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My Wife's first motorcycle trip and her "Biker Stories From the Road"

garthw

172526
I have posted this report elsewhere but thought I would re-post here as it is our first big trip on our BMWs

This ride report is taken from my wifeÔÇÖs emails she sent back to her coworkers and family as we travelled. I have filled in some blanks and added the photos but otherwise it is a pretty complete report from a gal who said she would NEVER get on a motorcycle. The report will follow but to set the story I need to give some background so bare with me for a bit.


My story is not a lot different from a lot of others. I had ridden bikes for years but as the family was being raised they slowly slipped into the background. On top of that my wife had absolutely no interest. Many times I would say ÔÇ£when the kids move out lets get motorcycles and go travelling" and the answer was always the same. "Absolutely NOT!" She would never ride on one let alone drive one.

Well I had talked her into running and she said she would never do that either so I just let it be..for now.

When the kids grew up and started living on their own I decided that I would like to get a bike again. I had always wanted a Harley Sportster but a fellow at work was selling an older Honda 450 Nighthawk so I settled for that. Little did I know how significant getting the cheap Honda was over an expensive Sportster.

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I was just looking for something to take the pinch out if the gas bill and maybe satisfy my old desire to get a bike again so picked it up. The Honda ran nice and I used it but a couple of my friends were also getting bikes and they were getting more dual sport style bikes. It became very apparent that I was not going to be able to go the places they were going on that Honda so over the winter I got myself a nice used Kawasaki KLR 650.

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It was what I thought to be the perfect bike. It could take me to work, got great gas mileage and could head out on the highway at the drop of a hat. That summer someone mentioned taking a trip out west. I thought no way we are taking those dirt bikes all the way out there so just to shut them out I said "if we go we have to go to Yellowstone". My wife and I had gone there 10 year previous and it was beautiful. To my surprise everyone agreed and after much planning we headed out west. That trip was the clincher. It was 2 weeks of fabulous, the scenery, and everything was just perfect.

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All I could think about as we travelled was ÔÇ£How can I get Denise (my wife) to do this?ÔÇØ I mean, I like my buddies, but Denise and I travel well together and I thought if I could just get her to try maybe one day we could do this.

When I arrived home I started planting the seed. I told her that travelling with the guys was fun but I really would want her to come. It was also around this time that a few of my friends wifeÔÇÖs were also either talking about getting bikes or had actually got one. She finally relented and a few weeks later I found a nice lowered KLR that would fit her perfectly.

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We spent the remainder of that fall with her riding around the local golf course parking lot learning how to drive a bike. She admitted that it was kind of cool and the next spring took a riding course and we took a few nice little trips with all of our friends. It was a fun way to spend the summer days and evenings.

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I was set to retire a year down the road and had it in my mind that my retirement gift to myself was going to be a nice new motorcycle to travel with. My wife still had to work for 5 years so she would just use her KLR until then.

I had a short list of bikes, the Suzuki VStrom, Honda Veradaro, or a BMW F800 or 650GS, One cool snowy November day while on a trip to the city I walked into the BMW dealer and sitting in the window was a new F800GS 30 year Anniversary edition. I was set to retire in one year after working 30 years full time and I knew karma was set. I was going to own that bike. They actually had 2 bikes there on sale and the other one was a nicely loaded Blue F650GS. My wife was at another function so when I went to pick her up I said "I had found the bike I wanted" lets go look at it. We had some time to kill so we drove over to take a look. As we drove over I casually mentioned that the F650 and to my surprise she just said oh ya in a positive sort of way. Long story short we walked out of that dealership with seriously less money that we walked in with but we had 2 of the greatest bikes we could afford and I was estatic.

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I immediately began secretly planning a trip. It would be basically the same trip I had taken with the guys and close to the trip we had so enjoyed many years ago. I planned it (and an alternate route in case of bad weather) out and laid the plans out to her and to my surprise she said OK "letÔÇÖs do it". "We did not buy those great bikes to sit in the garage, lets get some kilometers on them!"

We picked up the bikes in March.

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There was still snow and ice so we trailered them home

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The Trip!
I had retired just a few short weeks prior and had taken a trip around Lake Superior with my friends. A few days after returning Denise and I headed out on what could either be the end of or the start of a fantastic relationship with my wife, me and motorcycles. I will let DeniseÔÇÖs stories (with some of my input to fill gaps) take it from here.
 
Day 1 September 18, 2011

We left Dryden Ontario on September 18th 2011.

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I am driving a 2010 BMW F800GS and she is riding a 2010 BMW F650GS.

This was to be DeniseÔÇÖs first big motorcycle trip. The plan was to head west and try to get into Montana and Wyoming. It was a cloudy day when we left but rain was threatened so we suited up as we said goodbye to her mom and dad.. A cold wet shivery stop at Clearwater bay just west of Kenora had us wondering what the rest of the trip would be like. The forecast was for clear skies so all we could do is put our faith in the forecasters and keep heading on.

By the time we made it to Steinbach MB the sun had come out and we were rewarded with itÔÇÖs warmth and headed down Hwy 59 to the border. A pleasant (need sarcasm tag) crossing of the border and we continued down hwy 59 to finish the day at Warren MN. Spent the night at a nice little motel ÔÇ£The Elm CrestÔÇØ and with a plan to head a bit further south and then travel Hwy 2 due west we watched the weather forecast that night.

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There was some talk of some rain in northern Montana and western NDakota but morning found us waking up to a brilliant blue sky.

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Day 1 map
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Day 2 September 19th, 2011
We left Warren in the morning after a pleasant breakfast at MelodyÔÇÖs cafe.

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The weather was cool but the sun warm. The wind was reasonable but would increase as the day presented itself.

One of the goals of this trip was to travel secondary highways, eat and stay at non franchise mom and pop type restaurants and motels. Motels are great for bikes because you can carry your gear in and the bikes are right outside your door for peace of mind in security. We quickly developed the mantra of our trip and it was to be NO INTERSTATES and NO WALMARTS . On just our second day we were forced to eventually travel our first 25 miles of interstate (29) to get down to hwy 2.

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As we left Grand Forks ND on a 4 lane highway I felt some disappointment as the road continued to be a very flat windy high speed 4 lane. This class of road was certainly not in the plan but when it comes down to it there are few other ways to get across the plains of the mid west. A couple highlights was the geographic center of North America and Rugby, ND

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and then a 50ÔÇÖs style diner named Krolls at Minot.

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As we left Minot we could see high clouds approaching from the west. Not threatening at all but still I took note as the forecast was for some rain by tonight. We would have to make sure we stopped early enough, but as we headed west the clouds actually started to lighten.

We stopped for gas at Ray ND where a trucker said ÔÇ£You are going to get wetÔÇØ . I was thinking he was a bit out of it and we decided we would find a place to stay at Williston, ND which was about 40 minutes away. By the time we got to Williston I could see what the trucker had meant. The western sky was going black. It was find shelter and do it soon or run. We did both but I will let DeniseÔÇÖs stories from the road carry it from here.

Day 2 Map
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Day 3 Sept 20 2011

This was a tough day and took no pictures while in Williston. This area is going through a huge oil/gas boom and the city is trying to catch up. The roads have ruts 2 feet deep at the intersections from the unplanned heavy traffic. We find out there has not been an open hotel room there for a couple years. If you are travelling through this part of the US make plans for a place to stay or to travel through.

Picture this ... Williston North Dakota, the Fort MacMurray of the US west with transport trucks and trailers everywhere and we ride in at 6:30 on Monday evening. The oil boom is on and has been apparently for the last 3 years.

We try and find a room but there are none. We ride from one hotel, motel, and inn to another with the same result. There I am following, because what the hell else am I supposed to do, weaving in between all of this traffic. The trucks line every street and that many again are on the move. The Walmart parking lot is jam packed with travel trailers and trucks. People are staying on every square inch of land ... most of it muddy! To the west is a really dark stormy sky.

We have to make a decision to carry on down the highway or find a campsite. So we opt for the campsite. By now it is getting dark and the rain is settling in. We find the most inhospitable camp ground you can possibly imagine. The lady acts like she is doing us the biggest favour ever and she charges us $18 for a teeny tiny spot for our tent. The guys in the next tent are from South Carolina and they are up here looking for work because there isn't any down home. They drive everyday to the oil sites and bug for work.

Anyway, we get the tent setup and it is 8 pm so I go to find the showers. There are signs on the door that say the showers and restrooms are closed at 9 pm ... oh great do they not realize that my 50 year old bladder has night time issues! Inside the shower/restroom building there are signs that say the water for the campground will be turned off on Oct 1st. So this campground is jammed packed with travel trailers of every size .. most of them look like they are not going anywhere so only god knows what they are going to do for water come October.

Garth decides to go and check out the little store because we have not eaten since 3:30 and the store is closed ... even though the "sign" says it will be open until 9 (they must have been running around closing up the shower/restroom buildings). So now we are in our tent and it is raining. We have one little light it is 9 pm ... are we having fun now! Good thing for Atavan, ha ha! I knew that keeping that prescription would pay off. We wake up at 2 am and we both have to pee! So out we go into the rain and pee in the bush behind our tent. I ask GW if he still thinks that the morning will be clear and sun shiney ... hmmmmm. I am up again at 4 am and now the wind is just howling ... watch out Dorothy!

Finally at 7 Garth goes to see if the restrooms are open ... thank goodness they are. Off I go in the pouring rain and I try and take my time doing whatever (and coming up with a few new morning routines) just to waste time so that I don't have to go back to the tent. Alas I head back. GW has checked out the store and they don't open until 9 am. We are so hungry. We are faced with another decision ... we can stay in the tent all day (and become crippled beyond recognition) or we can face the elements and get the hell out of Williston!

But first some breakfast somewhere. So we pack up in the pouring rain and head down the highway to find a restaurant. We walk into a restaurant and "seat ourselves" but we are chased down by a Spanish speaking waitress who is trying to tell us that they don't have a cook. Apparently cook number 1 left for a doctor appointment leaving cook number 2 and she became so overwhelmed with the onslaught of customers that she walked off the job! Well I was dumbfounded and asked her if we could at least have toast and coffee. She took pity on us and we got the best damn tasting toast and coffee ever!

GW studied all the maps and we talked about possible routes and hoped and prayed that our route would take us out of this weather system that had settled in over Williston. So away we go down the highway and the wind was so strong that it was not much fun. We decide to go town by town until we hit Sydney Montana (it was only 40 some miles away) and then we decided to stay in Sydney ... get a room and let everything dry out!

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We have our sleeping gear spread out and the wind really helped out in drying out our tent over the back door railing.

Main drag through Sidney, MT
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What an adventure so far!

Day 3 and 4 map

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Day 4 September 21 2011

Ok you know how driving in the fog can be a little unnerving but because you are in Dryden and you know where you are going it really isn't that bad ... well try motorcycling through the fog which is accumulating on the face shield of your helmet like rain ... down a highway that you have not been on before ... scarey to say the least!

We left Sydney Montana drove through the fog but eventually drove into a beautiful sunny day. A big blue Montana sky that goes on forever! It was only 8 degrees which was pretty chilly but it got warmer. We drove down highway 200 for most of the day.

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Not a well travelled highway but an absolutely beautiful highway and lots of it is newly paved. We just cruised along enjoying the scenery of rolling hills, golden fields, pastures dotted with cows and horses. I didn't realize that cows actually look up to see what is going past ... they really do ... I paid attention to it today and I wondered what they must think ... maybe it is "hmmm nice bikes", haha!

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So we are cruising along and we come across these caution signs for road construction ahead ... no workers in sight but a stop light because the highway has been closed to one lane. Now we are the only ones on the highway and it is red when we get there so we stop and we wait ... Garth looks over at me and says I feel like we are in a Monty Python film ... what the hell are we waiting for we are the only ones out here! It was so funny!

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We made it to Great Falls Montana which is on highway 89 but a bit north to where we want to be but it is the only place big enough to actually have some place for us to stay. Tomorrow we head south on highway 89 which goes into the mountains.

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I just love the reaction we are getting from the old guys that we are meeting along the way. One old trucker approached GW with a big smile and says "she didn't trust your drivin' so she got one herself". One old guy loved our BMW's and wished us a great trip across the States. They always want to know where we are from and are surprised when we tell them. We met a man who worked up at Fort Mac way back when. He actually knew quite a bit about Canada.

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We had lunch at the Hilltop Cafe in Jordan Montana today and they had a big map and push pins and all of the visitors were to put the pin where their home town is ... someone from Thunder Bay visited the Hilltop Cafe. They had the best tomato soup I have ever tasted. To this day I have not found any better. The great things about these non franchised local restaurants.

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I joked about trying to find "peace and tranquility" on this road trip ... today it was very peaceful on that highway. Guess that is all for now. Stay tuned for more.

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Day 3 and 4 map

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September 22 2011

Strawberry and Rhubarb pie for breakfast ... yes sirree it was delicious and warranted after the pitiful breakfast offering from the Super 8 we stayed at Wed night in Great Falls, MT. Bikers, including GW, are all drawn to Super 8's! Riding into the sun coming into town it seemed like everyone was turning in front of us.

Thursday's riding day brought with it a bunch of new experiences. We got out of Great Falls Montana and headed back down highway 200 to find highway 89, which is the historical King's highway, and it runs from Alberta down to Flagstaff Arizona.

GW decided to take a little detour into Belt Montana, which was quite a ride down into the Belt Valley which is surrounded by the Belt Mountains and sits along the Belt River (Americans are so creative, ha ha). Anyway that is where we found the Belt Cafe and had the delicious pie and coffee.

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Highway 89 is really spectacular. We crossed over the Kings Hill pass, which was my first mountain pass experience on a motorcycle (4000 ft climb), and then rode along the Belt River. It was really nice and I have come to realize that riding at this time of year lets you escape the busy summer traffic ... there are times when we are the only ones on these highways.

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We passed huge cattle ranches along the way. The "Castle Mountain Ranch - Headquarters" has an elaborate archway over their driveway. We have seen some really amazing homes as well.

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So we pulled into White Sulfur Springs for lunch, 22 degrees and time to peal off another layer of clothing. I have become quite good at layering ... lots of clothes in the morning and down to shorts and t-shirt by end of day. We found a neat little restaurant and encountered a crusty old guy who was so interested in our journey. He told us that he has a Kimco 500 and he has ridden it up into Alberta.

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We also talked with an older man at a gas station who asked us how we were finding the grasshoppers on the road. He said that they had an awful time with the grasshoppers this summer ... he said they even tried to eat his garden hose! So off we go ... lots of cows, horses and then in the middle of nowhere along side the highway ... a fully decorated cedar tree ... I mean sparkly garland (red, silver and blue) and little American flags all over this big cedar tree. Also had a bit of a heart stopper moment when we were following this big truck and travel trailer along some fields. The big irrigation system, you know the kind on wheels, well it was on and very close to the highway. With huge eyes I could see that the end sprinkler was aimed at the highway ... the truck and trailer hit it and water just sprayed everywhere. The air was blue under my helmet as we approached and then the sprinkler changed direction and all we rode through was a wet highway ... thank GOD!

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Another highlight of the day was Trixie's Antler Saloon! It reached 29 degrees by the afternoon and that is really hot when you have all your riding gear on ... so GW spots this place, of course in the middle of nowhere, and pulled in.

Picture taken from Facebook page for Trixie's
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Trixie was behind the bar and she had some of her regulars in there ... one white haired old gal sitting on her stool in the corner ... she actually greeted us as we walked in ... and then another old couple and the lady was playing the slots. We have a cold non-alcohol drink and in comes another traveller. He orders a vodka and Red Bull drink because he is driving through to Spokane Washington! Only in America!

Picture taken from Facebook page for Trixie's
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So we made it to Missoula Montana, Garth was here back in 2000 when he was part of the fire team that came down that summer to help them with their huge fire situation, our bikes are scheduled for oil changes this morning. Another milestone yesterday was my bike hit 5000 k ... I have only had it 6 months.

This afternoon we will head out to Livingston Montana where we can meet up with highway 89 again and head back south. We may be camping the next few nights so will update you when I can.

Day 5 map
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September 24, 2011

Interstate driving is not something that I wanted to do but a biker chick has to do what a biker chick has to do! LOL and actually it didn't go too bad except that even though we were going 110k other travellers passed us like we were standing still.

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So we left Missoula after our bike servicing at Big Sky BMW and headed out of the city trying to find Interstate 90.

Big Sky BMW
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Fill in from Garth
Missoula is an interesting city. I think that we should come back here and do some more local exploring.

Lot of these old heritage homes near Big Sky

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Great service at Big Sky. Here is the lounge where you can wait for your bike. Cold water TV and computer with internet available
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Denise's bike packed up. Hepco Becker side bags (with liners) and a Cabela's boundry duffle (100% waterproof). I carried all of the camping gear but she was able to fit all of her stuff in this setup quite easily
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Love this "Life needs more green lights" poster that was up in Big Sky's washroom.
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Ahead of us was a truck pulling a horse trailer with a horse inside ... its back end facing us. Wanting to get a feeling as to whether Garth knew where we were going I asked him what the route was ... he replied "just follow the horses ass" and I thought "oh I am"!

One thing about interstates ... once you are on them it is really hard to get off and if you are actually looking for something in particular well good luck! But we had to get back on track today.

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We roared through Butte Montana and Garth pointed out that overlooking the city from the top of a mountain is a huge white monument of "Our Lady of the Rockies" which is dedicated to Mary the mother of Jesus. It is quite amazing ... it is 90 ft high, the second largest statue in the USA and is a tribute to all mothers.

(Photo credit http://images.travelpod.com/users/dabigeasymakers/1.1246228273.our-lady-of-the-rockies.jpg)
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The interstate took us out of the valley and back into the mountains where we crossed the continental divide. The temperature dropped to 26 degrees and it felt like such a relief from the 31.5 in the valley.

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We ended our day in Bozeman Montana and it was 30 degrees at 5:30 pm. I was certain that GW was going to insist on camping tonight but alas a "Days Inn" appeared with a "Famous Dave's Barbeque" next door, yahoo!

We are heading into Yellowstone National Park tomorrow, following highway 89, so we will definitely be camping. This weekend has been declared National Parks weekend and the entrance is free. So the weather is beautiful, the entrance is free, and it is Saturday ... hmmmm can you say lots of traffic?

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Something else I have noticed on this cross country ride is the smells! Good natural out-in-the-great-outdoors smells. Every new landscape has its own.

Map of days ride
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Great ride report! And wonderful that she has embraced your passion. There is nothing like travelling with your significant other by motorcycle!
 
Ok you know how driving in the fog can be a little unnerving but because you are in Dryden and you know where you are going it really isn't that bad ... well try motorcycling through the fog which is accumulating on the face shield of your helmet like rain ... down a highway that you have not been on before ... scarey to say the least!

Suggestion: carry hi-viz and reflective "fog vests" with you. I was glad I had mine crossing a mountain in Vermont in heavy fog and rain. I wear a white helmet for the same reason.

Nice ride report. My wife won't ride with me. You are lucky.

Harry
 
Suggestion: carry hi-viz and reflective "fog vests" with you. I was glad I had mine crossing a mountain in Vermont in heavy fog and rain. I wear a white helmet for the same reason.

Nice ride report. My wife won't ride with me. You are lucky.

Harry
Yes we carry them now and use them under low vis (fog, dust etc) situations.
 
Biker Stories from the Road Sept 24, 25 2011

Yellowstone National Park ... how beautiful art thou!

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It is such an amazing park with sights you will only see there.
We had such a great ride through it and I wasn't uneasy at all ... well except for the crazy RV drivers! Yup .. not scared of the wildlife or the highways ... just the old white haired dudes who can hardly see over the top of the steering wheels of the monstrosities that they are trying to wheel down the narrow, windy inner highways of the park.
They use up as much of the highway as they possibly can to make the sharp turns and oh experienced a new smell .... burning brakes! Oh yah laying on them babies all the way down to the bottom ... eyes as big as saucers hoping like hell that they are going to hold, haha!

The pass over Mount Washburn I believe was my rite of passage into this motorcycle world.
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At the highest part we were over 10,000 ft and it was unbelievable!
The windy highways ... leaning into the turns ... awesome!
One thing I have become aware of is how hard I clamp my legs to the motorcycle when I am feeling uneasy ... man I am going to have inner thighs of steel by the time this trip is over ... haha!
I have also mastered the biker wave and most bikers will wave back and when they don't I mutter ... Snotty Bastards!

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Tower Falls
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From Artist Point at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon
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We had seen most of Yellowstone a few years back so continued down Hwy 89...Garth

We got through Yellowstone Park and headed down into the Grand Teton National Park ... one runs into the other and still on highway 89.
We camped at Colbert Bay and when we were checking in we were informed that Saturday night was the last night for the facilities of the park to be open.

Campsite
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Our Home for the night
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Some of the locals came for a visit
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Everything was closing for the season at 11:00 Sunday morning. It was so hard to believe this when it didn't freeze over night and was forecasted to be 80+ degrees on Sunday. But at that altitude things can happen quickly and GW figures that within a week there could be snow up there.

September 25th, 2011 Anyway Sunday morning we made our way down to the Colbert Marina
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and we were greeted by the site of the Grand Teton mountains gleaming in the sunrise across the lake ... it was breathtaking!
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Cont'd
 
There was a 20 image limit per thread (wtf?) so here is the rest of the previous post


After breakfast and a $3.75 shower (each) we took off. We were heading down to Jackson Wyoming but stopped at a "photo-opportunity" spot at the base of the Grand Teton mountain ...
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took many pictures but honestly they are not going to do the beauty of that scenery justice (the mountains, the fall colours in the leaves) where we were approached by a young man from China. He couldn't speak English very well but he was amazed by us. He took a picture of Garth then he took a picture of me and then he called over this young woman and she posed for a picture with us ... it was hilarious!


We decided to back track and go through to Dubois WY instead because of a forest fire ahead of us that was slowly filling the valley with smoke. There was a sign that indicated that the fire was a "Managed Fire" so GW figures that it was a fire that they were letting burn to deal with the beetle kill that is very apparent throughout the parks. We could see the plumes of smoke (3 in all) for miles and miles along our journey today. So we didn't get as far south on highway 89 as we would have liked but that ride is for another trip.

Smoke starting to fill the valley. By the time we left it was thick
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Before we hit Dubois we had to go through another mountain pass ... Togwatee or something like that ... and it was quite the ride.
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Nice sweeping roads all the way up to the construction
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At the highest point we were at 9600 ft and we hit a huge construction job ... thank god it was Sunday and the job site was closed down. You know that you are in for it when they post signs that say "Motorcyclists Take Caution". So we crawl through this gravelly road ... and that's what it was ... no pavement and no centre line. Soon we caught up with a tanker truck and a new sign that read "Slippery When Wet" and then the tanker turned on the water and there was water spraying all over the road. Slippery when wet alright "I'm on a frickin' motorcycle here"! Once we were past all that it was a great ride to the bottom.
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Lunch Stop at a truly western restaurant
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Wagon at restaurant full of bones
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Another fire back towards the parks
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More scenery near Riverton
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We turned east after Dubois, hit Riverton (where my bike turned 6000k) and rode through the Wind River Canyon

The Wind River Canyon was totally unexpected but a real jewel of a ride for the scenery in it. So many times we run into these places that no one talks about but they are s beautiful.
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and ended our day in Thermopolis WY which is famous for its hot springs (so heck why not call it Thermopolis)! It was 32 degrees. Tomorrow it's Cody Wyoming in the morning.

Maps of the 2 days ride
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Biker Stories from the Road September 26, 2011

From Thermopolis WY to Buffalo WY is only about 130 miles except if you are the Wintles and you are on the hunt for a pair of cowboy boots! Cody WY has a huge western store with shelves and shelves of cowboy boots and Garth knew exactly where it was so .... we took the lonnnngggg way to Buffalo!

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We left Thermopolis just before 10 am and we arrived in Buffalo at 5 pm but what a fantastic day! In the hot springs pool at the place we stayed in Thermopolis we met a really nice young couple and she gave me great advice regarding what kind of cowboy boots to look at. When we got to the store a great gal, Tracey, helped me to figure out what I was looking for and I bought 2 pairs of boots. GW was shaking his head and being very quiet because he knew that come hell-or-high water I was packing these boots and like every determined woman on a mission I got them to fit!

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So with boots on board we turned our bikes south-east again and made our way towards the Big Horn mountains and Buffalo. Oh yes I have to tell you about the elderly couple we met when I was packing the boots onto my bike. They had parked right beside us. He used to love to hunt up in Saskatchewan and their daughter married a Canadian from Alberta. He told us that his son-in-law has a big 1200 BMW and then we got onto the topic of government spending and oil. He said to us "I know, I know you guys do it right and we just screw things up over and over" ... "except healthcare" chimed in his wife and he responded with "come on Margaret we don't want to start a fight with these people". It was quite funny. They wished us a good trip and went on their way.

As we approached Greybull Garth saw some older aircraft so we stopped for a closer look. Although fenced in remarkably they were old ÔÇ£Royal Canadian Air ForceÔÇØ planes. This was kind of unique as just a few weeks earlier the Canadian government had introduced the fact that there were going to rename the Canadian Armed Forces back into their original names and the Air force would get the Royal Canadian Air Force moniker back

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We stopped in Greybull for lunch at Lisa's Crazy Woman cafe and we had the best burgers and I bought a t-shirt because Garth is always calling me a crazy woman.

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From Greybull we turned south and connected with highway 16 and the Scenic Cloud Peak Bypass which took us across the south end of the Big Horn mountains. The beginning of the mountain pass was phenomenal ... lots of red rock buttes with green fields or beautiful homes at their bases. Such a contrast in colour.

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And then we started to climb with switch backs and amazing scenery.

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We went up and up and up until we reached the top of the Powder River Pass at 9666 ft (to put this into perspective Dryden's elevation is approx 1100 ft) so we were just about 1 1/2 miles above you.

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The whole mountain pass is about 60 miles long. Just when I thought ok we are starting to go down the highway would turn and up we would go again ... this happened about 5 or 6 times ... so many peaks and valleys ... and the colours, because the leaves have all changed colour up there, was beautiful.

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Every imagined fear that I had about height, steepness, tight corners, quick stops ... well they were all conquered today! In all of that we only saw 1 deer, haha, crap I can see that in my back yard on a daily basis.

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We also saw another forest fire today. We spotted a smoke plume when we were about 15 miles out of Greybull and it didn't look that big (GW figures .3 acres) but when we left Greybull after lunch it was about 10 acres and the smoke plume was huge. On our way to Cody this morning we could still see the smoke plumes and smell the smoke from the Yellowstone fires we saw yesterday ... crazy!

So now we are in Buffalo and found a room at an old motel called the Mansion House Motel and the main house was built in 1900.

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Tomorrows journey will take us to Devil's Tower and then down into the Black Hills.
 
Biker Stories from the road September 26, 2011

"Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" featured the Devil's Tower and it is really cool up close!

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Of course it was famous before that movie because it was America's first national monument and declared so back in 1906. Up close it looks like someone filled a huge sand pail with mud, turned it upside down on the top of a hill and took a rake and ran it down the sides. The Devil's Tower is 32 miles north of Moorcroft WY and well worth the stop.

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We had a continental breakfast in the main house of the Mansion House Inn. The main house is beautiful and was built by a doctor between the years of 1901 and 1903. He then passed away in 1913 and so his wife rented out rooms in order to earn a living. Full of antiques and beautiful rugs and linens it is really a wonderful place to have breakfast.

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Note from Garth. Not sure but we never took many pictures after Devils Tower. The scenery through the Black Hills is fabulous. I think I was contemplating coming back very soon.

After Devil's Tower we headed down highway 14 to Sundance WY and I think that I am going to Google where Robert Redford has his big ranch and the Sundance Film Festival (this is what I thought of as we toured through that part of Wyoming ... lots of time to think while riding a motorcycle, haha). From Sundance we took scenic highway 585 to Newcastle and then caught scenic highway 16 which took us into the south end of the Black Hills. These mountains aren't as high as the others we drove through but the landscape was beautiful all the same. We turned at Custer and went north through the middle of the Black Hills up to Deadwood South Dakota where we ended our day (it was 25 degrees). I asked Garth what is so special about Deadwood and he looked at me like I had 2 heads ... "are you kidding it was the home of Wild Bill Hicock and his grave is here ... also Calamity Jane is buried here and it is the original Deadwood from the old western movies" ... well excuse me!

Pictures Wild Bill courtesy Wikipedia
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Calamity Jane courtesy Wikipedia
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We took a walk downtown to have a look around and to find a place for dinner. Deadwood is full of casinos and they are all dead! These casinos are big (in comparison to the town) and they are empty. People are walking on the sidewalk and checking out the menus posted on the restaurant windows but no one is spending any money. One can see where this was at one time a really busy and happening place ...not today.

Stayed here in Deadwood. This was the most expensive motel we stayed at for the entire trip and even it was actually reasonable.

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Tomorrow morning we will make our way to Sturgis which is only about 1/2 hour away. We will then turn our bikes toward home and crank on the throttle to try and beat the cold front!
Guess that's all for this update ... not a very eventful day.

Map of the days travel
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Biker Stories from the Road - September 27, 2011

Sturgis, South Dakota is only as big as Dryden in population but once a summer for a week the population expands as upwards of 500,000 bikers drive in for "Biker Week". The first rally took place in 1938 and has been going strong ever since.

With some colder weather in the next day we decided to see if we could find a heated jacket for me so pulled into the BMW dealer,

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just to have a look. They did not have anything so we asked if they could recommend a place to eat. They recommended the "Easy Rider Saloon and Steakhouse" for breakfast. It was so impressive! The food was great but the 3 storey building and the saloon/restaurant were really amazing.

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The focal point of the saloon is the huge black leather bar with the silver stud design that runs the length of it. All the furnishings and decor are beautiful and it was so clean. This place has really benefited from "Biker Week" (although GW has his own theory on where the money comes from for the upkeep of the Easy Rider Saloon)!

We picked up gas across the road from a station that was closed but did have operating pumps.

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As we were leaving Sturgis we passed an area that, at first glance, looked like rows and rows of storage units ... until I spied the decks and white lawn chairs that are on each small deck ... these are little cabins! They are all painted brown and if there is 2 ft between them I would be surprised. These would be rented by all the Biker Week participants ... can you imagine! There are hundreds of them! I would not want to be stuck in the middle. What a party that must be!

Sturgis Cabins photo stolen from Jing J
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The rest of the day was spent making our way across South Dakota ... in the wind! On this trip I have had a few mantras ... they are usually mild, soft and uplifting ... today they were "**** off wind" and "where the hell is Aberdeen" (the place where we stopped for the night). We stopped at Roscoe, SD and gased up. We were approx 40 miles from Aberdeen. The gas attendant warned us about some road construction but he said that there would be a pilot car etc. So when we reached the single lane gravelly mess we were somewhat prepared ... except we were not prepared for the fact that this section of highway 12 was still flooded along with a huge area around it and it was eery to see a barn and outbuildings still half under water. The end of September and still affected by that spring/summer flood.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be windy again, groan, but GW figures that we can make it to the Detroit Lakes area and there are trees there to block the G D wind!
So we are getting closer ... see you soon!

Map of todays ride
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:lurk

Really enjoying your report. Hope to ride through some of this area next summer.

Continued safe travels. :thumb
 
Biker Stories from the Road - September 29, 2011

Ole Mother Nature was an angry lady today! The wind beat the snot out of us!

Garth The wind was as strong as I have ever ridden in. From the north at 60-70 km gusting to 90 at times and direct in our face or to the side of us. No pictures taken today as we just tried to stay alive.

But we were still able to get 400k closer to home. We are staying the night in Detroit Lakes, MN. Unfortunately it means 550k tomorrow to make it home so I am praying that the winds are gentler.
We left the shelter of our motel in Aberdeen ND
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and followed the secondary highways going east then north then east then north. Garth had to be creative to find us an alternate route in Fargo that did not include the interstate.
In that wind I could not go any faster then 80K and that is not interstate speed.

In Fargo we hunted down a Yamaha/Honda dealer who sells the riding clothing that is wired and it plugs into the motorcycle battery system There are vests, jackets and pants. This dealer had the last of their stock for 50% off and they had a jacket that fit me so now all that is left is for me to be toasty warm on the ride home tomorrow (or electrify myself ... I am still not sure about having all of these live wires all over my upper body).

We weaved our way through the city of Fargo, first to find the store and second to find our highway out, and it was quite enjoyable because the city broke the wind and we had to go slower. All in all a pretty non-eventful day and hence a boring update ... sorry about that!

GW decided to treat us to a suite at the AmericInn and it has a corner jacuzzi that I plan on soaking in asap.
 
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