I came around the north side of Missoula on highway 200. It was a bit out of my way, to go that way, but it took me off the interstate for a while. Sadly, I did not get to go through the small towns of Frenchtown, Alberton, and the best town in Montana Superior. Ah next time I guess.
I had really wanted to go north to Glacier National Park to
see the many-colored stones in Lake McDonald, and stay in a locomotive, but all
the lodging in the park was booked up, sold out and not available, plus the
going to the sun road is not open all the way through the park yet, and if you
don’t have lodging you will need to get a limited number of permits, available only on line , to ride through the
park. I will get to go through there
another time, and I give the National Park Service a big thumbs up for protecting
the resource that the park is by limiting access.
Highway 200 was a great way to end the day, as it is just a quiet
two-lane highway, sort of off the main drag and I did not see one semi. They
must all go to superior, and I do not blame them.
Most of the day and especially on highway 200 I could see
dark, dark clouds, with isolated cells of rain off in the distance, and because
I have primo motor company rain gear the rain never got to me. Okay the road
was wet for a while, and Ohms got dirty because they put almost as much dirt on
the road here as they do in Alaska, but hay, there were no bugs.
Checking into the hotel I was told that I am now a platinum
member of the chain’s frequent stayer program and that I could park in the spot
by the door that has the sign that says reserved for “Platinum Members”. That
is pretty cool I thought so I unloaded and parked right there.
Sometime after I walked back from some lunch, and I was
relaxing in my platinum suite I noticed that rain was being blown in the window
I had opened. Maybe I should check the weather and that is when I noticed a
socialist weather bureau service warning for flooding on the rivers surrounding
Missoula.
Flooding I thought will not bother me as I will be long gone
by the time the water rises over the tallest building in town.
About that time it started raining, and it rained all night,
which I thought was good as it should be dry in the morning. Ja Ja Ja it was raining
just as hard if not harder in the morning
I waited for a while thinking I could wait it out, but it
soon became obvious that I was going to have to unpack my primo motor company
rain gear, and actually put it on, which I did.
Suited up I pulled out onto Interstate 90 and settled in for
a couple hundred-mile ride in the rain
My comfort zone for the conditions this morning is around 60 mph. The speed limit on the highway is 80mph and 70 for trucks.
I stepped it up to 70 but most everyone passed me, which was
fine, especially since it was raining hard enough to wash all the sprayed-up
dirt off the windscreen.
I planned on taking the two lanes to Phillipsburg, and Anaconda
to bypass the interstate for a bit, and I did but the closer I got to Phillipsburg
the altitude was rising, the temperature dropping, and I could see snow falling
on the hills, awfully close to the road. I spun around when the temperature got to 36.
This is also the spot where I confirmed that the heated grips on Ohms are not
working. Fortunately, I had stashed in the bottom of my bag a pair of ancient, heated
gloves, and the cord that goes with them. I plugged it all in, and it worked,
my hands were warm again, so I programed the guidance system to the next motor
company outpost, Yellowstone H-D.
Thanks for reading
Old gnarly biker that did not want to go through Canada
without his piece
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