Tag Archives: MT

Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

National park, motorcycle, touring, Mount, Rushmore, Crazyhorse, monument

Day 14 ride map

Today is day  14 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

Everyday, except one or two, we have been up at 5:30 getting the bikes and us ready to ride. We are usually on the road around sevenish. This has been an amazing ride, not only because of all the wonderful scenic country and great people we have met all along the way, but also because we have felt good both physically and mentally. We are not getting any younger and this is always on the back of our minds. All of this makes for some enjoyable riding…

Five years ago we rode up this way for the first time. It is good to be back and to be able to ride some of the places we didn’t have time to ride on that last ride.

The front desk clerk at the motel gave us some good information and a map about riding today. Due to some confusion on my part we rode the route backwards from what he suggested. I may have just misunderstood his directions. It ended up being a good mistake. We rode the loop counter-clockwise instead clockwise. I think this is the best route (counter-clockwise)  because when you ride Iron Mountain Road, Mount Rushmore is framed in the tunnels. A picture perfect view of Mount Rushmore. If we had ridden in the clockwise direction Mount Rushmore would have been behind us when riding through the tunnels. I was also given some misinformation by a friend, who said Needles Highway was the road where you could view Mount Rushmore through the tunnels. Needles Highway does have 3 tunnels just like Iron Mountain but there are no views of Mount Rushmore. That caused us some confusion since we rode Needles Highway first. Larry asked a park ranger to help us. He got us straightened out about Iron Mountain and showed us how to get there. We got some good pictures riding Iron Mountain to prove it.

If you would like to ride the loop we rode, these are the directions.

  1. From Rapid City take US-16 south to US-16A
  2. Left on US-16A to SD-244
  3. SD-244 follow the signs to Mt. Rushmore
  4. From Mt. Rushmore continue on SD-244 west to US-385
  5. Left on US-385 for 0.2 of a mile to SD-87 (Needles Highway with 3 tunnels)
  6. Follow SD-87 for about 16 miles to Highway 753 (Playhouse Road)
  7. Follow Hwy 753  for about 4 miles to US-16A (Iron Mountain Road with 3 tunnels)
  8. Left on US-16A for a little over 9 miles to SD-244 (Take the pullouts and take pictures of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels)
  9. When you reach SD-244 you have completed the 41 mile loop.

Below is a map of the ride around the loop.

national park, monument, motorcycle, map, ride

41 Mile loop with views of Mt. Rushmore

If you like narrow twisty roads you will like the Needles Highway. It is a must ride if you are in the area. The best part of the loop was riding Iron Mountain Road with views of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels. Because of the speed limits and stopping to take pictures it takes about 1 hour and a half to 2 hours to ride. It is well worth the time.

national park, monument, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring

View of Mt. Rushmore from highway

After finishing the loop we doubled back on part of the loop to stop at the Crazy Horse Monument. I was interested to see how much progress they had made carving Crazy Horse into the mountain over the last 5 years.

The Needle rock formation the Needles Hwy is named for...

The Needle rock formation the Needles Hwy is named for…

Mount Rushmore viewed tunnel on Iron Mountain Hwy

Mount Rushmore viewed tunnel on Iron Mountain Hwy

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial June 3, 1948. The project continues to this day. 63 years and they have a lot more to do before they finish. Korczak died October 20, 1982. The work continues today under the guidance of his wife Ruth and their children, together with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board of directors. It was and is a monumental undertaking.  The most amazing part of the project has been accomplished without any public funds.This is a must stop if you are in the area.

Crazy Horse Monument a 63 year work in progress

Crazy Horse Monument a 63 year work in progress

It was lunch time when we got to Crazy Horse.  We had lunch here at the Laughing Water Restaurant  on the Crazy Horse Monument campus. I had Buffalo Stew the last time I was here and since it was so good I had Buffalo Stew again. They have other Native American specialities you may want to try. The dinning room has a large picture window with  a good view of the Crazy Horse carving. The waiter staff was good and as pleasant as last time. They take the time to answer any questions you may have about the campus.

Heading South to Nebraska

Heading South to Nebraska

After a good meal at the Laughing Water Restaurant we headed south to Alliance, Nebraska, our destination for the day. We thought this was going to be just another leisurely ride. When we reached Alliance it was still early so we decided to ride another 37 miles to Bridgeport for the night. We stopped at the first motel to get a room but they were full. We asked where we might get a room in Bridgeport and was told all the motels were full. I asked why… The son (who plays football for the University of Nebraska) of one of the wealthy families in Bridgeport was getting married and anyone who was someone was there for the wedding… Hence no rooms… They said the nearest town on our route that would probably have a room was 80 miles away… No big deal except… we were also told there was a big storm headed this way… We did notice dark clouds as we rode into town. We jumped on the bikes and rode like the wind to try to beat the storm. Forty mile down the road we came to Oshkosh, Nebraska. What luck there was 2 motels and we were able to get a room for the night. Not a chain motel and nothing fancy but a room to get us out of the weather… which never came… We have been so lucky with the weather…

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom left column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time to leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow we will be heading home… Larry back to Georgia and me back to Texas. I can’t believe this ride is almost over… but it will be nice to finally get back home to Janet…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

National Park Motorcycle Ride – 5542 Miles in 16 Days 2013
Day 1 & 2 National Park Ride -Getting There
Day 3 National Park Ride – Dalhart, TX to Georgetown, CO
Day 4 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Georgetown, CO to Pinedale, WY
Day 5 National Park Motorcycle Ride: Grand Teton & Yellowstone
Day 6 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Yellowstone National Park
Day 7 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Gardiner to Kalispell
Day 8 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Glacier National Park
Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada
Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada
Day 11 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Lethridge, AB to Billings, MT
Day 12 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Little Bighorn Battleground
Day 13 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Devils Tower National Monument

Day 13 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Devils Tower National Monument

National Park, motorcycle, ride, travel, Devils Tower, Spearfish, Canyon

Devils Tower & Spearfish Canyon ride map

National park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Day 13 Leaving Gillette, WY early morning…

Today is day  13 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

We were up early and on the road. Another short day of just 200 miles. Our first stop is Devils Tower National Monument. We were here on a ride in 2008 and it’s nice to be back. It seems like it was last month… I was here with Larry T. and Larry C. Today it is just Larry T and me. Larry C. is missing a great ride… 🙁 I love riding this part Wyoming.

national parks, motorcycle, trip travel, touring, ride, adventure

Day 13 Almost to Devils Tower

park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Devils Tower National Monument entrance

Situated in the rolling prairie of the Black Hills, Devils Tower towers over the surrounding area. Devils Tower is sacred to the Arapaho, Crow, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota, and Shoshone. The name Devil’s Tower originated in 1875 when Col. Richard Irving Dodge’s interpreter misinterpreted the Indian name to mean Bad God’s Tower. Maybe the tower should be called God’s Tower instead… It sounds good to me. Stupid white men…

park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

In the shadow of Devils Tower National Monument

We arrived at Devils Tower early morning. The air was still cool and made for a nice hike around the base. Even without climbing the tower you have good views of the scenic surrounding area as you walk the perimeter. It is an impressive sight, with unique geologic history and Indian ties. We watch more adventurous visitors climbing the tower. You need a permit to do any climbing. In my younger days I would love to climb the tower. Today we will just be observers. There are many interesting stories of former climbers. The fastest climb was just over 18 minutes… An amazing feat because he didn’t use climbing equipment! Then there was the a guy who parachuted onto the top of Devils Tower and he was stuck there for four days until he was rescued! There was one big flaw in the plan.

park, motorcycle , Ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Climber on Devils Tower National Monument

From Devils Tower we rode on to the town of Spearfish and rode through Spearfish Canyon. Butch Kay, an old school friend, suggest the canyon to be a must ride 5 years ago. It was a bit warmer this time, 80’s vs. 30’s.

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Riding through Spearfish Canyon

The last ride we just rode through Deadwood, but this time we stopped to have a closer look. The street was blocked when we got to Deadwood. There was a parade… For what… We had no clue… We turned down a side street and parked so we could check it out. It was the ’76 Days parade.

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

’76 Days Parade in Deadwood, South Dakota

The official reason given for ’76 Days is…  “The Days of ’76 began as a way to honor Deadwood’s first pioneers – the prospectors, miners, muleskinners and madams who poured into the Black Hills in 1876 to settle the gold-filled gulches of Dakota Territory. Since the first celebration in 1924, the Days of ‘76 has grown into a legendary annual event with a  historic parade and an award-winning PRCA rodeo.”

The unofficial reason is… Wild Bill Hickok was killed in Deadwood on August 2, 1876…

motorcycle,ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

’76 Days in Deadwood South Dakota

The parade ended just as we walked up the street to it. The streets were filled with people who were there for the parade and the ’76 Days events. We leisurely strolled up and down “Upper and Lower” Main street taking in all the sights of the day’s festivities.

Afterward we back tracked to Lead, SD. We rode Hwy 385 five years ago but this trip we are riding Nemo Road to Rapid City, our destination for today. I saw several posts on the web about Nemo Road being a good motorcycle road. They were right, it is a great ride with nice scenery.

motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring

Riding Nemo Road in South Dakota

Everything on our ride has gone as planned… until today… Because we have been riding during the peak tourist season I had made reservations at all the popular tourist areas. No problems until today… Wyndham Rewards lost our reservation at the Ramada… The Ramada was full and we could not get a room! We were not happy campers… And we weren’t prepared to be campers. After a hour or so of trying to resolve the issue with Wyndham to no avail, Ramada did help us find another motel near by. Apparently, the Wyndham reservation system did not send the information to the Ramada reservation system. Note to self: Call motels to verify the reservation well in advance of your arrival…

Today was another great riding day with more beautiful weather… 13 great days and counting. We are not wanting this ride to end… It is almost over… 🙁

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time to leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow we will be riding to Mount Rushmore and riding  Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road.

Ride safe and I hope we see you somewhere down the road.

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

National Park Motorcycle Ride – 5542 Miles in 16 Days 2013
Day 1 & 2 National Park Ride -Getting There
Day 3 National Park Ride – Dalhart, TX to Georgetown, CO
Day 4 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Georgetown, CO to Pinedale, WY
Day 5 National Park Motorcycle Ride: Grand Teton & Yellowstone
Day 6 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Yellowstone National Park
Day 7 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Gardiner to Kalispell
Day 8 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Glacier National Park
Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada
Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada
Day 11 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Lethridge, AB to Billings, MT
Day 12 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Little Bighorn Battleground
Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

Day 12 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Little Bighorn Battleground

Billings, MT to Little Bighorn to Gillette, WY

Billings, MT to Gillette, WY Ride Map

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Fast Eddie’s ’57 Chevy… 8 years and thousands of dollars later. Very nice car…

Today is day  12 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

We have put a lot of miles on our motorcycles since we left on this adventure ride. Today we are taking time to get the oil and filter changed at Hi-Tech Motor Sports & Marine here in Billings. Before we left on our ride, we called ahead and made an appointment so we could get in and get out and back on the road as soon as possible. Tyler took good care of us. If you are in the area and need service give Tyler a call at (406) 652-0090.

We were back on the road by 11:30 heading for the Little Bighorn Battleground.  We ate lunch at Blondie’s before we hit the road. We met a guy there called “Fast Eddie” who had restored a ’57 Chevy that was a jewel… A really nice car and nice guy. Eddie had a lot of stories about restoring the car and when he raced cars… I guess that’s how he got the name “Fast Eddie”…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Leaving Billings, Montana after lunch heading to Little Bighorn

While at Hi-Tech one of the sales people told us we should see Pompey’s Pillar National Historic Landmark before heading to Little Bighorn. Lewis and Clark stopped here and signed their names on the rocks. Again we crossed the path of Lewis and Clark… but will have to save seeing it for another time. It would be 50 miles added to the day’s ride. If we had left Billings sooner we could have made the visit… So if you are in the area make plans to stop and visit…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Monument atop “Last Stand” hill at Little Bighorn Battleground

The last time I was at Little Bighorn was 41 years ago. There have been a few changes since then, but all for the good. There were more visitors than when I last visited. The Battle of the Little Bighorn is one of the most famous battles in American History. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25 and 26, 1876, Battle of Little Bighorn. Standing at this site takes your mind back to a different time. It is very emotional to think what must have gone through the minds of the men on each side of the battle. The U.S. Seventh Cavalry, including the Custer Battalion, a force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer, suffered a severe defeat. The total U.S. casualty count, including scouts, was 268 dead and 55 injured. It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull.

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Area of Indian encampment along Little Bighorn River

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

“Last Stand” hill at Little Bighorn Battleground

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Where Custer fell on “Last Stand” hill at Little Bighorn Battleground.

The granite memorial, built July 1881, stands on the top of Last Stand Hill. Soldiers’ remains were re-interred  near the new memorial. Stakes were left in the ground to mark where they had fallen. In 1890 the stakes were replaced with marble markers. On Memorial Day, 1999, the first of five red granite markers denoting where warriors fell during the battle were placed on the battlefield for Cheyenne warriors. On June 25, 2003, an unknown Lakota warrior marker was placed on Wooden Leg Hill, east of Last Stand Hill.

As I stood on top of “Last Stand Hill”, looking across the prairie grass-covered hills, with a slight breeze at my back, it was hard to imagine such a battle could have happened in this place… a place today that seems so peaceful.

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Heading to Gillette, Wyoming with rain in the distance… More beautiful ranch land…

From Little Bighorn Battleground we headed to Gillette, WY, our destination for today. Today’s ride is just 233 miles. Because we didn’t know how long the oil and filter changes would take, and we didn’t want to be rushed seeing Little Bighorn, we limited the mileage for today. Our route was more great plains riding of mostly ranch land.

Today was another good ride with more great scenery and perfect weather. There was a little rain in the area this afternoon, but we managed to miss riding in it. We have been very fortunate with good riding conditions since we left 12 days ago. Four more days to go… I’m not ready for it to end. We have ridden over 4,000 miles and we are feeling great physically and mentally… We aren’t getting younger and feel blessed to be able to do this ride… The only thing that could be better is if Janet and Shirley (our wives) could have come along. They are missing one great ride… 🙁

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time to leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow we will be riding to Rapid City, SD via Devils Tower National Monument, Spearfish Canyon and Deadwood, SD.  Ride safe and I hope we will see you somewhere on the road…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

National Park Motorcycle Ride – 5542 Miles in 16 Days 2013
Day 1 & 2 National Park Ride -Getting There
Day 3 National Park Ride – Dalhart, TX to Georgetown, CO
Day 4 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Georgetown, CO to Pinedale, WY
Day 5 National Park Motorcycle Ride: Grand Teton & Yellowstone
Day 6 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Yellowstone National Park
Day 7 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Gardiner to Kalispell
Day 8 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Glacier National Park
Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada
Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada
Day 11 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Lethridge, AB to Billings, MT
Day 13 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Devils Tower National Monument
Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

Day 11 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Lethridge, AB to Billings, MT

national park, motorcycle, ride, travel, trip, touring, adventure

Lethbridge, AB to Billings, MT ride map

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Leaving Lethbridge, AB Canada early morning.

Today is day  11 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

Today we are riding to Billings, 404 miles of just riding. There are no planned stops except for the occasional photo, gas and food. For the most part, the trip was miles and miles of Great Plains farm and ranch land… Some may consider this boring but I actually liked it. Having grown up on a farm in Texas I do appreciate this type of living and do see beauty in this landscape. You can see for miles and miles with the occasional view of the mountains in the distance to the west. Cattle and crops all along the way. These people work hard and do provide the good food that we enjoy on our tables all across the Canada and the U.S.. If you are riding out this way it is a good ride… maybe not as spectacular as the mountains we just rode through but beautiful in its own right…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Visitor’s Center at Milk River, AB Canada

At Milk River, AB we made a pit stop at the visitor information center and visited a bit with the young attendant who answered several of our questions. Larry asked about the town of Milk River’s  namesake. He figured it to be a big dairy area… When  The Lewis and Clark’s Expedition passed through here they described the river as appearing to be the color of a cup of tea with milk.  Apparently it looks like more milk than tea…  She also answered our curiosity about what the many fields of yellow we had seen since leaving Banff. She said they are most likely Canola. Now we know where all the Canola oil’s source comes from…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure

Queued up at customs head back to U.S.A.

At the border crossing it was a bit busier at this crossing than when we entered Canada. There were several cars in front of us but the line moved fairly smoothly and quick. I was wondering if all the customs agents were so matter-of-fact with no sign of personality as this one was… It seemed Larry was taking a bit longer to be processed through. I asked him what took so long and if Mr. Personality was as personable with him. Larry said the agent was until he finished with the questions… then the agent loosened up a bit when he asked about Larry’s Victory Vision. That’s what took so long… 🙂

 

national park, motorcycle, trip, ride, travel, touring, adventure

More farm and ranch land on our way to Billings, MT

Our route today took us through another of the larger cities in Montana. Great Falls is the third largest City in the state with a population estimated to be 58,950 according to the 2011 census. Great Falls takes its name from the series of five waterfalls along the upper Missouri River basin.

Through out our National Park motorcycle ride we have crossed paths of The Lewis and Clark’s Expedition and Great Falls is another place they have been. We may need to retrace their expedition as a motorcycle ride someday. I will look into that when I return.

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, ride, travel, touring,adventure

Billings, Montana from cliffs over the city

We rode into Billings from the cliffs that border the city to the north and east. The cliffs to the north being 500 feet (150 m) tall and to the east of downtown, the face rises 800 feet (240 m). The views from the cliffs give good views of Montana’s largest city, which had a 2012 population of 151,882. The GPS routed us through the older part of the city to our motel. It had a quaint and inviting air to it that made me want to explore Billings’ history a bit more and check out some of the many sites in and around Billings. We will have to leave that to another time on a return trip.

Today was another good ride with more great scenery and good weather, a bit warmer today but still a good ride…

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also, please take some time and leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow will be a leisurely ride to Gillette, WY via Little Bighorn Battleground. So until then, we will get a good night’s rest. Ride safe and I hope we will see you somewhere on the road…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

National Park Motorcycle Ride – 5542 Miles in 16 Days 2013
Day 1 & 2 National Park Ride -Getting There
Day 3 National Park Ride – Dalhart, TX to Georgetown, CO
Day 4 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Georgetown, CO to Pinedale, WY
Day 5 National Park Motorcycle Ride: Grand Teton & Yellowstone
Day 6 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Yellowstone National Park
Day 7 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Gardiner to Kalispell
Day 8 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Glacier National Park
Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada
Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada
Day 12 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Little Bighorn Battleground
Day 13 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Devils Tower National Monument
Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

Today is day  9 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

Normally we are up at 5:30 getting ready to ride but today we slept in a bit since today is an easy ride of  just 260 miles. I didn’t want to be rushed leaving today. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Avis, Ed and Avis’ mom. I hope it won’t be another 41 years between visits.

Yesterday, one of Avis’ neighbors gave her some huckleberries. I have never had huckleberries before. I liked them a lot so Avis made crepes with a huckleberry topping this morning for breakfast. A mighty good breakfast… The best we have had on our trip…

It was really nice to visit and catch up after all these many years. I just wish Janet could have made this ride so she could have met Ed and Avis. After taking parting pictures and saying our good byes we were on the road about 9:00.

National Park, motorcycle, ride, travel

My friends Ed, Avis and me

From Troy, MT we are heading north on Hwy 2. Hwy 2 ends at the junction of Hwy 95 in Idaho.When we reached the U. S. Canadian border we had to go through customs. That went rather smoothly & quickly. Once through customs,  it was on to Golden, BC, Canada. The route today, for the most part, was traveling through the valleys between distant mountains. Beautiful scenery with crystal clear streams and lakes  with nice cool riding temperatures.

national park, ride, travel, touring, trip, adventure, National Park Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips

More beautiful scenery riding to Golden, BC

national park, motorcycle, ride, travel, trip, touring, adventure, National Park Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips

Heading to Golden, BC with rain in the distance

We stopped in Cranbrook, BC for lunch at Denny’s. The service was slow because they lost our order. I miss place my camera memory card and needed to buy another. The slow service and having to replace the memory card did slow us down a bit. Later we encountered some lite rain and considered putting on the rain gear but it never got heavy enough for rain suits. We were a little behind schedule…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel,touring, adventure, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips

More beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountain scenery

It was a bit different having to remember the speed limits were Kilometers per hour. I was glad my speedometer had both miles and kilometers per hour. The kph numbers were small and  a bit hard to see in some light. I kept letting Larry know what the kph were in mph. We tried to obey speed limits but the locals seemed to be fly by us…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel,touring, adventure, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips

Another ride by shooting…

The other thing different was the gas prices were for a liter of gasoline. Also, some of the pay at the pumps operated a bit differently from those in the U.S. Nothing that we couldn’t deal with but did give us pause the first time…

national park, motorcycle, ride, trip, travel, touring, adventure, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips

More rain in the distance.

We arrived in Golden, checked into our motel and walked next door to a nice restaurant for dinner. It was another good riding day with more beautiful scenery and perfect riding weather…

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time and leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow will be a leisurely ride through  Banff  National Park. So until then, we will get a good night’s rest and dream about what tomorrow will hold for us. Ride safe and I hope we will see you somewhere on the road…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

National Park Motorcycle Ride – 5542 Miles in 16 Days 2013
Day 1 & 2 National Park Ride -Getting There
Day 3 National Park Ride – Dalhart, TX to Georgetown, CO
Day 4 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Georgetown, CO to Pinedale, WY
Day 5 National Park Motorcycle Ride: Grand Teton & Yellowstone
Day 6 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Yellowstone National Park
Day 7 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Gardiner to Kalispell
Day 8 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Glacier National Park
Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada
Day 11 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Lethridge, AB to Billings, MT
Day 12 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Little Bighorn Battleground
Day 13 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Devils Tower National Monument
Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore