State HOG Rally

Last Thursday through Saturday was the Montana State Hog Rally. We had signed up several months ago and even volunteered to help. Our assignment was the information table and we were scheduled to work it from 1-3:30. It was so hot on Thursday about 95 degrees outside. We rode up early so that we could check into our motel, then we still had some time so we had a coke at McDonald's.

We made our way to the Harley dealership and we were so happy to learn that we would be sitting inside with nice air conditioning. We got our registration packets and then sat at the information table. We really didn't have much to do because there were representatives of the chamber of commerce for both Billings and Cody. Those two ladies did all the informing. Our main job was to tell people that registration was around the corner and all the way to the back by the windows.

Let me go back a bit. Tuesday evening there was a meeting for all the volunteers so that we would get all the information about the packets in case there were any questions. We all got our volunteer t-shirts. Everyone got a raffle ticket and after the meeting they drew the numbers. I won a $50 gift card good for the dealerships in Billings, Red Lodge and Cody.

After our session of informing was done, I checked out the clothes to see what I could spend my money on. I've been looking for a purse that just hooks onto my belt loops. This will open up space on the bike. I decided to hold on because whatever I buy I would have to pack and we are pretty loaded as it is.

During the summer every Thursday night Billings has the outdoor concerts called "Alive After Five". They get different bands every week and a different business will sponsor it. All the rally goers were encouraged to take in this event. The concerts are all downtown and there was closed parking for the bikes. Also we had a poker walk. That was fun, the bars were all within walking distance, neither one of us won. We had met our friends and they were hungry so we ate at a really good Mexican restaurant downtown. We didn't eat because we ate before heading downtown. We all called it an early night because we were leaving early to head for Cody.

What a difference a day makes, it was pretty cold on Friday morning. It was about 50 degrees in the morning, so we put on our leathers. The route to take to Cody they had us go to Columbus, through Absarokee and into Red Lodge to go over Bear Tooth Pass. This was the day that we had our observation run. They had two routes the first by Chief Joseph Highway and the second was through Yellowstone Park. We opted to go by Chief Joseph because we didn't want to pay for just a drive through the park.

The observation run is like a scavenger hunt, we had to find the answers to all the clues on our papers. Since we had two sets of clues, I kept one so that we can do the Yellowstone Park one later on our own. It was fun and we got all our answers right. There was one trick question. It was what road is the Clark's Fork & Spoon on. It is actually on Chief Joseph Highway, but there is a dirt road that you turn on to get into the parking lot and the name of that dirt road is the official road that this establishment is on. Quite alot of people wrote the highway number down.

We had stopped in Red Lodge for a little break, had coffee and hot tea at the Red Lodge Cafe then who walks in. Our grand masters from Tae Kwon Do. What were the chances that we would bump into somebody we knew on that particular day. Also it was getting colder as we were getting higher. It was about 11 am when we started going up the mountain. The higher we went the colder and wetter it was getting. It didn't actually rain per se, but the clouds were so low and filled with moisture that we got wet. We made it to Top of The World Store and a rider had a GPS on his bike. The temperature on top was 32 degrees. As we made our way down the mountain it got warmer and less wet. We got into Cody around 3:00 pm, checked in with the rally people. We checked into our hotel and then wandered around downtown Cody.

We did stop at the Harley dealership and I used up my gift card, I found the purse that hooks onto my belt loops that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I really like it and think I'll bring it with me on my Ireland trip. It is so handy. We ate supper at Bubba's and I couldn't eat all of mine. Seemed such a waste to leave half my food on my plate. Where was Jason when I needed him. We no sooner got to our motel then a cloud burst hit. The rain came down in sheets fast and hard.

Saturday morning was nice and sunny, had some wind but it wasn't that bad. Saturday was the high stakes poker run. Our route this time was up and over the Big Horn Mountains making our way back to Billings. There were certain times when the dealers would be at the stops, so we had to plan accordingly. Our first leg was taking us up Shell Canyon. We did stop at Shell Falls so that I could get some photos. Gary did pretty good about stopping more so that I could get my photo ops. We made our way to Bear Lodge at Burgess Junction. We had a snack here and those people were not prepared to have over 300 bikers stop and eat. Needless to say service was not great and at time was aggravating. It took over 30 minutes for us to get a cup of chili and a slice of pie. My mistake was ordering my pie ala mode. When I got my pie it wasn't ala mode and when I told our little waiter he just got this blank look on his face, took my pie and I didn't see it again for another 10 minutes. I did get it ala mode this time. When Gary went up to pay, they had run out of cash and waiting for the person to come back. They knew we were coming, but just didn't realize the numbers. While I was waiting for Gary to pay, there was one of the county commissioners. He didn't recognize me at first until I talked to him. Now he has been teasing me about being a "Biker Mama".

We made our way to Billings, checked into our hotel and made our way to the Shrine Auditorium for the banquet and awards ceremony. We didn't win anything with our poker hands. Again they were having a raffle and everyone got a ticket, then we purchased 50/50 tickets. I won a t-shirt on the raffle which I gave to Gary. People from Canada won the big money. Our dinner was fabulous, we had prime rib, shrimp, green bean almondine, ceaser salad, pasta salad and an assortment of desserts. I did get the last piece of cheesecake though.

Everything was done by 8:00 pm, so we made our way downtown with some friends for a street dance. Billings was having a Western Soiree. It was fun, but everyone was tired from our long day so we left early. Besides we wanted to leave before all the drunks and traffic and it was getting dark.

All in all we had a great time. We hit every kind of weather condition but snow. Now we are getting ready to go to Cody for the weekend. We are going to be in the parade for the Patriot Guard.