Through Montana to Home

We left Bozeman and took the interstates 90 and 15 up to Wolf Creek, not expecting much more than a fast, expedient road. But we were pleasantly surprised! The scenery was out of a Bateman or Doolittle painting and the 75 mph roads curved and climbed through the foothills and mountains, but with little traffic and many passing opportunities. The 287/89 north was through more remote countryside, primarily used for ranching and much was Blackfoot Territory. The 89 became very twisty and narrow, really fun for Erik, and I was glad to have gained riding experience to be able to enjoy this road with the more cumbersome Spyder. We were planning to stay the night in or around Glacier National Park as it is a beautiful spot to take our last vacation night but the prices of accommodation were inflated. For example a shared-bathroom cabin cost $265 before tax. So we continued across the border and into Cardston, the home of Fay Wray, the original love interest of King Kong. Perhaps no less romantic a setting than the lake at Glacier? It is all a matter of perspective. We drove by the Morman Temple, a legacy to one of last wagon trips of the West in 1887 and the town's founder Charles Ora Card. Although this town is almost in our back yard, we have not ridden the # 5 or 6 highways to hook up with the Crowsnest pass. These roads are in good condition and present stunning pastoral countryside. Quite a number of bikes were out despite the possible crosswinds that can sometimes attack the Pincher Creek and Lethbridge corridors. Guess that is why there are hundreds of windmills generating power there now? Beautiful, with the western Rockies on our left most of the trip. Gotta love Alberta; the scenery and roads compared favorably to any other locations we travelled in Canada! We were glad we finished up with these roads and then the 22 through Longview. We should have hopped over to Bragg Creek and come in through the West, but we took the city route and spent our last hour in nasty traffic. Oops. Arrived home mid afternoon. I think the parrots were happy to see us although Kyle took extremely good care of them and of our place. After we dumped all our gear out of the bikes and sat down in the evening to let the critters out to watch some TV with us (our usual time to handle and pay attention to the birds) Erik looked at me and asked, "Did we really even go?" Our trip of a lifetime was fabulous with no mishaps, no serious mechanical issues and we still like one another. How much better can life be? We asked one another that question several times a day on this adventure. What a ride! I might make another entry to summarize the bests, the worsts, and the lessons. Erik will also post his final evaluation of the performance of the Triumph Tiger 1200. A short preview of that evaluation is the word he used with any question of the bike's performance: FLAWLESS! Other than that it is time to sign off and say "Good night Young Jim."