Author: Matt Quinn

Date: 9/10/2019

Miles: 190

It was a beautiful cold day from Helena towards Kalispell where there’s yet again, another Super 8! Haha. Kalispell is a decent town on the western side of Glacier National Park. Shortly after leaving Helena, we headed up some mountains and the temperature dropped about 4-5°. Gabe and I were discussing stopping before going up the mountain to put some heavier gloves on and rain pants to acts as a wind barrier. Good thing we did! It went from 53° to 49° real fast! Christian was smart enough to be prepared so he was fine! On a motorcycle, as long as it’s not freezing, just blocking the wind keeps you warm.

On our way, we rode through a lake-like region filled with lots of beautiful evergreens that had a reddish bark. It so happens to be Flathead National Forest – it was so pretty. We passed several lakes, including Seeley Lake where Gabe’s wife’s family owns a piece of property. We didn’t stop, just continued to Kalispell.

It was a short day. Only 3-4 hours of ride time. We didn’t have much else to do except head into Glacier National Park the next day. So, we did a little research to see what we should try and accomplish in the park. Gabe and Christin also took short naps. I was trying get some photos together and catch up on this blog.

They both woke up hungry so we went across the parking lot for some food. I had a delicious steak dinner because I made a deal with Christian that since I got him a free room, he would get me a good dinner and we’d call it even. He agreed and the menu at The Montana Club did not disappoint. I ordered a nice steak dinner and Christian ordered a filet topped with crab and parmesan. It was delicious!

Date: 9/9/2019

Miles: 0

Today we didn’t ride at all! We stayed another night at the Double Tree. It was just too nice not to leave! haha. Just kidding! We were trying to time the weather right so that when we reach Glacier National Park, we would have a good day there with good weather. The previous few days have been chilly and rainy.

So, we got some rest and hung out. Gabe and Christian walked around for a little bit while I tried to download a bunch of photos off of the GoPro. It takes a long time for some reason to do this using the app, so I spent a good while doing so. I wish I had a computer with me. It would make it so much easier to upload these posts with photos daily!

Afterwards, we checked out the little strip right there and we got some food and drinks and walked around a little more and went play some pool. Before we walked in to play pool, there was a pole. So, me being me, I thought it would be funny if I hopped on it for a few! We walked in and they didn’t have pool tables. But they did have electronic dart boards. They just didn’t have any good darts to use. So we just hung out there for a while before calling it a night.

Date: 9/8/19

Miles: 270

It was a chilly night camping in Grand Teton National Park. I think it got down to 39° which isn’t that cold, but still pretty chilly. We packed up and put our tents away and went to get breakfast. While having breakfast, it started pouring. We waited for the rain to subside and before heading towards Glacier National Park.

On the way, and still avoiding highways, we went back through Yellowstone. We rode up to Old Yellowstone where there is a gas station so I could fill up. I am the weakest link in miles per gallon and so I try filling up every 100 miles or so. I don’t want to be running out of gas in the middle of nowhere where there’s no service.

Anyway, we arrived at the Old Faithful gas station and there was a bison right there. It was awesome to be fairly close to one. While watching, there were some tourists taking selfies within 20ft of it. We were waiting for the bison to charge him, but that never happened and the bison kept grazing. So, we headed west through West Yellowstone until we reached 87 north then to 287 north!

We continued until we reached Ennis, MT for food and a drink. It rained on and off until we reached Ennis, so we were really hoping for no more rain. It was a cool western looking town. The woman and the saloon we went to said Ennis is actually a touristy spot. It’s known for trout fishing! Once we finished we were trying to gamble with the weather. It’s never fun putting on rain clothes. So we left the rain gear off and rode away! Luckily we never did run into any more rain.

Now, before we left Ennis, we thought about where we wanted to end the night. I started looking in my Hilton app and found a Hilton in Helena, MT. I made reservations using my points I’ve accumulated from work and we rode straight to Helena. Well, almost straight there. We noticed a train a coming, so we pulled off to watch it come by. It actually came to a stop in front of us, waited for an oncoming train to pass, then started moving again. It was cool to see and we also noticed the railroad ties flex. I never knew that so it was cool to see.

It was a decent ride, about 100 miles. It was mostly flat but there were fields full of golden colored grass. Off in the distance on both sides there were mountain ranges. So, I didn’t take too many photos. We got to the Hilton Double Tree hotel and Christian and Gabe were shocked at how nice the hotel was. I mean, we have been staying at Super 8’s mostly, so this was a massive upgrade! Christian was really craving some pizza, so when we got settled into the hotel, we ordered Dominoes and some drinks and hung out. Overall it was an good day. It was just a wet morning.

Date: 9/6/2019 – 9/7/2019

Miles: 160 and 200

(NOTE: Need to add GoPro photos)

On Friday we rode from Cody into Yellowstone. We knew it was supposed to rain so we were ready, but it started sooner than we had hoped. So, we suited up again and worked our way to Yellowstone. The views on our way were amazing.

We reached Yellowstone and rode around. We were headed for something to eat because it’s 25 miles into the park from the eastern entrance until the nearest general store. On the way there was road work. Because of the road work, there was a lot of soupy mud we had to ride through. It was bad. Luckily we were still wearing rain gear so we didn’t get so filthy.

From there we reached Old Faithful and waiting for it to erupt. It erupts about every 90 minutes. It was really cool to see but I was honestly expecting a little more haha. When it erupts it can go anywhere between 90-180 feet. We saw it reach about 90ft. Afterwards we walked around. There’s a big loop and a lot of geysers to look at. It’s really amazing to see!

At the end of the loop is the famous Morning Glory Pond. It’s beautiful! The colors are amazing!! It’s maybe 10ft in diameter. I always thought it was a lake haha. I was way off! Haha

After we finished the loop we were going to head to West Yellowstone. We got to the parking where the bikes were and both Gabe and Christian thought someone had burglarized our bikes. Well, indeed their bikes were. There was a crow/raven that had ripped open Christian’s backpack because he had beef jerky in it. We put everything back together and suited up for the ride. The skies were dark. Just as we started to take off it started to pour!

On our way to West Yellowstone, the temperature dropped to 49°. That’s pretty chilly on the bike especially when it’s raining. Before reaching the western end of the park, the rain stopped and we saw the perfect rainbow! It was amazing! We also got to see some elk and and bison too.

We reached the town to look for a place to stay. While sitting there searching, there was a guy there that walked over to us to tell us about the crow. He filmed it and showed us. Unfortunately we never asked the guy to send us the video for proof. From there we found another Super 8 and stayed there for the night.

The next morning, Saturday, we left and filled up to go back to Yellowstone. Christian wanted to stop at the car wash to rinse the bikes. They were filthy and full of grit! We cleaned the bikes and chains and headed into the park.

We stopped at Little Falls in Canyon Village. We hiked down a bunch of switchbacks right to the water fall. It was truly mazing to stand there and see it. It’s a 300ft waterfall right into a massive canyon. From there it was suggested that we go to Artist Point. I’m really happy we went there. The view was spectacular. It’s further downstream of the waterfall and you get a great view of the face of the waterfall.

By this point we were hungry and wanted to make our way to Grand Teton National Park. So we headed towards Old Faithful where there’s a visitor center and a place to eat. Along the way we saw more bison grazing in the meadows. That was cool to see. It’s always funny when there’s wildlife visible from the roads in these national parks because everyone stops to pull over and take pictures.

Yellowstone is such a beautiful park! I highly recommend everyone go there!

We continued our way to Grand Teton National Park. The sights of the mountains were stunning! They’re massive mountains that seem to come out of nowhere. They still had snow on them! We pulled over to take some photos and we had enough cell service to look for a campground at Jenny Lake. Unfortunately the photos don’t do justice

Well, we didn’t have much luck finding a campground. We stopped at a couple and they were all full. We called a few places and finally it was suggested to check out Colter Bay Campground. We got there and there were spaces available. So, we set up tents and basically called it a night. It was a good day. Well better than Friday. It’s never fun to ride in the rain!

Date: 9/4/2019

Miles: 220

Today we left Keystone and worked our way to Sturgis. We went toward Merrit and then crossed a dirt road until we reached Nemo Road. There was some really nice scenery in the black hills!

We motored along and arrived in Sturgis. For those of you that don’t know, Sturgis is an enormous rally/biker event that takes place every August. We stopped at the Sturgis Harley Davidson store for recommendations where to get a new tire for Christian. He has a wicked flat spot on his rear tire for the several days we rode all the straight flat spots from Ohio through South Dakota. It was getting bad. So, some folks at Harley suggested a place to go. We went to the suggested motorsports place and they hooked him up.

Afterwards we stopped at Knuckles Saloon for a drink. I mean, you have to when you’re in Sturgis. It was pretty neat. They had. A lot of motorcycle items from the past outside and also hanging inside.

From there, we rode towards Devils Tower. On the way we crossed into Wyoming. It was an incredible ride because Wyoming is absolutely gorgeous. There are tons of mountains and also flat farm lands similar to South Dakota. It was definitely beautiful!

As we approached Devils Tower, the rocks began to change and had a beautiful reddish tint to them. We continued on and into Devils Tower. It was so amazing! We stopped multiple times along the ride thorough the park to get photos of the notorious tower itself.

Once we reached the parking lot we decide to head to the path that least to the base. It’s a boulder field! So, as you should expect, we cloned the boulders. You can only climb so high before you need a climbing permit. We climbed to the upper limit and hung out and took a lot of photos. The backdrop had such an amazing view; I mean it is Wyoming ! Hahaha

Once we were done climbing the boulders, we headed down and hopped on the bikes. We were eager to make it to Gillette, Wyoming before calling it a day. Luckily, on the way, we got to stop and experience an amazing sunset! From the we continued until we hit the interstate. It was a good ride along the interstate. We chose the interstate to make up for some lost time. The only downside was hitting what seemed to be every gnat that exists! But, we arrived in Gillette around 8:30PM. Can you guess where we stayed?! At another Super 8 motel hahaha.

Date: 9/3/2019

Miles: 250

Where do I start?! Haha. We did so much today! It was the best day yet! We left Murdo and were heading to the Badlands then on to Mount Rushmore. We traveled down I-90 to save some time and it wasn’t much different than taking back roads. We actually crossed into the Mountain Time Zone, so we gained an extra hour!

On the way to The Badlands, we motored down the highway where we saw so many signs for the 1880 Town. We never stopped, but I used the GoPro from the highway to catch some images. I actually saw a real live camel too! It was odd! And of course Gabe and Christian missed it. Typical!

Shortly after, we got off the highway on our way to the Badlands. But, Christian WHACKED a bumble bee on his glasses, and ended up splattered on the inside edge of his helmet. So, we pulled over into the parking lot of a helicopter tour business. We saw a sign for cheap rides and we inquired about it. Long story short, we payed for a flight over the Badlands. It was an amazing experience. It was also my first time in a helicopter. I think I now have a new goal in life! haha I really enjoyed it. It was so much fun and we saw so much from above. It was really awesome!

Afterwards, we rode through the park and made some stops to take photos. Once we got to the point where we decided we had enough, which was really difficult, we headed towards Rapid City. The Badlands park is a place where every turn has something more unique, always leaving you in awe. I don’t think you can ever get enough photos! Although we didn’t see any bison, we were lucky enough to see some big horn sheep too!

On the way out of the park towards Rapid City, we traveled down an 8 mile dirt road. This wasn’t too bad, but there were some areas that were sketchy. We even stopped to take some photos.

At the end of the dirt road we cruised along and then my bike started causing issues. It was sputtering at low RPM’s and I was getting pretty worried. At this point we were in the middle of nowhere. When I accelerated, Gabe and Christian could see black smoke come out of my exhaust. We were talking using our Scala headsets and we were trying to identify the issue but to no avail. We thought I was running really rich (too much gas, not enough air intake). It was most likely my Power Commander V. So, I didn’t want to stop in case I couldn’t get started again. I made it about 100 miles before running out of gas. I actually had to use Gabe’s spare gallon of gas. Luckily, we were 5 miles from Rapid City, which is a populated area.

After filling up with the spare gas, it seemed to help and solve the issue. So, we got into Rapid City and filled up. Then we got some lunch and gambled a little. A lot of places here have casinos and electronic slots. We didn’t win anything. We were hoping I could win and buy a new bike haha. But afterwards, we stopped and got some octane booster and headed to Mount Rushmore. The bike seemed to perform normal, but I was still worried.

We got to Mount Rushmore and took some photos. They were doing a lot of construction, so there wasn’t too much else to see or do. But, we were amazed to see the faces. They worked on this between 1927-1941. It was interesting thinking of the labor involved and the “technology” they had at the time to keep the faces to scale. I can barely scale a stick figure on a piece of paper! Hahah.

After a short while there, we decided to head towards Custer National Park and ride these amazing roads in Black Hills. Along the way, some folks suggested we take Needle Highway and Iron Mount Road, so we did! There were some amazing views, scenery, tunnels, and the turns were so much fun. It’s been a while since we were able to hit turns like that. We got to go through some little tunnels and hit a couple corkscrews, if you will. At one of the tunnels, were were even held up by some Mountain Goats which was so cool!

We finished the loop and stopped for the night in Keystone, SD. It was a long day! We did a lot and saw so much!

Date: 9/2/2019

Miles: 420

We left Forest City, Iowa and it was another overcast morning. We made up a lot of miles quickly. While riding I noticed what seems to be some sort of process plant. As we got closer to the entrance, it was a Valero. That was cool to see. We kept on moving along and happened to stop to fill up and I really had to use the restroom. It was in Spirit Lake, Iowa. This was the original Victory Motorcycle production town. So that was something that I learned. There is also an Indian motorcycle production facility there too.

From there we kept hammering and made it to South Dakota after crossing Big Sioux River. We never did see a sign for entering the state. That’s probably because we’re taking all these backroad state roads. Anyway, we took a ride into Sioux Falls and had lunch. It was pretty funny. We got there and each ordered a the “large” beer. When the waitress came out, she had three 34oz mugs. We were taken back a bit, but we definitely took our time and enjoyed them. Now for those of you that don’t know, Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota with a population of about 180,000 people.

From Sioux Falls, we headed west on route 47. For a while there were some serious cross winds. The speed limit was 65 so we were cruising right along but having all the additional luggage on the bikes, it was like having a sail catch all the wind. And when a truck would fly by in the opposite direction, it was TURBULENT! That was quite annoying, but we kept pushing. It was funny too – there were a lot of trucks towing boats in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. We thought it was really odd, but later we found out there it’s because of the Missouri River and a local lake.

While pushing along 47, the sun was getting intense. We came I to a little town and all of the sudden Gabe darted off into an ice cream place – Boon’s Drive In. Gabe’s been eager to get ice cream. Christian and I don’t mind though. It gives us an excuse to have some ice cream too!

Luckily we did we stayed on 47 though. It was pretty flat for a while but once we crossed the Missouri River the landscape changed. Hills came out of nowhere. There were so many windy, twisty turns. It was a real nice change of pace after riding hours on relatively flat, straight roads for most of the day. It was an amazing ride and full of beautiful landscape and rolling hills and…of course…more corn. Haha. There were also a MASSIVE amounts of hay bails! We thought there were endless fields full of crop until we reached South Dakota. It’s even more vast!

This beautiful landscape lasted a while until we reached I-90 where it started to flatten out. We filled up one last time and blasted west on I-90 into Murdo, SD where we stopped for the night. Out here the speed limit is 80mph. It was a long day and we did a lot of miles. Then Christian and I enjoyed a few beers while sitting outside the Super 8 and even saw a praying mantis!

Date: 9/1/2019

Miles: 315

Today was a long day. We started off in wet and misty conditions that lasted the first half of the morning. We left Rochelle, Illinois and began making our way towards Mount Rushmore. We followed 64 West for a while.

We came into Mount Morris, Illinois and I noticed something tied to a telephone pole. I thought it was a makeshift Sasquatch of some sort but couldn’t really tell. My visor lense was coated in mist so it was difficult to see. A little further down the road I thought I saw a bull made of hay. I didn’t say anything but kept thinking I wanted to turn around and get a photo of it. So, after contemplating about turning around for a couple miles, I finally called Gabe and said “let’s go back.” I knew I would regret not turning around. We turned around and went back into town where there was a giant bull and a saxophone made of hay. We stopped and took pictures of the hay sculptures.

Then I said “I believe there’s a Sasquatch one too!” Christian and Gabe were like, “how much further is it?” I mean we made it about 3-4 miles outside of town before I said to turn around haha. So we went a little further back to see it. The best part was that there were three things in the same area and Christian nor Gabe spotted the Sasquatch. Christian was looking at some old tractors and trucks. Gabe was checking out an artillary canon. And of course, I saw the Sasquatch.

After getting some pictures we continued on, still heading west. We reached Savanna, Illinois which is right on the Mississippi River. There were tons of Harley motorcycles in the area. We were told by a local that was drinking a Steel Reserve beer at 10:00am that there is a cool bar called Poopy’s Pub. Supposedly the bar has a lot of biker paraphernalia but we didn’t stop to check it out. We stopped just to get a quick snack and a local suggested we go there.

We didn’t stay long and continued northwest on state route 84 north. We passed a scenic overlook and stopped for some pictures. It was Long Hollow Scenic Overlook in Elizabeth, Illinois. There was a good view. Just before that, however, Christian radioed in to Gabe. A bird must had poo’d and it landed smack dab in the middle of Christian’s windshield. It must have been a fairly big bird! Haha. It splattered and let’s just say, good thing his visor was down! Hahaha

After grabbing some photos at the overlook we continued until we reached Galena, Illinois where we stopped at a Casey’s which is a gas station market. Christian also had to clean his visor and windshield with all that…crap. And, while there stocking up on drinks and snacks, we helped an elderly woman fill up her tire. It was low on air. It was our good deed of the day.

From there, we kept making our way northwest and crossed over the Mississippi River into Iowa on the Julien Dubuque Bridge. From Dubuque, we headed on the Iowa Scenic Bypass and followed that to Gutenberg, Iowa. While we were in Dubuque, the weather cleared up. So, as we headed on the scenic route, I tried to take a bunch of pictures. The scenery was gorgeous!! By this point, the flat straight roads full of corn and soy turned into beautiful rolling hills and a lot more trees.

We stopped at another scenic overlook on the way in Balltown, Iowa. The views were incredible. We did touristy photo things, because why not?! Haha The weather was perfect and there was such amazing contrast between the blue sky and the green landscape (mostly corn).

After being touristy for a little while we kept riding until we reached Guttenburg, Iowa where we stopped for food and drinks. We stopped at The Dam Bar which is right on the Mississippi River and on the other side is Wisconsin. We sat outside and there was a massive barge being pushed by a big tug boat. That was interesting to watch. We also discussed how and where we want to ride to continue making progress towards Mount Rushmore.

After leaving The Dam Bar we trucked along for three hours. Our goal was to reach Forest City, Iowa to reduce the time left to reach Mount Rushmore. It was a success. We got to Forest City, Iowa and checked into another Super 8 motel. Christian joked about us having rewards points here because we’ve stayed at one every night so far except one. Gabe nor myself have rewards or are paid for this advertisement.

Date: 08/31/2019

Miles: 200

Today we left my cousin’s place in Paxton, Illinois and got breakfast. Where we stoped in Paxton, Arcade Pancake House, we all looked at the menu and decided to get skillets. Luckily we did, because they were all so delicious!

From there we headed north on Illinois State Route 47. It was damn near straight north. Very minimal turns. We didn’t see too much of anything new until we arrived at the railroad museum. There is literally so much corn and soy out here! It’s sort of crazy how much there is.

It took about three hours to get to the Illinois Railroad Museum. Christian asked if we could stop at the railroad museum which is why that was a stop on our route. We all got there not knowing much of what to expect. Well, after walking around a little bit, I think it was a great thing that we went. It was really cool!

We took a ride on one of the rail cars that was powered by an old restored coal fired steam locomotive. The three of us find it fascinating that these things are as old as they are and the engineering and manpower that went into designing and building them! We were there several hours walking around checking out the locomotives. Some of them are MASSIVE! The one in the barn is 975,000lbs where Christian is standing. The drive wheels are 80″ tall. I think it’s wild how well these were constructed considering the era. I’m definitely glad we went! Good call Christian!

After we left, I got a couple good photos of old barns along the way. We tried to make an hour or so worth of time towards Mount Rushmore. It’s out next big stop. By doing this we should arrive there in time on Day 7 with enough time to explore.

We finished the day in Rochelle, Illinois.