May 31, 2026 - Missoula, Montana

 Last night we stayed at the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks, Montana.  It was built in 1910 and has been restored to its original condition, with some modern updates of course.  Unfortunately, the wifi was not one of the modern updates so I couldn't blog anything.  Also, the last two days of riding have been long, cold, windy and rainy so we don't have any pictures to speak of.  If you want to see pictures of the hotel you'll have to click on the link above.

Today we decided to take back roads instead of I-90 knowing it would take longer.  But, I do not like riding at highway speed during rain, wind, cold and trucks whizzing by.  One thing today brought was cold, it got down to 38 degrees when we crossed the northern portion of the Bitterroot Mountains at 6,500 feet.  Our gear worked and neither one of us got wet or uncomfortably cold.  It took multiple layers, electric heated gear and rain gear, but it all worked.

Tomorrow we ride to the Cedar Creek Lodge in Columbia Falls, MT near the Glacier National Park where we will meet up with Ted and Sheila on Tuesday.  It will be fun to see them.

At one of our coffee and warm-up breaks yesterday.

Mandatory bear spray.

I convinced this fetching young beauty to ride on the back of my motorcycle.  Yeehaw!

May 29, 2026 - Hardin, Montana

 We made some miles today, but we started winding our way through Needles Highway near where we stayed last night in Custer.  It was in the low 50s and foggy when we left.  Sooz took all of the pictures below from the back of the GS.  

This video is one I took at a rest area in the Badlands.  I forgot to post it earlier.

I just love these wide open panoramic areas.  This was along Highway 212 I believe in South Dakota.

"Motorcyclists Use Extreme Caution"  We always do.

Needles Highway

More wide open expanse

May 28, 2026 - Custer, South Dakota

 Sooz and I had a nice, leisurely ride from Wall to Custer.  We had 40 miles on I-90 and then we headed around Rapid City and picked up Highway 16A at Keystone.  Highway 16A has a lot of fun twisty turns and a few very short tunnels.  We have a room here in Custer and will start riding north towards Glacier National Park. We will have 3 nights on the road before we pull into our hotel near Glacier.  We'll play it by ear tomorrow to see how the weather is and how we feel to decide where we want to stay tomorrow night.

I have ordered a new tracker that Ted is going to bring when we meet up with him and Sheila in Glacier.  If you've been tracking us, you can see that it has not worked consistently so time to upgrade.  I'll send a new link to follow us when I get everything hooked up and working.

All of the pictures below Susie took from the back seat on Highway 16A between Keystone and Custer.

May 27, 2026 - Wall, SD

Today we rode the Badlands loop road and visited the Minuteman Visitor Center. We are staying in Wall again tonight so wifi is very weak. I'll try to upload some pictures Susie took from the backseat of the GS. They are amazing.

To be honest, the Minuteman Visitor Center creeped me out.  They had a picture of kids hiding under desks and I remember doing that thinking that at any second we could be obliterated.  This was the time of MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction.  The idea that if the Russians sent nuclear weapons at us, we would do the same and the world would be destroyed.  I think I read that there are still over 400 Minuteman nuclear weapons hidden in silos ready to launch if needed. Insane.

The Badlands by Susie

Again

Terry lost in the Badlands

Apparently the Lower Brule Tribe was an early corn producer for Orville Redenbacher. Bob at the Tribal Center gave us a nice visitor swag bag that included this.  I should add that the Lower Brule Tribe is part of the Lakota which is within the Sioux Nation.

May 26, 2026 - Wall, South Dakota

 Susie and her bag arrived yesterday in Sioux Falls on time.  Only one day late due to storms in Dallas and Sioux Falls.  I parked the GS at the airport, brought her gear bag that I carried up here from Florida into the airport to meet her.  Considering her flight issues she was doing well.  After a relaxing lunch in the airport, she took her gear bag into the ladies room and changed out of her flight clothes into her motorcycle riding gear.  She had bought a used suitcase from Goodwill for $5.99 in Gainesville that I gave to an airport staff member who I think threw it away since we no longer needed it.

We loaded up on the GS and rode to Chamberlain, SD for the night.  This morning we visited the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center in Chamberlain.  Leonard, a friend of ours in Gainesville, managed one of the residential homes associated with the St. Joseph's Indian School where Native American kids lived.  We mentioned Leonard to Wanda the receptionist at the museum and her eyes lit up.  She went and got her husband Frank who also had managed a home and knew Leonard very well.  

After a tour of the really impressive museum we rode along the Missouri River north to Lower Brule, SD.  The town of Lower Brule is named after the Indian Tribe of the same name.  Another friend of ours Dan lived in the area with his family for years.  Dan had recommended we visit the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe council chambers, which we did.  When we mentioned Dan to one of the security guys named Bob he remembered Evelyn, Dan's cousin.  She usually works in the building but she was off for the day.

Bob, the security guard, ended up giving Sooz and me a tour including visiting the Tribal Council Chambers.  In some ways they looked similar to a town council chamber until you looked closely and say beautiful drawings, paintings and art pieces around the room.  At one point Bob casually pointed at one of the painting on the wall and said that is an image of the Sundance ceremony.  He saw that we had no clue what he was talking about so he explained that this is the ceremony where they pierce the chest or backs of tribal men and women, put a bone through the piercing and tie a rope to the piercing.  I blurted out, "Like Keven Costner in the movie," and Bob said yes.  Except they are not raised in the air, instead that attach significant items to the ropes attached to their bodies and dance for hours.  Bob casually said he uses various skulls when he does it.  My jaw dropped to the floor because I thought this happened all in the past, not now.

Bob said he has participated in the Sundance ceremony for many years.  They do not drink or eat anything for four days before the piercing.  They stay on the ceremonial grounds and sleep in teepees and do dances and basically get in the mood.  They do the piercing, dragging of various ceremonial items after which they have an elder hang on to the ropes attached to there bodies and lean backwards until the bone piercing breaks and they fall on the ground.  They then have a feast, leave and return in a few days for a sweat council and then leave.  We were dumbfounded.  I had no idea they still did this.

Sooz and I had lunch at the The Golden Buffalo Casino Restaurant and Motel in Lower Brule.  I have to say it was the most low keyed casino I have ever seen.  We drove right by it at first.  It is in a unassuming building with not signs.  We weren't sure we were at the right place until we walked in the unmarked doors.

After lunch we rode to Wall, SD where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night.  Today the bike registered 99 degrees at one point and stayed in the mid-90s with full sun for most of the ride.  It was also VERY windy.  It was so windy I did not feel safe getting near the 80 mph speed limit.  We were getting knocked around pretty good.  We stopped several times to rest and cool off which helped a lot.

Since arriving in Wall we checked in the Sunshine Motel, had dinner at the Badlands Saloon & Grille and visited the infamous Wall Drug Store,  Tomorrow we are going to ride through the Badlands and then take it easy.

I have several photos I will post.  The wifi here is really bad, so I'll have to wait until I have better capabilities to upload the photos.  Remember to come back and see them.

Sooz with a calendar at the Museum 

These are Leonard's friends Frank and Wanda at the Museum 

Entrance to the Lower Brule Tribal Council Chambers

The Lower Brule Tribal Council Chambers

Bob

The Sundance ceremony painting in the Council Chambers

Bob walking up the stairs from the Chambers

This looking down Main Street in Wall with grain silos just outside town

Self explanatory 

Inside Wall Drug Store

May 25, 2026 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota

 Yesterday I rode from Omaha, NE to Sioux Falls.  It was windy but dry and warm.  It was an uneventful ride which is nice.  I was a little tired and was lucky to be able to check-in early.  

Susie's flight to Sioux Falls was delayed due to weather and she stayed overnight in Dallas.  She should arrive here today around noon.  We have reservations for tonight in Chamberlain, SD close to a couple of Native American sites we want to visit tomorrow.

The storms here in Sioux Falls last night were impressive.  You can see some of the warning notices from last night.  There was hail, strong winds, rain, lightening.  When I checked on the GS this morning, I was surprised to find that the bike was fine and started right up, and the cover was even still there because it had gotten tangled up in the spokes of the front wheel.

This is a jet engine from the museum a couple of days ago.  The complexity is amazing

I took this close up of the jet engine to show how all of bolts and connections were safety wired by hand

Last night's active weather warnings

May 23, 2026 - Omaha, Nebraska

 Today I played tourist a little.  I made sure to drive slow, not use my blinkers, and block up traffic in the passing lanes to get even for all the tourists in Florida.  The weather was perfect, mid 60s-70s, sunny and not very windy.  I visited the Pony Express museum and the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.  Both very impressive.

The Pony Express only existed from 1861-1862 but has taken on a life of its own.  There was a map of the US showing the railroad system and the PE routes.  There were no railroad tracks west of the Mississippi River at St. Louis.  The only way to move mail other than using ships traveling around South America was to use the Pony Express.  However, once the telegraph and railroad expanded they went out of business.

There were too many aircraft at the museum to show below.  The exhibition area was huge, all indoors.  There is also a large restoration area with a few planes being restored.

Still no luck on getting new boots.  I went to the Omaha BMW motorcycle shop and saw a pretty good collection of boots, but no winner.  My legs aren't itching today.  It could be due to the opossum hair socks that I wore today.

Tomorrow I will ride to Sioux Falls, SD to meet up with Sooz who flies in around 10pm.

The Pony Express only lasted for less than 2 years 1861-1862

This leather piece is called the Mochila and fits over the saddle of Pony Express riders.  The square pouches hold the mail.  There are two on the other side, but that's it.  Those carried all the mail for one rider.

This is an actual Pony Express station.  The riders would stop every 10 miles and swap horses

They had recently treated the wood with linseed oil.

This photo is of the floor in the station.  They patched floors with old tin cans.  Also, if you look closely on the left there are square nails.  This means they are officially old.

Susie could bake in this oven.

This was take just outside the entrance to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum about 30 minutes south of Omaha.  Of course, that is the GS for scale.

Entrance to the SAC museum

There were a lot of aircraft in the large hanger including B-17G WWII bomber, B-52 massive airplane, B-36J another big boy.  This is the B-117A stealth fighter.

The front of the B-117A with the cockpit open

May 22, 2026 - Manhattan, Kansas

 It may sound odd, but today was a pleasant day riding even though it rained a lot, it was overcast in the low 60's, and I rode into pretty strong headwinds all day.  It just felt good.  The landscape opened up with long, open areas of natural grass and cattle grazing.  There wasn't much traffic and I was comfortable in my rain and heated gear.  

The only slight negative was that I need new riding boots.  My old ones are starting to break down and my lower legs itch like crazy by the end of the day.  Susie thinks my legs itch because the boots are old and have some unknown bacteria growing in them.  I think they are slouching and and rubbing up against my leg and vibrating from the engine irritating my legs.  Bottom line, I need new boots  I stopped in a place in Manhattan today.  It was a neat independent shop and had all kinds of motorcycle stuff, but no boots my size.

About 30 miles east of Manhattan I entered the Flints Hills and Tallgrass Prairie area.  I have a picture below that describes these areas.  I'll just say they are beautiful in their own way - not overly dramatic, just vast and relaxing.  

Cool independent motorcycle shop in Manhattan, KS

View of the Flint Hills and Tallgrass Prairie

Hard to read description, but if you click on it you can enlarge it

A short walkway from a turnoff on Highway 177 running north of I-80 into Manhattan

May 21, 2026 - Springfield, MO

 Yesterday was a decent day riding from Montgomery to just across the Mississippi River from Memphis.  It was cooler and uneventful, which was nice.  Unfortunately, the hotel and surrounding restaurants all lost power so their was no food or internet.  Not much to report from yesterday, so that's fine.

Today I rode to the Rockwood Motel in Springfield, Missouri.  It's right on Route 66, which is celebrating it's 100 year anniversary this year.  I spoke with the owner Tim for quite a while.  He and his wife Phyllis bought it 7 years ago, just before Covid.  They have made major renovations and it looks fantastic.  I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area.  A couple of photos are below.

The temps this morning were cool enough that I put on my heated vest.  It was 30 degrees cooler than Tuesday.  

I'm not sure where I am going tomorrow.  Somewhere north.  I have 2 more nights on the road before I meet Susie in Sioux Falls, SD on Sunday.  It's raining pretty good right now.  Let's hope it stops tomorrow.

The GS parked in front of my room.