Travels With Connie #75 Hurry to the North Woods
Sometimes I know exactly where I am going. In that case it’s easy, pick a route and go.
More often I have an idea where I’d like to end up, and generally speaking a direction to go.
Once in a while I just follow the front wheel and see where it takes me.
This is way into eastern Montana, with the Bear Paw mountains in the far distance. Little did I know that this long day on the plains was going to be my last sunny day for a while. For the rest of the way I was at best in scattered showers.
This is sweet grass country. It was haying and road trimming time of year and for a couple hundred miles the smell of sweet grass filled my helmet. It was even better when it rained a little, the smell was even more intense. In all honesty, I rode quite a ways in a near meditative state just from the smell.
I don't think I have a single picture from North Dakota, a very long ways. I was now officially on the clock and it was moist most of the way.
Lake Superior. You know you have made it to Lake Country when you can see the west end of the lake.
This isn't my first look at the lake. That would have been in Duluth, Minnesota and I'd have taken a picture but the traffic and bridge construction really kept me from stopping. That and the rain. It was the first time the whole trip that I had felt chilled.
These pictures were taken in Ashland, Michigan. You leave Minnesotata cross a little corner of Michigan and get to Wisconsin in pretty short order. There is a pretty active port here (nothing compared to Duluth) and a really attractive harbor and city setting.
You know you are near the end of the lake when you can see land on the other side. It's the narrowest part of Lake Superior. This is truly big water.
You can tell for sure that it has rained recently. Connie's windscreen is clean and bug free. This is how Connie looks rigged for foul weather. Every thing that can be put in the saddlebags is. Those soft bags are mostly waterproof.
Next time we'll be in the woods with Sam. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse
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You are very happy with Kawasaki motorcycle?
I am very happy with my Connie. I have 80,000 miles (130,000km) and the only problem was a clutch slave cylinder at about 50,000 miles (80,000 km). It's fast and smooth and always ready to go.
My first thought when looking at the photos was "omg it's so flat!" But I lived outside Chicago for a while, and remember the prairies. I was usually trying to get west as fast as possible. ;) On my one motorcycle trip to Sturgis, it rained hard part of the way, and I only had leather. Wet ride, I tell you, and no helmet. Silly invincible teenager. LOL!
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
I made several high speed trips the other way. From the west to Chi town. One time was a trip to buy genuine jelly bellies. They weren't yet available west of Chicago :) It is flat. I was really grateful to be so far north this trip. And I found stuff to look at in the flat.
Sturgis is in one of the most beautiful and endearing parts of the US for me. The Black Hills. I just love it there but clear out by the middle of July because there are so many slow and noisy Harley's on the roads. Many with inexperienced riders that just compound the problem.
Equipment is part of the ride. I may look like a rolling goodwill store, but every piece is tested and works.
Awesome pictures. I haven't been to that part of the state since I was a little kid. My parents wanted to do the Lake Superior circle tour, so we drove all the way around camping here and there with our small travel trailer. It was a good time!
I haven't done the 'circle tour', but I hear it is just awesome. I've done all the American side, for sure, but I'll get the other side soon,
One of the most pleasant 'welcome to' Rest Areas is right there. Just a pretty cool place right on the state line. Michigan did really well with it. I spent about 15 minutes standing in the light rain visiting with a guy almost my age that was taking his two week vacation on a KLR (a single cylinder dual sport legend bike).
Very cool! We do have some pretty nice welcome areas. Even the facility buildings are much niceer than others I have seen in states like Ohio. Then again we also have some rest areas that just have porta-johns sitting out too, so I guess I can't really talk :)
As i just walked through Manhattan to my office Ina. Concrete jungle its great to see why open spaces like you share with us here
Well, in all honesty, I think your views are pretty awesome too! I think a lot of the beauty is in your heart.
Ohh yes I do agree its important to see the beauty around you
But also the saying the grass is greener on the other side seems apt as well LOL
That is something that I would like to see, Lake Superior, if I remember right the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on that lake, I remember a song about that sinking.
Yep. Mr. Gordon Lightfoot, a serious Canadian ballad guy. Was enormously popular in the 60s and 70s. Today he would be considered a country singer, then he was a pop or rock guy.
I still shiver at the line "All that remains is the faces and names of the wives and sons and daughters". I've sat a Whitefish Bay looking out and trying to decide the horror of that for the crew. It boggles me.
As you know, I am not a music guy, but some songs stick in my head and that was one. Not enough to remember who sang it, but enough to remember what is was about. That would be a horrific way to go for sure.
What a great ride (except for the rain!) Love the mountains and I can imagine the smell of the freshly cut sweet grass. Makes me smile just thinking about it. I bet between the water and the mountains, it was heaven!
Even the rain wasn't bad. An annoyance at worst. It's part of riding a motorcycle. You get wet, you get dry and the road goes on.
The things that I see and the smells that I smell and the people I meet are just incredible beyond words. It is heavenly.
That first photo is such an American scene, the long endless flat horizon, the ribbon of road and the gas station.
May your travels take you to wondrous places, or at least some place fun :) Here is to hoping steemit is back.
I think it's back. First test of comment upvote for me. We will soon know.
Yep, that is mid America right there. And a Cenex station. When I was growing up our fuel supplier on the farm was a Cenex dealer. That familiar red and white logo just makes me go all squishy inside :)
It's good to be back, and glad you are here too! Thank you,
Hey @bigtom13, I'm glad you're still enjoying your raids :) wish you to have a wonderful time every time you travel with Connie :P
It's so good to see you sister! I'm still enjoying my rides and life. I hope you are out and about having fun, too.
Thank you @bigtom13 !That's good to hear!! I'm fine too,everything is ok with me; I'm not really 'having fun' right now but for sure I'm enjoying life and all things that are in it and wil come with it. :)
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Oh, those little stone benches are so cute, it looks like such a nice place to sit and enjoy the view 💚