That Run Down Feeling, Blowing Off Steam & getting Buffalo'd

I drove 218 miles today. I cleaned off the half inch of bugs from the bike & went to the Ennis Pharmacy for breakfast. Great little diner inside. Went outside to take pictures of main street. A lady backed out of her parking spot w/o looking, cut her wheel sharply & I felt a bump. I turned & she had almost run over the back of my left foot. She gave me one of those "I'm sorry looks. Whew! Close call. I got on 287S towards West Yellowstone MT for the park.

I saw antelope, a sign that said "Big Horn Sheep Crossing", deer, an eagle & amazing mountains & scenery. I went by the Hebgen Reservoir which was beautiful & saw a dog chewing on a moose carcas by the waters edge. I got on 191S to West Yellowstone and 20 or so miles I entered Yellowstone Nat. Park.

Within a mile I saw a female moose &. bit further the Park Rangers were directing us around bison on the road. They are big & shaggy this time of year. Traffic was moving but slow. I saw a lot more bison out in the meadows & stopped several times to take photos.

Lots of people fly fishing too. A lot of the burned out areas from 2003 are now full of trees that are 10 to 20 ft. tall. BTW, all these roads are sweeping curves-great riding. I saw lots of geysers, heard the reason they changed the leash rules for pets in 1985 when David Kerwin's poodle jumped out of his car & dived into a boiling pool of water.

I got to Old Faithful & watched her go off in her full glory.

I got on the bike & proceeded to 14/20 to Cody WY. More spectacular scenery. I'll finish this in another post.

Unlucky Brake or Good Fortune?

I drove 279 miles on Tuesday. I started out by having lunch at the Blue Bison Grill. I had a side of Bison Chili w/my main course being the Fry burger. Bison/elk with onion rings with a sauce of beer flavored cheese. Tuanya the owner just opened up inside the Stockman's Cafe & Bar & has a bright future. I then headed for Butte on 12/90E.

The ride was going great with great scenery. I stopped in Butte and fueled up. Got on 90E, passed by the Copper Canyon Harley dealer & got off at 359S. Pressed on my rear brakes & got nothing but squeal. Where did my brakes go? I immediately headed 31 miles back to Butte. It was 3:15. I pulled into the Harley dealer & they threw the Road King on the rack. I had lost a pin out from the rear brakes & half my brake pads.

They fixed my brakes, got a new rear tire (no thread left) & was back on the road again in 2 hrs. Great service, great guys. They even recommended an alternative route on 2 to 41 to 287 thru Twin Bridges, Sheridan (a nugget in the Gold Valley) & historic Virginia City.

I settled in at the Riverside Inn at Ennis MT. Great little cabins, owner was originally from Easton MD on the eastern shore. He recommend Banditio/Gravel Bar for dinner. I had a bison enchilada w/habenaro cheese sauce. I got the cute bartender to tell me a joke after, Mac, a local bet me I couldn't get her to tell me one. Ennis is known for great trout fly fishing on the Madisson River. I guess it was a lucky break catching those brakes before I entered the mountains again & I found Ennis, a great little town.

Monday Night Dinner in Missoula

I hunted for a buffalo burger and struck out. I was going to have to settle for something else. I saw a wine bar-Rare Bird-and went in. I started looking at the menu and I hear the couple next to me ask for Buffalo Fondue. I asked the bartender, Quintin, where it was on the menu and he said it wasn't. I ordered it and a Bayern Heifeweissen. The buffalo was tender and tasty. What a find. I asked Quintin for a joke. He did not know I was riding a Harley. Here it is. A chicken & a horse are best friends. One day the horse gets stuck in a bog. The chicken goes to find the farmer & his tracker but he's taken it to town. The chicken hops on the farmer's Harley and tosses a rope to the horse. He slowly pulls him out & saves him. A little while later the chicken steps in a pool of water & can't get out. The horse strattles the pool & says grab onto my horsehood hanging down. He pulls out the chicken. The moral of the story-if you're hung like a horse you don't need a big Harley to pick up chicks. Not sure where I'm going tomorrow. The t-shirt really enjoyed the ride today. This was a day of riding for scrapbook. I am in love.

I Fell In Love Today

I'll get to the love thing in a minute. I found the BBQ wagon this morning for breakfast. Check out West of the Blues BBQ on Yelp. Great pulled pork with zingy crunchy Cole slaw. A great breakfast/lunch. I got on 12E towards Lewiston ID thru miles of rolling hills of wheat. The curves were sweeping and fast. The sun was out and the clouds were fluffy. There were hillsides of a wild blue flower. Dream like ride. In 100 miles I stopped in Lewiston and had a diet Dr. Pepper & butterfingers ice cream cone for a late lunch. I continued on 12E alongside the Clearwater River. People were fishing for salmon-it was getting better. I stopped at Kooskia for gas and the ride turned into 150 miles of sweeping curvy stretches alongside the Clearwater River thru the National Forest. But it was different-it was now a wild & scenic river. It got better. It was warm enough that I had to take my jacket off. Now I was riding alongside the wild and scenic Lochsa River. There was white water galore, awesome trees, sheer cliff walls and kayakers. I crossed the Lolo Pass & there was snow on the ground & I had to put my jacket back on. It was the best road I've ever driven on. I am in love. I finally pulled into Lolo and pulled out to go to Missoula. There was a herd of buffalo. I got a room downtown by the University of Montana (Grizzlies) and went in search of a buffalo burger. I'm going to tell you about my dinner find in another post. I drove 356 miles today and lost an hour moving east.

Father's Day continued

I wanted to give you the menu and wines I had at Whitehouse Crawford last night. BTW, this was the most wine I've had on this trip. First I started with a glass of 2010 Fjellene Syrah Rose before the six course tasting menu: Guinea Hen Pate-2007 Mont Marcal Cava, Spain; morel Mushroom soup-2007 Stella Fino Rosso, Columbia Valley; local greens, artichokes, radishes, Walla Walla soft cow's milk cheese and saffron dressing; Copper River salmon-2006 Walla Walla River Winery viognier and 2004 Domaine Malabbe & Patrice Rion Aligote; sorbet; Wagyu beef tenderloin with wild mushrooms and red wine sauce with crispy fries-2008 Amavi Cab WWValley Cab Sauvignon; Coconut rice pudding with poached rhubarb and almond cookie crumble-Pedro Ximenez Triana Sherry. And I slept real well.

Grass Seed Capital of the World, Columbia Gorge & middle of no where

I drove 370 miles today. I left Eugene and headed north on 5N. I stopped for gas in Linn Or and my eyes were itching, I started sneezing, my nose was running. Guess what Linn claims to be the Grass Seed capital of the world. I will never move there. I set my sights for REI in Portland. I thought I could use some more cold weather gear. I got the long sleeve version of the t-shirt and some long underwear. Don't worry AMU is doing just fine. After Portland I headed east on 84/30E along the Columbia Gorge. The scenery is stunning. It's a very big river, but lots of gusts of wind. I got off at Mosier OR and took 9 miles of hairpin turns and heavy winds on historic 30E. What an engineering feat and some great views. I stopped at Bonneville Dam to stretch my legs. I finally got to 730E and headed towards Umatilla OR. I realized I was in the middle of no where. No wineries, hotels or food that interested me. It was getting late and I wanted to get to Walla Walla. The pace of the traffic picked up and I was following along at 80mph when 5 Corvettes went whizzing by. Finally I arrived in Walla Walla and went to Whitehouse-Crawford for dinner and got a room at Budget Inn right across the street. A six course meal with wine was $75. A great bargain with excellent service, food and wine pairings. I traded some jokes with the chefs and then went to find out the Corvettes were parked at the hotel. More later about the dinner. Tomorrow I head for Missoula MT. Trying to skirt the weather.

Humbolt Fog, Redwoods & Elk

I drove 361 miles on Saturday June 18. I left Fortuna CA with overcast skies and didn't see the sun again until late in the day. I drove to Eureka CA and stopped in the Harley dealer looking for a face mask and some glove liners. Mile after mile of damp cold weather starts to seep into your bones after a while. Good thing I stopped as the famous Humbolt fog rolled in from the coast and 101N was socked in most of the day. It was pretty thick at times and I tried to follow other cars when I could. I finally stopped and fully geared up with all my rain gear. I drove thru numerous Redwood state parks and stopped along the way to view elk that seemed to be everywhere. I probably saw a hundred elk during the day. I stuck to 101N all th way to Reedsport OR and then took 38E along the Umpqua River towards Eugene Or. I went thru some famous places-Humbolt where they make great bleu cheese, Mad River, Smith River, Klamath, Coos Bay, Gold Beach, Crescent City and Pistol River (not in order). I must say I'd rather ride in the heat than the fog and rain. Finally pulled into Eugene at 9:15 and got a room across the street from University of Oregon. I went to the Track Town Pizzeria where U of Oregon track stars hang out. However I did not meet any fast women there. The t-shirt is indifferent to the wet cold weather. It's cool no matter what. Tomorrow I head east.