After the bikes were repaired and serviced at Kane's Harley-Davidson in Calgary we left in the early morning fog and rain for Billings, Montana.  The rain stopped and the fog cleared in the first fifty miles and we rode through the pastureland and farms of southern Alberta, Canada. 

Crossing the border was a snap (the passports seemed to have made the border crossing easier on both sides).  We stopped for gas, hot chocolate, and pastry in St. Mary and regretted we didn't have the time to ride "Going to the Sun Road" through Glacier National Park.

US-89 south out of St. Mary leaves mountain country behind and quickly flattens into the Montana plains.  Long straight-aways and sweeping curves make the highway a pleasurable and fast ride.  We stopped at Great Falls for gas before continuing down US-89 to I-90 near Mission.  Local weather forecasts indicated that severe thunderstorms and hail were in the area and at one point we did a U-turn on the two-lane road and raced back away from the rain to don rain gear.  It rained as we rode through the Lewis and Clark National Forest, but we never saw the lightning or hail.  When we hit I-90 dark clouds followed us as we raced toward Billings.  It was good to arrive dry and a hot meal soon soothed the aches of the 600 mile day.

The rain clouds following us failed to dim a fiery red sunset.













 

The bikes were muddy and bug-splattered after the ride from Calgary.  We rode to a nearby car wash and hosed the worst of the crud off.  My back tire was bald, so we rode across I-90 to Beartooth Harley-Davidson.  They said they could install a new tire in a couple of hours so we settled in to wait.  It eventually took all day to get the tire installed, but the friendly people and customer lounge made it a good place to wait.  I worked on the web site, and even got Roe to write the section about his bike repair in Calgary.

We rode to a small gas station/food market/sandwich shop just west of Beartooth Harley for a late lunch.  We both had burritos.  They weighed about 5 pounds each and stayed with us the rest of the day as we rode into Rapid City around midnight!

Roe calmly poses with the attacking bear at Beartooth Harley-Davidson and Woody does a "High Five".
 

We left Billings around 4:00 PM with about 400 miles to go to Rapid City where we had lodging reservations for the night.  We passed through Sturgis on I-90 about 11:00PM.  Traffic was heavy but not backed up as we thought.  Apparently most people were staying off the road and doing more important things.

Roe snapped the picture above and the picture of Woody waiting alongside I-90 at twilight (below).
The Billings to Rapid City ride was long and tiring after hanging around Beartooth HD all day.  We were happy to arrive at our Rapid City hotel. 

Noon in Sturgis.
  Streets in this small South Dakota town were lined with bikes even at noon. 
Unfortunately we didn't have time to stick around for the evening.

Every make, model, color, and style of bike; all modified to suit the owner's taste.
 

Tattoo parlors were filled to capacity with a waiting list.

The girl getting tattooed seems to be struggling to enjoy the experience while her friend may be having second thoughts.

Tattoos appeal not only to the rich and famous....

Wonder how it compares to "Hotdog Heaven" in Orlando?





 

Roe and "One-Eyed Jack's".