This was to be a longer trip at about 1200 miles vs. the previous two in 2015 (800) and 2017 (700 miles). It would start, at least, in my more favored third of the country, namely the West. Unfortunately, it did not pan out quite the way I hoped.
This was to be the first trip out west where I would drive all the way from home to the starting point. If I made it back to Wisconsin, the plan would be to figure out how to return to Billings, MT where my car was – probably fly from Madison. (My 2017 trip cured me of long distance bus ordeals.)
By driving out, I could schedule some time on the way to Billings for some sightseeing at places that I had never visited . Accordingly, after stopping and spending a night at my friend Lee’s in Madison WI, my planned endpoint, I made a beeline across I-90 through WI, MN and SD, stopping and camping in the Badlands of South Dakota. From there, I headed due north from near Rapid City to I-94 and planned to spend two days at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Unfortunately, the weather turned for the worse and it rained hard for about 24 hours at the park, so I decided to forego this area for the time being and then headed back down to Wyoming and Devil’s Tower National Monument. The weather cleared and I camped there getting a few decent pictures. Then on to Montana, stopping briefly at Custer Battlefield at Little Big Horn National Monument before continuing the short distance to Billings.
I stayed at the Best Western Clocktower Inn in downtown Billings. The service was exceptionally good and after September 1, (beginning of their slow season) they will allow longer term storage of the car for half the price of the airport. And, their facility is constructed in such a way as to allow under cover parking which could be very important if any bad hail storms occur.
The first day out was quite easy; a 50 mile ride to Hardin, MT with only one moderate climb in the first 20 miles. A good warm-up, as the next day would be a 70 mile trek thru Crow Indian reservation with very little in between Harding and Ranchester, WY. In Hardin, at night in particular, I started having an issue with difficult urination. During the day, probably aided by all the physical activity, things were ok but not great, and needing to stop quite often along the road. The first +/-52 miles were easy with a good tailwind. The grade most all day was an almost imperceptible uphill, following the route and course of a railroad and a meandering, slow-flowing stream. I stopped at a lonely biker bar (‘real biker’ – think motorized – bar) to take a break. From there to Ranchester was a great ride downhill. All day that very slight uphill translated into a welcome 600 foot drop into Ranchester. That night the urination issue was worse and I started thinking about whether I may be smart to consider curtailing this adventure to have this issue checked-out. Sheridan, WY was only another 15-20 miles down the road the next morning, but beyond that point the ‘towns’ were too small for any significant services.
The next morning I rode to Sheridan and stopped in center city to contemplate what to do. With access to little or no medical services for the next couple days, I reluctantly decided I had better call a halt to this exercise. Sheridan has a very small airport, but fortunately they have a limited car rental there and that was the easiest thing to do in order to get back to Billings. So, I loaded everything into the rental car and drove back to Billings that day. Extremely disappointed, I planned to head home the next morning.
That night in Billings the issue was worse than ever and at 1:00 a.m. I decided I better get some medical attention, so I loaded up the car with all my personal items and drove a mile or so to the Billings Clinic (a full-fledged hospital). Well, three hours later I left with a catheter and a bag strapped to my leg! Back to the motel for 2 or 3 hours sleep and then I left early that morning for home – I drove 2000 miles with a catheter. The positive side of all this was that I was able to pass up all the regular rest stops and made great time!
The winter of ’18 –’19 was devoted to having the old-man prostate issue surgically corrected. The green light is on for planning another try in 2019.