the Cody Rodeo Commission regarding my request for entering Hedgehog in the amateur bronco riding event.  They didn’t pass his application for approval, but did offer him a position as a barrel clown.  We politely declined. 

See ya when I see ya.

Bye for now

Stick

Road Apples Day 9, July 13 2022... Hot As Words I Cannot Publish Here

Ok, I’ve got to start today’s musings with a disclaimer.  My catch up blog posted yesterday was written in my word processor over 3 days, as I had the time to work on it.  When it came time to cut/copy/paste, I lost the first page and didn’t realize it until I went to bed, and started to read the blog myself.  I don’t believe in proof reading prior to posting, as Emenem said “I get one shot”, and I missed.  There’s probably a lesson in there for you kids at home… don’t blog while your sitting at the bar.

Ok, onward and upward.  Today we left Rapid City S Dakota around 9am.  We all turned in pretty early after dinner and only round at the hotel bar, last night.  The prior night was still taking it’s toll on us. 

We had about 300 miles to knock down to get to Sheridan, Wyoming, where we are for tonight.  Our first sight on today’s journey was Devils Tower.  Breathtaking is the only word that comes to mind.  We pulled over on the side of the road and took free pictures.  There is a tourist station where you can pay to get closer, but really was more are you going to see up close than we saw for free.  Our opinion, you get the chance you do what you like.  We took a couple Clark Griswald photos along the road when it struck our fancy as well, of local city signs or things that piqued our interest.

It was warm when we left Rapid City, I think my dash thermometer said 80 degrees.  But it only got warmer as we went west.  The temps creeped, but it felt like they shot up, to 101 on my dash gauge.  It was hot.  Which made necessary a few extra stops for some much needed air conditioning and hydration.  Our lunch stop was at Dewey’s Place in Moorcroft, Wyoming.  Old school western bar at it’s finest.  A couple cowboys sat the other end of the horseshoe bar talking about whatever cowboys talk about in Moorcroft, and we bellied up at the opposite end.  The friendly gentleman working the bar, who was not Dewey, I know this cus’ I asked, took our order for hot wings and chicken fingers and cold Mountain Dews and ice cold waters.  He even gave each of us a complimentary can coozie.  I liked that guy.

As we prepared ourselves to exit the bar and reenter the convection oven outside, we put our gear on inside and made no haste in our scurry to get on the bikes and get some warm air circulating around us.  But first, we got to top off the tanks.  Boston Bob asked me on Facetube (facebook for you newbies) if finding gas has been an issue in our travels.  Not really, we really try not to get passed a ½ tank, and fill when ever the opportunity arises.  As my buddy Big Greg says when we are snowmobiling: Never Pass Gas.

Back on the road and after about 60 miles in blistering heat, so hot that at times it felt like the heat was bouncing back up off the asphalt paved roads at us, and we found our next stop for some air conditioning and hydration.  This time it was in the “town” (town is used loosely)  of Spotted Horse in an old house on the side of the road with a shade tree across the parking lot to park under, turned into the local bar restaurant.  I use the term “Local” loosely here, as well.  This place is in the middle of nowhere, I don’t know who the local crowd would be or come from, but it was an oasis to 4 stupid motorcycle riders traveling the high plains of Wyoming. I topped off the Yeti water bottle I carry on my bike with some fresh ice and water, and after a short reprieve from the heat, we mounted up and ran again. 

If I thought Spotted Horse was in NoWhereVille, brace yourself.  The next stop about 20 miles west was even more desolate.  It was the “local bar/United States Post Office”.  The kind couple inside running this joint were for the most part accommodating, as their 2 year old grand daughter ran around, inquisitive of these 4 strangers, that invaded her space.  Some short conversation was had about the white tail deer population (diminishing due to some disease the gentleman referenced in a 3 letter acronym that I am completely clueless of).  As we were settling up the tab the kind lady offered us a pile of pins for each of us to choose one from as her wish for safe travels for our group.  Much appreciated, we will take all the help we can get.

We now had about 50 miles of hot asphalt roads to get to Sheridan.  I will say, however, the roads are in the most excellent condition.  My theory is it’s because there is no traffic on them!  I swear we only see a vehicle maybe about every 20 miles, and we are usually passing it.

It is 6:30 local time, and we are headed to Cody, Wyoming tomorrow.  Supposedly this is Rodeo Season in Wyoming, and Cody has a rodeo EVERY night of the week!  I am researching how to get Hedgehog registered for amateur Bronco riding tomorrow night (shhh, I would like to surprise him with this).

We are now over 2300 miles after 9 days on the trail.  I believe we are still having a ball.  I am, the heat took it’s toll on us today, but I think everybody is rallying after their showers.

We shall see…

Bye for now,

Stick

Road Apples Day 6, 7 & 8... July10,11,12 2022: I Don't Have A Good Title Today

SD around 4pm on Sunday.  Truck/Trailer Brian was sitting under the small covered patio out front, patiently awaiting our arrival on bikes.  He had the customary cold rocky mountains waiting for us as we have come to expect. And we proceeded to have a few.  When I was ready to starting punching out words on this You probably have noticed I’m a bit late writing this stupid blog.  We got into the Days Inn in Spearfish keyboard, they announced it was time to go to dinner.  Writing would have to wait. 

We are currently sitting at the Millstone Family restaurant (it’s now Monday 7/11/2022; 9:10 am local time) having breakfast.  But first, lets backtrack and get caught up.

We had dinner Saturday night downtown Dickinson ND.  Nice dinner, a couple steaks a couple adult beverages.  Not much happened, pretty much turned in, once Ski Doo got the truck backed in to the parking spot, mostly damage free.

Sunday morning, we were on the road by around 9am local time and headed to the Painted Canyon.  Pretty ride and crazy awesome views.  Finally.  We have had our fill of flat farm land for miles and miles and miles and miles.  We then rode to the Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  There is a 24 mile road into the park to traverse, with extraordinary views of the rolling and rocky landscape.  And lots of nature and wildlife abound.  Our first stop was to see the prairie dogs. Cute, but we are here to see buffalo!  We meandered thru the twisted road and rocky points with amazing views.  Quite beautiful, and glad we took the time to drive thru. 

About 15 miles in, and we got our buffalo.  A whole herd.  When we passed them they were in the meadows, and we stopped and took our obligatory pictures.  When we turned around for our departure, they had ventured out of the meadow and were now crossing the road and IN the road.  We wanted to see buffalo, we saw buffalo.  We slow rolled by them, so as not to have them charge us, as there were calves mixed in with the full growns.  They were about 6 feet away from us as we slow rolled by, quite exhilarating to say the least.  On our way out of Medora, we stopped at the Boots Saloon for a lunch stop and T-Shirt/sticker purchase.

Sight seeing was over, time to head south and get into a new state.  We are over North Dakota.  We stopped for lunch at the Old #3 Bar for a rest and refreshment, and back on the road south to Spearfish S Dakota. 

When we arrived, the temps had climbed to 93 degrees. It was warm and the cold refreshments Brian had waiting for us on the tailgate were very quenching.  We gathered under the covered patio, and swilled a few cold ones.  When I was finally ready to go to work on this stupid blog, they announced that it was dinner time.  Ok, the blog can wait.

We went to Deadwood SD for dinner and to check out the town.  I don’t know the name of the restaurant we went to, but there was a casino on the main floor, and the restaurant was upstairs.  There was about an hour wait for our table, so Ski Doo and Monkey wiled away the time playing black jack, I played the video slots, and Hedgehog and Brian sat at a table near the bar, quenching their thirst.

Dinner was good, steaks and ribs were served, and about the time we arrived back to the Days INN, a heavy storm was rolling in.  Big lightning bolts were crashing around us, and by the time we hit the entrance doors, the rain came pouring down.  Night night for our crew.

Right now we are sitting at Black Hills Harley Davidson.  Hedgehog is attempting to get some service done on his Pan America, I am typing away, and Terry, the former owner of the dealership is waiting for me to put this keyboard away so he can be our tour guide for a local ride today. 

I’ll make this a 2 day report when we get in tonight, and our overnight location is determined.  I believe we are going to do a 2 night layover here in the area, so we can explore the local area. Stay tuned, subject to change.

Bye for now, Stick.

Ok, it’s now a 3 day report.  It’s currently Tuesday July 12, 2022, approximately 5pm local time.  We just returned from a 200 mile day ride where we took in, I think, ALL the sights.  I am sitting in the “Cheers” hotel bar, while my riding partners are all upstairs either in the showers, or napping.  But, oh no, not me.

So, yesterday we left the Black Hills Harley dealership that our tour guide, Terry Rymer, previously had owned, before retiring from the grind after 35 years.  We left Hedgehog at the dealership to have his bike looked at.  His radiator hose had begun collapsing near the exhaust pipe, and we wanted to see what could be done.

We ride began with the Iron Mountain road, I’m working from memory but something like 300 turns in 17 miles.  Awesome views of Mt Rushmore, and a couple of one lane stone tunnels.  It was an awesome ride and many photos along the way (you are just going to have to wait for photos, and I will do a photo day soon, I have a lot or words to type and I am not taking time tonight to load photos, deal with it.) 

After Iron Mountain, we went around the back of Mt Rushmore, checked out a couple lakes and I just can’t say it enough, but an awesome ride with twisty roads that went up down and around.

Around 4pm, Terry split off and headed for home.  He was gracious enough to invite us over later for some ribeyes cooked on the grille!  We headed back to the dealership to get Hedgehog, I guess they replaced the radiator cap to fix his problem, but it took all day to get it into service due to a back log of service work and short fall of mechanics due to Covid. We arrived to find Hedgehog with his bike strapped down in the trailer, and sipping a cold one.  We joined him in having a cold one, as we only had about 4 miles to get to our hotel.  We sipped cold ones, and Brian was in the store checking out T-shirts. When Brian came out with his new threads, we suited up to get ready to head to Terry’s place, about 15 minutes away by truck.

Appartently, we weren’t quick enough getting our bags unpacked and having our customary cold by the truck after hotel arrival.  Terry began texting Monkey around 6:15 wanting to know where we were at… I cleaned that up dramatically for what the text actually said.

We got to Terry’s place, and he had 5 beautiful ribeyes on one of his two Big Green Eggs just a smoking away.  The aroma was delicious, and the blue tooth speaker was playing Lynnard Skynnard on the pandora app.  We gathered around on the covered patio, had adult beverages and great conversation. 

By about 9:30pm, we decided that Terry had probably had enough us for a day, and we headed to our beds back at the hotel.  However, this Cheers bar sucked us all in for a night cap, and we wound up sitting here until around midnight! 

This morning  we were to meet Terry at his house again, around 9am, for a day ride on the roads that he is intimately familiar with.  What a day he had planned for us.  We started on the Nemo highway, and then headed for the Buckhorn Bar & Restaurant just inside Wyoming.  After we got past Leads, and old gold mining town we had a blast on the roads that were up and down, and around the hills/mountains, twisting and turning , and twisting the throttle too.  It was an exhilarating ride for sure. 

After a Mt Dew break, some jerky and crackers & cheese to munch on, we departed the Buckhorn and headed for Rochford where we had a short break, and the boys sipped a cold one in the shade, on the side of the building in the provided plastic patio chairs. 

Departing Rochford we headed down some dirt/gravel roads towards the Sugar Shack.  We had lunch of fine hamburgers and Reubens, and then headed down the dirt/gravel road across from the road side restaurant and headed for Sturgis. 

We blasted thru Sturgis and went directly to the Full Throttle Saloon on the other side of town.  The TV show does not do justice to the sprawling and eclectic facility.  While walking around, we saw Jesse Dupree and he was gracious enough to humor us with a photo op.  We got our obligatory sticker and shot glass, and it was time to head to the ranch, or hotel I should say.  The odometers said we did 200 miles today, on the button.

We are meeting Terry at Murphy’s in downtown Rapid City so we can treat him to a nice dinner for his graciousness in escorting our sorry souls around S Dakota.   Terry, if you are reading this, a sincere THANK YOU from all of us, your tour was absolutely fabulous and I don’t think we missed a thing to see.  Your hospitality towards us was most appreciated, and we owe you one, my friend.

Ok, I’ve got about 45 minutes before we depart for dinner.  We have had a great 2 days in S Dakota, and it is time for us to get into a new state.  Tomorrow, we head to Wyoming… where? We are not sure yet, TBD and subject to change.

We have some great pictures you should check out.  But it won’t be today.  I will probably have a day where I just upload pictures, you will have to wait until then.

Bye for now,

Stick

Road Apples Day 5, July 9 2022... Rain Delay and Clean Laundry (for most)

We are under a weather delay at 8am local time in Devils Lake SD, so I am getting a head start on tonight’s writing. Hopefully this storm system is fast moving and we will be on the road by about 10am.

When I left off last night, I was writing and Monkey was in charge of the laundry room. We had 2 loads to get done with the use of the free laundry facility. We were getting hungry and asked Monkey how much longer on that final dryer? He replied, Let me go check. He came back down to the portico where we were gathered tailgate talking and cracking cold one’s, and demurringly stated we have about another 1/2 hour… I forgot to turn the dryer on. Of course you did. After about 1/2 an hour he went to retrieve the finally dried clothes, and then demurringly said to Stick, “Ahh, I forgot to throw your clothes in the wash and dry, they are still sitting on your bed”. Now to clarify, we are roommates, my bed right next to his. Hopefully it’s catching on out there why he is referred to as the Monkey.

When most everybody’s laundry was fluffed and folded, off to dinner we were. A local mexican joint was recommended to Ski Doo Matt when he was at the Verizon store, still trying to remedy his cell phone issues. Margaritas, chips and dinner were very good. Our attempts to get a margarita to go were not successful, so most of us turned in for the night after dinner.

One good thing coming out of this weather delay and our lingering in the breakfast room is the conversations with some locals. One kind lady suggested we visit Painted Canyon Overlook on the way into Medora, which is now on the schedule for the kids. Another kind gentleman was just a conversationalist and was asking about our ride and also giving ideas. His most popular comment with our group was “so your going to Medora…your ride will start getting pretty once you get to about… Medora”. His other funny one was “yea, you can watch your dog run away for about a week in the fields out here”.

Well I have a little time, I’ll explain the “Road Apples” title of our blog. When these guys started requesting/demanding that I continue to document our trip and write this stupid blog, it also meant that we should have an appropriately name for it, summer related and relevant to the adventure. A few ideas were thown out, Big Al’s suggestion of “Road Rash” was considered for a moment, but I just couldn’t overcome the negative juju that it brought with it. Then I got to thinking of this time my buddy SP and I were at the Harley Davidson 110th anniversary in Milwaukee and ran across a group of guys who ride together and called their group “The Road Apples” I, at that time, was not familiar with the slang. They explained that road apples are the horse droppings on the road that you avoid when riding a bike. I hated to steal their moniker, but I felt that it was a very appropriate title for our adventure… horseshit on the road.

TO BE CONTINUED… upon arrival to Medora, Stick.

Ok, back on the keyboard I am.  We are now in Dickinson, ND, at the Microtel Inn.  Yes, I am aware that I told you we were going to Medora today.  Be patient, I will catch you up.

While we were waiting the rain to pass at the last joint, we started calling around for rooms in Medora.  There weren’t any.  The friendly gentleman that shared his euphemisms about the plains of N Dakota, suggested we try Dickinson, as it is only 30 miles short of Medora.  And they did have 3 rooms for us.  Problem solved.

We topped off our tanks at the neighboring fueling station, and were on the road by 10:10am CST.  It was overcast and about 68 degrees. The roads were slightly moist from the passing showers.  The big storm never materialized. We cruised about 40 miles, with about the last 20 miles being covered in road construction dirt/mud/slime, what have you.  We finally are getting the bikes dirty like they should be.  We stopped at a gas station for a quick rest/restroom break and then rode 90 miles thru miles and miles and miles and miles of farm and pasture land.

Those 90 miles were in the west bound direction and the wind was from our left at about 40mph, and steady.  We rode at an about 15 degree angle for about 2 hours.  And when you passed a fully loaded semi it was like a quick tsunami just blasted you.  If my neck wasn’t sore from the fat hotel pillow, it will be now. 

As the day progressed the weather improved, the wind died down, and the roads became more rolling hills and slight curves.  A big departure from the endless miles and miles and miles of straight county roads we have been riding for 2 days.  Plus, we crossed the Continental Divide today as well!

On our travels today we crossed over the Garrison Dam, an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River that is over 2 miles in length, and is the 5th largest earthen dam in the world.  Pretty cool.  A short break was taken in the roadside over look, a few photos taken, and down the road we went.

Our lunch break was in Underwood, SD at the Rusted Rail Bar & Grill.  We had a great lunch of chicken wraps, chicken salads (Hedgehog) and wings and some house made tater tots that were divine.  I even won $22 playing the slot machine in the corner!

Back down the road after lunch, the winds were lighter, the roads fairer but still miles and miles and miles of farm and meadows.  Saw a few elk along the roadside, staring at us in bewilderment.  Those seagulls back in Wisconsin that plagued Ski Doo and Hedgehog must’ve called ahead our itinerary, because I saw at least 4 near misses of birds dive bombing Ski Doo as we traveled the back roads.  No direct hits, however.

About 50 miles outside Underwood, it was time for rest break/rest room. But there was not a shade tree, gas station, house, civilization for miles and miles. So we found an abandoned asphalt former drive on the side of the road, and pulled in for our break.  We were there for probably 15 minutes, and not a SINGLE vehicle passed us.  We looked back at the straight road that went for as far as the eye can see that we had just traveled, then looked forward to the continuing straight road as far as the eye can see, to be traveled, and just laughed out loud. 

Back on the road to Dickinson. About 24 miles from our destination, and there was a quaint road side bar called the Dog House Bar.  Well we may have passed it briefly, but the temptation was to strong.  A quick U-Turn in the middle of the barren road, and we were walking in the door.  Grabbed a cold one, shot the shoot with a couple locals and the friendly bar maid, and it was time to get into the hotel where our tailgate cooler of cold and blue Rocky Mountains awaited us.

We are now in the Mountain time zone and 2 hours behind most of my 7 followers back east.  I am now waiting for the washing machine to come available so I can do my laundry today, and some other guest beat me to the washer while I was unloading my dirty clothes, so I here I am, telling you my problems.

If this is the worst my problems are, this will be a great trip.  It already is a great trip. We are having a ball, quite frankly. 

We are headed to Rapid City S Dakota tomorrow, and will take in the Painted Canyon Overlook on our way South, as it lays in front of us still.

We shall see,

Bye for now,

Stick

Road Apples Day 4, July 8 2022... The Plan Continues To Develop

We have landed in Devils Lake North Dakota.  We got into the Holiday Inn Express around 4pm, and after about 300 miles.  We rode thru miles and miles, and more miles of farmland.  I think the farmers here measure their land by the square mile, not acre.  Pretty uneventful ride, to be kind.

Our morning call time was breakfast at 8am and kickstands up at 9am.  We have been in the Central time zone since we landed in Wisconsin.  However, our bodies are still in the Eastern time zone.  I was up around 5:45am local time (6:45 EST)  and my alarm was set for 6:15, no since laying around, Monkey was still hooked up to his life support (CPAP) and snoozing away.  I jumped in the shower, and began my packing.

By 6:45am, we were all convened in the breakfast room, just off the main lobby.  Light conversation was had, and we determined that the kickstands up time had changed to 8:15.  Our destination is the Sportsman Lodge in Devils Lake ( I am aware that I already told you we are at the Holiday Inn Express, just follow along). 

Our first stop along the way was about 75 miles down the road, traveling State Hwy 2, to Bemidji MN to see the Paul Bunyan and Blue monuments.  Me being the Clark Griswald of the group, insisting that we take the kids to see every touristy thing we can, proclaimed this stop at dinner last night.  We topped off the fuel tanks there as well, and while Ski Doo Matt was trying to recover all of his cell phone data at the gas station (we don’t know what happened with his phone) we talked to probably a ½ dozen locals that saw our loaded down bikes and were curious what we were up to.  Everybody was very gracious and wished us success on our adventure.  Kindly appreciated.

Our journey picked up again, and thru miles and miles and miles and miles of farm fields.  We came across the small town of Crookston MN and found the local restaurant Irishman’s Shanty.  What a great little restaurant the locals there have.  A nice little salad bar that we all partook in, and the special was hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and a side of peas… Perfect.  Bring 3 please (Hedgehog and I shared a plate). 

After lunch we hit state road 9 to state road 15, crossing into N Dakota, and passing miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of farmland.  We made another stop at a gas station/convenience store/small diner in the middle of miles and miles and miles and miles of farmland, for a short break and top off the tanks again.  The lunch special was “Mystery Meat”.  I am glad we ate at the Irishman.

I need to backtrack a minute here.  After lunch, while we were getting ready to mount our bikes again, Ski Doo’s phone was ringing with a call from truck/trailer Brian.  Brian had already reached Devils Lake and the Sportsman’s Lodge.  His first statement over the speakerphone was I would bet all the money in my pocket right now that this place is not where we want to stay tonight.  I don’t know a polite way to express his dissatisfaction with the chosen lodging, nor use language that would be suitable for print.  Needless to say, he was assigned the task of finding us an overnight lodging more accommodating to his/our expectations.  Holiday Inn Express it is.

We arrived in Devils Lake ND around 4pm and after about 295 miles.  Truck/Trailer Brian had the cooler restocked with fresh beverages and ice, and the tailgate down, awaiting our arrival.  A good man that Brian.

Knuckle punches all around as we disembarked our bikes and cracked those cold rocky mountain cans. 

Hedgehog moved the park bench under the portico for some shade as our resting place outside the front door of the Holiday Inn.  Conversation started flying about the Glacial Pass that we want to travel from Montana in to Wyoming wont open until July 13, and how we could incorporate that into our trip.  So instead of heading directly to the Pacific, we are now headed south to South Dakota and will spend a few days around Sturgis riding and seeing the sights.  We will then head back north and west to get to the Pacific.  All these things to see/do were part of our agenda, we just didn’t know how the plan was going to materialize.  That was also the agenda of this ride… make up the ride as we go.

This hotel offers a free washer/dryer on the third floor so we are taking advantage of this opportunity to get some fresh laundered clothing.  And sipping a few cold beverages. Before dinner.  And I am writing this stupid blog.

The bikes are parked under the portico, which for me leads to another story that these guys will not let me write this without a mention.  Another 1mph tip over for Stick.  I am not really sure how I did it this time, put the bike in gear started to move to the designated parking area, and just like that… ploop.  Bike on its side again.  The beauty of this is, I got the bike back up on rubber, with an assist from Ski Doo, and nobody is quick enough to get their cameras out!  My philosophy is, no pictures… it didn’t happen.

Ok, time to move the clothes to the dryer.  Tomorrow’s destination is Medora, ND and about 300 miles.  We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

Road Apples Day 3; July 7 2022... Headed West, Rubber Down.

Today we did about 270 miles from Rice Lake, Wi, to Grand Rapids, MN. We had a great breakfast at the Northside Cafe, determined by the helpful recommendation from our server at dinner the night before. We called a start time of 8am, and breakfast was done by 9am, and on the road we were.

But I need to take a minute and back up to the SS Badger ferry ride from Ludington. If you are going to take that ferry, choose the “State Room” option. It’s the only way to travel. Because we were the last to board the ferry, all the tables and adjoining open seating were taken by the first boarders. But… if you have a state room, as I have already said in the last blog you know the amenities, but we got to take a nap as well. That’s worth the price of admission alone.

So we disembarked the Badger around 1pm, first off fortunately, and we hooked up with Hedgehog and SkiDoo Matt outside the Kwik Trip gas market on 8th street. After a quick knuckle punch greeting, we were off for Rice Lake, WI. But… we had to make a quick stop in Appleton, WI, at the Appleton Boat Shop to hook Ski Doo up with a new pair of riding pants, because he has eaten to many “salads” (Coors Light) and blew the elastic our of his first pair. Since the restroom was occupied, he had to do a trial run of his new pants right at the parts counter. Quite a sight for the showroom shoppers, I must say.

The new pants were satisfactory, and back on the trail we were. Riding along, we stopped about evey hour and a quarter for a break to stretch and rest. One of our breaks was at the Bad Habits bar outside I don’t know what town. A quick pop, a short conversation with the couple locals, and an attempt to find the rightful owner of a couple stray dogs hanging outside the bar, and we were back on the road.

We did about 275 miles yesterday, not counting my and Monkey’s 60 mile sail across Lake Michigan, and we got in to the MicroTel in Rice Lake, WI, around 6:30pm local Central time. While there was an Applebee’s across the road, which if The Kid, Kyle, was with us I am sure we would have eaten at, the hotel clerk recommended the Adventurer Grill just down the road. A great meal was shared with chicken fajitas, bbq ribs, and Ski doo had pine apple chicken teryaki, which didn’t quite do the job so he also ordered a set of wings to finish.

After dinner, we enjoyed a few cold adult beverages, and the friendly server informed us they were getting ready to close. So, being as resourceful as we are, we inquired about the availability of a couple growlers of our favorite beverage to go. She was very accommodating and we each walked out with a growler of our favorite beverage.

We adjourned in the MicroTell lobby, and enjoyed our growlers and conversation about the day we just had.

After breakfast this morning, we were on the road by about 9am. At this point, I should make you aware of how the stalk us on our jouney. At the darksideadventures.com website, go to the “Tracking” tab, click it. When the map comes up, click on either 7 days or 1 day or your choice, and you will get our up to date location. I also need to disclose that our tracking is dependant upon my memory to turn on my spot tracker each day. So, if you don’t see a current update, be patient, I will eventually realize I forgot to activate it. I don’t need reminders from the peanut gallery, I am trying to enjoy a ride here, ok.

Our path today was to run a portion of the coastline of Lake Superior, have lunch along the way, then high tail it to Grand Rapids, MN. Mission accomplished. We ran thru Duluth, MN, and promptly found the 2 lane road along the lake we were looking for. Beautiful views, nice riding, and lunch at the Scenic Cafe. After lunch, Ski Doo found us some nice 2 lane county roads to run. Now this is the trip across the west I am looking for. 2 lanes, 4 dudes on bikes, and smooth back roads. Great ride all afternoon.

We got in to the Timber Lakes Resort around 5:30pm, and our truck/trailer driver Brian that runs ahead of us, had ice cold Coor’s Lights in a cooler on the tailgate of the truck waiting for our arriveal. And did we take advantage of it. I never even went to the room, I got my bags off the bike set them on the bag cart under the portico, and proceeded to enjoy the tasty cold beverages. Two hours later, and only 2 Coors left in the cooler, I took my bags to the room, and am now sitting at the dinner table writing this stupid blog.

While we were enjoying those tasty beverages in the parking lot, we ran into three guys from Quebec on a motorcycle ride going west to Yellowstone and then north to Saskatchewan. We shared stories of our snowmobiling in Quebec, and they shared stories of their bike rides in the U.S. Internation relations at it’s best.

We are riding to Devil’s Lake, ND, tomorrow. We plan to travel mostly local county roads, and veer off the beaten path and take in the sights along the way.

I am sure I missed a few details, but I will do my best to fill in the blanks when I remember them. Until then…

Bye for now,

Stick

Road Apples July 5 & 6 2022, Day 1 & 2...Pacific Ocean OR Bust

I’m sitting on the SS Badger out of Ludington MI, it is approximately 9:35am and we had an on time departure at 9am.  We have a State Room, with a single bed and writing desk, and my own personal Head to use (restroom for those not seaworthy).  My riding partner Rod Page, now and from hither on referred to as Monkey, grabbed a couple breakfast sandwiches from the galley (kitchen/cafeteria) and we have already explored the ship, and watched from the bow as we departed port. 

But let’s roll back to yesterday and how we got to here. 

Yesterday goes back to September 2021, at a memorial party, and I ran into an old friend, referred to hereafter as Bunting.  Bunting was telling me how he was planning to ride a KTM Adventure motorcycle to Alaska the prior July with his brother, but had to cancel due to other issues.  He stated he was pretty disappointed that he didn’t get to do his ride… and after he was done exasperating about that, I piped up that “Hey, that’s in my wheel house, I’ll do the ride with you!”

After a few conversations about the time frame and so and such, and we both decided that July 5, 2022 would be our departure date.  Now the games had begun.  I needed to acquire an bike!

As time went on, and I was having a few adult beverages with my pal Monkey, and telling him about my next crazy (stupid?) adventure.  In mid conversation his jaw dropped, and in typical form, blurted out “I’M IN”.  Ok, now he needs to acquire an Adventure Bike!

Fast forward to my annual snowmobile trip in January, and some part of the way thru, I’m sitting in the hotel bar with Ski Doo Matt, and I started telling him about this upcoming crazy (stupid?) motorcycle trip.  In what has become fashion, his jaw dropped and asked “Can anyone else join ya?”  And just like that a third Adventure bike needed to be acquired.

A couple weeks after that snowmobile trip, back home now, and I get a phone call from Hedgehog Phil and wants to know if we are seriously doing this ride to Alaska.  Yes, Hedgehog, it is real.  And now a 4th Adventure bike was to be acquired.

So, from mid February through late June, a few Zoom video calls were convened so all the riders could visually meet, and we shared ideas about things each individual would like to experience in our travels, and basically just get a feel for compatibility of our group.  We all clicked on Zoom, and you will now have a front row seat to see how it plays out in the real world.

As D-Day (departure day) approached, Bunting, the brain child/genius that planted this seed, had personal issues that prevented him from making this trip with us.  I was dis-heartened to say the least.  But our group of 4 riders are stupid enough to continue on with our flights of fancy.

Our group of Adventure bikes are 2 Harley Davidson Panamericas’ and 2 KTMs’ one an 890 and one a 1200.  There is a mix of hard sided cases and soft sided saddle bags, basically what was available for each brand, as there is quite a back order on accessories, with everything going on in the world.

Monkey and I departed from Flint, MI on Tuesday July 5 at around 11:30am for an approximate 220 mile ride thru the back roads of Michigan, with our destination being Ludington.  We are to catch the SS Badger at 8am on the 6th.  Naturally, just like in the winter edition, there has to be some issue along the way.  About ½ way thru our day’s ride, we pull off the main road, onto a dirt road to take a short break under a shade tree.  I passed the spot Monkey chose to rest, and went up the road a bit to turn around.  Doing so, I apparently forgot to downshift from 2nd to 1st, and stalled the bike mid turn, and did a 1mph slow motion tip over.  My left side big toe got pinched between the shifter and the kick stand, and now I have a big fat purple toe.

We arrived at the Stearns Hotel in Ludington right around 5:30pm, and checked into the time capsule of a hotel promptly.  As we were unpacking for our overnight stay, Monkey casually asked in conversation if I had my tie-downs for the boat?  Uh? So I made a quick trip to the local Lowes for another set of ratchet straps, because I don’t have about 20 pairs of these back home in my trailers and shop, what is one more set.

After that quick trip for another set of ratchet straps, we ventured down the block to find a place to serve us some food and adult beverages.  I was ready for dinner, as we didn’t stop for lunch, we only snacked on some Banana Bread at rest breaks, that my pal Red had baked for me. (Thanks Red).  We found an upstairs bar/restaurant that I can’t remember the name of, and after sitting in the setting sun and melting during dinner, we moved to the shaded bar afterwards.  We ran into a couple from Illinois on a bike ride to the Upper Penninsula and had a great time/conversation with Baldo and his gal.  Hope to see you guys in SW Florida!

At the time we were leaving Flint, Ski Doo Matt and Hedgehog were leaving Indiana on their way to the port in Manitowoc WI, to greet us as we disembark the Badger. They overnighted at the hotel right across from the port.  While I don’t know the details of their ride, I do know they rode through Chicago, it was 94 degress, and it was miserable until that leg was passed.  According to this morning’s report from Hedgehog, the hotel receptionist offered to let them park their bikes under the hotel canopy, they politely declined due to fair weather, and came out this morning to find their bikes were used as target practice by the local seagulls. 

Monkey and I were out of our room by 7am this morning (Wednesday, July 6) and headed down the road to top off our fuel tanks and get a quick bite to eat.  The fueling was successful, but the food had to wait until we got on the Badger.  The Badger departs at 9am, with a required one hour prior check in at the dock.  We were in line by 7:45, and we were the first 2 bikes in line out of probably 10 that are on board.  They load cars, trucks, vans RV’s and such first, so we didn’t board until about 8:45, and hopefully that will put us at the front of the line for unloading.

I’m ready for a break writing this blog for the day ( I am still asking myself how I got roped into writing this stupid thing on another adventure), but I will do my best to keep you posted, fill in the blanks of how the Pacific Ocean came into play, what Road Apples means/are, and our general follies on the road.

So, until then…

Bye for now,

Stick

PS: If you have followed FrostBytes, the winter edition then you are familiar with Chip Nasty.  Chip texted me last night to tell me he was in St Johns MI, visiting his sister, and that he had rode 600 miles yesterday, and we was going with us on the Badger, and riding with us for a day.  This was super exciting news!  This morning on our drive to the port, Nasty sent me another text that his bike was giving him issues and he was not going to make the port, and was returning to his sister’s for repairs.  This was super disappointing news.  I hope it  works out Nasty, good luck , and ride safe my friend. ( I wish I could make some smart comments that he was just hungover and overslept, but unless they’ve changed the formula of Diet Pepsi, I know that’s not it!)