Day 6.
August 26th, 2021.

I made a relatively slow morning out of it today, waking up after 7:00 a.m local time.
I had not totally unpacked my gear last night. Just what I needed to access, which I have learned to pack within easy reach when needed. The result of lessons learned over the years of being on the road.
As I began to load up the bike for the continuation of the journey, I struck up conversation with Louise, after exchanging pleasantries in the parking lot.
She was also preparing for her ongoing journey back to Colorado on this morning.
Louise, well past her early 70’s in age, was remarkably interested in my travels and more notably of my ancestry and background - as I was of hers.
So with this common thread of interest, we spent the next 40 minutes chatting away, sharing stories of years gone by.
I was impressed with her fortitude, her willingness and her ability at this age to be journeying, still visiting places, with still more desire to see places and meet people in life along the way.
This lady really “gets it”!
I complimented her and let her know that I continue to pray that if I do get to her stage of life that I could still be doing what she is.
She was so full of energy and life that radiated, creating an aura of contagiousness for traveling passion.
So we parted ways wishing each other safe travels.
It was a really inspirational start to my day!

With packing completed, I checked out of the motel and began my journey for the day - destination Ploson, Montana. All of about 763 km (477mi).
Polson, MT is situated at the southern tip/point of the Flathead Lake, nestled between the Kootenai, Lolo and Flathead National Forests.
Needless to mention - Very green, wet and picturesque.
It was a crisp fresh mountain morning and after the good sleep I had last night, I was fresh and ready for the day’s ride ahead of me.
For so long I have desired riding some of the mountain ranges in Montana.
I was so close now. So close I could burst with anxiety.
It took me less than 15 minutes to breach the Cody city limits and I had to pull over to suit up a little warmer than when I left the motel.
The early morning weather was bright, fresh, cool and crisp.
I knew for a fact that in such areas and at this time of year, it would warm up rapidly as the day wore on.
But for now I wanted to be warmer and a little more comfortable.
Arriving in the town of Bridger, MT I stopped to take in more history to add to my existing knowledge of this town that had been a very instrumental place in the westward expansion and cowboy days of the old west.
In 1863 gold and silver were discovered in the Alder Gulch area in what is present day southwestern Montana.
As prospectors, miners and adventurers of the day flocked to the Montana Territory, a faster, safer route was desired to get to the gold fields.
The existing Bozeman Trail ran through the Powder River Basin - directly through the rich and sacred hunting grounds that were assigned to the Lakota Sioux, Arapahoe and Cheyenne native Americans who controlled the area as per the Fort Laramie Treaty in 1851, but were now being encroached upon by the new settlers.
So in a bid to force the settlers out of the Buffalo-rich Powder River Basin area, The Sioux, during the mid 1860’s began to launch raids and attacks against the settlers in action that came to be known as “Red Cloud’s War”.
Somewhat successful, their campaign resulted in the closure of the Bozeman Trail and the abandonment of the forts that supported this area.
So this route I was on now, the Bridger Trail, a.k.a. The Bridger Cut-Off, was established as a result of that, running through the arid Big Horn Basin and on towards the Yellowstone River where it intersected the Bozeman Trail
It is/was also known as the Bridger Immigrant Road and was an overland route that linked it to the gold fields.
Although safer, it was a much tougher route because there was not enough grass to feed oxen and horses, although wood and timber were plentiful, not to mention the difficult terrain that had to be traversed.
Although being 160 km (100 mi) shorter than the Bozeman Trail, travelers soon shied away from using this trail due to the persistent raids upon them from Native Americans who were fiercely defending their hunting grounds.
This trail only lasted for one season but ended up allowing a considerable amount of pioneers and homesteaders, many of whom went on to become very prominent citizens in their communities making important contributions as well to the territorial development, to move and settle into this area.
Jim Bridger became renowned for his contribution to the development of this trail and furthering the expansion of the American West and due to his vast knowledge of the area, as another of the most renowned explorers and guides in American History.
He arrived in Montana in 1822 as a member of a Rocky Mountain Fur Company brigade.
A keen observer and natural geographer, he garnered quite a few years amongst Native Americans and later on became a very invaluable guide and scout for wagon trains and federal troops, right after the Oregon Trail was opened up.
He and another man by the name of John Colter were the first to be honored for first discoveries in what was then known as the Yellowstone Park country.
In the 1890’s the route that Bridger’s Trail established, became the trunk line for a fast-growing wagon-freighting/transportation network.
This was instrumental in supporting the emerging communities by giving the rural communities access to the larger economic markets and activities of the day in nearby Billings, MT which was the railhead of the time.

Okay, enough history for now, ………. so back to motorcycling …………..

So I found myself on this road and in this town getting a first hand feel for what it must have been like when there was next to nothing around here.
But today, I could still smell the air and the ground, feel the weather and take in some of the views that all these pioneers did way back then.
It was my little slice of the experience and I could better appreciate my visit to this area in passing through.
So on I went passing by some horse and cattle ranches that naturally grabbed my attention and maintained a good traveling pace through the now widening expanse of Wyoming onward to Montana.
Nothing very special of note along the way here.
Flat terrain, open grassland with few hills and great riding weather conditions.
I took a rehydration/snack break around 10:00 a.m. in anticipation of the long ride ahead of me.
It wasn’t until about 5:15 p.m. local time that I began to approach the mountains near Missoula, MT from where I would be turning north for the last leg of my journey for the day.
I was excited.
I continued to ply the interstate.
It was late afternoon as I approached Ravenna, MT as the sun began to dip behind the mountain ranges ahead of me, creating a brilliantly lit sky with its few puffy clouds and putting me in the shadow of the mountains, creating a nice opportunity for some lovely landscape photography scenes - which I took advantage of.

The drudgery of the Interstate highway is not for everyone.
Especially if you ride a machine that does not have some serious “uumph”!
But it is very rewarding and efficient when you have not much but miles to “knock down”.
This afternoon, I needed its efficiency.
Montana is a state that boasts wide open spaces.
I can attest to that!
The late afternoon/early evening spectrum of the sun’s light, emanated through the sky with streaks so vivid as it dipped below the mountains of in the distance.
My only thoughts at this time were: mother nature in some of it’s glory!
So turning north onto Montana highway 93 just beyond Missoula in the town of Wye, MT I knocked down the last 98 km (61 mi) in about an hour.
I was beginning to feel a little physically exhausted.
The moment served as recognition for me, from journeys gone by, that I would have to be more cautious and vigilant about road and travel conditions around me.
I was too close to end of the day’s journey to lapse in concentration or have a mishap.
As a result, I slowed my pace down, took a deep breath and refocused my attention as needed.
I knew I was unwinding from the tension of excitement in anticipation of my arrival here.
As I navigated my way towards and approached Rocky’s residence, I made him out, sitting at the junction to his driveway off main street in Polson, MT.
Polson, MT is the town situated at the southernmost tip of the Flathead Lake with a population of just over 5500 residents.
Situated in the Flathead Native American Reservation here in the NW corner of Montana, the lake stretches for close to 48 km (30 mi) north to south, and about 26 km (16 mi) at its widest point.
It is natural lake, fed solely by glaciers and said to be one of the cleanest lakes in the populated world for its size and type ….. and my buddy happened to live right on it’s shore.
Simply beautiful! Is what I can say.
He also was anxiously awaiting my arrival.
It was our first meeting in what should have been 6 years ago.
Finally!
We made it become a reality.
It was right at 7:00 p.m. as I pulled in.
Having maintained communication over the past 6 years, our friendship “hit it” right off the bat despite the fact that we had never met till now, making us both feel that our friendship had already existed for a long time yet.
It was a good feeling.
My mind immediately cast back to a lot of my acquaintances and friendships made throughout my journeys and travels along the way and across the country.
I felt not only lucky, but blessed and enriched to have had and be having these wonderful and positive experiences and opportunities in life.
Good friends are like gems - well worth keeping when you find them!
With most establishments in Polson already closed for the day it was quite a challenge looking for a quick take-out dinner. (A small locale it is)
We found a Thai restaurant/take out service that accommodated our late search for dinner.
It came as a pleasant surprise and made for an exotic, nutritious dinner to at the end a good day of travel.
Seated at his home at his dinner table, we hovered over his Atlas. Our conversation hinged on the riding plans and route for the next day which we planned to start out no later than 7:00 a.m. the next morning.
Equally as excited as I was, Rocky had already decided to join me on this leg of my journey/quest.
So we would ride together from Montana through Idaho, Oregon, Washington State and back.
After all, this area was his neck of the woods and he knew a lot of the great riding roads to ply in order to satisfy my wish for mountains and twisties.
A quick shower and straight to bed put an end to the day.
I was excited to be here.
I was happy to have eventually met Rocky after all these years.
I was excited to be this much closer to the Pacific Northwest area of the country..
I was anticipating garnering the last 4 of 5 of states of my quest to visit all the 48 contiguous states of the lower USA.
Leaving this area in a couple of days’ time would launch me towards North Dakota, the last of “my” 48 to be visited in this leg of my motorcycling dreams and wishes.
Needless to mention, I was very excited.

Next - Day 7