Day 14 Harlowton, Montana to Franktown, Colorado and a visit with the family

I woke up this morning at 3:30 am to get ready so I could get to my parent's house at a reasonable time.  I have the bike loaded and was on the road by 4:00 am.  It was extremely dark out.  One thing that I do not like to do is ride on a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere in the dark.  The reason why is this is when animals are active.  Animals are hard to see in the dark and are quite unpredictable.  I took it slow, but was really on edge.  There was one point when I flipped my brights on and could see multiple sets of eye reflections in the distance.  I do not know what they were, but I was very cautious.

I have really been looking forward to visiting with my family.  I do not get to see them very often since we live in Oklahoma.

Here's how dark it was on the road outside of Harlowton, MT:

I took this photo to my left, it was pitch black.

 It wound up being a wonderful morning in Montana.  I was near Billings as the sun rose.  The sunrise was stunning.  I took multiple photos.

I have read about what many other riders have referred to as "The great awakening", but have never heard anyone describe what it feels like.  I think I ran into that moment today.  As I reflected back on my trip, I remembered the good and bad times, then realized all my memories thus far were good.  I really have enjoyed this trip and want to do more, explore more.  There is so much out there to see and do.  Riding a motorcycle while doing it adds a whole new dimension to the trip.  It's all about living in the moment for the moment.  You see and experience so much more; smells, sights, and sounds.  This was an awesome experience that I will never forget.  I have already started thinking about other places to travel to.

While I was riding north of Cheyenne, Wyoming I ran into some of the strongest head winds I have ever ridden in.  I was running TWO (throttle wide open) and was only able to maintain speeds of 55-65 MPH.  The speed limit on this stretch is 75 which I can normally hold with no problem.

I made it to my parent's home at about 4:15 PM mountain time.  My younger sister and her significant other came down to visit as well.  It was nice to visit with them.

My younger sister, Rachel, and her significant other, Mark.

My nephew was also there.  He has grown quite a bit and is now almost as tall as me.

My nephew.

My father came home from work and we had a barbecued chicken dinner.  I was able to tell my mother and father all about my journey, it was quite the enjoyable time.  I miss seeing them and wish I could visit with them more often.

My parents.

Tomorrow is the last leg of the journey.  Only about 700 more miles to home.  I plan to leave my parent's house very early in the morning so I can make it back home no later than 4 pm CST.  I can't wait to see the kids and Devon again.