Road Trip #3 Day 2 - The ride to White Sulphur Springs MT

July 14, 2012
Colorado, USA

From Casper WY to White Sulphur Springs MT....

What a day! After consuming what was edible at the hotel's so-so continental breakfast, we rolled north on I-25 about 8:15 am under mostly sunny skies, picking up some smoke haze, wispy clouds and light winds. Travel was easy along the interstate. The terrain in this part of Wyoming is rolling hills and plains. I-25 changes to I-90 just outside of Buffalo WY.

Soon we were rolling through downtown Sheridan WY and shortly after that, rolling across the state line into "Crow Country" Montana. Between the state line and Hardin MT we traveled through the Crow Indian Reservation and the Battlefields of the Little Bighorn. We toured the Little Bighorn National Monument last year - it is worth a detour. Our first stop was for thermos coffee and a cookie snack in a small city park in Hardin MT.

The skies grew more overcast as we rolled along. We did not tarry in Billings, MT but turned north on Hwy 87 traveling across what is known as the Bull Mountain area. It was a nice 50+ mile ride with moderate road construction going on between Billings and Roundup. Lots of old buildings, barns and cemeteries are the roadside attractions in this area. Roundup was a quaint little town with interesting old architecture. The day was cloudy but warm so we stopped for gas and ice cream at an Exxon station sitting at the junction of Hwy 87 and Hwy 12. We chatted with the locals passing by, most wanting to know where we were headed, none of whom had much to say when we we answered west.

Soon we were rolling west along Hwy 12. Riding what the map said was Scenic Hwy 12 was the idea for this road trip and getting as far west as possible. Leaving Roundup we had in mind Townsend as a potential overnight stop, but with an eye to the skies agreed that Harlotown or White Sulphur Springs would do if either town offered decent accomodations and eateries.

We had not traveled more than five miles before we ran up on a rafter (aka gang) of wild turkeys. We put-putted by them remembering the turkeys that darn near took us out on the Enchanted Circle ride in NM earlier in the year. Ha! A little further along we noticed a large white building visible from a good distance away. As we approached a side road (Hwy 3) we realized the building was accessible from this road so we took a quick detour through tiny Lavina MT in Golden Valley County.

The large white building is the old Adams Hotel. Here is what I learned about it from a quick search on the internet. The Adams, was built by L.C. Lehfeldt and completed in 1908. It had twenty-two rooms including the huge dining room, lobby, kitchen, and bar. Upstairs, at the head of the stairs was a large parlor. It was probably the most elegant of its kind in the area, having pure linen sheets, down comforters, a decorated china bowl and pitcher in every one of the carpeted rooms. The Adams was known for its warm hospitality. This building remains as it was originally built with all of its grandeur, secrets and memories and is now owned as a private residence.
http://www.co.golden-valley.mt.us/html/lavina.html

Rolling along on Hwy 12 again, it wasn't long before we saw a road construction sign that said - Motorcycle Advisory - Road Construction Ahead - Consider Alternate Route (What alternate route?) We rode up on Hwy 87 with road construction. Hwy 3 was a questionably tiny road that led south to the interstate (we think). The next paved road was Hwy 191 heading north or south near Harlotown both of which led us far away from our intended destination. What this sign should have said is Go Away. Turn Back Now. So, in utter defiance, we continued on.

The clouds gathering overhead finally started spitting on us about Ryegate MT. We picked up the road construction at Shawmut MT. Harlowtown looked like a nice town but we decided to travel on. White Sulphur Springs was less than 60 miles away. The road construction got worse and pretty soon we were riding along on muddy bedrock in rain. Yikes!

There are two rather large lakes visible from the road between Harlotown and White Sulphur Springs - Bair Reservoir and Lake Sutherlin, the latter being the closest to White Sulphur Springs and we agreed it was scenic when you could take your eyes off the road.

We had sunshine riding into White Sulphur Springs but clouds gathering toward the west and south were a clear indicator that Mother Nature was not done having fun with us today so this is where we stopped for the day. We checked into the over-priced and no frills Hot Springs Spa Motel. Having ridden soggy most of the afternoon, the fact that the main attraction for this motel was the pool was not a selling point for us at all, but alternative accomodations didn't look much better. While I settled in and checked in with the Folks, Tim rode off in search of a car wash because the bike was filthy. He was back before I knew it, reporting the sole one stall car wash in town was out of order. Oh well!

A short stroll on Main St under ever-darkening skies took us to the friendly door of a local watering hole known as the Stockmans Bar and Steakhouse. If anything could put the shine back on the day it would be a couple of our favorite brews and a great burger. Stockman's delivered both with a smile and friendly conversation. It is too bad we had already checked in for the night down the street because it would have been tempting to spend the night at this great little establishment. We had hand made bacon swiss burgers and sweet potato fries - excellent!

Make a note if you are ever through White Sulphur Springs MT stop and eat at the Stockman's Bar and Steakhouse - 117 E Main St, White Sulphur Springs, MT 59645

After a couple of hours, we strolled back to our motel just before a thunderstorm came through with a fury complete with lightning, wind and rain. We had a short blackout in town. Two things dominated our conversation while we were sitting in the dark. 1) We were glad we hadn't washed the bike. 2) We were glad we made it through that damn road construction today because it would have been much worse in the aftermath of this storm. So. I guess alls well that ends well.

Today's ride = 462.3 miles

Slide show of today's ride = 141 photos

Alternative link to this slide show