Today I headed east on a trek that will take me through Pittsburgh, PA and up to the northern tip of Maine. I left home about 7:30, stopped for gas, and scooted out of town without incident. I headed across the Yellowstone River and picked up Highway 87 toward Hardin. Yes, I could take the Interstate but this trip is about avoiding “the Slab” and sticking to the 2-lane roads.
In Hardin I went through town and picked up the I-90 frontage road which ends up at Crow Agency. From there I followed it on the north side of I-90 until it intersected with Highway 212 the road I will ride on for the next two days. Right across the way is the Bighorn Battlefield. I have a Senior pass so I pulled in there for my first stop of the day to use the facilities. I’d toured the site and visited the museum with my son in June so I didn’t need to do so today.
I noticed a sign outside the park that indicated that Hwy 212 was under construction and that motorcycles should take an alternate route. Since the alternate would be the interstate, I headed on to see how bad it could be. Just past Busby the road became grooved, causing the bike to wiggle but that wasn’t a big deal. A few miles ahead we went down to one lane.
The half of the road we were left to ride on was fine and after a few miles the construction was over and it was clear riding after that. There was a fair amount of semi-truck traffic. I’m pretty good at preparing myself for the onslaught of wind as they pass by in the opposite direction but with one of them it was unreal. I didn’t notice anything different about the truck as it approached but just after cab got past me I felt my head shaken like I’d been hit by something but it was the vacuum (I think) created by his turbulence, sort of like a sonic boom. That was unnerving.
I passed through Lane Deer and Ashland. Just on the outskirts of Ashland I stopped to get a picture of this sign. Apparently, this is because it's the opening Day of the rally in Sturgis so lots of bikes will be on the road. Hopefully, they are not "high."
Somewhere after that, a photo stop.
When I got to Broadus I pulled over in front of the Powder River Courthouse to add another photo to my collection of courthouses in Montana with my bike in front of them.
I was going to grab a sandwich in Broadus but the place I’d found online wasn’t open yet so I pulled over for gas and had a disagreement with the gas pump and had to go to another station. I took a short break, grabbed a drink and a snack and then got back on the road.
I’ll pause here and mention that there are LOTS of motorcycles on the road. LOTS. All that I’ve seen are Harleys except for one BMW at the gas station in Broadus. The owner said he’d been to the rally in Stugis and was headed back home to Joplin, Montana. I had to ask where that was. A town of 90 up north. Anyway, I see a group of bikes going past me the other way every 5 minutes or so.
I stopped in Belle Fourche, South Dakota for a sandwich and a drink and got back on the road. It was warming up so I took off my long sleeve shirt that I was wearing under my mesh jacket. Earlier I was glad I had that extra layer on because it felt chilly out. I even used my grip heaters.
I stayed on Hwy 212 and it moved me east to the intersection with Hwy 79. There were lots of bikers on 79 but once I crossed it the number of other bikes dropped. Hwy 212 at this point becomes like riding on a ruler: long and straight. It could be boring but I just set the cruise control at 65, cranked up the music in my helmet, and relaxed. About the only thing that caught my attention was a monument to Ben Ash so I had to pull over and check it out. Evidently he was an early explorer of the Black Hills. The scenery there was great.
About 30 miles later I rode into Faith, SD.
I had already picked this place to stay the night since they have camping in their city park. It had good reviews but I wondered if there would be room. No problem. There were two RVs and that was it. It’s a nice little park with flush toilets, a playground, and a large horseshoe pit area. I circled it and picked a spot on the east side by myself. I walked up to the toll box on the corner and dropped in my $10.
I got my tent set up and relaxed a bit.
Before it got dark, it was dinner time.
It’s pretty quiet here. There is the occasion sound of a motorcycle but that is mostly drowned up by the cows in the adjacent field.
By the looks of your camp and gear, you can pack more stuff on the bike than I can in my TR4.
ReplyDeleteThat could be. I also have a TR4.
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