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

                                                                     SUMMER TRIP 2023

I had to stop and take this picture of the amazing mountains off to my left. 

        Today I decided to take a ride to White Sulphur Springs and have lunch. My route would be MT 86 out of Bozeman to MT  89 up to White Sulphur Springs. I thought there was a good chance of some mountainous scenery. I was right.

Mountains off in the distance along MT 86.

        When I looked at MT 86 on the map I thought it might be interesting. What I found was that MT 86 was a really good motorcycle road. Some nice curves at times, elevations, some 25 mph curves, and it demanded you pay attention. When I hit MT 89 it was more wide open with a speed limit of 70. Rolling, grass covered hills on either side of  the road with the ever present mountains on the horizon.

The Branding Iron Cafe in White Sulphur Springs Montana.

        Reaching White Sulphur Springs I located the restaurant I had read about. The Branding Iron Cafe was obviously the place where the locals eat. The food was good not pretentious. You could tell by watching the interaction of the servers with the customers they all knew each other. It had a real genuine feel.

The popular place for breakfast or lunch.

        It had been about a 90 mile ride there from Bozeman, so I expected to make it back without filling up. Going in the opposite direction provided a different perspective than I had had on the way up. As usual the run back seemed faster. Back on MT 86 I looked forward to the curvey section and enjoyed it greatly. 

Another beautiful view of the mountains. There are no pictures of the curved 

section because I was too busy riding and enjoying the section to stop and take pictures!

        After I got back to the motel I was out by my bike when a friendly guy walked up. We started having a motorcycle conversation and soon his brother showed up. They were from Alberta Canad and out touring together on their BMW’s. We ended up going out to dinner together and planned a ride for tomorrow. 

My two new friends. 

Sign from inside the Branding Iron Cafe.