1996 — O Canada! OFMC Goes International

It was July 18 and time for the OFMC to hit the road. Being law-abiding citizens we did what was required of us. We hit the road.

With Bill, Ken, and John all psyched up for the trip, we headed for Deadwood. Blasted up I-25 into Wyoming before getting off onto the two-lane. Somewhere north of Cheyenne on I-25, Ken, who was in the lead, noticed that John and Bill weren't behind him, so he pulled over to wait. He waited a long time. Finally he turned around and headed back, soon coming upon John and Bill cruising along. It turns out John ran out on his main tank and didn't switch to reserve quickly enough. With the gas line totally dry he couldn't even get started again once he switched to reserve. He and Bill wore themselves out pushing the bike and trying to jump it before they finally succeeded. John probably hasn't allowed himself to hit reserve more than once since that day.

So we cruised on into Deadwood, where we did the usual gambling thing. Bill probably won, while Ken and John probably lost. That's the way it usually goes. Did we cruise down to visit Sturgis on our way out the next morning? Memory fails on that, but it seems likely.

Whatever the route, the next morning we headed for Montana. We ended up in Jordan, which was the site not long before this of an FBI stake-out for a group calling themselves the "Freemen." This was a big deal at the time and in all the media. The Freemen, as I recall were a bunch of survivalists and white supremacists. They were armed and seen as a threat by the government but the whole thing ended without bloodshed. So this was a big deal for the folks of Jordan. They had a financial windfall from having all these out-of-towners hanging around for weeks. Now it was just a quiet little town again.

We found a place where a woman rented out camping space in her pasture and set up our tents, ate, and went to bed. That night a huge storm blew in and it rained like hell. It also blew like crazy, so much so that it blew Bill's rain fly off his tent and he woke up to find himself getting soaked. Not Bill's favorite night of the trip.

From Jordan we cruised on to Great Falls. Didn't do any sightseeing, didn't go look at the falls. Just spent the night and left the next morning. Ken could hardly recognize the town, it had grown so much. His fond memory of the place was that he was working there on the day that Richard Nixon resigned the presidency.

Our ambition on this trip was to reach Glacier National Park. We did that after Great Falls, reaching the little town of St. Mary, where everything was full up and expensive, but we somehow found the one room in town that was open and relatively cheap. We unloaded our gear and hopped back on the bikes and cruised up the road to Canada.

We crossed the border and went on another 10 miles or so to Cardston, Alberta. Checked the place out and headed back. Stopped at the border for pictures. After dinner we sat out by the river smoking cigars and pipes.

The must-do road through Glacier is Going to the Sun road and we rode it over to West Glacier. Heading south from there we found Lake Inez and camped the night there. While standing out by the lake watching the long, gorgeous sunset we noticed there were moose in the water so we smoked cigars and watched the moose play.

Bozeman was our next stop. Nothing significant happening on this day's ride. You know, just the usual two-wheeled cruise through gorgeous country. I hate when that happens.

From Bozeman we headed south into Yellowstone. Passed through the park and headed southeast to Dubois. (Do boys? We couldn't help thinking of Michael Jackson.) From Dubois we continue heading southeast.

Made a stop in Riverton to visit a couple of Ken's friends and then rode across central Wyoming in hellacious wind. Stopped for the night in Encampment, where we got a really nice hunter's cabin for the night.

Leaving Saratoga we went southwest over a brand new asphalt highway, Wyoming 70, which runs over to Baggs. The road had been there for years, of course, but they had just paved it and it was a treat.

Heading south from Baggs we reached Craig and turned east to Steamboat Springs, where we spent the night. John and Bill rented inner tubes and floated the Yampa, while Ken amused himself wandering around town and drinking a few beers. (Of course Bill and John had a few beers, too. You just put them in a net bag and let the river keep them cold.)

Next day it was time to head home. Passing through Kremmling, we had to stop and visit John's Mom. She was living in an assisted living facility and at one point Ken needed to use the bathroom. Looking around for a light switch he pulled a chain coming out of the wall. Nope, that didn't do it. Finally found the switch outside the bathroom. Then there was a knock at the door. Seems someone had activated an emergency signal. As we were leaving the local EMTs showed up, including John's nephew Steven, who were responding to the emergency call. Ken didn't say a word until much later.

Then on to Grand Lake, up over Trail Ridge Road, down to Estes Park. And home eventually. Another year in the books.

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