50/80/50 Trip Day 5 - Olympic Heat

 Whitehall, MT to Park City, UT:  465.1 miles

The forecast was for it to be hot in Utah - hot hot.  I wanted as early a start as possible to minimize the brutality.  I was out the door an hour before sunrise.  

Temperatures started out between comfortably cool and cold, but it was a nice morning.  Only a couple miles from the AirBNB home a doe ran out in front of me, reminding me that I had to keep my act together in the dark.  The steel grey eastern sky was pretty to watch lighten.

There were a couple cars on the road, but it was very quiet.

I continued south on the smaller roads for the first few hours of the morning.  Temperatures plummeted during this time.  I saw temperatures of 41F, but I'm sure it was in the 30's for a while.  I had to try not to shiver and my nose started running.  I should have stopped and put on more clothes, but I kept telling myself that it will get hot fast.

The area I was going through appeared to be thick with high-end fishing lodges, and I could see why.  Every river or stream I went near looked very inviting even though I've never been a fly fisherman - too much pageantry.  

Eventually the sun did start to rise over the mountains, but it only helped the temperatures a little bit since there were so many hills and mountains.  At one point I stopped at one of the nicest and most well-thought-out rest areas I have ever been to (I guess high end fisherman are expecting something the proletariat can't have).  This allowed me to warm up for a minute, which ultimately made it worse once running down the road again.

But I was absolutely enjoying the morning ride in the cold.  I felt great and wished it didn't have to end.  As expected, temperatures did start to rise, making the morning just a little bit better.

The area around Yellowstone and the national forests was really busy with vacationers.  It was still early so other than the pokey coffee getters it wasn't too bad.  I was still glad I went by the two-lane route in the morning.

All good things must come to an end and I jumped in I-15.  I was happy with the time I was making.  At some point the mileage of my bike broke the 70K mark.  Given all the trips this Goldwing has taken me on, it seems like it should have way more than that.

Temperatures stayed comfortable until near the Idaho/Utah border at which point it was like someone flipped a switch on the heater.  It became imperative that I stop and remove the jacket liner even though I wasn't desperate for fuel yet.  The rest of the drive south was various levels of the brutal heat that I knew was coming.

Garmin routed me around Salt Lake City which was probably a good idea - too often Garmin is stupid.  Making my way to Park City, I got off the interstate and had more traffic in 10 minutes than I have had in the last five days.  Not only that, but I also got to see jack-wads in Audis fight with dick-weeds in Porsches to see who could be the biggest ass-wipe.  Maybe it wasn't that bad (it was).

I found my way to my sister's condo and turned on my phone.  Family were in the area and were eating, but I wasn't going back into the asphalt jungle that is Park City just for a meal.  I still have trail mix left.  I made myself at home in the condo instead.

Once everyone was back we all caught up a little bit.  After five days basically alone on the bike the condo seemed a bit cacophonous.

Older Sis and I went up to the Olympic Village - we had tickets to the Flying Ace Olympic Park Show.  We walked around a bit trying to figure out what to do before deciding to climb up to the top of the Olympic ski jump.  It was straight up, but didn't really take that long.  The view from the top was quite nice even if the area was a bit hazy from the heat.  Making our way to the ski jump, it looked more "mechanical" than I thought it would.  In the heat of July, it looked too plastic.  But I am still not ready to strap on some skis and run down it.

We played the role of active stow-aways and took the ski lift back down.  Just act natural and like we are where we are supposed to be.

The Flying Aces are athletes ranging from beginners to Olympic caliber that use the ski jumps and land in a pool of water.  This is also how they train in the off-season.  The five of us met for the show - finding a place to sit in the shade (good) on some of the most painful rocks in Utah (not so good).

The show was entertaining.  I could appreciate the ability of the athletes to make what they were doing look relatively easy to the point where it wasn't terribly impressive.  

There were also divers who demonstrated diving from heights up to 27 meters.  This is apparently the first official high diving platform in the US.

My older Sis and I went back to her house in Salt Lake City, leaving my bike in Park City.  I'll have to get it at some point in the future but it should be fine.

It is good to see the family again.  Its nice that we can get together in a way that is both independent and together.  We have some more activities planned for a few days and younger Sis should be joining us shortly.

50/80/50 Trip Day 4 - But Butte...

 In and around Butte, MT:  139.2 miles

Since I went to bed early, I woke up crazy early.  I scrolled through what I had planned for the day which gave me minor panic attacks about what was and wasn't open.  Getting good information can be hard when there is so much of it - and so much of it is conflicting.  It will be a day to go with the flow.

Eventually coffee called, and it was much, much better than the previous day's.  It was a little nice having forced down time as I waited for the world to wake up.  By around 8:00 I was bouncing off the walls and ready to be out the door.

I drove into Butte and went first to the Berkeley Pit Mine viewing area.  Apparently none of the opening times I had seen were right - 10:00AM.  I tried to look from the fence at the top of the hill but I could only just barely see anything.  

So I headed to the World Museum of Mining.  I had purchased tickets online for both SO and I, and they were quite clear that there were no refunds.  I wasn't going to sweat it.  But after getting my ticket, another couple came in and wanted to tour, but could only get one ticket - Light Bulb!  With a willing buyer right there, the nice lady at the counter offered to refund my money and sell them the ticket.  Win - Win - Win for all involved.  It was a good day.

The Orphan Girl mine began operation somewhere around 1875.  It produced enough silver, lead and zinc to remain active until the 1950s.  Smaller amounts of other metals were also produced.  During this time, ownership shares changed hands many, many times as it was never the most profitable mine.  Some two decades after closing, it became the World of Mining Museum.

I had some time to walk around before the actual underground tour.  In addition to being a great place to get a serious tetanus infection, it was also really neat to walk around.  I didn't read most of the exhibits, but I am fascinated by all the oversized machinery.

The mine engine was amazing.  I think I need one for home (wait, my house is only one story).

I was able to go up the mining headframe where the view was spectacular.  I-90 is just visible off in the distance.

I've seen video's of these screw snow machines, but this is the first one I've seen in person.  I need one of these too (wait, we don't get much snow at home).

Soon enough it was time for the guided underground tour.  We walked to a number of exhibits while the tour guide gave additional information.  He was really good and had a family connection to the mining industry.  Then, it was finally time to go down to the 100-foot level.  I've seen this movie, and it doesn't end well...

We all had helmets with headlamps.  Towards the end of the tour the guide had us turn them off and used a candle to give an idea what it was like in the early days of mining.  I'm glad I live in a time with batteries and LED headlamps.

We got down to the level above the water.  The water looked ominous and was gurgling.  

The museum probably would have been worth it without the underground tour, but the underground tour was definitely worth the price of admission.

Then it was back the the Berkeley Pit Mine.  Thankfully, it was actually open.  I forked over $3 and headed to the viewing stand.

What is there isn't that interesting in and of itself.  It looks like a big green man-made lake - almost like a gravel pit back at home.  But the story makes the reality so much more interesting.

This mine displaced the entire communities of Meaderville and McQueen.  Populated city areas have lots of champions when eminent domain is used, but the narrative gets confused in rural towns.  Just ask Centralia, Pennsylvania - although that situation is very different.

Copper has already been critical for decades.  And in an envisioned future with electric everything, it will continue to be.  There is a down side and I'm looking at a potential version of it.

The Berkeley mine started in 1955.  Over its life just under 300 million tons of copper ore came out.  Fortunes were made.  The copper wiring in my house may have started here.  It ceased operation in the early 1980's.  Without pumps to keep it dry (The Anaconda Mining Company turned them off once the mine shut down since they are not cheap to run), the pit slowly filled with water.  The water has a pH of about 2.5, similar to cranberry juice.  Sounds nice right?  But it is acidic due to the metals and sulfurous compounds that remain and those metals have turned it into a superfund site.  An absolutely gorgeous green superfund site.

As easy as it is to point fingers at the Berkeley Pit as mistakes of the past.  We should also look to the future and ask where all the metals in our electrified future will come from.  Where all the metals needed to keep my phone working come from.  I'm not suggesting we don't move in that direction.  But a level of caution is warranted.  Rarely does society solve one problem without creating an equally vexing one somewhere else.  The next Berkeley Pit may not be in Butte or Osceola, Iowa.  It may be in Angola or Jiangxi, China - that would not make it any less tragic.

It was interesting to note that the toxic green lake does allow some life in the form of algae that (probably) feed off of iron in the water, as well as water boatman bugs that seem to live just fine there thank-you-very-much.  Occasionally birds will land in the water with dire consequences - this is actively discouraged by various means.  I also thought the explosions in the nearby active mine added a bit of ambiance to the Berkeley Pit.

Then it was on to Deer Lodge to the Old Montana Prison Museum.  The Old Montana Prison was built in the late 1860s.  I wonder if it was called the New Montana Prison then?  I'm not sure this qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment, but it was built by prison labor which does seem a little too close to "digging one's own grave."  While prisons from this time period are probably universally unpleasant, it was known for problems of overcrowding and being outdated even shortly after opening.  Things culminated in a 1959 prison riot; although it does not seem that this improved the situation much.  When will the rioters learn that riots don't really seem to accomplish what they hoped for?  The prison stayed in operation until 1979 where it soon after opened to the public.

The grounds are both a car museum and the prison, because why not?  There was also a doll exhibit - too creepy for me...

The prison tour is self guided from a book.  It was originally hard to follow and even once I  (mostly) understood it, where to go wasn't always very clear.  But I mostly followed the script.  Having toured prisons in Mansfield, OH, Jefferson City, MO and Rawlins, WY, I didn't see much new.  Parts of it were falling down and there was little I would call "restored" - so there was a lot of nanny state and questions unanswered.  I still enjoyed it though.

Maybe it is just since they are always terrifying places in popular culture, but cell blocks always look imposing.

I couldn't help but wonder if the cells actually had these cupboards.  I would think anything that closed would be ripe for hiding contraband.

What the???

Well, at least there is a tiny bit of privacy?

The car part of the museum acts as a timeline starting in the 19-teens and progresses to the newest cars - I like this much better then trying to categorize cars like some museums do.  I did skim the early parts since it was almost all American and it only interested me a little bit.  A few highlights later in the timeline include:

A Plymouth Superbird - very possibly the ugliest factory modification ever.

A Ford Mustang Mach 1.  I've always wanted one of these and in the 1980's these were not particularly desirable.  However now they command absolutely stupid prices.

A BMW Isetta.  These always remind me of the Messerschmitt KR200 from the Movie Brazil.

This car was supposed to be from the Mad Max franchise, but the plaque left a big question mark on the provenance.

A Citicar.  Someone should tell Elon Musk that his Cybertruck is just a much uglier version of this!

Near and dear to my heart.

A Nash Metropolitan - I've only seen these a few times.

A Porsche 356.  What is most interesting about this car is that it still resides in the family that bought it new.

I was ready to head "home" but was also a bit hungry.  I didn't feel like driving anywhere so I decided if I found a place within walking distance, I'd grab a bite before heading back south.  Ice cream was all I could see.  Bummer...

I sort of wanted to go to the Ringing Rocks on my way back, but really didn't feel like dealing with gravel roads and even small hikes in motorcycle clothes in the hot afternoon.  

It was a fascinating day in and around Butte.  It felt weird without SO, but I got a report back from the vet while I was in prison that the dog is doing much better.  A good day all around.

50/80/50 Trip Day 3 - Settling In

 Hot Springs, SD to Whitehall, MT:  602.7 miles

I woke up reasonably well rested and started to get ready to head out.  The hotel refrigerator was overenthusiastic and froze my apple and Rainier cherries - making them both subpar at best.  This was followed by a cup of the absolute worst hotel coffee I have ever had.  I'm not sure if that was due to the coffee, the maker or the water.  Probably all three.  I didn't let it get me down and was once again out the door before it was probably light enough to wear sunglasses.  It was also cold enough that I wore a thermal liner under my jacket.  I wasn't sure this was needed at first, but it definitely was as temperatures got down below 50F for a while.

The upside of getting up so early is that I had the entire Black Hills all to myself.

No trundling motorhomes.  No cars.  No other motorcycles.  No minivans filled with screaming kids.  No trucks.  Just me.  It was a magical morning for sure.

I did have somewhere to be.  So once through the Black Hills, I jumped on I-90 where I remained for most of the rest of the day.  Still, I-90 is quite scenic as far as interstates go and it is sparsely travelled outside the bigger city areas.  I poked along at a speed that I was happy with.  Lots of people roared past me, but the fatigue from running all-out outweighed speed when I wasn't on a time table.

I got to see several animals throughout the day, starting with buffalo right near the road in the Black Hills (again, no moose jam trying to get pictures of them).  Once into Wyoming I saw a few pronghorn, including a very impressive buck right near the road.  An hour or two later I was thinking that it would be bad if a deer jumped out in front of me when I was fooling with the camera.  Not two miles later there were a couple mule deer does right on the side of the road.  Lesson learned (probably not).

Temperatures were marvelous throughout most of the time on the interstate, ranging from the 50's into the 80's.  It didn't get real hot until the last couple hours when, somehow, the interstate routed around a very significant thunderstorm.  I got gas to check the radar to see if rain gear was needed.  I was stupid and didn't wear it - which also ended up being the right decision since I had maybe 12 drops of rain total.

While I have heard some people call it monotonous, I love driving through Wyoming and Montana.  It is definitely pretty, but I noticed how much the energy sector dominates as from the interstate, it was hard to see any view that didn't have some kind of energy infrastructure in it.  Having hunted in Wyoming a few times, I also know that away from the busy areas, this changes quickly.  And before we say coal is dead, the amount of coal in the train cars does not seem different from when I was through here the first time so many years ago.

I got to the AirBNB midafternoon.  It was an underground house which was kind of neat.  The house itself was absolutely fantastic.  It was far bigger than one person needed, and I once again felt some pangs of guilt about SO being home.  The dog continues to do well though.

At first glance it is just a nice western home.  The owner had a fact sheet about the house and it was made by her father with energy efficiency in mind.

At the side of the house, it being mostly underground can be seen.

Inside is absolutely wonderful as well.

I made myself at home pretty quickly...

I partially unpacked and headed to the grocery store since there was a storm headed toward the area.  I bought a bunch of food and was getting ready to leave when the tornado sirens sounded.  My first thought was not, "I need to seek shelter."  but, "I need to get back to the house."  The wind was bonkers, but somehow the rain missed the area other than a very brief shower.  I'll take it.

As the evening wound down, I planned for the next day.  It will be nice to have a day to see some things instead of riding all day.  The AirBNB house sits in a rural area and the silence was deafening - in a good way after noisy hotel rooms and riding a motorcycle for three days straight.

West 16 Day 5

Harlowton, Montana to Spokane, Washington:  485.4 miles

If Day 4 started out cool to cold, Day 5 started out cold.
I had a brisk walk to the gas station for coffee, before talking with a couple other guys who were looping around on rented Harleys for a while.  They had gone over beartooth pass the previous day and said it was brutally cold there - having recently snowed.

We were on the road near daylight.  The sky was cloudy, almost hazy with what looked like rain in the distance.  Nothing was on the radar, so we soldiered down the road, trying to keep warm.

Shortly after leaving Harlowton, a mule deer buck jumped the fence by the road and ran through the ditch toward the road right in front of us.  I saw him, he saw us.  We both took evasive action and missed each other by the slimmest of margins.  If the cold didn't keep me awake, that deer will.

We enjoyed riding through Montana's wide open spaces.  The road varied through the morning between straight with some very curvy areas as well.  There were virtually no other cars on the road.

We went through the Helena National forest which was a nice change of pace.  Unfortunately, the settings on the camera were set to overexpose at some point near the end of the national forest, making many of the later pictures from the day unusable.
Still, even without the pictures, the time through Montana was wonderful.  What a beautiful state, with wide open spaces, mountains, hills, animals.  The pictures in memory are worth more than the camera pictures, if a little hard to share online.

Shortly outside of Helena, we jumped on the interstate for a while, getting off just north of Missoula.  We weren't in a hurry and if anything had a little extra time to get to Spokane at an appropriate time.  Getting off the interstate allowed us explore some more 2-lane roads through Montana and Idaho.

We worked our way north and west through western Montana.  As we got near the Idaho border, we started to see smoke, and shortly thereafter, smell smoke.  There were signs warning people not to stop on the road, as there was lots of firefighting activity, including fire helicopters picking up water from the Clark Fork River.  In some places, the road was completely shrouded in smoke.

Thompson Falls was smokey, but still open for business.  We had a great lunch, before motoring out through Thompson Pass.  I was a little concerned that the road might be gravel since signs warned that it was not maintained in the winter, but it was paved and quite smooth all the way over the pass and into Idaho.

We jumped back on the interstate to get past Coeur d'Alene and into Spokane.  Getting off the interstate, we worked our way through Spokane, which was pretty crazy, even in the early afternoon.
We made our way to Keith's house.  Keith was a friend of my Dad's, who was not able to make it to his funeral, but I wanted to meet him.  So we made arrangements to spend the evening with him.  We got there a little before he did, and enjoyed sitting in the cool afternoon on his porch.
Once he got home, we visited with him a bit, getting to know each other and talking about Dad, stories, history ... life.
Dinner that night was at Cafe Rio - which was very good and filling.  Outside the restaurant, was a very unusual car - it appeared to be a Chrysler Lebaron, that was outfitted on the outside with an actual boat.  From a few feet away, it actually looks like a boat going down the road.  It was quite unique, to say the least.  And with no frame modification, was still road legal.

Back at Keith's house, we talked a bit more before turning in for the night.  I wasn't sure what to expect, given that I had never met him, but was very glad we made the stop.

West 16 Day 4

Alliance, Nebraska to Harlowton, Montana:  585.1 miles

Morning came bright and early.  SO's sister's family needed to get ready for their work and school day, so it made sense for us to head out early as well.
The morning was somewhere between cool and cold, with temperatures in the low 50's, requiring heavier gloves for the morning.  It was wonderful watching the sunrise to the east as we started to head north.

In some places, the road was arrow straight.  In others, it undulated along with rolling hills and sweeping turns.
We've passed many agricultural fields so far, but surprisingly there have been few sunflower fields.  I guess we've mostly seen these in South Dakota in previous years.  We did pass one field with all the smiling sunflower faces watching us headed out of Nebraska.

Crossing into South Dakota, we skirted the Black Hills where traffic did pick up for a short time.  Remnants of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally were still evident - it takes a long time to recover from a hangover that massive.  Having been in the area closer to the rally time on a previous trip, as well as to other bike events like Daytuna Bike Week, I'll take the more contemplative time without hesitation.

We crossed briefly into Wyoming.  I was just beginning to wonder why we hadn't seen any pronghorn antelope yet, as the area we were in should have been silly with them, when we started to see them.  In addition to many herds of antelope through the second half of the day, we also saw quite a few mule deer, including a road kill buck that was very impressive.  The remains were already bloated and stinky, as were many, many animal carcasses we saw throughout the day.

Animals aside, there are very few places one can safely speed on the road.  Remote Montana probably qualifies.  After passing several slower vehicles, I took advantage of the opportunity to make up some time.

Eventually we got to Custer National Forest.

The area is much hillier, but not quite mountainous.  Compared to much of what we had seen up until then, there were many more trees.

There were also areas where either beetle kills or previous burns had left large swaths of the forest dead.  It is a bit sad to look at, but there was also evidence of new regrowth in places; a reminder that life comes after death.

We had a great lunch at the Powder River Stockman's Club in Broadus, Montana.  The day was starting to feel old school.  No set agenda or hotel reservation.  Lunch on the road.  Great weather.  No traffic.  It just doesn't get any better.
We got on the interstate again for a while, getting off in Billings.  Billings looked like a fairly large town.  As we got into town, a sign welcomed Wing Dingers - as GWRRA is having their annual shindig in Billings this same week.  I'm a member, but Wing Ding just isn't on the agenda.  Besides, we aren't registered and I'm not sure it is really my scene?

We kept working our way north and west, eventually stopping in Harlowton, Montana - a neat little town on US 12.  According to most maps, we're too far north to be on Robert Pirsig's route from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but in his day there weren't interstates.  I could see him avoiding the interstates, as we were, and using state or federal highways instead.  My mind did wander to that book as we calmly motored through the afternoon.
We stayed in town at the Countryside Inn.  You know when you get an old cut key, that you are in a good hotel.  This just continues the old school theme of the day, since we used to stay in a lot more independent hotels.

The hotel was absolutely wonderful, but the layout was unconventional with beds offset, but facing each other.  After seeing how the mechanicals were laid out, it was obvious there weren't many other options.  After being in the room for a while, I actually think this is a better option and more hotels should look at this.  Quite frankly, it makes a lot of sense.

Dinner that night was at Jailhouse pizza.  There was a couple next to us who were teaching a motorcycle safety class at Wing Ding.  Sadly, it appeared they were in a motor home though.  There is something slightly wrong with that.  The Jailhouse calzones were very good, even if the very small restaurant was a little unconventional.

Back at the hotel, we wound down for the night, ready to do it again in the morning.