Day 10 and 11 - Roosevelt National Park and Dickenson, ND to Billings, MT

WARNING - THIS POST MAY CONTAIN FOUL LANGUAGE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I didn't blog last night, as we were a bit tired, so I'll try to catch up both days tonight. The whole reason for the "detour" up to North Dakota was for Kate and I to check one more state off our list, and to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park. As you all probably know by now, we are trying to get to all of our National Parks, and we thought that we were close enough to this one it would be worth the visit. North Dakota was probably not a place we'd be near anytime soon. 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is where he had a hunting camp, and first really became involved with preserving our national lands. It is not as striking as some of our National Parks are, but it is beautiful nonetheless. The photos really do not do it justice, but I'll give you some anyway.

See the bison in the center of the photo?

Bad selfie!

Bison herd

This park reminded me a lot of Badlands, but had more green. On the way here, you are just driving along North Dakota prairie, then it descends into these incredible canyons and buttes. At one point I said to Kate "if you had dropped me out of a helicopter here and asked me where I was, North Dakota would probably been the last place I would have guessed. This is a relatively small park, so it is easily seen in a day. They do have many hiking trails and horseback riding, so you could easily spend more time here. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. 

Day 11 - Dickenson, ND to Billings, MT

CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S ROUTE

This was the day that Kate would drive over to Bismarck and fly home, and I would turn west again and ride to Billings, MT. Morning routine started again.. coffee, shower, pack the bike, fuel the bike and head out. Kate's flight wasn't until 2 so she had a bit more time to get things together before heading out to Bismarck. I was on the road at about 7:30 headed west. 

The first part of the ride was beautiful, clear blue skies and a wonderful 65 degrees all the way into Montana.

This would be the 10th state line crossed on the trip. The ride today was kind of boring. I had expected the Dakotas to be the most mind-numbing rides, but eastern Montana is pretty desolate. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful, but there isn't much to see other than hay fields and oil rigs. As the day went on, it got really hazy from smoke from the western wildfires - so thick that it actually smelled like wildfire. I didn't take many photos as the smoke was so thick. I did stop for a bit at a rest area, and took this one:

Yep - staying on sidewalks!!!!

Lots of interstate riding today, the speed limit here is 80, so I set the cruise control and accumulated miles.

I was going to arrive in Billings (the stop for the day) quite a bit early, so I thought I'd check out the local KTM dealer, so I amended the route to go straight there. About 15 miles outside of Billings, I noticed the bike was acting odd. When hitting the throttle, I had no power at all. Upon arrival at the KTM dealer, I had a "fuel pump failure" warning on the dash. For fucks sake!!!! Really!?!?!  The good people at Hi-Tech Motorsports were awesome and took the bike in to check it out. It turns out I had a loose fuel pump wire and some crap in the fuel line. They blew out the fuel lines, gave me some clean hi-test fuel and sent me on my way. I can't say enough good things about them - once again... shop small and local... they will take care of you!

I finally made it to my AirBnB for the evening. Rachel gave me the skinny on where to get a good beer and a meal in Billings, and she was spot on. A nice scotch ale and smoked trout tacos rounded out the day.

Not the best day of the trip, but all is well that ends well. Tomorrow will be another adventure!

Miles today: 353

Miles total - 2532