July 5 - we got up in Billings Montana this morning.  Had a hotel breakfast and hit the road at 845am.  it was cool this morning so we donned jackets and helmets.  ended up in the 60's and low 70's all day today. Big change from the high 90's yesterday.   after riding for a couple of hours we arrived at the Harley dealer in Belgrade, just west of Bozeman Montana.  its called yellowstone Harley.

Yellowstone Harley Dealer

  while we were riding, Tony called the dealer so they were waiting for us.  In and out so we could get back on the road. he loves his phone connected to his helmet. he spends half his riding time calling people.  he wants me to get the stuff for my helmet so we could talk, but for me its all about the ride!
After oil changes we were on the road again.  hit mountains.  we went up one and crossed the continental divide at 6600 feet.  down the backside  to Butte, the curves were exciting, requiring excellent control, and concentration.

Big Sky Montana

   we made it to Missoula, gassed up and had lunch in a small town off route 90.  the hole in the wall joint, Parkers Family Restaurant, had 135 kinds of burgers on its menu.  i had the bandito burger, stuffed with jalopena poppers.   Tony was going to have the Elvis burger which had peanut butter and bananas on it. But he settled for the burrito and egg burger without a bun.

Parkers Restaurant

Back on the road headed for Kalispell.   as we neared Kalispell we rode along Flathead Lake.  its was about 40 miles long, a huge lake.  Unexpected to see such a large lake in this part of the country.

approaching Flathead lake

made it there by 630pm.  checked in a hotel and proceeded to clean the bikes.   i bought bug cleaner at the harley store.  we used that to remove the bugs off the windshields and fairings.  then tony  cleaned and waxed his bike.   no dinner tonight since we had a late lunch.  we are in the north west corner of Montana next to Idaho and canada.  tomorrow we enter canada and will ride through the canadian rockies north.

Mission mountain range 

quaint picturesque barn taken at 80mph

route 90 - finally hit  some mountains

ps i must say that its a real honor riding with such a hardcore,tattooed,bandito burger eating badass!!
    i can only aspire to such heights in the biker community. its a new experience for me. i swear i get       chills just thinking about it. he is so bad he doesnt even use sun block.
   Back to reality. The ride from Billings to Missoula was locked and rocked at 80mph. This bike Igot    is the most serious cruiser i've ever been on. Now remember I have a 99 roadking classic  done to
   104 inches all bore no stroke that i love. but with close to 200k miles on it it was time to bring on        the new generation Harley. And it surpasses all expectations. After cutting my teeth on an                    ironhead sportster over 45 years ago, i feel like this new bike is extraterrestrial. The ride from
   Missoula to Kalispel was just plain smoking. If i didnt have to stop and wait for the badass a few
   times, i dont think i wouldve done below 70 along the prettiest twistiest lake road ive ever been on.
   I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings.

post script by the tf