Hitting the road at 7:15 this morning, the weather was clear and cool but humid. It promised to be a great day for a ride. As we pulled onto the road to leave there was a train hauling the pedestals for wind generators. The first video below is what we saw. Some of the sections are so big they require special rail cars.
Although we didn't do much exciting stuff today, the ride was enjoyable. The scenery changed from flat to rolling pastures to hilly with enormous gouges out of the land. I've included several videos so you can get an idea of the enormity of the land out this direction.
Our first stop was for gas about 110 miles from Shelby. The building was closed (today was Sunday) but the pumps were working so we took advantage and fueled up. Of course the pumps took our credit cards.
We rode past another wind farm. The crosswinds were sometimes gusting to 30mph. Another butt
break and gas at Ray's. We were running slower than usual and the Road Glide got 48 mpg. Pretty good considering I've been getting 38-40 usually.
Somewhere before we reached Billings, MT there was a huge electrical distribution facility. Giant electric lines heading off in all directions and we couldn't see any power generating facilities. Must be from the windmills.
We stopped for lunch just outside Billings. Another 1/2 hour put us into Hardin at around 1:30pm. The temperature in Billings at 3:00pm was 93 degrees.
Copyright (C) 2004-2013, Larry Manka. all rights reserved.
