Susan decided to organize our new home further and get to know Canmore and some of its people further. I was to be off on this mortorcycle trip - a little vacation for 10 days. This was a GWTA- Gold Rush trip (my motorcycle group) but I was solo for the first two day. On the Saturday, headed down to Lethbridge to visit with 'cousin' Ray, then off to Billings, Montana until the Friday. Took the Highwood Pass and the 'Cowboy Trail' (hwy 22) -- cool but sunny to start, with gophers sunning themselves in the middle of the road -- they seem pretty astute, and skittered off of the road as I approached each one. Montana - talk about big sky -- seems at times that you can see forever. Chose to take secondary roads as I thought they would be quieter-- I was right as sometimes I didn't see another vehicle for 20 minutes, and maybe only 4 or 5 vehicles in a couple of hours. Stopped to watch a few antelope cross the road -- a nice distraction. The scenery changes dramatically from time to time, and some of the valleys seem to appear out of nowhere presenting a little oasis of trees, greenery and water in what is otherwise some dry, flat and brownish territory. Almost forgot to get gas at one point as I was looking at a thunderstorm that I paralleled for a few hours -- missed it but for a few large rain drops. Billings, Montana is in the lower flats as I dropped down from the plateau that seems to form much of Montana; arrived on schedule and met up with a few friends from Ontario.
Monday was a ride sponsored by Bear Tooth Harley to Red Lodge and Rock Creek Lookout -- a trip I would repeat at the end of the week. On the Wednesday my friend Doug arrived from Calgary, staying at the KOA campground (the KOA in Billings is the first one ever established and from which grew KOA across North America). Thursday took a trip to Ponty's Monument (part of a geographic feature associated with Clark's travels (of Lewis and Clark fame). The large rock sandstone pillar also has Clark's signature and date (1806) carved into it. Enjoyed the Lewis and Clark state museum and its offerings.
Following the many events at GWTA Gold Rush, on Friday July 23 Doug and I headed off to Cody, Wyoming by way of Bear Tooth Pass (11,000 ft), Cooke City MT, Chief Joseph Hwy (10,000 ft pass). Very strong winds at the top of BT Pass, and cold dry air. Fantastic views. Coming into (and out of) Cooke City we came across a VERY LARGE bull buffalo meandering down the highway -- the road was his as far as we were concerned, and very cautiously made our way past him (as for size, think if a very large horse but with twice the mass!!!).
Wyoming is very western/cowboy like, and everything is Buffalo Bill 'something'!!! Great gunfight reenactment just off of main street. The bars look like they're in the old west. Recycling is not a big feature in Montana/Wyoming -- a remote area with lots of space, so everything goes to landfill (beer bottles in the bar are just tossed into a big bin --- so they break into small pieces and then get efficiently carted off to the landfill!!).
Yellowstone National Park on Sat July 24. We were expecting very high volume traffic, but such was not the case. A fantastic geological area. A volcanic crater approx. 40 miles across, with lakes, valleys, and many geysers. Saw Old Faithful and other noteworthy areas in the park -- this will be a place for Susan and I to go to and explore further for a week or so. Just an amazing mix of geography throughout the park -- we'll try off-season maybe next year. Stayed in Driggs, ID for the night. Next day off to Columbia Falls (near Whitefish, MT) for overnight, then the next day north to Fernie, BC, the Crowsnest Pass, Cowboy Trail north to Longview, AB, and the Highwood Pass again to arrive back in Canmore in late afternoon on Monday July 26. Great trip. Enjoyed Doug's company for the return portion. Approx. 4,400 km.
No comments:
Post a Comment