A Ride to Huntley Project

April 10, 2026

I've been on a mission this week to visit each of the 4 country museums.  On Tuesday I spent some time at the Yellowstone County Museum which is up on the rims adjacent to the airport.  The artifacts are rich and the didactic panels provide plenty of context.

On Wednesday I visited the Western Heritage Center.  While they have a new exhibition on the hosiery of beer in Billings, I was really interested in the Ben Steele exhibition as I had just finished reading "Tears in the Darkness," the history of the Bataan Death march and Ben Steele experiences in it.  The display features lots of his original drawing and paintings.  After the war he pursued an art career and taught at Eastern Montana College, now MSU-Billings.

On Tuesday I went to the Yellowstone Art Museum to participate in the Write-Along session.  I think this was the 7th or 8th one I have gone to this year.  We write about some aspect of Kent Monkman's "Death of Adonis."  Afterwards I stuck around for the artist talk by Sean Chandler.

So, today I had one museum left to check out and it was a beautiful day to ride the 20 miles to the Huntley Project Museum.  The ride was glorious in that it was reasonably warm out, no wind, and light traffic.

I arrived at 1:45 pm and park the bike just outside the main gate.

I went through the main building which had all sorts of artifacts from the homesteading period and after, everything from ribbons awarded at fairs to a player piano to objects related to the train that traveled nearby.  The next room had information about sugar beets, local veterans, and more artifacts from the Homelife back then.

There are a half dozen or so out buildings, all moved to this site from Worden, Ballantine, or Pompey's Pillar.  All were open to inspect and I went into a homesteaders home, a bank, a doctor's office, a general store and several others.  At the other end of the property is a one room school house.  All are well-preserved and show the dedication that local residents have for their history.  Here are some random photos from my visit.

The ride home was uneventful and quite pleasant.  Before heading back I went up the road a bit and di a tour through Worden.

  I turned back onto Hwy 312 and went a bit faster than the train on the left.

It was a good day to be out.

It was a 59 mile day.

Another ride to Harlowton

March 20, 2026

With the temperature heading to 80 and nothing on the agenda, it was a good day to head back to Harlowton.  The trip I did last week got me wanting to return specifically to do a drawing of their movie theater.

I loaded up and got going about noon.  Just as I was going the wind picked up and I rode with a crosswind or a head wind for the entire 90 mile ride.  I turned south on their main street, Central Avenue South, and parked across the street from the theater.

I got out my stool and drawing gear and settled in for an hour and a half to do the sketch and ink it.  Here's what I was looking at.

To do the watercolor I wanted to get out of the wind so I went down a block and did that at Gally's Brewing.

Here's the completed drawing.

With the watercolor done it was time to head back to Billings.

Here is the main street of Harlowton.

With the wind behind me I just sailed.  When I got to Shawmut I decided to go up Hwy 287 for a few miles.

When I got to Cushman, I pulled over to the bridge that crosses the Musselshell River.

I cruised on back to Billings, gassed up, and put the bike away.

It was a 191 mile day.

A Ride to Harlowton

March 4, 2026

It's early March, nothing on the agenda, the weather is good, so why not go out for a ride?

I decided to take along my 35mm film camera and go shoot some photos in Harlowton.  The ride there is one I've done so many times I really lost count.  It 45 miles north east on Hwy 3 and then 45 miles west on Hwy 12.  I've hit some pretty strong winds on this route but today is calm.  The temperature is in the 50s.

About halfway along the music I was listening to stopped.  I thought I might be out of cell service range but the little screen on my dishpan device said that the battery in the phone was low.  I've had an issue with the charging port on that phone and I must not have had things positioned correctly last night.  No problem, I don't need the music or navigation aids on this ride and I will still have enough juice to take a few photos.

Enjoy the pary of the ride near Cushman where there are some short rimrocks on the north side of the road.

I arrived in Harlowton a rode slowly down the main street before turning around and pulling over to park.  I took off my helmet and jacket and got the camera out of my side case.  I strolled down the street for a ways and took some photos.

This last photo, above, is the old State Theater which has had two fires that have left it pretty much gutted.  I walked across the street to peer inside and a couple guys were just getting out of their truck and one told me that it was "druggies" who burned it down and now it was a lost cause.  Later, after I got home, I looked it up and saw a note that said it had been purchased by a company that intended to restore ir.  Here's some views inside.

The old sign in front...

I continued on my tour and took a few more photos.

I got back on my bike and road south, down the hill, to get to the rodeo grounds.  Along the way I saw thi sculpture.

I looped around the rodeo grounds, got back on Hwy 12, and then stopped at the rest area for a last photo.

The ride back was non-stop and quite pleasant.  I stopped to top off the tank before arriving back home.

It was a 186 mile day.

A ride to Shepherd

February 16, 2026

With another day of good weather and snow on the way, it was on the road again.  I was curious about the roads north of Shepherd, MT and, in particular, C A Road that goes to Ah New Recreation Area.  This is a BLM site for off-road vehicles.  It wasn't interested in riding off road but the streets looked interesting.

It was another nice day with the temperature in the low-60s and hardly a breeze in the air.  I headed out and took Zimmerman Trail up to Skyline and then Wicks to Main Street in Billings Heights.  Then it was onto Hwy 312.  I got off that and took Chicago Road to its end where I can get back on to 312 but I took Frey Road north instead.  It's short but nice hills and turns.

From there I got back to Shepherd Road, took that north to Scandia, and then rode that east to C A Road.  This is all flat farmland with a bit or ranching.  It's pretty quiet out with only the occasion vehicle going by.

On C A Road I turned north.  This goes past one of the largest feedlots in the area.  I can imagine the smell on a hot summer day but I didn't notice anything as I passed it.

I arrived at the recreation area, parked the bike, and took a few photos.

I headed back the way I had come and stopped to take some photos of yard art I'd seen on the way.

When I got to the intersection of Scandia and Shepherd I pulled over to check mu map.  I decided to head out straight on Scandia.

When Scandia ended, I turned north on 12 Mile Road and took that north and then turned on Mailbox Road.

This took me to Hwy 87 where I turned south and headed back to Billings.  Now it was just retracing my earlier route: Wicks to Skyline and down Zimmerman Trail.

In continued on to Grand and stopped for gas before heading home.

It was a nice day to be out.  It was a 72 mile day.