My Summer 2012 Ride to the Rally

[David (N. Alabama)]

over 7000 miles. 15 states. 4 weeks total. 300 Gbs of memories.

NM, CO, WY, SD, MT, ID, NV, UT, AZ, TX, OK, AR, MS, AL, TN

The versys handled the trip great!

Ready to ride!


No, they don't do nuclear powercell conversions.


Colorado fires put a damper on some of our proposed routes.


The ranger assured us that the smoke was blowing the other way so we set up our tents in Mesa Verde only to wake up with soot on our gear.


Mesa Verde was definitely worth a stop on our tour.


Day 1 route


Then we ran down the road to 4 corners.


That was a hot ride so we had to run as fast as possible.


Leaving 4 corners we knew we needed to get up in elevation. On the road to Ouray, CO we got our first look at summer snow.


Ouray is a quaint tourist town on the million dollar highway. Nice and cool and great views. The hotel had a hot tub as well.

That's just the first two days. More to come...

[David (N. Alabama)]

From Ouray, we headed north and up Grand Mesa. Saw a lot of sport style bikes on the roads up and down Grand Mesa. Turns out there was some gathering happening.


The road rose to over 10,000 feet in elevation. It was amazing to go from warm to cold and back to warm in a short period of time. Great view from the top.


The north side of Grand Mesa turned more desert like and we even saw a huge dirt devil cross the roadway. Would not have wanted to ride through that!



Wyoming was also plagued with fire. That is smoke in the air.


When we stopped for fuel in Casper, WY I asked a lady what people do around here to earn a living and she said oil and work that supports oil. I guess this gives you an idea how long ago they found oil.

Route from Ouray to Rawlins, WY

[David (N. Alabama)]

Coming into Gillette, WY my buddy got pulled over by a female trooper. I think she liked what she saw. I told him I was taking a detour and would meet up with him later so I rode down this road at 65 MPH before I thought it prudent to slow down a little.


I saw this guy pulling this strange looking contraption in July when I had stopped for fuel in Gillete. Thought maybe he knew something I didn't. LOL.


Saw this guy when I was heading from Gillete to the Devils Tower. We stared at each other for a few moments trying to figure the other one out.


First sighting of the Devils Tower. Need to see if Netflix has "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".


Our campsite was awesome! We went in on a National Park Pass. $80. They allow two individuals to sign the pass and as long as you pass through the gate at the same time all is good. Definitely saved us money on this trip.




Route from Rawlins to Devils Tower, Wy

[David (N. Alabama)]

From the Devils Tower we headed to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Amazing formations and tight twisty roads.






In Custer State Park we ran into a herd of Bison (Buffalo). They were with calves which made it a little scary. Don't want to mess with a momma.






Route from Devils Tower to Custer, SD

[David (N. Alabama)]

We camped at Horsethief Campground while in the Blackhills. Spent our evenings sitting on the porch of the camp store charging our electronics.


Definitely had to go see Mount Rushmore.




And we did ride up to Deadwood and Sturgis. Not much to see when the rally isn't going on.





The pinacles hwy is a must ride. Be prepared for slow moving cages though. The views are worth it.


Route around the Blackhills


From the Blackhills we headed west across northern WY. We were going to go directly into Montana before heading west but the road was closed due to fires.


Route from the Blackhills to Sheridan, Wy

[David (N. Alabama)]

The KOA in Sheridan, WY had camping shelters with electricity so we were able to charge our electronics. They also have a pool and hot tub which was especially nice after a day of riding.


Even had some curious bunnies around the campsite.


This guy was riding a trike, pulling a camper. He had to come and check out our crotch rockets and regaled us with stories of years of motorcycling.


Sheridan is at the base of Big Horn Mountain. Hwy 14 over the mountain is an awesome ride and our first close encounter with snow.



Proof that a ZZR can handle a dirt road. Great scenery as well.






Route over Big Horn Mountain and Canyon

[David (N. Alabama)]

Down the west side of Big Horn Mountain we headed north into Big Horn Canyon and our first crossing into Montana. Great roads and very different scenery.





The road ends at cool lake.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Back on top of Big Horn Mountain we decided to linger in the coolness of the alpine meadows. If it weren't for the pesky insects I could have taken a nap up there.







Snow in the middle of summer certainly is not something I have ever seen before.






A pic to show the elevation we were at on Big Horn

[David (N. Alabama)]

Can you imagine coming around a curve and seeing this sight? Didn't quite know what to do.


I motioned for the Cowboy to come over and he said just ride on through because the cows were lazy. LOL!


From Sheridan, WY we headed up to Red Lodge, MT. The GPS tried to take us on a loose gravel road. A nearby farmer told us a better way to get there.


Setting up camp at the Red Lodge KOA.


Got an awesome Buffalo Burger and Raspberry Shake at the Caboose.


First view of Beartooth pass.


It is an amazing ride from Red Lodge, MT into Yellowstone via Beartooth Pass. You climb from just over 5000 feet up to almost 11,000 feet with some great scenary.










Back in Red Lodge. Nice little tourist town.


Map of Beartooth Pass.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Back over Beartooth pass the next morning and into Yellowstone. Awesome ride!

Some screen captures from the GoPro videos. I haven't yet figured out how to make the videos small enough to upload somewhere. Yes, it is July and that is a lot of snow!




Starting our decent from the top of the pass. You can make out some of the roadway down there.


Saw some folks pulled over and discovered why. The water was roaring over those falls.


Entering Yellowstone!


1st animal sighting. Yogi Bear! Couldn't get a better shot because a ranger was already there keeping everyone moving.


Route from Red Lodge to West Yellowstone

[debron]

Enjoy "riding" along with you! Keep the photos coming!

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

ENVY is all I can say!

[HMB Don]

David

I got to take another ride without leaving the laptop. Thanks, see you in Logan

Don Medina

[gearheadfla]

Great show, had to be on good ride for you, keep them coming.

[chris.trombley]

Looks like a great time

[David (N. Alabama)]

Yellowstone was diverse in scenery. Definitely worth the trip. If you want to camp in the park you need to make reservations or show up early for a campsite. We didn't find one and had to head out the west gate to West Yellowstone, MT to find a campground.








Be prepared for some interesting aromas around the park. Sulfer and other nasty oders.
]

[David (N. Alabama)]

Back into Yellowstone on the 4th of July. What better way to celebrate the 4th than watching 'Old Faithful' erupt with hundreds of other people.

[David (N. Alabama)]

The Grand Prismatic Pools

Where they run into the adjoining river.

[David (N. Alabama)]

We left out the south entrance of Yellowstone and entered the Grand Tetons














Summertime view of ski slopes in Jackson, WY


We decided to cross into Idaho since we were so close and wanted to add another state to our states visited.


1st view of the Snake River. Started thinking about the Snake River. Didn't Evel Knevel attempt to jump the Snake River? Need to look into that.


We were getting close to Idaho Falls and decided to pull in under this shade tree in a fuel station so we could look up hotels. They were too expensive, and then we noticed the sign painted on the side of this Willys Truck. Local Campground and not too far away. Cool!

[David (N. Alabama)]

While we were setting up camp several campers offered to feed us hamburgers. The campground also had an amazing fireworks display.


Beautiful Sunset




Route from West Yellowstone to Heise, ID