Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Trip to the iMBC, Day 3. Glasgow to Lincoln...

It rained last night. That made for comfortable sleeping, but a wet morning of packing. I wasn't in a rush, so I laid things out in the sun to dry.

By 0830, local time, I was packed and ready to go. It felt warm in the sun already! Neither weather.com and intellicast.com show much of a chance for rain today, but both show highs in the lower 90's.
Just outside of Glasgow is a hill with animal sculptures on it. Here's a few...

I followed US-2 to Havre and turned to go south on US-87. I had been on 2 for the last 944 miles. A new road was a welcome change. I had been fighting a head wind on 2, it turned into a cross wind on 87. I think I have located all of the nations railroad flat cars made to haul semi trailers. There must have been over 500 of them along 87. I quit counting at 200!
There was this new Caterpillar D9T. According to the Cat web site, it weighs 110,447 Lbs! The blade, laying face down in front of the dozer, is 14.1' wide. I'm kind of a heavy equipment fan. Years ago, I used to work on and around them.

I also had the opportunity to get some "middle of no where" shots.

Like I don't have enough projects as it is... but I think it would be fun to find an old farm truck or pick up and fix it up a bit. I don't mean restore it or even hot rod it, but make a nice old truck out of it. In every small town, in every farmer's yard and sometimes just sitting in a field are trucks waiting for a new life...

Along 87, at Fort Benton, there's a nice pull out with a view of the Missouri River.

I rode through Great Falls and got gas. I took 200 out of Great Falls. I had to ride on 7.7 miles of Interstate Highway to do it. Add about 2 miles of I-35 near Duluth, and I'm right around 10 miles of Interstate for the trip.
The scenery really changes after about 30 minutes on 200. Gone are the open fields, hello hills!

The temperature was nice and cool up at 5610' at the Continental Divide. Not quite as cool at the record coldest spot in the 48 contiguous States...

I had breakfast in Glasgow before hitting the road. During the ride today, I drank 6 and a half Liters of water and Gatoraide. I felt pretty good considering the 90+ degree heat all day. Staying Hydrated is the key.
I pulled into Lincoln, MT and stopped for a burger and a shake. I contemplated moving on to Missoula, but decided not to. I was going to camp tonight at the campground in town, but thought I'd try the Three Bears Motel. They had the "NO" sign on but it was hard to read so I thought I'd ask. They had one room left, but it wasn't one of their "remodeled" rooms. It has no air conditioner, but it's very cool in here. The price was right too! I'm going to try to get an early start tomorrow. It should be easy with no gear to have to dry in the sun!

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6 comments:

  1. Those roadside sculptures are really cool.

    Great oics. I like the middle of nowhere shots, it really does look like you are in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and good job staying off the interstates for as much as you have.

    Sounds like you have a nice relaxing evening ahead of you.

    Two more sleeps.

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    1. Thanks. I spent the evening around a fire pit with the motel owner and his family. Even had a couple of 'somores too.

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  2. Erik:

    I like your idea of staying OFF the Interstates and most of the time we do take the backroads, but I have to roll on the miles, so this will be one of the only times I'm going the FAST route. I was trying to save a vacation day by allowing 2 days to get to Baker City. My bike does not like high speed or winds

    I loved those statues on the hills and that desolate photo in the middle of nowhere

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

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    1. I totally understand having limited time to get someplace.

      I'm a huge fan of being in the "middle of no where". If there had been less traffic, I would have taken pictures of the bike parked across the road.

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  3. Love the pic of your bike after the D9. Great if you have a cruiser, your worst nightmare on a sportsbike. Great photo though. Looks like fun eric. Happy riding.

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    1. I think it looks worse than it wass. It's not quite Highway 1 east of Balladonia, Western Australia!

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