Leg 3

312 Miles
Great Falls, MT to Calgary, AB

We received word that two more intrepid riders of our group were heading our way.  John and Mike left Albuquerque and rode to Moab, UT, and then spent two nights camping in Yellowstone National Park. Between the bad weather and bison incident it sounds like they had quite a time. I can't wait to hear more about that.  We made arrangements to meet in Great Falls in order to continue to Calgary as one group.  When they arrived we quickly said our "hellos" and immediately left Great Falls to head for the Canadian Border.

There are a total of six motorcycles at this point with one more joining us along the way. Who knows where.  Two Suzuki's, three BMW 1200 GS Adventures and my little BMW G650GS.  These people are definitely serious riders.  Four men and two women total so far.  There is one other female rider.  Her name is Roberta Orbach.  I nicknamed her GoRo because she just keeps going...and going...and going.  All these riders really stack up the miles.  It's a good group.  And it's nice to have another woman rider along as well. Someone needs to keep the guys in line and add some class to this group as well.

The Canadians are friendly people.  Everywhere we stopped people wanted to know where we were from and where we were going.  I must say we were an impressive group with all of our riding gear, waterproof luggage and just shear size of our group. 

After clearing Canadian Customs we headed to Lethbridge where we finally stopped and had lunch.  It was nice to take a deep breath and have some time to relax and finally be able to chat.  Then on to Calgary, our final destination of the day.  As we worked our way through stop and go rush hour traffic towards our hotel destination, there was a kid riding a bicycle along the sidewalk next to us. It seems he was racing us and trying to keep up with us.  He was doing an amazing job of jumping curbs, winding around obstacles, flying through the air and sometimes even passing us.  When it was time for him to turn off and go his separate way, he actually bounced off the curb into stopped traffic right next to us and gave us a big smile, swung his bike around and took off. I think he could have been in a circus act if he wanted to be.  He was that good.

As I rode along I recalled so many fond memories of previous trips to Canada.  Riding through each little town and remembering things we had done together brought me closer to knowing how fortunate I was to have known such a wonderful man.

Leg 2

348 Miles
Sheridan, WY to Great Falls, MT

We woke up this morning to gray skies and strong winds. I feel like I'm in Patagonia again. The wind can get so strong that it can literally blow you off the road. The clerk at the front desk told us that a semi and RV were blown over last night on the exit ramp.  That made us feel good.

After careful consideration, we decided to leave and take our chances.  We prepared to be whipped around like puppets, but a few miles down the road the wind let up and it wasn't all that bad.

One year Norm and I entered a National Parks Tour contest put on by the Iron Butt Association.  The contest consisted of visiting as many National Parks by motorcycle as we could in a year and get their stamp in our National Parks Passport book.  I don't recall the number of Parks we visited, but it was a LOT!  So, when we talked about stopping at "The Battle of the Greasy Grass" as the Indians called it, better known as Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn National Monument, it was a given. It is one of the most famous battles in American history. It was a brutal attack by the US Army's 7th Cavalry on the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes in one of the Indians last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. It was sobering.

Before

Departing Colorado for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
May 28, 2014
Leg 1
The Norm Babcock Memorial Ride

In the Beginning...

I am about to depart for Prudhoe Bay, AK.  I've named this trip "The Final Corner-The Norm Babcock Memorial Ride ".  Norm and I were able to ride to some very special and remote locations: Nordkapp (Norway), the furthest most northern point in Europe; the Cape of Good Hope (S. Africa), the southern most tip of Africa; and Ushuaia (Argentina), the southern most point in South America, but we never made it to Prudhoe Bay (aka Deadhorse, AK), the northern most point in North America.  We had always planned to do Prudhoe eventually, but he became too ill before we could.

One day it occurred to me that we had ridden to three of the four most remote corners on this Planet, but never made it to Prudhoe.  You know, not many people can say that.  So that's what I'm going to try and do...for him...for us...to complete The Final Corner of the World. This one's for you, Norm.