Across North America in Five Weeks! (1 Viewer)

[sggoat]

Wow does that bring back some memories! Beautiful pics! I remember driving across Montana ( West to East) in the mid 90's pulling a small trailer with my Nissan Pathfinder. Was on a 2 week whirl wind tour of the west. I thought I would NEVER get across that state! Sections were some of the loneliest I have ever traveled. Mile after mile with no houses, towns, nothing at all...

Set a personal, miles traveled in one day, record on the trip of 1019 miles! Being able to do 80 to 85 mph in that state helped a lot!

Be safe!

My brother and I made a Western trip last Sept out West. One of the comments he made reminded me of the the text you just posted---
When he said it, I said "that sounds like something Yogi Berra would have said" He has since made this his e-mail sig--
"I see huge expanses of nothing, which is not a lot of anything"
Anon. in Arizona, In memory of Yogi Berra

 

[airon23]

Alone? You got all of us right there with you.

 

[Honger]

Call me crazy, but these are my favorites so far...

And

It might have something to do with my Kansas upbringing... but these are just gorgeous.

That said, all the photos are deeply stirring. I've long loved the Western USA and you have me ready to look for jobs back home...

You certainly aren't alone Hector. We are all here waiting for your next post with bated breath.

 

[Wasim Mehdi]

What a trip, I also travelled the same route from Calgary to Idaho last summer.
"First one I come across on this trip... and oh so sad... looks pretty solid! If anyone in the area is interested, reach out to me and I'll pin point you to its location... it can be rescued (motor in place, very little rust!)... hopefully someone does!"
Appreciate location as looking for one if price is right. Have safe journey.

 

[hecrod]

"First one I come across on this trip... and oh so sad... looks pretty solid! If anyone in the area is interested, reach out to me and I'll pin point you to its location... it can be rescued (motor in place, very little rust!)... hopefully someone does!"
Appreciate location as looking for one if price is right. Have safe journey.

I'm hoping this is of help... maybe I promised more than I could deliver... but here it is. The red arrow points to the exact location (thanks Google Earth!)

Well, Chelsea left this morning, or at least was supposed to leave early... you know how this goes... three hour delay... but she is in Boston already as I type this! Thanks Chels for coming... we had fun didn't we!!!

So I left Billings towards the Crow Reservation for a little exploration of the Little Bighorn Battlefield. The story of the Dakota, Lakota, Sioux, Navajo and all other Native American or American Indian Tribes / Nations have always been fascinating to me... I read the book The Last Stand, chronicling Custer's defeat at the hands of Sitting Bull many years ago, and have been looking forward to visiting this site for a long time. Mission accomplished!

But first, I got to the Park's entrance before 7... and it was scheduled to open at 8, so I had over an hour to drive around... and look at things... What follows is not commentary or opinions, just observations... the economy in the Reservation seems to be in shambles.

The huge Casino Sign seemed to be in church property... I guess when one needs revenue...

There was a lot more of this... at least I got to contribute a bit at the gas station (I'm not trying to be funny)... Very poor conditions throughout. What to do??? Very complex problem for my small brain to seriously consider...

By 8AM I made it to the Park. Notice how empty it was at this point... it was bustling by the time I left 2-3 hours later.

The headstones you see here are not for those that died in the Little Bighorn Battlefield, but in other American Wars. For a number of years the Park accepted burials for soldiers that died in battle... akin to Arlington in DC... the practice has now ended. Perfect place to be early on a Sunday morning...

My five pictures limit has been reached! More in a bit...

 

[hecrod]

Immediately to the left of the 40 you will see a small white stick in the ground. This is a headstone pinpointing the location where a soldier lost his life. If you look closer throughout the picture, you may be able to see many more of these headstones throughout the Battlefield. Red headstones, which are hard to see here, demarcate locations where Lakotas lost their lives...

This is a very sobering place to be. The top of the Hill in the back has dozens of headstones, where "The Last Stand" took place, and where Custer lost his life. I have by the way all of these pictures in much higher quality, so if you want it, let me know... I can email it...

Beautiful Montana landscape right? If you look closely, you will see several headstones, if you look closer still, towards the ravine on the right... you will see dozens more. Many of these can be seen throughout the five mile road that demarcates the battle lines...

Park personnel have done an amazing job at documenting and respectfully maintaining this place... visit if you can.

The irony is that Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull won the battle, but by Custer losing in the way he did, it accelerated the final concentration of all remaining Tribes in the Reservations. The Lakotas and Dakotas lost a significant percentage of their original Reservation (in South Dakota)... although the Crow now occupy a HUGE expanse of Southern Montana territory as part of the Crow Indian Reservation.

I know it is a novel, but if anyone wants to learn about life in those days, to include Montana... read Lonesome Dove... or better yet, read the entire series of three books. Can't be put down...




And I finally left for a loooong drive towards Gillette, Wyoming, leaving Montana for the last time. I took the back roads whenever I could, spending a lot of time on US14... it is by the way the way to travel. If one takes the Interstate, one cannot stop!!! Where's the fun then??? The risk? No cell phone signal for a good portion of the ride... oh well...

The picture below is a good representation of today's drive...

And so is the one below... notice the population, and where I was standing... no traffic for looooong periods of time!

And also a lot of this... terrain that I frankly did not expect to see in this part of the country. Seemed like I was in Arizona at times!

And that's it for today... Some of Gillette (self-described as the Energy Capital of the World) and Devils Tower tomorrow...

On the technical side: the temperature in the 40 climbed out of its normal range for the third straight day. It was in the normal range the first few hours, but rose slowly after that. No over-heating... at all... when I shut it down it cranks back up, but the bottom line is that the gauge is settling in a range that it hasn't before. The first two days I assumed it was the altitude, with the misfiring and all that... but now I'm not sure (temperature was in the high 80's today here in the Plains). Something to worry about??? I'm monitoring it like a hawk...

Read and ride along!


Hector

 

[ginmtb]

Is your cruiser as loud as mine? If so, consider getting some ear plugs that have just slight noise reduction. 8+ hours in these things and you will no doubt have some damage in the long run.

I have a set that is for musicians so I can still hear full range but it definitely takes the edge off.

If I think too much about the native Americans I get sad... We talk about Orlando being the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history but some seem to forget the massacres that happened with native Americans...

 

[micruz60]

Ucross...
Craig Johnson - Longmire book and tv series,
Good reference to Lonesome Dove.
Thanks for the vicarious history lesson!
Stay cool.

 

[Kris]

The first time I drove through Montana, I was astounded at how long you could drive without seeing another vehicle. Especially when getting off 90 on to Hwy 212 through the Cheyenne reservation. I thought Idaho was remote when I was living there, nothing compared to where you're headed.

I've really enjoyed following your journey!

 

[hecrod]

So I got to visit one of the coal strip mines in Gillette... these mines are massive! Right on the center of the picture, and for scale purposes, is one of those huge mining dump trucks (a small yellow dot)... the scale is unbelievable. And there seem to be many of these mines throughout the region. Eagle Butte Mine in Gillette, WY was this one. Check it out!

Yes, everything there is of a different scale...

Now, Gillette WY provides 40% of the coal used in this country... and we know how that usage has been trending in the past few years. Clearly affecting the local economy... I saw a lot of this today...

Along with some ghost towns of many years past...

To be continued...

 

[crashn]

I second the ear plugs. I use them if driving more than one hour in the 40. On another note if your 40 tempature is climbing a little more than you like maybe you might want to check your fan belts and make sure you have plenty of fluid in the radiator. Also make sure your rad cap is on tight, if it isn't than it will allow the temp. to climb.

You are doing something that many of us wish we could do. Wonderful job with the reports and the pictures are fantastic. Safe driving and may the cruiser god's be with you on the rest of your trip.

 

[hecrod]

Is your cruiser as loud as mine? If so, consider getting some ear plugs that have just slight noise reduction. 8+ hours in these things and you will no doubt have some damage in the long run.

I have a set that is for musicians so I can still hear full range but it definitely takes the edge off.

If I think too much about the native Americans I get sad... We talk about Orlando being the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history but some seem to forget the massacres that happened with native Americans...

Yes it is loud... especially when riding on concrete! There is a noise measuring app one can download to give a bit of an idea... this is just an approximation of course... the one on the left is over asphalt (88 MAX), the one over concrete is 95!

I close the window whenever I ride over concrete... which thankfully it's not too often... too loud! I will look into your recommendation... thanks @ginmtb!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I wear headphones most of the time while driving 44... I always have a good audio book going... not sure how many decibels I suffer with the audio book, but worth it nonetheless.

 

[hecrod]

And I also got to visit Devil's Tower! What a weird geological feature this is... stretching over 1,200 up in the air... massive feature...

You see the dirt road? Every one passes it in favor of the black tar variety (even those in 4x4's!)... no cars here... best views... you could park any way you wanted...


Mr. Poser showing the flex (yeah right!)

And one more...

The explanation for this is actually quite simple... what you are seeing is lava which cooled down on its way to the surface 200 million years ago, and which was at that time 1.5 miles under the ground. Over the millions of years, erosion moved away the earth around it (in much the same way as you can see it in Utah and Arizona), "uncovering" this feature. Its size however makes this one rather unique... 1.200 feet!

Gotta watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind again! Remember? It was one of the main characters in the movie!

So I drove a few hours in the direction of the Black Hills in South Dakota... and it is getting "black" out there... meaning, the skies are getting dark... where are my blue skies!!! So i go directly to my campsite to set up before the rains come, if they are to come, I doubt they'll come... come on. The site is right in Wind Cave National Park... and I get set up... and can you believe this???



What is that??? We don't see this in the Northeast!!! Well sometimes we do... like once every 5 years!

A lot of hail and thunder... It's all good though... I survived, and the 40 did too...



On the pseudo technical side: nothing to report. Smooth ride... in range temperature... different noises and rattles all the time, but I'm getting over those.

Over 3100 miles already... changed the oil today, even though I'm putting half a quart every ~400 miles or so do to the leak, which has not gotten worse by the way... Why not.

Mileage has gone down a little (thanks Teton Pass... and Beartooth! And Yellowstone!)... 13.2 so far. If you're interested, most expensive gas so far? Jasper at $6.88... Gillette Wyoming had the cheapest at $2.40.




Wind Cave and Mt. Rushmore tomorrow... read and ride along!


Hector

 

[hecrod]

The pictures in post 190 are screwy... not the best signal...this one was missing...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Loving it, Hector!!

The drive you've made, thus far, is the drive I had/have planned... but had to delay, first for 2F rebuild, then for numerous doctors' appointments and associated tests... I'm really quite jealous, but thoroughly enjoying your trip nonethless!!

Are your wife and/or daughter gonna meet you again someplace and tag along further?

Drive safe!!

 

[ginmtb]

Yes it is loud... especially when riding on concrete! There is a noise measuring app one can download to give a bit of an idea... this is just an approximation of course... the one on the left is over asphalt (88 MAX), the one over concrete is 95!
View attachment 1281980

I close the window whenever I ride over concrete... which thankfully it's not too often... too loud! I will look into your recommendation... thanks @ginmtb!

Sorry I didn't tell your earlier! Here is what I use:

Hearos Earplugs High Fidelity Series with Free Case, 1 Pair Amazon.com: Hearos Earplugs High Fidelity Series with Free Case, 1 Pair: Musical Instruments

 

[hecrod]

You are doing something that many of us wish we could do. Wonderful job with the reports and the pictures are fantastic. Safe driving and may the cruiser god's be with you on the rest of your trip.

The Cruiser Gods... I like that...

Loving it, Hector!!

The drive you've made, thus far, is the drive I had/have planned... but had to delay, first for 2F rebuild, then for numerous doctors' appointments and associated tests... I'm really quite jealous, but thoroughly enjoying your trip nonetheless!!

Drive safe!!

Well... I really hope you can get to enjoy the trip yourself!


So after that hail storm (you watched the video right?), I slept like a rock! My neighbor this morning was telling me about the "huge thunderstorms last night!"... didn't hear it... was tired! And a bonus, the tent didn't leak!

Got up early and went on driving through Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota... also got some good hiking done... woke me up! The buffalo is everywhere in this park...

A picture from the hike... see the brown dots in the middle??? Those are Buffaloes!

Amazing vistas early in the morning...

Also visited Custer State Park... what a nice surprise! This hour-plus drive was fantastic... quite hilly, but with views like these...

And multiple one lane tunnels like this! Talk about tight!

To be continued...

 

[hecrod]

More of said tunnels... no place to stop to take photos!!!

Then I took a detour to drive to Rapid City airport, to pick up my younger brother! Alex will be with me the next few days... here he is in front of Mt. Rushmore!

And the obligatory 40 picture... with Mt. Rushmore in the background...

Can you spot Washington???

We also made it to the Crazy Horse Monument... a bit of a disappointment if you ask me. Seemed too commercialized. Very little about Crazy Horse himself... a lot about the sculptor and his family. Oh well. Not all can be good!

As we were heading out late in the afternoon, ran into my second hail storm in two days!!! This place is incredible... Blue skies seem to be gone...

To be continued...

 

[Redgrrr]

Welcome to the Black hills!

Great pics of the 40!