REMEMBER ONLY YOU CAN HELP COMBAT OVARIAN CANCER
CHECKS TO:
GAIL PURTAN FUND
KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE
4100 JOHN R DETROIT, MI  48201
1-800-527-6266
"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK

AUGUST 9, 2006 - FOR AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN

Brian Joseph Logsdon met me for breakfast today. He picked me up and took me to a park in town that had a little restaurant on the premises. It also had - I am NOT kidding here - a very large population of SEA GULLS………. In Great Falls Montana - SEA GULLS. Look on the map. How in the hell did these sky carp find this place? Perhaps one was taking a vacation from the dull drab life of working the seacoast waaaaaaaaaay over in Oregon - or even further, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay over in Rhode Island.  Imagine when he showed up and all the little kids started throwing bread and bologna and other stuff his way.

Welllllll, it didn't take a bird brain to figure out a good score when he saw one. On his way back home, he must have told a few ducks and some Canada Geese and a Swan or two about the place in the middle of nowhere that had these two legged dorks who threw food - honest to God FOOD - at you just because you got near them - and as an extra bonus, you had plenty of things to poop all over on. Cars, joggers, bands (when they were in the giant bathtub thing that they use to play instruments in), the people who WATCH bands, race walkers, old people mowing their lawns, well, the targets of opportunity were virtually endless……….. Now there is a respectable population of Sea Gulls who are basically land locked.  There are also Canada Geese, Swans, White geese with orange lumps on their heads, who have started to mate with the Canada Geese, some of whom have Alien qualities about them due to the … well see the movie CHUD if you want to know more.

After breakfast, I packed things up and headed north on Route 87 and the intersection of Route 2, 115 miles distant. As I drove, I was amazed at how flat things seemed to be getting. Actually the undulating hills were not exactly flat, but far more table top like than my previous experience in this State. The grain fields, some of which had been harvested only recently stretched as far as the eye could see in any direction. But, Montana had an ace up its sleeve. As I was headed northbound, I was surprised at the lack of buildings near the roadway, or off in the distance. I should have been able to see SOMETHING, but it sure looked desolate. I came over a small rise and the road entered a gully. Here, in the gully was a farm, complete with Barn, Home, out buildings, chicken coop, etc.etc. Another was secreted in the next gully. Here too were the trees that I am familiar with, all living lives in the recessions in the earth that followed the Missouri River. When the road traveled across the top of these escarpments, all these little farms were invisible. But, they were there and thriving. I liked the way that the road would intrude upon a very green and idyllic setting, and then rise to show vistas of tillable land, all in various shades of green and amber. I was continually intrigued by the contrasts in vegetation.  Huge mountains could be seen far south, but I motored on through plains of mostly grains. The sky continued to entertain my thoughts as well.

I stopped riding about 6:00 PM. I had stopped for gas along with a number of other bikers. Those headed west, warned me about a 9 mile stretch of road that is going to be a bit of a treacherous nature. It seems that Montana Dept. of Transportation has Route 2 under construction for 8 to 10 miles. This means moving alternately in one lane or another. What makes it snotty for bikers is that they use gravel that is the size of a baseball, and then proceed to water it all down so that it doesn't raise dust.

The westbound bikes didn't look all that clean because of it. Well, mine doesn't either, but it didn't get a bath at the Butte Harley Store. That is the first time that I didn't have the bike washed after it was serviced. Hmmmm, whets up with that? 

As I traveled east today, I watched a large dark cloud formation form over the mountains to the south, then begin to creep north toward route 2. I knew that if I could get as far as Glasgow - MONTANA - not Scotland, then I would be satisfied with today's distance. Besides, I was feeling tired anyway. Things happen when you get tired. Dangerous things can happen when you get tired and in charge of moving a vehicle down the road. Anyway, I arrived in Glasgow and had a burger at the local Dairy Queen. While I was there, the precursor to the storm hit. High winds pummeled the town. Sand was blown so hard and in such amounts that I thought it was the rain being sprayed all over town. The place was dry though.

I found that Glasgow was a bit larger than I thought it was. It even has a movie theater and it is showing first run stuff in "STEREO", as it says on the sign out front. I wanted to use the motel nearest the show, but they were booked. I called up motels on the GPS and began calling. Ultimately, I ended up at "La Casa" which another motel manager suggested I call because they knew it was clean. I wanted to ask if they ever heard of the M O T E L in New Jersey, but thought better of it.  The rain started about 10 minutes after I was safely in my room.

So, tonight, I sit in the basement, room 106, of the LA CASA Motel in Glasgow, Montana, actually getting a signal on the wifi, and giving you my thoughts of the day. I hope you enjoyed them. Tomorrow, I continue the quest east and will find myself in North Dakota. Brian and Lauren are having some of my meds mailed to a small town I should be able to make by tomorrow. I am going to have the brakes checked on the Harley at that time.