“…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                SUMMER TRIP 2023

On the road by 8am I reached the border by 9am.

               Todays goal was Billings MT. The land consisted once again of rolling hills. Something I didn’t mention before is that Sturgis is going on now. Lots of Harley’s! The majority of them were going towards Sturgis while I was heading away from it. There were some who were out for a ride and going in my direction. When I stopped to take the picture at the Montana border two guys stopped and offered to take my picture in front of the sign. Not wanting to ruin a perfectly good picture I declined. They were impressed that I had ridden all the way from Delaware. Nice guys.

While there was some traffic on the route I chose it was never heavy.

    The route took me across the north east tip of Wyoming. In South Dakota the speed limit on the interstate was 80 ( I found that the cruise control on the Goldwing would not set above 77! ). I found out later this was also true in Montana. This meant that there were many drivers going 85 or 90 mph! I was just about the slowest thing on the road. 

In the background you can see some of the rolling hills I talk about.

        I stopped for gas in Broadus MT and then as I continued to ride west I came across a little roadside table. I pulled in and read for a while, watching a rancher ride around his domain now and then. Back on the road I decided to stop in Ashland MT for lunch. There were no restaurants in Ashland MT. So I stopped at a convenience store and had some chicken strips for lunch. As I ate I noticed a sign stating that the store was tribal owned. The last Native Americans known as “Plains Indians” had been in this part of Montana in the 1860s and 1870s. More about this later.

You have to look closely but in the background you can see the monument. 

Look closely and you can see the small white markers that show where each one of Custer’s men fell.

        As I got closer to Billings I saw a sign for a visitor center for Custer’s Last Stand. I went inside the visitor’s center I looked at a number of interesting displays, saw a short film, and rode up the monument for this historical event. The remains of Custer and his men are under the monument. As you can see in the picture above there are a number of white markers showing where each of Custer’s men fell. Quite a sobering visit.

At the monument site thunderstorm could be seen in the distance.

        With threatening weather in the area I decided it would be best to get to Billings and into my motel. It took around 35 minutes to get to Billings, and to my motel. I just didn’t want to get caught in a thunderstorm. Into the Days Inn, settled into my room. Later out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. I managed to get dinner, and get back to the motel before the rain came. Tomorrow US 212 to Yellowstone on the Beartooth Highway. Can’t wait!