And, we're back!

We just rolled in from Red Lodge at 7 pm last night. It was an awesome trip. We spent the first night in Rapid City, visiting with our old friends, Lee & Lola Walton. It had been a few years since we'd had a good convo with them. We met a place called Phatty McGees, on the corner of 7th and Main in Rapid. What a cool place! And the best part was, 2 hand-tossed pepperoni pizzas and 4 pitchers of beer was $20! Not kidding. We rolled into Red Lodge about 5 pm on Friday, unloaded the bikes and set up camp, then head east to Bear Lodge, MT for the famous pig races. They aare set up just like horse races, the pigs even wear racing silks. They really run for a treat at the finish line. Sat. was the big Poker Run. The Beartooth Hiway was washed out in a mudslide earlier this year , so the poker run was re-routed through WY to Chief Joseph Hiway, which would be the back way over the Beartooth. We ended up in Cooke City. It was a very hot and windy day. The power of the wind gusts at the top of the mountains was amazing and frightening. I had a stiff neck at the end of the day from being tense. But there was some beautiful scenery. I had my tall windshield installed so Jeannie didn't get buffeted by the wind like she did with the short one. I have to admit it was nice to be able to visit without hollering over the wind. Sunday was the motorcycle rodeo, but we opted to skip that so we could go riding in the beautiful MT countryside. It was totally wonderful scenery, and we literally rode 'til the road ran out. It dead-ended in a horse camp in the mountains, and the only way out without back-tracking, was gravel. The man we talked to by the edge of the road said there had recently been a grizzly sighting, so all the hikers were on alert. Monday was a leisurely breakfast in town and packing up for the trip home. We lucked out and got the last spot in Perry's campground. It's about a mile south of Red Lodge, and a roaring mountain stream runs right through the middle of the camp. We had stayed there before on a guys trip so it was good to go back. There was a huge communal firepit every night and hot coffee and doughnuts every morning. Most of the other campers were from WA, CA ID. I only saw one truck with IA plates and I think he was lost. We left town at 1pm on Monday and took a different route home , through the Bighorn Mts. It was another day of great scenery. We spent the night in Deadwood, then fought the relentless SD wind all the way home yesterday. Good trip! I slept 10 hrs last night in my own bed. Sleeping in the tent is fun, but it must not be so restful, cause I'm always tired when I get home.