Edmonton, Alberta, through Leduc, Alberta to Shelby, Montana………Lots of flat land with small towns and grain elevators. It was wheat growing country in the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. It was a blustery day blowing me around on my motorcycle. The wind was strong enough to blow me out of one lane into another. I had to be careful not to get blown into oncoming traffic. As I drove through the wheat fields you could see oil derricks and smell the crude oil. It was sunny when I got up and it stayed sunny all day. You have no idea how great it was to feel the warmth of the sun after days of cold and rain. I also forgot to say how nice it was to be able to see out of my visor with no fog and to be able to breathe inside my helmet and not fog up the visor. I was running cross winds and head winds which maxed out the power out on my KLR 650. I could barely pass a slow truck or car. Flags were flying straight out and the grass in the ditches was almost laying flat on the ground. I was passing a semi-truck and was stopped by wind coming around the nose or front of the truck. He finally let off the gas so I could break through the wall of wind he was pushing. I made it through the border ok. I was only asked to take off my helmet so they could see if I was the person in the passport. It took me longer to put my passport back in my shirt than it did to get thru customs and immigration. While I was stashing my passport away several women customs and immigration officers were going through a late model Corvette. They were opening all the bags and compartments looking for contraband. I left before they finished. I stopped in Sweet Grass to exchange my Canadian currency for U.S. dollars at the duty free store and purchased a large chocolate bar. It cost me $6.25. I stashed it in my bags and ate it later. I took several pictures by the Montana sign and then departed for Shelby. I arrived about 7:00 p.m. I got myself something to eat, gassed up and found a hotel for $45 a night. It was as good or better than some of the $100/$200 dollar hotels I paid for on the Dalton Highway in Alaska. I put on a lot of miles/kilometers today and I really needed to adjust my chain and oil it. It was the first thing I attended to after paying for my room. I was in the process of adjusting my chain when a police officer pulled into the hotel with his police cruiser. I had to move my motorcycle because I was directly in front of his parking spot. Come to find out he also owned a red KLR 650 just like mine. We talked about changes I made to mine, small things he could change to improve his bike and about my experiences as I traveled around the world. He helped me put my bike on the center stand so I could spin the rear wheel while I oiled it and then left. I finished with my bike, put it in a parking spot, covered it and spent the rest of the night in my room.
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