Columbus - Sketch - Return

April 24, 2023

(More than just riding ahead…)

It was a busy morning and with such great weather I figured I deserved a bit of a ride when the chores were done.  I started the day with lap swimming at the pool, then made breakfast, worked on one of my drawings, mowed the lawn and fiddled with the fence at the other house, played flying disc with Bart the Dog, and then my wife and I cleared all the leaves from the rocks along the driveway and got them into the green barrel.  Whew!  I knew I’d be hungry when I’d return from the ride so I made dinner: crespelle, which is a stuffed Italian crepe. I made the crepes, then the filling (red beans, onion, spinach, and toasted cashews) and then the bechamel sauce.  A bit of sauce goes in the filling, then add filling to crepes, fold in half, and place in a baking dish.  Top with the remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil and set aside.

As much as I wanted to ride, I was also in the mood to sit and sketch, a break from the detailed drawing I’m currently working on, so I geared up and headed for the town of Columbus.  I worked my west through a bunch of high numbered streets until I stopped at S. 80th St. and Hesper Road.  The land owner was burning ditches and I wanted to grab a photo of that operation so I pulled over to the side and got my phone out.

Just as I was ready to go, the breeze shifted and I was in the middle of a smoke screen.  I needed to head south so I proceeded slowly since the visibility was about zero.  I made it through but had to ride for the next 15 minutes or so with my visor open to air out my helmet.

I stopped up ahead a bit and shot a photo looking forward and back.

I stopped again to grab some random shots of the scenery.

I continued on through Laurel to Park City where I did a tour of the town, which doesn’t take very long, before heading on to Columbus.

There is a city park that runs along the Main Street in Columbus, opposite the old buildings, and I parked there, got out my sketchbook, and settled in on a park bench to draw the New Atlas Bar.  I’ve never been in there but I guess it has a reputation.  I remember seeing a long line of Harleys parked in front when I went past there a summer or two ago.

The weather was really nice and I suppose I there there for an hour or so, working on the drawing.

It was time to hit the road but grabbed a shot of the bike on the street.

On the way out of town I stopped at one of the pull-outs above the Yellowstone River.

I went back the way I’d come except that I turned north in Laurel and did the Buffalo Trail/Lipp Road/Grand Avenue/Rimrock route.

A pretty nice day and 97 miles.

Busby and Sheridan

April 17, 2023

It was a beautiful spring day so my good friend Bill (see, Bill, you got a promotion) and I did a big loop through Montana and Wyoming today.  I was on my FJR and he was on his Victory.  My goal was to ride Hwy 314 from Busby, MT to Sheridan, WY, a route I’ve not taken before.

We headed out about 10:30am and to avoid taking the interstate, we rode through Lockwood and took Old US 87 all the way to Hardin.  From there we continued on to Crow Agency where we took our first break across from the Little Bighorn Battlefield site.  From there we headed east and just short of Busby we took Hwy 314 south.  It’s a rather scenic route going from prairie to tree covered hills and the road is in great shape with plenty of sweeping curves.  Hear a view along the way.

We arrived in Sheridan, WY and stopped that Black Tooth Brewing for a refreshment.  It’s a nice place and I was happy to see they sell beer in smaller classes in addition to the standard pints.  I had the peanut butter stout and the ginger lime cream ale.  Bill tried the 307 ale. 

Street views outside.

Around the corner is a storefront that looks like it just houses a couple old cars and some vintage motorcycles.

We walked back to the brewery and loaded up to head out of town, stopping for gas too.

We decided to take “the slab” to Ranchester where we’d get back on the 2-lane roads.  We pulled over and discussed the route and I grabbed a photo with the Big Horn mountains as a backdrop.

The road we took, Hwy 345, becomes Hwy 451 when it crossed back into Montana and pretty much runs parallel to Interstate 90. 

We went past Lodge Grass and somewhere before Gerryown we pulled over to discuss the rout.  Bill suggested that we go back through Prtor so as not to retrace the road we took this morning.  Sounds fine to me as it was only 4:30 and plenty of daylight was left.

When we got back to Crow Agency we had to cross back over the interstate and take the back road through the town to where it hooked up with Hwy 1.  This road must be laid out on a section line beccause it runs east/west and, for most of the way, is as straight as a ruler.  It ends at Hwy 313 where we turned south for some miles until it swept west and became Hwy 91 in St. Xavier.  We pulled over so I could get a photo of the sign warning us of a rough road ahead for the next 44 miles.

The is rough and bumpy but the scenery makes up for it.  We’ve ridden this route in the past so I didn’t feel inclined to stop for photos plus, there are few places to really pull off the road.  When we got to Pryor, I did get a couple photos there.

We headed north and then picked up Hwy 416 which eventually becomes South Billings Blvd.  

I pulled into my garage at 6:39pm, just over 8 hours after we’d left.  It was a great day.  The temperature was perfect and there was virtually no wind.

It was 337 miles.

To Powell, Wyoming

April 10, 2023

After a long winter, it’s all the sudden in the mid-70s and with having done a fresh oil change before I stored the FJR for the winter, and now fresh set of tires and a full tank of gas, it was time to ride.  My friend, Bill, and I chatted about last Saturday and agreed that both our schedules would be clear by noon today.  We met up at my place and decided on a destination, Powell, Wyoming.  We took off about 12:20 pm with a bit of a wind from the south but warming temperatures and clear skies.

We took our standard route out of town, heading west on Rimrock Road, south on 62nd, west on Grand and wormed our way to Buffalo Trail which took us into the town of Laurel.  I’d heard there was a turnaround going on at the refinery in Laurel and it was evident by all the cranes at work there.

We turned south in Rockvale and stayed on Highway 310 across the state line into Wyoming, through the small towns of Frankie and Deaver, until we stopped in Cowley.  We had some discussion about whether we should have turned south in Deaver but a quick look at the map showed us that if we continued on for a few miles we’d pick up Alt 14 which would take us straight to Powell.  Here we are in Cowley.

On the way to Powell we passed through Byron, a near ghost town, and then Garland which is sort of a Powell suburb.  The town of Powell is a decent size with a really nice Main Street that leads to Powell Community College, a school known for several of its outstanding programs.

It had been a hot and dusty trail so we stopped in at WYOld West Brewing in Powell to wash down the road.  It’s an interesting place as when walking in the brewery is in the front and you walk past stacks of kegs to get to the restaurant/bar in the rear.  It was pretty quiet and since were were just there for beer we sat at the bar.  Bill had a couple sample before he settled on his choice while I went right for a pint of the peanut butter stout.  It was as good a peanut butter dark beer as I have had and I’ve had a few over the past several years.  I was only planning on have one but was intrigued by the WYOld Mountain Wheat IPA with 77 IBUs.  While it is possible to get a decent IPA in Billings, most throttle back on the hops but this one, at 77, I have to try that.  It was excellent.  Very bitter, just the way I like it.  If I wasn’t riding, I’d have tried the Jalapeño ale, another one of my favorites.

It was time to load up and get going.

We continued on Alt 14 to Ralston, WY where we turned north on Hwy 294.  This is a nice 2-lane though what some would call a desolate landscape but I find it quite beautiful with the mountains that border the eastern edge of Yellowstone Park to the west.  When we got to Hwy 120 we turned north but not before a few photos.

When we crossed the state line back into Montana, Hwy 120 becomes Hwy 72 which we took until it intersected with Hwy 310 which we rode earlier in the day.  In Bridger we stopped for gas and then on to Rockvale and then Laurel.  We avoided that town by turning on Theil Road where Bill took the lead.  A few miles along a pickup traveling in the opposite direction flashed its lights as we were headed around a curve.  I thought it might be to warn us of a sheriff’s speed trap but it turned out to be a big deer crossing the road.

Bill led us across the Yellowstone River and instead of taking Duck Creek road he took us up 56th street which was much more pleasant that negotiating all the roundabouts on Shilo Road.

It was an awesome ride.  222 miles.  Many more to come.

The approximate route.