12 July 2010

We left exactly at 0800, and since we'd filled up the night before, had a chance to ride a while without worrying about gas.

And a gorgeous ride it was. The relatively low sun was casting interesting shadows on the hills, giving them character that's lacking later in the day. And it was delightfully cool--we're pacing a low pressure system that's keeping temperatures moderate for most of the day.

In an effort to be a more conscientious guide, I'm trying to stop about halfway between gas fillups, so when I saw a sign for the lookout at the Grand Coulee Dam, I turned in. I've always had some fascination with, I guess, the name--many years ago I remember an east-to-west trip when I stopped at the Grand Coulee dam, but it must have been on the other side, because this view didn't look like anything I remembered.



Next up was the 'Highline,' US 2, that is a nice way to make time across the top of the country. Unfortunately, we took it only as far as I-90, where we'll be for a while. Through Spokane and its 'burbs, across Idaho (no NP stamps) into Montana and the Mountain time zone--whoops, lost an hour.

Lots of road (mostly bridge, it seems) construction, so the speed limit goes from 75 (almost too fast for the curvy, not-in-great-shape concrete roadway) to 45 and both lanes of traffic on the same side of the road. I lost count on how often this happened, but I'm glad to see some infrastructure improvement.

Through Missoula (where the BMWMOA rally was a few years ago), and on, meeting the occasional Beemer rider anxious to get to the rally in Redmond; we rest-stopped one more time, which will likely be the plan from now on.

Even with the time change, we got to Deer Lodge, and the Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, with time to spare--they close at 1730, so we had a chance to get the stamp, and even wander around a bit before picking a motel right across the street from a Safeway.





States: Washington, Idaho, Montana

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