After yesterday's rough weather, almost anything would have been an improvement and today was much better. Instead of heavy clouds, the sky was spotted with small puffy clouds but for the first time in days we saw mostly blue skies. The people at the motel were quite considerate and allowed us to park our bikes under the motel entrance so this morning it was easy to load them. They even provided us with cloths (they call them 'Rocker Rags') that we could use to clean our bikes.
For the first time on this trip we started out day with 'breakfast' at MacDonald's. Not a great choice, but it was adequate. Not something I'd want to make into a habit.
Yesterday Jim, Garry, and I bought new gloves at Copper Canyon H-D in Butte and we decided to wear them this morning. They are great for lower temperatures and they aren't bulky enough to make them uncomfortable. Although the temperature was warmer than yesterday, the gloves kept our hands warm. I wish I had been wearing them yesterday morning.
We usually pull off at rest stops for a break but this morning the first stop was close to Butte and not far from Anaconda where the smelter stack was for a long time the tallest smokestack in the world at a height of 585 feet 1-1/2 inches. It can be seen for miles and we could see it clearly from the rest stop.
The smokestack of the Anaconda, MT smelter
Mountains near Anaconda, MT
West of Butte I-90 enters the mountains and runs along the Clark Fork River. The road changes direction with long sweeping curves that are fun to ride on a large touring bike. As we carried on we came to the next rest stop which was closed. Since the exit was blocked by cones we rode around them and had the entire place to ourselves.
Across the plains west of Butte, MT
Into the hills west of Butte, MT
The ride was uneventful and the temperature continued to rise. By the time we arrived at our next stop the rain pants and new gloves came off because for the first time in four days we had a temperature that was normal for mid-May. A man approached Kerry and asked if we were the guys who went into the closed rest area thirty-five miles back. When Kerry told him we were, he said that he envied us because he really had to go but had to wait until he made it to this rest stop.
I talked to him later about where he had been. Turns out he is from Portland, OR and is an avid fly fisherman. He had been fishing near Yellowstone Park on Saturday and that they had had an awesome day, landing between fifty and sixty trout. The fishing was catch and release, but for him it seemed that the joy was in the fishing while catching them was just a bonus. On Monday he was fishing near Monida Pass and as well as being cold, the wind blew his fishing line in a direction opposite to where he wanted it to go.
Starbucks has been a regular stop for us on most days. Today we found one in Missoula and it was warm enough so that we could sit outside in our T-shirts. It was most enjoyable. Tom had a smoothie. But to back up. For the first two days whenever we stopped at a Starbucks Tom would dutifully come into the store and sit while we had a coffee. On Monday he finally gave in and had a coffee. The yesterday he had a mocha. He was definitely was coming over to the dark side and today he had a smoothie. I feel like I've unleashed a Starbucks monster. But its all good because he joins Jim, Garry and me when we have a coffee now.
By a rather circuitous route we rode to Grizzly Harley-Davidson where we stopped to check out the dealership. The seemed to have fewer bikes than the shop in Butte, even though it seemed to be a larger dealership. They did have an immaculate 1956 H-D Panhead on display though and the new motorcycles in the entrance was simply a row of awesome. Harley still makes the best looking motorcycles on the market.
A row of awesome at Grizzly H-D, Missoula, MT
Immaculate 1956 Harley-Davidson Panhead
Leaving the dealership we headed toward Kalispell. The scenery on the way north is quite spectacular in places but the state hasn't seen fit to provide many pullouts for people to stop and enjoy the sight of towering snow capped mountains. It seems like a really bad omission for as state that relies in part on its natural beauty to bring tourists and their money.
We stopped at a pullout near a town named Ronan. The view of the Mission Range was incredible. There was a sign that explained that the Mission Range was the territory of the Kootenai (Flathead) and Salish tribes and they manage much of the land on both sides of the range.
The Mission Range, south of Ronan, MT
About forty years ago a singer named Loudon Wainwright III had a hit song named 'Dead Skunk'. The Lyric I remember is:
"Dead skunk in the middle of the road.
Dead skunk in the middle of the road.
Dead skunk in the middle of the road.
Stinking to high, high heaven."
Today I saw three dead skunks in the middle of the road and they did stink to 'high, high heaven." Sometimes my mind goes to strange places when I'm riding. And sometimes it amuses me, even if it wouldn't for anyone else.
Approaching the town of Polson we came upon a sight that could have been from the west coast but it was in the middle of Montana. The signs said that it was Flathead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the western United States. The view was outstanding and as we rode north we caught occasional glimpses of the lake from various viewpoints. On the east side it is bordered by snow-capped mountains. It was have been amazing in the early days when the shore wasn't marred by houses, marinas, and resorts.
The view of the Mission Range east of Flathead Lake, MT
At the entrance to Polson I noticed a sigh which named the street Memory Lane. I love it when people with a whimsical sense of humour name things just for fun. Further on we saw an entrance to a ranch which was beautiful but the name of the ranch was 'Wildhorse Ranch'. It seems to me though, that the name sort of defeats the purpose of having a ranch. It is my impression that ranches are for cattle and domesticated horse, but not wild ones.
Kalispell is in a beautiful setting but the town doesn't seem to have honoured its setting. It seems to sprawl across the valley and many of the buildings here are a bit shoddy. For a town that is the entrance to Glacier National Park, it seems that more could have been done to connect to the natural beauty that surrounds it.
Tomorrow we are heading west toward Libby, MT and where we finish tomorrow we don't know. However, it is looking like we will be crossing in to Canada at Creston on Friday. If so, then we will be able to ride part of the Kootenays before we head toward home on Saturday. The rise is winding down but we have seen some extraordinary country. This country has so many places worth exploring and I look forward to exploring much more of it in the years to come.
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