Blogs from Billings, Montana, United States, North America

Greetings again from Billings Montana and Day 3 of InZane 2017! Over 100 pictures today of Bikes, Bike rodeo, Pie Auction and Blow out party. Also, video of the slalom race. Mrs. Alien and I started the day with a cup of coffee and the Valkyrie Rodeo. For those that don't know, a bike rodeo consists of several contests of motorcycle control. Events included a slow race in which the rider reaching the finish line last without putting a foot down is the winner and a slalom course where motorcycles navigate a slalom course of traffic cones which are moved closer together after each round of competition. Below is a video of the entire slalom competition. https://youtu.be/vnRZKEdkKFw Later, we boarded the Mothership and rode to breakfast at the Muzzle Loader Café. Meh. Then it was off ... read more

Greetings from day 1 of InZane 17! As promised, you will find a great deal of pictures on tonight's post. I apologize for some of them, as I was playing with different lenses and flashes to get the pictures the way I want them. I think I have the camera dialed in now, so picture quality should improve. By the way, if you are a member of the VRCC and see a picture of your bike that you'd like, shoot me a PM on the board and I'll email you the full Hi-Rest RAW file. This morning both Mrs. Alien, who arrived last night at midnight and myself were tired and the pinched nerve in my hip was particularly painful. We did jump on the bike and ride to Cracker Barrel for a nice breakfast, then ... read more

Geo: 45.7836, -108.505Sitting in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan we had a choice to make. We could turn left and head up to my old stomping grounds when I was an underground miner earning money for University- Flin Flon, Manitoba. Past detours that I've made into my somewhat foggy past have proven entirely unsuccessful- not only have some of my former hometowns changed dramatically but my somewhat faulty memory has left us wandering aimlessly looking for something I might recognize. Our other choice was to turn right and head back into the U.S. via Montana and, with a short backtrack, set up a visit to the legendary Yellowstone Park. On the way we could even stop at the site of Custer's Last Stand. Checking out the battle ground of one of the more notorious battles in U.S. history ... read more

Day 12 Got a good nights sleep and hit the road by 9:30, gassed up (free breakfast), then stopped to fill the tank. We entered the U.S. About an hour later, and always nice to be back! No more converting kilometers to miles and Celsius to Fahrenheit! AND, millimeters to inches! Who measures rainfall in such small increments? Well, I reckon everybody beside the U.S. eh? Anyway, I don't like to have to think too much on vacation! Ok, enough of that. More beautiful scenery along the way, saw some deer and a few buffalo and a lucky squirrel we just missed, and then on to St Mary's where we stopped for a break. Then we headed away from Glacier National Park towards Lewiston, Montana, and then on to our home for the evening in Billings. ... read more

Geo: 45.0319, -110.705Weather: 90 in Billings, 80s into Livingston, 70s into Gardiner, MT Location: Billings to Gardiner Highlights: Boys go to movie and Biddy and I snuggle at hotel, Livingston, MT and FREAKIN Yellowstone! Lowlights: A little rain in Gardiner (ended up not bad) #of Swearwords: Cant remember People we met: Waitress in Livingston, MT who told us of the famous people who live there like Peter Fonda, Arnold S, Lois Lane lady, John Mayer who, by the way, played at the local outdoor concert in the park for free the night before. How great would that be. She also waited on Michael Keaton. Activities: Movie, Snuggles, Mammoth Hotel: Cowboy Cabins (awesome!) Helpful hint: Definitely drive through Livingston (neat town and nice people) Stay in Gardiner because its small and quaint but has modern necessities right ... read more