Nation of Patriots

This was our second year participating in this event. Nation of Patriots is a fund raiser for wounded soldiers. It starts off in Wisconsin and the American flag travels to all the states. The organizers ask Harley dealerships to participate because there are dealerships all over, this is not a HOG or Patriot Guard deal. Our friend Dale Butterfield takes charge of the flag when it reaches Billings. Our group then takes the flag to Cody WY and then on to Jackson WY where we pass it on.

Friday after work we left for Billings to spend the night at the Butterfields. Our room was ready. Kitty made her homemade tacos which were very delicious. We spent the night because Dale wanted to leave Billings at 8:00 am.

Saturday morning arrived bright and early. The weather was beautiful this year, nice and sunny and warm. Last year it was raining when we left Billings. We met everyone at the Harley dealership. We had 19 people on 13 bikes ride from Billings to Cody. Once we reached Cody, found parking spaces near the Harley dealership. We took a group photo and then got the dealership to sign the banner. We took about an hour break in Cody. Now we are getting ready for the second leg to Jackson, 7 people headed back to Billings.

We now have 12 people on 7 bikes for the ride from Cody to Jackson. We ate lunch at Pahaska Teepee. It was a very delicious lunch. Gary and I split a plate of nachos. Since we were a large group we were charged a gratuity on our check. Which was really too bad because we would have left the young man a bigger tip, but since they already charged that was all he was going to get.

The ride through the park was beautiful. Didn't see many animals, just one buffalo and possibly an elk. The possible elk was laying down in some trees so all you saw was the rear end. Didn't stop to check it out either.

We arrived in Jackson around 4:00 pm, got checked into our hotel and rested up before going to dinner. We were going to eat at a Mexican restaurant but they don't take reservations so we would have had an hour wait for our large group. We ended up eating at a restaurant right next door that could get us in right away.

We asked for separate tickets when we started ordering, but our waitress said that we could get is straightened out when we paid. That was easier said than done. When we started to leave, normally you would just tell them what you had and pay from there. Not here, everyone had to come up together, tell the young girl what we had. She then made new checks for everyone, step over to the other till and pay. Again they charged us a gratuity, so we only paid what they wanted. As a group we decided not to eat there again.

The rest of the night was spent at the hotel, we just sat around outside visiting and drinking. There is a liquor store right next to our motel. Very convenient.

Sunday morning we did the passing of the flag ceremony for the guy on the next leg. It doesn't take long, then we headed for home. Instead of going through the park, we went through Idaho to West Yellowstone then to Bozeman through Gallatin Canyon. That is a very pretty ride. Ate lunch in West Yellowstone, surprisingly not charged a gratuity, so the waitress made a good haul in tips.

We made a final stop in Big Timber for a quick break and to say our goodbyes to everyone. Once we got out of the mountains it was pretty warm. We didn't get home until 7:00. Had a great time.