Thursday, July 22, 2010

Billings trip day 2- Greeley, CO to Billings, MT

Sunday started out about 74 degrees and sunny. We were out of the driveway right on time - 7 AM. It was a great ride to Cheyenne where we stopped at a new Denny’s at the Flying J for breakfast. That was a real busy place!

Back on the road and northbound around Cheyenne. I’d forgotten it was the beginning of Cheyenne Frontier Days. We crested a hill and saw a couple of patrol cars with their emergency lights on and hit the “slow down” button. Coming our way on the road along I-25 was a herd of longhorn cattle and cowboys following them. Kayla was able to get a couple of pictures of the longhorn cattle.

Farther north on I-25 we saw the first antelope on the east side of the interstate. There was a vehicle pulled off to the side and I slowed a bit to see it they were having mechanical problems. Then I noticed they were out taking pictures and I saw the antelope out a ways.

As we continued, I thought of the “Home on the Range” song. Remember the part about “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word?” That’s because there is nobody there to hear it!

Our next fuel stop was at Douglas. As we rode between Cheyenne and Douglas, I realized how big and wide open this country really is. We’d top a rise and see the highway go as far ahead of us as we could see. What looked like it might be a couple of miles turned out to be 10, 15 or even 20 miles! It was just an ideal day to be riding, with the temperature around 85 and only a light breeze most of the time.

As we got to the south end of Douglas, we encountered road construction which made traffic one lane in each direction. A mile into the construction area is where I pulled off for fuel. I filled up and remembered I wanted a Wyoming map that was bigger than the road atlas I had so I could show Kayla where we were easier. I’d wanted to get a map at Cheyenne and completely forgot about it while looking for something to put on a bee sting.

When we were getting ready to get back on the Gold Wing, a car pulled up on the other side of the pumps. As it was stopping, I could hear the brakes grinding. When the woman got out to get her gas, I told her what I heard. She said she would have the brakes looked at, and we took off. Our next stop would be at Casper to grab a quick sandwich and top off with fuel.

I don’t know if it’s just because it’s Wyoming, or what, but everywhere we stopped for fuel had lines. Maybe it was because it was Sunday and a travel day? Even McDonald’s had a line out the door when we stopped for a couple of sandwiches.

While we were eating, I looked up to see the same car with bad brakes pull in the parking lot!! I’d thought those were some local people before, but now I’m thinking they were not planning ahead on their car maintenance. Depending on what their destination was, driving that car was fast becoming dangerous!!

The weather out of Casper was still great. Checking fuel mileage, I was doing better than the day before, and was going about 7 MPH faster. Maybe the weather not being 106 has something to do with it?

What a great couple of days!! No phone calls, no nothing!! My only worries are where will my next fuel stop be, and what kind of place can I find to eat at tonight.

We took a break at Sheridan and topped off with fuel. Once again, there was a long line at the gas pumps. Had another bottle of water while we waited in line.

When I plotted out this trip, it figured out that I should be in Billings about 6:15 PM. We took more time when we stopped at Cheyenne than we expected; however, we were within 15 minutes of being where I thought we would be. However, as we approached the Montana state line, the skies were increasingly cloudy, with very dark clouds building to the west-northwest. It was really hard to tell if we’d get any of it or not because the highway isn’t straight anywhere. One mile it’s going north, the next it’s going west. We stopped at the state line and took a couple of pictures, then took off again. About 12 miles south of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, we rounded a curve and ran smack dab into the storm with no warning! I don’t believe I’ve ever ridden in a wind that strong! I’d just checked the temperature and it was 88. In less than 5 miles it dropped to 64. I slowed to about 25 MPH and hit the emergency flashers as there was absolutely no place to pull over at. I felt like a drowned rat, and just about as cold! Then, as fast as it started, it stopped and the wind calmed down. We pulled over at the Crow Agency exit for a break and to regain our composure. After a 15 minute break, we started the final 65 miles into Billings.

As we neared our destination, the skies once again started to darken. The host hotel was the Holiday Inn and Convention Center at exit 446. We no sooner got turned in and under the canopy than the wind and rain hit again. However, once again it didn’t last long. It was shortly after 6:30 PM and my trip meter showed 1,032 miles since we left home. Judging from the number of Blue Knights already there, this Convention will be a large successful one.

2 comments:

  1. When I was out there in 2006, we caught a tornado between Casper and Douglas,really miserable! It took us 4 hoours to go 40 miles, and then we gave up, as we were soaked.

    Watch out for those "livestock on the highway, open range" signs! Have a safe trip!

    Larry

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  2. We've been through a lot of open range but haven't seen any livestock on the roads. The cattle guards must be doing their jobs. Just think, Obama wanted to fire about half of the cattle guards!!

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