Road Trip #2, Day 5 - Birthday Ride South, Choteau, Helena, Bozeman, Billings - Montana

July 19, 2010
Colorado, USA

Billings, MT -- Happy Birthday Tim! What a great night's rest in The Bella Vista Motel of small town Choteau, MT! Before rolling out about 7:30 this morning Tim took the opportunity to open his cards from myself, Stormy (daughter) and family, and the Folks. He was much pleased with the cash and a Harley gift card found inside the cards.

Once again we rode out in full leathers as the morning was quite brisk. We by-passed the convenience store in town hoping to find a cafe somewhere down the road for coffee and a birthday breakfast. Traveling Hwy 287 south toward Helena, we did not find a single cafe open for business. The small town of Augusta looked promising, but other than a couple of mule teams hooked to buckboard wagons on the side of the road, we saw no other signs of life. What we found was wide open country bathed in bright morning sunlight and long, long, winding roads.

On the road as we neared Helena, we rode through the area called Gates of the Mountains, a canyon named by Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) for the illusion created by steep limestone cliffs that seem to open as you travel the Missouri River. Shortly after arriving in Helena, we found a JB's Restaurant. We haven't been in one of those in a good many years. The breakfast buffet suited the birthday boy, so it suited me as well. Later, we drove some of the downtown streets of Helena. I love the variety of turn of the century (last century) architecture. The courthouse is a classic example of Greek Renaissance design. The Cathedral of Saint Helen is a glorious example of Victorian Gothic architecture. Helena is a place I would like to visit again... and maybe take a walking tour or bus tour of the town which is rich (no pun intended) in gold mining and other western history.


Color Tim happy with a birthday breakfast buffet

Soon we were on Hwy 287 again traveling toward Bozeman, MT. The ride would take us through small farm and ranch communities situated in lush, green valleys with mountain ranges nothing but jagged purple shadows in the distance. Here are the headwaters of the Missouri River. At Three Forks we connected with I-90 east and covered the 30 miles or so to Bozeman in good time, stopping at the Yellowstone Harley-Davidson dealership in Belgrade for a rest and some birthday shopping.

An accident happened just in front of us on the I-90 stretch. I saw Tim's head jerk up as we approached a bridge construction area and was immediately on alert. A small SUV hit something (probably debris fallen from the bridge construction) in the road, smacked the retaining wall in the center of the highway hard and then backed across both lanes of traffic, rolled backwards down an embankment narrowly missing a piece of construction equipment before coming to a stop. People from a couple of vehicles immediately rushed to the aid of a child and grabbed the family dog who both vaulted from the vehicle... they were on the phone moments later calling for emergency help. We pulled off to the side of the road and waved a warning to the traffic coming over a rise behind us. As we eased back up on the road we saw a construction foreman headed down from the bridge. Scary.

We stopped for gas and continued east on I-90 toward Billings which was a pleasurable and scenic ride. We had planned to turn off the interstate at the small town of Laurel and head south into Wyoming to pick up Alt Hwy 14 and ride the Medicine Wheel Byway across to I-90 and end up in Sheridan or Buffalo, WY for the night. Mother Nature had other plans. As we neared the cut off the skies grew more troubled and then became blue black and ominous, forming a healthy wall cloud. We pulled off at a rest stop and broke out the rain gear for the first time this trip. We weren't the only ones. We tried to tune in the weather band radio for a forecast but there was no reception where we were sitting. As skies began to spit on us, we decided to make for Billings. Fortunately, we stayed mostly dry except for splash back and had missed the bulk of the rain cloud that deposited a good amount of rain on the road.

In Billings, we rode down motel alley and back as light rain began to fall, finally crossing the highway and settling on a Days Inn because the rude desk clerk at the Super 8 across the street refused to answer a simple question - do you have a room? - without entering all of our personal information. Hmmm... first time we have encountered that and it cost them our business. The desk clerk at the Days Inn was very nice and knew immediately we would want a ground floor room facing on the parking lot where we could keep an eye on The Ride. We very much enjoyed our stay there.

Billings was alive with motorcycles. We remembered from conversations with bikers during our trip that they were all converging on Billings for the International Convention of the Blue Knights (July 18-23). I am thinking we are lucky we found a room at all.

Later, I asked the desk clerk about possible eateries within walking distance. She referred us to an Irish Pub called Fiddlers Green Sports Bar and Grill a few blocks away on Southgate Dr. So, after Tim called the Folks and the daughter with thanks for his birthday cards, we cleaned up and cheering our good fortune because the skies had cleared somewhat, me and the birthday boy strolled the few blocks to the pub and ordered a couple of beers and onion rings. Later, Tim ordered a hamburger while I chose a BLT. Both of the sandwiches were monster-size and loaded. The portion of fries on the side was huge. We could have made a meal by sharing either one of our sandwiches. And both orders were cooked to perfection. We spent a couple of hours there, munching and smoothing out the day with a couple more beers. The atmosphere was friendly and comfortable. Our waitress was good-humored and efficient. Did I mention the food was excellent? This was not just a burger joint, the prime rib and steaks that passed by on the way to another table looked excellent. Get off the beaten path and ride away from chain restaurants when you visit Billings, MT and seek out Fiddler's Green - you will not be disappointed.

Birthday Beer - Cheers!

The clouds had dissipated by the time we strolled (waddled) back to our hotel. We covered The Ride and lounged around our room before calling it a night.

Today's ride was 364 miles. So far we have loved every mile we have traveled in Montana. Here is a slide show of today's ride (70 photos):