Overnight it rained quite heavily in Missoula but by the time we were ready to leave there were only a few puddles left in the parking lot, the temperature was already in the low 70s and the humidity was at about 90%. We gassed up and I was struck by the sign on the gas pump that instructed people to, "Please Pre-pay In Advance." Sometimes redundancy can work.
The ride out of Missoula was surprisingly cool considering how hot it had been yesterday. In the back of our minds was the thought that the Testicle Festival was only 26 miles down the road. So when we saw the field full of tents and campers we took the exit just to have a look. However, I think that there may have been festivities the night before because not many people were moving around at 9:30. The signs kind of tell what kind of festival it is. I do realize that I didn't explain that the testicles came from young bulls which had been castrated. Apparently it is a rite of passage at 'TesteFest' to eat one that has been fried up. Judging from the numbers of steers in the fields of Montana there is no shortage of appetizers for the festival.
One of the signs at the entrance to the Festival.
Another sign at the entrance to 'TestyFesty'.
Shortly after getting back on the highway we were paseed by two riders on white Harleys. One was a Sportster being ridden by a younger guy and the other an Ultra Classic which was ridden by a helmetless, bearded middle-aged guy. The guy on the Ultra was leaning back on his pack with his legs stretched out on his highway pegs. It looked like he was riding his couch down the highway. We pulled in to a rest stop at Gold Creek where we met the guy on the Ultra. His name was Dennis and he and his son are riding to Sturgis. He is a Christian person and said he had a mission. I'm not certain what it is exactly but he does have a purpose in life and he rides his Harley with his son. Very cool, I say.
Dennis, the Christian biker, and Garry with the cool new hat he bought in Missoula.
The rest stop is about 2 kilometres from the spot where the Last Spike of the Northern Pacific Railway was driven in August of 1883. The NP was the first railway to connect the east with the Pacific Northwest coast.
Gold Creek. The BNSF tracks are to the left of the creek.
After the rest stop we continued on to Butte where we pulled in to the H-D dealer. They had some good T-shirts so Garry and I bought one. We also met a guy who was travelling with his lady and their small dog. He was from Chehalis, WA and has a bike shop there. He was riding an trike. His lady referred to the trailer as 'The Mansion', and the trike as, 'The Limo.' I never did get the guy's first name but he gave us pens with 'Freeman's Funny Farm' on them, the name of his shop. He even invited us to drop in on our way by sometime and stay over. He has the life though, because he closes the shop on July 15th every year and reopens it at the end of September. During that time he and his lady pich a part of the country to explore. Last year it was Nebraska & Arkansas. This year it is going to be Texas and another state that I don't recall. Just as we were about to leave, Dennis and his son rolled in. We said 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' because the clouds were rolling in and we were going to see the Berkely Pit in Butte before heading to Bozeman.
The trike guy and his lady from Chehalis, WA, at Butte, H-D
The pit is amazing! From 1955 when the pit was begun, until 1982 when it closed, more than a billion tons of ore (320 million tons) and wast rock (700 million tons) were mined from the pit. Now it is slowly filling with water. The colours of the waste rock is a pallette of yellows, browns, oranges, reds, and other shades. The scale is immense.
The Berkely Pit in Butte, MT
The Berkely Pit in Butte, MT
The weather to the east and the mountain pass to Bozeman was looking nasty as we left Butte. As is usual, the Interstate through the mountains is a great motorcycle road with almost constant curves. The highway climbed to the Continental Divide at 6393 feet. The rocks here are some of the strangest I have seen. They look like huge pillows piled on top of one another. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics or video and the road is some of the most picturesque that we have yet seen. We had a smattering of rain and the winds were buffetting us around while the temperature dropped. It was quite cool for most of the way in to Bozeman.
Two survivors of the Testicle Festival
When we pulled in to Yellowstone H-D we met the couple from Chehalis. I think a lot of people who are travelling to Sturgis or who are just on the road, drop in to the local H-D dealerships. We checked out jackets and Garry looked at of glasses frames that he can put prescription lenses into. I've been looking for a lighter jacket for a while now so after we checked in to the Super 8 we rode back to look at the jackets and glass frames again. When we walked out I was wearing my new jacket and having my old one sent home by the US Postal Service. And in Montana, there is no sales tax!
My new motorcycle jacket
Tomorrow the plan is to leave early and get to Yellowstone early enough to avoid the worst traffic. We'll see some of the various pools and hot springs, and perhaps Old Faithful before we exit the East Portal and ride to Cody. Hotel rooms are hard to get this time of year so we'll need to stop relatively early tomorrow. The trip is going well, and the weather is supposed to improve tomorrow. Three more days until we arrive at Sturgis!
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