| The start started by riding to the Black Hills to have Breakfast at Rubys with Tom and Isolde Frey from Zurick, Switzerland. They are also members of the Minnesota Wings who were going to the Wing Ding. Naturally, our first stop was at Wall Drug.
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S'bel was messing around with a handsome cowboy. |
| After breakfast we went to Mount Rushmore for a group photo. |  |
| We then saddled Big Red and drove across Wyoming, into the Big Horn Mountains to Cody the home of Buffalo Bill Cody. |  |
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The natural wonders of Yellowstone National Park are always awesome to observe, but we did not expect to be riding in the snow on July 1st. |
| The Wing Ding, with approximately 7,000 bikers, was wonderful but for Honey Bear, my mascot, it was a special treat because of the special attention he received. |  |
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From Billings we rode north to Glacier National Park. After a full day's ride we spent the night on the east side of Glacier in St. Marys, MT. |
| The next morning, fresh eyed and once again to ride we headed up the mountain into Glacier Park. The scenic wonders of nature confronted us on every turn of the winding "Going to the Sun" mountain road. Goose Island in St Mary Lake is a particularly scenic area. |  |
| Snow still capped the mountain and we took photograph after photograph. |  |
| By the time we reached Logan Pass, at 6,646 feet, we felt very much at home with the mountain goats. |  |
| After traveling down the mountain to the west side of Glacier Park we headed north into beautiful British Columbia, Canada. |  |
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We stayed in a condo in Fairmont Hot Springs on the western side of the Rocky Mountains. Every day we traveled across the continental divide into Alberta. |
| No visit to Banff would be complete without a photograph of the Hot Springs Hotel on Tunnel Mountain Road. |  |
| S'Bel had visited Lake Louise with her parents about 43 years ago and remembered it as being the most beautiful spot on earth. Unfortuantely we arrive in the middle of a rain storm and saw very little with the clouds covering the mountain tops and the glacier being faintly visable at the far end of the lake. These iceberg poppies loved the cold weather. |  |
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We rode north through the Columbian ice fields and saw glacier after glacier when we visited Jasper. After four days of mountian riding we were forced to head east toward home. But, as our good forturne - or prior planning - would have it, the Calgary Stampede provided us with another reason to stop and spend the night. |
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After having been riding through the mountains for 10 days the flat prairie and wheat fields of eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewain provided a stark change in scenary. |
| Every biker has a mascot and Honey Bear and "Outback" had a great trip. They loved the scenery and wanted to bring home a mascot of their own. |  |
We had a wonderful trip and many memories. My souvinir "toonie" jingles in my pocket, my Calgary belt buckle is on my belt, new photographs grace my office, but most importantly I have memories to last me through the long winter. It is a trip we would encourage everyone to take, even if you are not a "biker."
Sturgis was a different kind of rally which was every bit as much fun. One is not better than the other, "just different."
Have a good day. 