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| Main Street Sturgis |
With out tents pitched and bodies fresh showered we ventured into town for the evening meal. The local Pizza Hut served us well delivering a fine Italian cuisine. Our bellies full and our spirits high we headed back to our campsite to get some sleep for tomorrow the riding began! The fresh, rain washed air made it easy to fall asleep and the fact that we had been riding all day didn't have a negative effect either. Sunday morning we awoke to a clear sky and made our way back into town for a light breakfast then out on the road. We headed west on 160 and began our scenic and fun filled ride. Highway 160 is a good road and I was having a blast, then we turned onto 149 and ventured into the Black River Canyon. This was a fantastic ride. We stopped several times along this route and took pictures and just took in the sights. We even saw a hawk hunting and then taking it's prey back to its nest.
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| Black River Canyon |
The river was far below and it seemed as though we just kept climbing. Now I had been been out west before but the only sights I got to see were from the seat of a Freightliner on the interstate, that was nice but this was GLORIOUS!!. Great riding, great weather and great scenery, This would be a vacation I would never forget. We made our way through Black River Canyon, on into Gunnison and on down to Ouray, where we set up our tents for the night. Ouray is a very bike friendly town and we had a fine meal there that evening. Our campsite was very quiet and the view was phenomenal.
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| The view from my tent, Ouray, Colorado |
Our adventure on Monday would take us across the Million Dollar Highway, on into Durango and Silverton Colorado. Must be something about the fresh mountain air because sleep was easy and waking even easier! Monday morning we got up and began our day. The first thing we could see when we opened our tents was this huge rock.
It was a very majestic rock, but only a preface of the things we would see that day. We loaded our bikes and headed out. The ride that day took us past some old iron mining camps and some great mountain scenes. We rode next to clear mountain streams and through cool mountain forests. We rode into Silverton, Colorado.
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| Silverton, Colorado |
Silverton is a rustic town that looks like it was in many western movies. With the exception of the cars on the street this town looked like a place to ride into, hitch up your horse and go into the saloon for something cold to drink. Back on the road we went on into Durango. We stopped to eat at a fast food restaurant that was at the boarding station for the Durango-Silverton railroad.
This is an old steam locomotive that runs into the mountains from Durango to the little town of Silverton. Someday I will go back out there and ride that train but it just wasn't in the plans this trip. We trekked onward eventually heading north and into more beautiful mountain terrain. We rode through Telluride, past Lake City into Grand Junction on up to Rangely and into Dinosaur, Colorado. From Dinosaur we ventured on into Utah to the town of Vernal where we set up our tents for the night.Tuesday morning we headed north out of Utah into Wyoming. We found some fantastic roads as we entered Wyoming. Steep hills with slow winding curves. This seemed to be the venue for this area. I was more used to the quick and sharp curves of the Smoky Mountains but fell in love with the nice sweepers out here. Today would be the last day I would have a riding companion. I had plans to go into Montana and my friend was heading into Yellowstone. We got to Jackson Wyoming and went into an information center.
I had considered going to Yellowstone with my friend but changed my mind when I went into the information center. To understand this next part you have to know a little about me. I am kind of stubborn and have this thing about paying for something twice. Even in the years I drove a truck over the road I would not take the turnpike simply because I felt it was a federal highway paid for with federal tax money and I just could not justify paying to drive on a road that, in my mind I had already paid for. The same principle came into play here. We went inside and while looking around I saw a sign that read "Motorcycles $12.50". I inquired as to what the twelve fifty was for, since there was a federal highway that I intended to ride in and a federal highway I was going to ride out on so why did I have to pay for them twice. I was simply told that if I wanted to go to Yellowstone I would have to pay. My friend even offered to pay but like I said, to me it was a matter of principle. We parted there in Jackson. He went on to Yellowstone, I headed west across Levita Pass in Idaho and headed north. My venture into Idaho allowed me to stumble across a place that had a lot of old aircraft. it was out in the middle of nowhere and I have no idea what it was or why it was there but sometime the most interesting things are simply stumbled upon while just riding.
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| Airplanes in the middle of nowhere |
I rode on into West Yellowstone, Montana where I decided to set up my tent.I found a great campground with grass as soft and green as any golf course.
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| My bike and living quarters, West Yellowstone, MT |
The people were very friendly and since I still had lots of daylight I decided to clean my bike then go and have a good sit down steak dinner and maybe even a beer or two. I went back to my campsite (just for the record, I walked to the steak house where I did have a few beers then I walked back to the campsite, I would never ride after drinking even 1 beer). I got up Wednesday morning refreshed and ready to ride. Today I was going to head on north into Montana, hit the Chief Joseph Highway, Beartooth Pass and then ride across northern Wyoming on highway 14a to Sheridan, where I would stay the night. I thought that as long as I was this close to Yellowstone Park I would see if they were really going to charge me to enter on a federal highway. I rode to the entrance and approached the gate. I asked the ranger if they were really going to charge me to ride on this highway and, as I figured, I was told if I went into the park I would have to pay. I asked the ranger if I could ride past the dividers and make a u-turn and leave. I was given permission to do so. I can say that I have been into Yellowstone.
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| I can say I have been to Yellowstone! |
I didn't stay but I have been there. My ride on up to I-90 was fairly uneventful but I knew that the roads I was headed for would be worth the effort. I was not wrong! Chief Joseph proved to be both beautiful as well as challenging. Now I went on to Beartooth Pass. Beartooth had just recently been re-opened after a massive rock slide had it blocked for a while. Remember, this is August and the temperatures had been mostly upper 80's and then some. I approached the Montana side of Beartooth with eager anticipation. I had seen pictures and heard about this road so say that I was a little intimidated would be a falsehood. I was a lot intimidated!
