On Wednesday, July 3, I set out from Kalispell, Montana for Havre, Montana, traveling through a lesser – though no less beautiful – chain of the Rockies. Hit rain for the first few hours of the ride, but light to moderate. This ride stuck mostly to mountain passes with the peaks rising up on either side of the road. The highest elevation though the Rockies was just over 5,000 feet. The sun joined me as I made my way out of the Rockies and on to the beginning of the prairie (or plains) that make up the more easterly portion of Montana.
The Mountains open to Prairie as the Sun Breaks through the Clouds
After an evening at the Quality Inn in Havre – quality is a bit of an oxymoron in this case – I head out across the plains to cross into North Dakota, finally landing in Williston. the plains alternate between being relatively flat, and hilly, but all covered in grass or crops of one type or another. A different environment from the mountains, but beautiful in its own way. The ride went pretty smoothly up until the last 60 miles or so.
The View – 60 miles out from Williston, North Dakota
Stopping to take this picture, and hour out from my destination and heading straight into the dark abyss I knew this was not going to be fun. I was right. About 10 miles into that mess I hit a driving rain along with lightning striking uncomfortably close. I stopped to don rain gear so getting wet really wasn’t the problem. It is visibility. Motorcycle helmets will tend to fog up in this type of weather so you need to crack the face shield to get good air flow. Even then visibility is greatly reduced by water beading. And, since the face shield is now open at the bottom, driving rain strikes your lips and chin like tiny little needles, which you have to ignore because you need to maintain intense concentration to maintain speed with diminished visibility. Well, this IS an adventure, right, and adventures often present challenges. I did make it into Williston safe and sound.
Tomorrow I am off to Grand Forks, North Dakota, my staging point for rolling into to Winnipeg, Manitoba the following day.
One last item, I just realized that I posted a video I compiled of the ride Marshall and I made in the mountains outside of Bolder on Facebook, but never included it in my blog. So, if you aren’t on Facebook, you wouldn’t see it. So I am reposting here. Make sure and maximize the video for the best experience.
Until the next post ……….
Adventures of an Old Man 