Day 22 - 371.9 Miles

I left Billings and headed for the Dakotas. Just a lot of prairie riding. I did see quite a few antelope in southeastern Montana. I started singing “Home, Home on the Range” in my helmet. I cut through the northeast corner of Wyoming and into South Dakota. I finally made it to Sturgis, site of the (in)famous Black Hills Rally. There is not much to Sturgis when the rally is not in town. It is just a lot of Harley Davidson souvenir shops. I did ride down Main Street, though. Afterwards I rode on Highway 385 through the Black Hills National Forest to Rapid City, South Dakota. Tomorrow I plan on seeing Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Believe it or not, I visited Mount Rushmore with my mom and dad when I was only about four years old and I sort of remember it. The area around Mt. Rushmore sort of reminds me of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in Tennessee. A lot of tourist trap type attractions.

Day 21 - 240.6 Miles

Today was arguably the best day of the trip so far. The weather was great! Not a cloud in this big ol’ Montana sky. I rode to Beartooth Pass and what a ride! There were times I was riding between two walls of snow that were about 10 feet tall! The scenery was the best I have seen on my trip. I then rode the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and then back to the KOA. The pictures do not do today justice. I just could not capture the beauty of this place. Tomorrow I will be heading for a campground near Mount Rushmore. Check back then!

Day 20 - 399.9 Miles

I reentered the US today. It feels good to be back “home”. By the way the sky was cloudless and I actually rode without fleece or my heated grips today! I rode through Montana to Billings where I am staying in North America’s first KOA. I love history! Tomorrow I will ride the famed Beartooth Pass in Wyoming. Then on to Mount Rushmore. From the photos you will see why Montana is call the Big Sky country. One interesting item of note is that I passed several defunct missile silos. It sort of reminded me of my trip a few years ago to the former DDR where I saw several old East German bases slowly deteriorating. I guess the Cold War really is over.

Day 19 - 599.3 Miles!

I left Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada and rode almost 600 miles to Lethbridge, Alberta. Tomorrow I will reenter the US and try to run Beartooth Pass and see Mount Rushmore before heading for home. Sorry, no photos today.

Day 18 - 541.1 Miles

Today I left Liard Hot Springs in a cold rain. Other than my continuing weather problems, the ride was ling and uneventful. I ended up in a hotel in Grand Prairie, Alberta. The photo is of my tent drying out in my room. I hope to reach the States tomorrow.

Day 17 - 398.7 Miles

Well, I found a tire at Yukon Honda. Those guys were great! They moved me to the head of the line and I was in and out in less that one hour. Thanks guys. I rode on (in a cold rain of course) to Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park. Along the way I ran into a fellow had flown to Alaska, bought a used 1150 GS and went to the Arctic Circle on the Dempster. He decided to ride the bike back to Toronto with knobbies. Needless to say the chip seal pavement on the Alaska Highway ate his front knobbie. He was very concerned. I told him he could probably make it to Dawson Creek where he could find a new tire. Later some friends of his with a trailer arrived! End of his worries. I went to sleep to the sound of rain falling on the tent. I am getting tired of this!!!!

Day 16 - 390.3 Miles

I left Tok, AK in a cold rain, but by noon the sun finally came out and my spirits were lifted. After a lot of construction I crossed the border back into Canada. I am really beginning to need a rear tire. I will try to find one in Whithorse tomorrow. For the next few days I will be backtracking my trip up the Alaska Highway. The ride reports for the next few days will probably just be mileage and staring and ending points. That’s all today.

Day 15 - 335.2 Miles

What can I say? Today sucked! First two good things happened. I changed my oil at Alaska Leather and I cannot say enough about Barb, the owner. I had forgotten my filter wrench at home and she did not have one at the shop. She drove to her house, tot her wrench for me to use and returned to the store. Not many people would do that for a customer. Thanks, Barb!! The second good thing was that I saw my first glacier. It was truly magnificent, a river of ice. Can you guess how the weather was today? That’s right! Cold and rainy. My worst weather so far. I had 285 miles of cold rain. Alaska’s weather has whipped my butt. I am going home. Tonight I am in Tok, but not at the campground. I am am hotelling it again. Tomorrow I will head for Whithorse. Hopefully I will be able to camp at the Robert Service Campground again.

Day 14 - 370.2 Miles

Last night in Fairbanks they had the annual Midnight Sun Fun Run. The race went right by the campground I was stay at. These photos were taken at about 11:00PM. Today I left Fairbanks with fairly decent weather. The ride through Denali National Park was very nice. After that (you guessed it) the weather turned cold and rainy. So much so I found a hotel for the night. Tomorrow I will give Brunhilde a well deserved oil change. I wanted to have a new rear tire mounted, but Barb’s tire guy broke down in Dawson and will not be able to mount the tire until after 6:00PM. I am getting a case of get-home-it is so I will skip the tire change. It really doesn’t need to be changed I just wanted new rubber for the trip home. I know this tire will last until I reach the lower 48, but I’ll have to see after that. Oh well, enjoying the luxury of a Super 8 tonight, tomorrow I will be homeward bound!

Day 13 - 400.2 Miles

Today I made my assault on the Arctic Circle. June 21, 2008, the summer solstice. The Haul (Dalton Highway) Road was not as bad as I was expecting. But I had perfect weather. In the rain I think this road would have killed me. But I still feel like I have been beaten like a rental mule. It was so jiggly that I think some of my organs have been rearranged. I had a little rain on the way back, but not too much. After I visited the Arctic Circle Wayside I saw Jim on the way up to Prudhoe. He flagged me down and told me that he had seen a family of four on bicycles that were going from Alaska to South America. Their water filter had broke and he sold them his for $40.00. He felt bad about this and asked if when I passed them I would give them the $40.00 back. Boy, were they surprised when Brunhilde and I pulled up beside them and gave them the 40 bucks. Hey, we travelers have got to stick together!