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Saturday, September 21, 2024
The 2024 PNW Ride - The Wrap Up
September 21, 2024
Even with all the rain I encountered on Days 1 and 2, it was a fantastic trip. Spending time with family was a big plus but when it comes to motocamping, all those miles on the road are really what it’s about.
Some stats:
Total miles: 2,314
Days riding: 7
Days visiting in Sequim: 3
Nights camped out: 5
Days of riding in the rain: about two half days
Gallons of fuel used: 45
Cost of fuel: $155.72
Cost of camping sites: $35.00
Misc costs along the way: $20.00
Mechanical issues: none
Traffic issues/close calls: none
Lesson learned: drink lots of water to stay hydrated
This was my second trip to this area and won’t be my last. There are so many roads to ride and the jaunt into Canada was icing on that cake.
The 2024 PNW Ride - Day 10
September 20, 2024
Lots of fun.
Now it was just a matter of rolling off the miles. However, I’d forgotten that Hwy 12 was under construction. I arrived just as the pilot car was leading a group through 6-8 miles of hard pack dirt, gravel, and loose gravel. Yuck.
I did a short hike after I got up to loosen things up but really laid around and read, taking my time as I was in no hurry to get along today.
I hit the road about 9:45am and continued east on Hwy 200 for a few miles before turning off on Hwy 279, the Flesher Pass Road. What a treat: Twisties for Breakfast. The road climbed to pass.
From there it was just racking up the miles. I passed through Canyon Creek, went by Silver City, and eventually dropping into East Helena from the north, avoiding the main city itself. Now I was back on Hwy 12 which took me to Townsend where I stopped for gas.
After a break, I continued on Hwy 12, riding east and across the mountains on a very curvy and fun ride. When I got down to the other side it was really windy which always takes some of the fun out of riding. I got off Hwy 12 and turned south on Hwy 89, a diversion which is shorter and would hook back up to Hwy 12 in time.
I turned on Hwy 294 and rode that east to Martinsdale and the intersection back on Hwy 12. I stopped there for a break and a snack. I was 2 hours from home.
In Harlowton I did a short detour to look at the campground I would have stayed at last night and saw that all the RV sites were taken. Based on the big circle of chairs in the center, I assume they were together and arriving for a weekend get-together of some kind.
Now it was a quick ride to Lavina and Broadview before arriving in Billings at 3:30pm.
It was a 273 miles day.
The 2024 PNW Ride - Day 9
September 19, 2024
I slept pretty well as it was much warmer than the previous night. It was barely getting light out and I was awake since I get up at 5-5:30 most days anyway. I grabbed some stuff out of my bag and walked up to the restroom and had a nice warm shower. On the way back I shot a photos of my campsite and the moon.
I made a cup of cocoa and started sorting/packing for the day’s ride.
The sun is coming up behind the mountains to the east.
I continued my walk, taking a few photos along the way.
I arrived at the picnic/day use area and this brought back some memories.
In 1982 my sister and I rode our motorcycles from Southern California to Fernie, BC by way of Glacier Park and Watertown Lakes to meet some Canadian friends for a ride back to California. We stayed in Fernie for a few days and one evening someone suggested that we go for a swim. Where? Surveyors Lake as it’s only about 30 minutes away. Off we went. It was dark and when we got there we noticed that the picnic area was closed at 10pm and rather than turn back we figured that would give us the lake to ourselves.
We were enjoying a skinny dipping session when all the sudden there were headlights above and a park ranger walking down the hill. We scrambled for the bushes leaving Dave to get the lecture about it being after a hours, quite politely I might add, and were told to leave. He went back to his truck and we scrambled in the dark to find our clothes, putting them on, and going back to our car. It was a great night.
So, the picnic area brought back old times and when I felt the water, it was neutral to the touch and as clear as could be so I went waded out for a ways and it felt great.
I hiked the rest of the way back to my campsite, got things packed up and ready to go. So far, no one came by to register me. I took off and stopped at the gate but it was still closed so I guess I got a freebie.
I made a small detour to get gas before heading south to the border crossing. My last views of Canada.
I made it through the border crossing in less than a minute and noticed that they asked the same question as the Canadians EXCEPT about having guns. That says something.
The plan is to ride Hwy 37 along Lake Koocanusa to Libby, MT. I’d ridden it on the ‘82 trip and always wanted to do it again. It was great but for all the construction. I probably lost an hour just waiting at all single-lane road closures. Some photos from along the way.
I stopped at Libby Dam.
In Libby I stopped at the Lincoln Courthouse.
I took Hwy 2 which skirted around Kalispel and then on another Hwy past the north end of Flathead Lake. Then I got on Hwy 83 and took that south through Swan Lake, Condon, and Seeley Lake. A great ride, high speed most of the way. I was keeping my eye on my odometer and pulled over near Seeley Lake to mark and celebrate hitting 40,000 trouble-free and fun miles.
I texted with my wife and we decided to call off our planned meetup in Harlowton as it was getting late and I would be arriving after dark. OK, so I got on the map and found a campground the other side of Lincoln right on the river. I stopped for gas where I got off Hwy 83 and Hwy 200. I rode Hwy 200 east through some beautiful mountain roads above the Blackfoot River. I stopped in Lincoln at what appeared to be their only convenience store in hopes of finding a small bag of chips and a single beer. They had the chips but the single beers were nothing I was interested in consuming.
I rode on 8 miles to the Aspen Grove campground. It had 2 loops and only half the sites were filled. I took one that was right on the river with no nearby neighbors. It’s perfect and my tent is right above the water.
As it was still early I sat down and worked on these blog entries which I’d upload when I got home and had a good network connection. I had Pad Thai for dinner.
Around bedtime I shot some photos under moonlight.
It was a 358 mile day.
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