Day 6

With a great night of sleep, a little food, and some coffee I was back on the road. I noticed yesterday that one of my passing lamps was not working, so I headed for Great Falls to get that fixed. It was a chilly morning, but a dry one so I was happy. After about an hour on the road I pulled up to Big Sky HD in Great Falls. I purchased a bulb, and dug my tool bag out of the saddle bag. A few minutes later that was done, and I was back on the road. 

I was under the impression that it would be more of the same scenery from this morning, but the landscape really changes a lot. The ride to Helena was awesome, love the rugged hills. It was way nicer looking than I had pictured in my mind. Got a short little shower coming into Helena, and as I ate lunch it came down a little more. Had an interesting chat with a couple older gentlemen as I ate, always cool to hear from some locals. 

Shortly after leaving Helena on highway 287 the clouds started breaking up, giving way to the sun. It felt great to have the sun beating down, almost the perfect temperature for me. I pulled over at a rest stop for a much needed visit to a restroom. Exchanged a few pleasantries with a fellow beard grower (his put mine to shame, really made mine feel like a feeble attempt). His little boy, probably around 5 or 6 years old, bravely marched up to me and gave me an emphatic high five. That's a future bearded biker right there, and that exchange put a smile on my face!

The last 30 miles were gorgeous once again, a sign of things to come in the next few days. Livingston is about an hour north of Yellowstone, and I'm just glad I have a room this close. The plan is to make this my base for the next few days, although I can already tell I should have allowed even more time here. 

After checking into the room, I decided to take a little drive down highway 89, the road I will take in the morning. It was amazing to finally have a perfect summer evening to just go for a ride. I turned around at the south junction with highway 540, and took that back to Livingston. Grabbed a sub for supper, and then headed to my room. There were heavy winds for much of the day, and I actually feel like I got a good workout from the ride today. It will feel good to have a hot shower, do my daily Bible reading, and then hit the sack early. I would like to get up early tomorrow, to maximize the sightseeing time. Here's a few pictures from today. 

About 20 minutes south of Choteau

A little south of Great Falls on I-15

Scenic overlook just south of Tower Rock State Park

Took this picture as proof that the sun does exist!

Rest stop on highway 89, heading south to Yellowstone

Bike is looking pretty nasty after all the rain, need to wash it one of these days

So relaxing beside this river, could have slept in the grass

Heading back to Livingston

Tomorrow should be a very full day, hoping to check the north loop of Yellowstone and Beartooth Pass off the bucket list. Can't wait to wake up in the morning! Goodnight all:)