The "Adventure" Begins...............

[twr1776]

I am now in Dubois WY approx 160 miles from Yellowstone. Yesterdays travel day was not very fun. Approx 435 miles of a combination of slab and US highways. I have not had any rain to speak of since the trip from Dallas/Fort Worth to Carlsbad. When it rained Thursday night I figured my "luck" was going to run out. Yesterday started off very nice, CO-34 from the park to Loveland was a twisty canyon road with the Big Thompson river running next to it. Once I got on I-25 north I noticed some deep blue clouds with the occasional lightning strike off to my left. I continued on through sun and under some angry looking clouds until west of Laramie when it started to rain. I was able to pull off and get my rain suit on and kept going. It rained for approx an hour and I was able to punch through and a rest area was maybe 5 miles after that. For the trip Brian gave me his old I-phone waterproof case so I stopped and put my phone back on the handlebars. I did not want to anger the "rain gods" and just opened up my suit for ventilation. I made it to Rawlings and stopped for gas and since it looked decent put the top away. The stretch of US-287 was one of the most desolate highways I have been on yet in particular where it runs east to west and I took another "wind beating" on that stretch of road. Where it turned north I put my suit top back on since I had been running under the angry clouds for the last hour and not gotten wet but was getting cold. It started to rain once I got to Landers and continued off and on until I got here. I picked up the first Dubois sign at 66 miles out and the last hour and change was pretty tough. Fortunately Brian has "shamed" me into putting heated grips on and all my bikes and I came into town with them full blast but my hands were still cold. The bank said it was 61 degrees when I got here and with the wind chill..........

Not a cloud in the sky today and not many miles to go. The KOA I am staying at has a hot tub and I intend on taking a dip this evening once I get there so all is not totally bad.

 

[twr1776]

Doing laundry here at the scenic KOA. Tonight must be laundry night, all the machines are in use. They have the high efficiency machines and fortunately a lady was kind enough to show me how to put the soap in. I slept in yesterday and had a nice easy ride in. I did get rained on a couple of times but with not many miles it was no big deal. I took 287 and after about 40 miles I came around a curve and saw the Grand Tetons off to my left. They are correctly named IMHO. I did not know it but you have to go through the Grand Teton park on the way to Yellowstone. I stopped at the Teton Visitor center on the way for the t-shirt and to ask about the "don't miss" parts of the park. I stopped for a few photo ops on the way and headed to Yellowstone and set up the tent for the evening. Not sure how cold it was last night but there was a heavy dew this morning and I put my jacket liner on when I got up this morning. Today I did the "loop" in Yellowstone and saw "Old Faithful" and did 170 miles through the park. This park is huge and Butler Maps has one of the stretches as highest rated and I was able to round my tires off again. I made a bunch of stops and the geysers here are pretty wild, they are steaming and some have bubbling water. Some are regular water and some are sulphur springs and you can smell them before you see them. I also stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs. Yellowstone seems to be a combination of everything I have seen so far on the trip, it seems every place you look has another outstanding view. Today I saw buffalo, one very large elk with a rack that looked about 5' wide with fur on it feeding on the side of the road from about 17' away from me. I also think I saw a moose but was not sure. For some reason here everyone stops in the middle of the road whenever they see anything and people start piling out of cars creating a traffic jam so you can't pass by. Tomorrow back to Teton and here for one more day after that.

 

[bwringer]

... fortunately a lady was kind enough to show me how to put the soap in.

You sly dog, you. The old "helpless in the laundromat" game, huh? Great way to meet women...

 

[salty_monk]

You sly dog, you. The old "helpless in the laundromat" game, huh? Great way to meet women...

Note we didn't get any pictures of that...

 

[twr1776]

Yesterday started out looking rainy and I only have riding boots and hiking boots I went with the "waterproof" riding. It ended up being a good call since at breakfast it started to rain. Teton was on the "schedule" so I ended up heading that way anyway. I went through about 1 1/2 hours of steady rain on the way there and it started to look blue in that direction and I hoped it would clear up and fortunately it did. I don't normally stop for lunch but did to dry off and re-group. The rest of the day was excellent and I stopped at numerous locations for photos. Grand Teton is correctly named, the views and roads were excellent. Since they have an indoor pool and hot tub here I ended up taking a dip when I got back. Not much better IMHO than a hot tub after a day in the saddle and no there will be no pictures of that either. While I was "dipping" I spoke with a guy from Missouri who came through the Badlands on the way here and was caught by a group of buffalo crossing the road. He said he saw a "loud pipes" guy in his rear view mirror revving his motor up and one of the buffalo took that as being agressive and attacked the bike. Not sure how it turned out but he did not think it was a very smart play by the rider and I agreed. Hopefully I won't have this happen to me and I would think the best course of action is to shut the motor off, wait it out and hope they don't bump into the bike. Having now seen Buffalo in the wild now they are huge and probably comparable to hitting a brick wall with hair. Today is the last day in Yellowstone for me and the weather looks good so I will check out the Geyser areas today.

 

[steve murdoch]

Some Bison info.
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/americanbison.htm
They mate from July through Sept.
They can weigh as much as 2,000 lbs and have been clocked at 40 mph.
I think that Harley rider was lucky he only got "bumped into".

 

[twr1776]

Steve, thanks for the info. I will do my best not to annoy any buffalo I encounter.

Yesterday I was on the road and am now in Glacier and going to run the Highway to the Sun road today. 435 miles and fortunately no rain.

My last day at Yellowstone I spent checking out the geysers. All different types and they were wild. I ran into a "Geyser Guy" on Fire Lake road who is providing the park with data and he told me Yellowstone has the highest concentration of them on the planet.

I did have an eventful ride here, I took MT-89 and it was very scenic through the Lewis and Clark national forest and followed a river for quite a while with some excellent sweepers. Just before it I was going upgrade and waved at a group of four bikes in the oncoming lane. The last one gave me the slow it down sign and since it was a 70 mph zone and I was doing 65 or so I was not sure why. When I came around the next corner and there was a Black Angus cow running in the other lane at full speed towards me. Not super close and there was a pickup truck that "herded" it into a pretty good drop/ditch and that was the last I saw of it. I am hoping I don't have the title of "Hoosier Whisperer" but it seems every time I stop for gas someone try's to panhandle me. Yesterdays most notable entree' was a guy in Browning MT who claimed he had west nile virus and wanted money. I told him I was down to my last 20 bucks cash (true) and he then asked for money for a soda. I am not a doctor but thought there might be a better choice for his condition. He was working the gas station and actually tried to approach me again but realized I had turned him down. I did find out from my tenting "neighbor" that Browning is kind of dicey and in the Blackfoot Indian nation. The last stretch of 89 was very twisty and wooded on each side and I found out open range also from my neighbor. It was approx 30 miles to St Marys and I saw munching grass in the ditch no more than 10' off the road surface a total of 12 cows and 7 horses. By that time I had 400 miles in so there was no "horsing" around on that last stretch of road. Open range, wooded both sides, poor sight lines, Timmy no play on that road. They also have a gopher looking animal out here that plays do I cross or don't I cross the road in front of you. They are "skillet" size and won't make me change lane positions but i saw a three legged one yesterday. Is that "lucky"?

When I got here I got my tent spot and it was in what I would call a mudhole, essentially a 40 x 30 area with 3' tall weeds around it and when I put my tent bag down I was bitten by mosquito's a few times. I am not usually one to complain but went to the office and asked if there were any other sites available. They gave me a list and I swapped sites for one in a grassy area. The mosquitoes are thick here and so far this is the only camping location I have needed bug spray but my sister gave me some (thanks sis) that is set up for the west nile skeeters which they have out west, and fortunately this is the first time I have needed bug spray. Will attempt picture download tonight, no guarentees. :-\\\

 

[Dogma]

Maybe one of these guys?

That's a Marmot. They're pretty fearless on the hiking trails in Yellowstone. I dunno about elsewhere.

I'm envious of your trip on Highway to the Sun. I want to do that one someday. Riding through a cow pasture, not so much.

 

[twr1776]

Dale, I think we have a winner.

I spent the last two days at Glacier and will have another "travel" day tomorrow. The "Highway to the Sun" road is as advertised. It is a 52 mile long road that goes across the park in both directions. I went from East to West the first time with no stops and on the return trip stopped for photo ops. The road is two lanes only and in a number of spots right blacktopped to the edge of the rocks and pretty high up so it was "pucker" time in a few spots where the road just dropped of. On the return trip I was coming out of the visitor center and there were two bighorn sheep walking on the two lane road like no big deal. The one looked at me as I passed by in the other lane so all was good. I also took a hike at a gorge that had a 90 degree turn rapid on one end and waterfall on the other end. I checked out the one side and hiked to the waterfall. On my way down a couple of ladies said they spotted two bears off the trail. I of course did not have the recommended bear spray and caught up to a family and the Dad had spray. The old joke about bears I have heard is you don't have to outrun them but do need to outrun one of the persons in your group. Unfortunately they were a younger couple with a late teenage son so my chances were not good. Fortunately no bears were spotted so I didn't have to try out the theory. Today I went to Mini Glacier which is northeast of the St Mary's entrance and the sun road and also took a hike. Last night there was an "Alberta Clipper" that roared through the campground. It dropped the temps it seemed 20 degrees and the winds were maybe 30 - 40 mph and I had the tent rain cover come loose but was able to put it back on. The ground here is full of rocks and it is hard to drive a tent stake in but I found a larger rock and got three in all the way and one most of the way. It was pretty cold last night and I have a 25 degree "mummy" type sleeping bag that I don't usually zip up all the way but I woke up in the middle of the night and did the "full mummy". I am heading back south so hopefully it will be warmer. ray:

 

[twr1776]

Should be some new photos of Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone on first link.

The "Alberta Clipper" came back big time last night approx 1 AM with sustained 25 - 30 mph winds to 35 and up mile per hour gusts and I was hoping the tent did not blow away with me in it. I spoke with a couple of riders from Canada and they were still going to ride the highway to the sun road. No thanks, when I rode it there was very little wind and it was still was more windy on the road since the road was right on the rock face and the small amount of wind got turbulent.

I only made it to Great Falls today before deciding to stop and re-group for tomorrow. It was the first time I had broken down the tent and packed up in a heavy wind and my sleeping bag cover was a casualty of the move. I just watched it go and there was nothing I could do about it. Hopefully tomorrow the winds will die down at least somewhat, it was no fun at all riding in the wind today.

 

[twr1776]

Well Montana is one LARGE state. I was hoping the wind would die down but it didn't. From Great Falls my next stop was Billings. I re-traced Hwy 89 from Great Falls and it was still pretty windy but the stretch next to the river was low and I suspected not at windy which was true. I was on the stretch by Niehart and saw a Goldwing with a sidecar/trailer on the side of the road with an older gal next to it and a guy underneath it. I turned around and stopped to offer any assistance. They had blown a tire but had a spare already mounted and the guy was in the process of removing the rear pipe for access. I spoke with the lady and it turns out they are from Illinios and had taken the rig to Alaska before. She said it would be approx 1 1/2 hours and they should be back on the road. I continued on to White Sulpher Springs for fuel and took US-12 east. US-12 had a Motorcycle advisory posted but was very scenic and had some nice curves and rolling hills. Snow capped mountains and hilly with pine trees and the other side was the same less mountains. It was all of the reasons I ride. I was riding with my face shield up and visor down since is was above 90 degrees and maybe had one inch exposed and caught a hard bug directly in the cheekbone and the associated splatter went under my glasses. I then encountered the gravel which was six miles long. So much for the "warm and fuzzy". It was still nice though.

I continued on to Billings. This morning it was calling for rain but ended up clearing up and I went right past Little Bighorn Battlefield on my way to my current location of Devils Tower WY. I stopped for about 1/2 hour at the battlefield and even though it was in 1876 there was a somber feeling about the place and they had markers where the soldiers and Indians fell and markers on the road about the important details of the battle. I have taken lots of pictures on my travels but felt it was not appropriate to take any there.

 

[twr1776]

My last stop was at the Devil National Monument. Very cool and I am now in Hot Springs SD to spend a few days in the Badlands/Black Hills area. Off to Mt Rushmore today and I didn't realize there are so many places here to check out.

I also planned my "exit" strategy today. : I need to do oil one more time and prep for the 1000 mile trip home in the next few days. Looks like I-90 will be the slab of unhappy choice. If the weather cooperates I hope to do back to back 500 mile days to get it over with.

 

[Larry D]

Home ?!?!?

Dang. I'm going to miss keeping up with your adventure.

 

[Redman]

.
............................ I need to do oil one more time and prep for the 1000 mile trip home in the next few days. ..

oh.... no

...
............................................... Looks like I-90 will be the slab of unhappy choice..............

oh.... no

.

 

[rlloydl]

Redman,
I have been that way many times. Never did go north around the Bighorns through Billings to see the National Monument. I always enjoyed going to and from Yellowstone through Cody on Highway 14 up and over the Bighorns. A great ride!

 

[twr1776]

The roads here are outstanding. Most of them have the "sparkly" blacktop similar to the Smoky Mountains which is bad for tire life but excellent for tire grip. Here is a map the South Dakota/Badlands tourism department puts out. I have found it in every business I have been to and it is an excellent map for finding your way through the area. There is a lot more here than I had thought. I did go through Sturgis for laughs on the way here and they are setting up for the 8-4 kickoff. Lots of chrome on the roads here before the rally.

http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/home/planyourtrip/maps

Almost all of the roads are filled with curves and I am in Hot Springs so the first day I took the Wildlife road through Custer Park. There are about 4 herds of Buffalo roaming the area and before I even got to the park I saw a small herd off to my left maybe 40 feet from the road. There was an oncoming group of bikes and one of the "loud pipes save lives" guys blipped the throttle and startled the herd. Fortunately they went the other way. :clap: Still a stupid move IMHO. My next encounter was with an Illinois plate that was feeding a group of three mules in the middle of the road out the car window. I stopped approx 60 feet short and waited approx 5 minutes for them to pull off. The last mule then looked at me like I had food so I waited a couple of minutes more for him to get off the road. A few miles later I saw a big backup of cars and as I suspected there was a group of maybe 30 buffalo 4 of which were on the road surface. I was a few cars back and waited another few minutes for them to get off the road. For some reason people get out of their cars to stand and gawk. I was wishing I was in a car......needless to say I have not been on that road again. For some reason I get a bit "puckery" when I am within 20' of a 1500 - 2000 pound animal with horns. I continued on to Rushmore on Iron Mountain Road which is very twisty and goes through three one lane tunnels cut through the rock. One of the tunnels you can see the Presidents heads through. The roads here also have "pigtails" which are kind of like switchbacks but you go either under of over the road via a bridge. I think I am up to over 15 of them now. :lol: When I got here I asked the owner if he had an oil pan and if I could change oil. He said he did not have one but one of his workers did and it would be no problem. I was getting ready to lube the chain yesterday morning and a guy walking by asked if I could use a hand. Turns out he is the person the owner was referring to and he had a very nice homemade wheel stand. I brought the bike to his camper and got the chain done, changed oil, checked tire pressure, etc. He is also a rider and uncovered a BMW 1200 fully dressed boxer and he also had a BMW 1200 hot rod with traction control, rev limiter, and all the goodies that dynoed 174 hp at the rear wheel. Small world he is going to visit a friend in Valpo in a few weeks so we might have a few "beverages" together while he is in town. Since I got my servicing done I ended up going to Spearfish Canyon in the afternoon yesterday. Very nice road. Today I went on the "Needles" highway. Also very scenic but very small two lane, lots of cars, and with very bad sight lines. I did see one a-hole on a crotch rocket double yellow passing me and the car behind me and making a fool out of himself. Just another potential organ donor. Heading for my last park (Badlands) in the AM, for some reason I am starting to talk like a pirate and that means I have been here long enough. :twistedevil:

 

[cowboyup3371]

Sure sounds like you have really enjoyed yourself. Do you still plan to slab it home? A quick look at Google maps makes it look like US 18 to US 20 changing over to US 275 and then US 30 might be a more fun ride. But I only see what's on the map too.

 

[twr1776]

I am not totally sure on the route home yet. I still need to check weather etc. and normally after a rally we usually "pay the price of admission" and slab home. If the weather/wind is favorable I hope to do two long days but......... I did mail back my tent and 38 lbs. of assorted other items yesterday I won't need for the ride home to lighten up and give myself more room on the seat.

I was at Badlands today and it was a very nice park. Pretty wild rock formations.

I was also able to post more pictures on the first post. Still having issues with Google + but there are over a hundred and once I get home I will have "tech" support (AKA Brian) available. I was able to include some "Redman" approved pics though.

 

[salty_monk]

Down to your last 1,000 miles... Looks like it's been a fun trip all the way through

 

[twr1776]

I got back last night, two days of 400 plus on the slab back. (I-90) It was good to sleep in my own bed again. :tears_of_joy:

Total trip milage 12,793. Tires, chain and sprockets, myself pretty much shagged but happy. I should be able to get full pics up in the next few days. Today will consist of shopping since I tossed all the fresh food in the house before I left and probably a mid-afternoon nap.

Special props to Brian on spearheading the bike prep, I had zero issues with bike and to my boss for letting me take the time off from work.