Veterans Fun Run

Saturday Gary and I rode in the Veterans Fun Run.  It was a poker run that took us over the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highways.  Our friends the Butterfields went on the ride also.  This one cost us $20, that got us a poker hand, a patch and meals.  Gary got the poker hand and patch I just got the meal.    Our stops on this run was the dealership in Red Lodge, Top of the World Store, Painters Outpost, Eidelwiess and then back at the Billings dealership. Last year we didn't ride the Beartooth and now we have gone over it twice within two weeks.

The run started at 10:00 am and there were 5 bikes and 8 people.  One woman rode with us as she is just new to Billings and didn't know where she was going, she did not ride a Harley she had a Yamaha.

We had great weather on the route, it was not as cold on top of the Beartooth as it was a couple weeks ago. 

We stopped at the Vista Point rest area for a bathroom break and that is where I fed the squirrels.  When we got there a man was sitting on the curb feeding the squirrel in his lap.  Those squirrels and chipmunks are not afraid of people.  A woman was feeding them some peanuts and when she had to go she just handed me the bag of nuts so I got to feed the little guys.

There were two squirrels by me fighting on who was getting the nuts.  I was afraid that they would bite, but no problem.  They just take the peanut with their tiny paws and stuff them in their cheeks.  Then they would run off and come back with empty cheeks.  I ran out of peanuts and one tried to jump up my leg, good thing I had my leather chaps on.  It was fun and very cute.  My friend Kitty had some granola in her hand but all the squirrels did was sniff it and then run off.

We ate lunch at Painter's Outpost which is on the Chief Joseph Highway.  Very good food and not pricey at all.  That is when we heard that a motorcyclist had hit a deer just down the road.  Pretty soon we heard the helicopter landing nearby.  We didn't see the accident but saw the aftermath.  From our vantage point we didn't see a wrecked bike or a deer on the side of the road.  By the time we got to the gorge, the ambulance was behind us with lights and sirens.  I heard it and told Gary to pull over.  Good thing we have cb's to talk to each other.

We managed to pull over as best we could, then continued on the road.  There was a second ambulance without lights and sirens right behind us.  Not sure if that was a good sign or not.  Gary had put a cd in to listen on the road and the one song on it was "Wipeout".  Not a good song for motorcyclists.

Eidelweiss was our next stop and Gary was so glad.  We have never been inside this little bar.  The woman who bought it just took ownership about two weeks ago and it looks like a nice little bar.  Will have to stop there more often, but we always by pass it on the way to Meeteetse.  By this time Gary has a good hand going, he had a pair of queens.

It was also very hot once we got off the mountain.  We turned off at Belfry to head back to Red Lodge as we all wanted to miss the road construction by Bridger.  Head that three bikes went down in that construction last week.  We got to Billings around 5:00.  The dealership had free beer for us which was very tasty after a hot ride.  Gary got his 3rd queen.  He is in the running for best hand.

Since this poker run had an after party at the Legion, we spent the night with our friends the Butterfields.  We went to the house to freshen up before the party.  We got there a bit late and were the last ones to eat.  I was not impressed with the food we paid for.  I was the last one in line and all that was left was a hot dog.  It was so small that it didn't even cover the bun.  Gary got the last dried up burger.  We also had what was supposed to be potato salad.  It was just boiled potatoes cut up with some bits of celery.  The coleslaw was just chopped cabbage, no slaw dressing at all.  I couldn't eat my snack, it was not good at all.  Told Gary that we would have been better off grabbing some fast food and bringing it with us.  I have decided that if we do this run next year, I'm not paying for the food.

Gary did win for best hand and he got a $150 gift card for the Harley dealership.  Not sure what he is going to get, but I will certainly help him.  I still have my $50 coupon that I got for completing the rider safety course.

We had a good time at the party with our friends, each of us ended up buying a round.  That was sure alot of beer to drink, good thing we all went to eat something before going home.  I was starving.  We stayed up until well after 1:00am.  Been a year since we stayed up this late.