2012 Road Trip, Day one

Saturday started the first leg of my 2000 mile journey. I drove 120 miles to meet up with 3 old pals and 3 new ones, to ride the northwest corner of Montana and the northern section of Idaho. For the remainder of the trip, we were all referred to by our nick names from flight school. Pictured above, from left to right: Digger,Captain Noah, Slide Rule, Dash, Big Timber,  Clutch and Magellan.

Our first stop took us 62 miles n.nw of Billings on U.S.12, to a small cafe in Ryegate, MT. Good burgers and a chance to have our ride meeting and settle into the beginning of our ride.

 From there we headed west on 12, through Harlowtown and picked up Kings Hill Scenic Byway   http://centralmontana.com/specialinterest/scenicbyways/kingshill/

on the way to Great Falls. 178 miles later we were just outside Great Falls,MT.

Our first nights lodging turned out to be a classic. O'Haire Motor Inn. Home of the Sip n Dip Lounge.

Yep! That's a mermaid behind the bar!   http://www.ohairemotorinn.com/?p=sip-n-dip

As far a Tiki Bars go, this one comes complete with Pat, the organ player. She has been playing at Sip n Dip for 68 years! It turned out to be 80"s night and Pat did "Thompson Twins" true justice.

400 miles down and lots more to see.