Minnesota? "You betcha!"

First off, a note to the governor's wife Linda. We (Micky) posted an incorrect spelling of their last name :-(
So it should be:
"The First Lady of So. Dakota,
                Linda Daugaard."
Our apologies.

On Wednesday morning, we mounted our mighty steed and made our way across the farmlands of  eastern South Dakota entering the great state of Minnesota!

We pulled into Maple Grove Minnesota and were welcomed by Paul and Karie Stewart,  their 3 children, Isaiah, Paige and Ella and exchange student "Kapow" from Thailand.

We felt right at home as the Stewart's dog Addison welcomed Micky by biting his hand!

He bribed her with table scraps and was soon  scratching her tummy!

Following dinner, Paul and Karie wasted no time putting Micky to work!

We went for a short ride around Maple Grove on Thursday finding our way to White Castle hamburgers! Kathie's first ever White Castle & Micky's first since he was 18.

Then It was off to watch Isaiah's high school  soccer team whip their opponents 2 to 1

Isaiah doing an outstanding job as goalie!

we then had happy hour appetizers at the Pittsburgh Blue Steak House. Buffalo wings, steak bites, nachos, hash brown potatoes, (which were to die for. Mixed with bacon and bleu cheese) this is one of our servers Tyrone. A very nice gentleman 

On our way home we stopped by Karie's new school. She gave us a tour of the school and her 2nd grade classroom. School starts Tuesday!

The big day finally came! We went with Paul, Karie and Ella to spend the day at the Minnesota State Fair! Unbelievable how huge this fair is. It runs half as long as our Del Mar fair with 300,000 more people attending each year. We both had our first taste of deep fried cheese curds.

Micky and Paul found 2 other sharply dressed gentleman and couldn't pass up the opportunity to have their picture taken with them.

Hard to believe, but we had never experienced a smoked turkey leg at the fair, so this was a first.  As you can see we thoroughly enjoyed this delicacy. We can't wait till next year, but who knows, maybe we will attend another state or county fair before our trip is over!

"The Farm"

We left Rapid City and made our way across South Dakota stopping in Mitchell to see Micky's cousin Roger Grogan.

We pulled into Madison South Dakota where we attended the wedding of sister Sharon's grandson Michael Magbuhat and his bride Stephanie. 

Then it was off to the Fiegen Farm, the home of our niece Kristy and her husband Brian. A wonderful time with family and the experience of farm life was fantastic! 

2 of Brian and Kristy's children, Danielle and Noah, are still living at home.

 Brian Farms a total of 2400 acres along with his brother Roger, 

 growing corn, soy beans, alfalfa, hay and raising a hundred and forty head of cattle. Both of us were able to jump in the tractor and  "help" Brian cut a sixty acre field of alfalfa!

We also had a blast riding the four wheeler through the alfalfa fields and the dirt roads surrounding the farm. 

Kathie went to breakfast for Kristy's birthday with several family and friends, including the first lady of South Dakota, the governor's wife, Linda Duggard.

A wonderful week spent with family and friends! We enjoyed the small town of Dell Rapids and the beautiful countryside of South Dakota.  We were blessed to spend time on a true American farm! 

We have a new appreciation of the hard work that it takes to bring food to our tables.

Rapid City So. Dakota 4000 Miles!

We left Great Falls and rode through more of Montana's 20 million acres of wheat fields! We then hit beautiful highway 78 South to Red Lodge. We rode through a gorgeous Canyon alongside of a creek and over one of the coolest 70 plus mile an hour sweeping curvy roads that we have ever been on. Like a rollercoaster! We arrived in Red Lodge and checked into the Yodeler Hotel and had dinner at Bogarts restaurant taking a horse drawn carriage ride back to our hotel.

then we were off to ride the Beartooth pass which led into Yellowstone. An amazing ride which climbs to 11,000 feet. Unfortunately there were fires in Idaho so the Pass and most of Yellowstone had a smoky Haze. 

But beautiful none the less.

We pulled into Cody Wyoming and stayed with Micky's cousin Gayle and her husband Ed. We went to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. What a selection of guns! 1500 on the first floor with countless others in the basement.

 Our longest ride so far, 430 miles, was  from Cody Wyoming to Mick's sister Sharon and her husband John's place near Rapid City South Dakota. The road from Gillette to Sheridan Wyoming was similar to Bryce Canyon or the Red Rocks of Sedona! 

We then pulled in to Sturgis for couple of

 t-shirts before arriving at Sharon and John's place.  We were able to spend time with Sharon's daughter Lisa and her husband Joe and their 1970 Super Bee! 

Stopped by Mt. Rushmore and saw Micky's Uncle Ray Daley's name engraved on the wall of those who had worked on the monument!

Next was the Crazy Horse Monument. A lot of work done since we saw it 20 years ago, but still a loooooong way to go!

Took a walking tour of downtown Rapid City and saw Micky's cousin "The Birthday Girl", Lois Grogan. 

Sharon and John's son in law, Joe, surprised us with a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label!

Upwards of $200+ per bottle! 

Thank you Joe!

Glacier National Park, 3000 miles!

We left the Canadian border and turned East in hopes of riding the Cascade highway. We came to a road closure as the highway was covered in a mudslide and blocked for several days. We detoured on highway 2 East along the Sonomish and Wenatchee rivers then going over to Stevens Pass. Absolutely spectacular views. We were very thankful for the detour! We stayed in Wenatchee one evening

then continued East and stayed at the "Sweet Magnolia" bed and breakfast in Sandpoint Idaho

where we were welcomed by the owners Cal and Jill Ogle. A lovely couple and Cal is an excellent cook!

We were blessed to spend time with a wonderful Christian couple Glenn and Kristen from Boise Idaho and also hours of conversation with Alexa and her mom Rita.

From there we rode along Lake Pend Oreille and made our way to the home of our good friends Mike and Kimberly Houlihan in Huson Montana.

A beautiful view from the backyard with pigs out for a little walk!

Then north to Polson Montana and the Flathead Lake to see Micky's cousin Ron Grogan and his wife Diane. Another amazing backyard view!

We left Polson on Thursday morning and rode along side the Flathead Lake and into Glacier National Park! God really shows off his stuff at Glacier! We rode the Going to the Sun Highway, one of the top 10 rides in the country!

While parked in a look out point, we met fellow motor riders   Ken and Diane from San Diego. Ken said he graduated from Fallbrook High and knows Micky's cousin Georgie! 

A small world indeed!

We ended up stopping for the night in Great Falls Montana in a nice hotel alongside the river.

Tomorrow we are off to the Bear Tooth Pass!

Canadian border!

We left Sisters Oregon and rode highway 20 to Keizer Oregon. A beautiful winding tree lined highway. We stopped at a roadside pull out for a break and enjoyed God's handi work! Spent a day with our dear friends Larry and Annie Grine, kayaking,  mountain bike riding and enjoying their company.

Then off to Astoria Oregon for a night in a B&B and a visit to the Goonie House and the school  in Kindergarten Cop. 

Following Astoria, we crossed the Columbia river into Washington and rode the coast up to Aberdeen and then to Seattle staying with Evan and Emily Cofer and 4 m old Simon. Had a great time exploring Seattle, riding "The Duck", (thanks for the tip Bill and Pat Rhodes) the monorail and eating our way through Pike Plaza!

Continuing north taking the ferry to Whidbey island, stoppig at Deception Pass and finally making it to the Canadian border at two weeks and 2050 miles!