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Day One Monday
Redding CA to Fallon NV - 258 miles
We set off a day or two early as Jackie got a couple of extra days off work. We made the first day and easy run to Fallon where Hwy 50 begins to get lonely.... Anyway we packed a lunch and headed off about noon. We stoped in Susanville for fuel and about 15 miles out we stopped for lunch. We blew through Reno and found the Motel 6 in Fallon without any problems. Dinner was at MacDonalds and we called it an earlly night.
Day Two Tuesday
Fallon NV to Delta UT - 409 miles
Up and on the road by 7:30 under clear and warming skies. After a few miles I begin looking for the shoe tree and I see it as Jackie blows right on by the thing... (I'll toss my shoes into the tree next time) By 9am the clouds are beginning to give us an overcast sky which helps keep the days riding cool and comfortable. They don't call it "the loneliest highway in America" for nothing... very few cars and even fewer towns. Somewhere along the road we spot a roadside table and stop for tea and breakfast. The trailer with ice chest and stove makes life very easy... Soon we are back on the road looking at the incredible empty space of Nevada. We come to the small town Austin and stop for fuel then it is back on the road. Ely is our next fuel stop and soon we are there. Pushing on we get to the visitor center for Great Basin NP and have afternoon tea and sandwiches as it begins to rain...... We suit up in the rain gear and move out then the rain stops.... at the Nevada Utah state line we get some fuel and push on to our destination Nephi UT. When we arrive in Delta I decide it has been a long day and we choose to spend the night in Delta about 50 miles short of our goal.
Day Three
Delta UT to Vernal UT - 237 miles
Get another early start on a crisp and cool morning with our first fuel stop only 20 miles down the road (forgot to get fuel in Delta) another 30 miles and we arrive in Nephi where we look for a Starbucks with no luck. So we stop at a gas station to make some coffee and take a bathroom break. The ride in was cool as we rode through some farm land. Not much cloud cover today and by mid morning the riding is warm by afternoon it is hot. The scenery is nice as we drift through the canyons working our way East and North towards Vernal our destination for the day. Locating the Motel 6 we get ourselves a room and go for a quick swim. MacDonald's again for dinner and tonight it is crap... We stop by the grocery store and stock up on bananas and yogurt with a bag of ice to keep it all cool.....
Day Four
Vernal UT to Windsor CO - 345 miles
Rocky Mountain NP and the day of rain.
A good early start again with some cloud cover and a spit of rain here and there, not enough to don the rain gear. After about 30 miles we stop in Dinosaur at the Colorado visitors center where we make a cup of coffee and have a bowl of cereal they give us a cool map of Colorado... The riding for the next 30 or 40 miles is a bit flat with more and more trees as we go along. Soon the hills begin, at first small ones then they get huge. large hills that go on for miles with straight roads up and down. Up and down we go... Jackie is picking up the pace today 75 in a 65 she walks away from me climbing the hills as the trailer slows me down a bit but I can catch her on the down hill slide...heehaw As we get closer to the Rocky Mountains the road begins to twist and turn a bit and soon the turn to the Park comes into view....
I'm looking at the sky and thinking the buildups are very threatening and half heartedly make the suggestion we stop for the day and get a motel.... it is only about 2pm she says and we need to get to the other side of the mountains today.... yea right... we push on a few miles then I stop... time to get the rain gear on even though it is not raining yet... It will be I say...
I point out that we will be climbing to somewhere around (I thought 9,000 but it turned out to be 12,000) thousand feet, it will be cold and looking at the clouds I think it will be wet too....
U.S. 34 connects Granby, Colorado, with Chicago, Illinois, following a path across the Great Plains and Upper Midwest. In Colorado, U.S. 34 begins at U.S. 40 in Granby and immediately begins to ascend toward Rocky Mountain National Park, passing by Grand Lake before entering the park. Open only in summer, U.S. 34 follows the Trail Ridge Road over the top of the Rocky Mountains, rising to elevations over 12,000 feet (the highest point is 12,183 feet, one of the highest elevations on the U.S. Highway System). The highway then descends from alpine heights, meeting U.S. 36 at Deer Ridge Junction, and U.S. 34 then travels into Estes Park. Estes Park is the primary gateway from the Front Range into the national park; a business route on Fall River Road and Elkhorn Avenue serves downtown, while mainline U.S. 34 bypasses most of the city by following Wonderview Avenue. Continuing east, U.S. 34 travels into Big Thompson Canyon. Signs along the route warn of flash flooding dangers; it is warranted, as the canyon is very narrow, thus leaving excess water very few places to go except up onto the road. The canyon can only accommodate the river and roadway. At the end of the canyon, U.S. 34 emerges in the city of Loveland
Just before we hit the entrance to the park the rain begins, at the entrance it is too wet to sign the pass card because the ranger does not want to get too wet... I stuff our new National Parks card in my rain jacket along the map of the park. Here we go.... The rain comes and goes as we progress through the low valley headed for the pass. For a little while it stops as we begin the climp to 12,000 feet. As we aprocah the the pass it begins to get cold and wet as the rain has begun agian. Soon we are in the clouds and then we hit the road construction. Shit, how bad can it get.... it is raining, it is cold, visibilty is, at times, 3 to 5 feet, the road is now wet dirt and rocks. I can barely see Jackie in front of me even though she is only 30 to 40 feet in front of me. What is in front of her I have no idea as I can't see that far. At times I have to lean to the side and follow the center line as I can't see anything else... not the shear drop off on my right or the mountain on my left. Thankfully, the construction ends as we drop out of the clouds and drop into the warm valley below where for a breif moment it stops raining.
The ride from the National Park to Estes Park is a canyon with some very nice homes and hotels here and there. The road has a nice rhythmic twist to it and the ride, even though it is raining, is very enjoyable. Once in Estes Park as the rain has stopped we make some tea and stretch our legs as we look at the map and begin the hunt for a motel.
We figure the motels in the current neighborhood are a bit expencive for our budget and look to Loveland as our stop for the night. Rolling on we hit more rain until we get to Loveland. We stop for a moment to get our bearings and turn North on a busy hwy out of town looking for a hotel for the night. The rain begins and in five minutes it is too hard to ride in. Jackie and I turn off the main hwy to seek some shelter and as we pull into a driveway to turn around to sneak under the breezway of a funeral home it hits us.... A cloud burst hits us with driving winds. I manage to scoot back up the road the 200 or so feet under the overhang and look back and no Jackie.... She can't see with all the spray in the air and I hike back to her and tell her to hop on the back of her bike and I will take her and the bike to the protection of the building. She says she will walk. So I take off and park her bike. Again I look back and no Jackie. As I begin my hike back to where she was she had gabed hold of a tree to prevent hereself from being knocked down by te wind. I grab her hand and pull herb to the safety of my funeral home shelter ... soon the cars are pulling off the road as they can't even see anymore it is blowing so hard..... we are soooo wet its unbelievable there is a lull in the storm jackie suggests we push on to try an find a motel. What a girl.
Well the cloud burst has almost expended itself and after a smoke we push on in the dark. Pulling into the first lighted area or gas station to inquire about any close by hotel we spy a fellow biker in the store wringing out his cloths as he got caught without rain gear.... He is a local and knows the area so he directs us down the road about three miles to the freeway where we will find two or three hotels. After saying thank you we hit the road for the last time tonight. It is pitch black out now and still raining quite hard. Visibility is poor as we roll down the road and soon the first obsticle comes into view, I hope Jackie sees it in time. The road is flooded ahead about 3/4 of the road is covered beginning on my side. Moving to the left as far as possible I plow through the deep water and create a spray like a power boat. Another mile or so and another flooded area ahead this time it covers the road but it is not quite as deep this time. The lighted hotel signs are visible now off in the distance and I'm very thankful that we have made it. Well almost.... the intersection we must go through is complelty flooded about 18 to 24" deep... Taking a deep breath I twist the throttle and the water almost comes up to the air intake on the bike... another couple of inches and we would have been sucking water. As it was, I think the trailer floated across the intersection.... The room was a bit pricie but worth the cost for a warm dry room with a fire place. After setting out the cloths to dry we headed off acorss the parking lot for dinner Chicken Parmajan for me and a ceaser salad for jackie...
Day Five
Windsor CO to Sturgis SD - 357 miles
The beginning of bikes
The morning breaks cool and overcast and we trun North to Wyoming and hopefully Sturgis by the end of the day... Straight roads today and the miles begin to accumulate on the odometer. I ask Jackie to stop at the state line so that I may take a picture "Welcome to Wyoming" well scratch that idea as she blows by the state line... Oh well there is always next time.... Stoping for gas in Cheyenne we chat with another couple headed for Sturgis for a bit... She says we will begin to see a lot of bikes on Hwy 85 and she is correct soon we see lots of bikes only they are headed South away from Sturgis.... On the road North the only bikes we see are stoped at the bars and gas stations as those on the road, are for the most part, keeping pace with us, it is only when we stop we begin to see the bikes headed North.... We are still over 200 miles from Sturgis and all the gas stations are full of bikes getting gas... On our second to last fuel stop while we make a cup of tea I notice the tire on the trailer is very low... While Jackie removes the gear to get to the spare I take off the flat and we make the change in less than ten minutes... Our last fuel stop before Sturgis is Newcastle WY around 2pm and it is pretty warm... The gas station is overrun with motorcycles. They have set up three or four picnic tables with a shade cover for people to relax and we take advantage of the shade for half an hour or so before we head off towards Sturgis. The ride from Newcastle into Lead, Deadwood and Sturgis is outstanding... rolling hills with twistie roads and some afternoon cloud cover which keeps the heat at bay. By the time we reach Lead the bikes outnumber the cars... very cool... Slipping through the towns of Lead and Deadwood we finally see the sign "Sturgis" but I take the on ramp to the freeway to avoid downtown and the crowds and we head for "no name city" our campground which is only two exits down the freeway... Matt takes me around the campground pointing out the availabe sites and I choose the one with some afternoon shade, tucked up against the fence away from the road... So we set up camp and unhook the trailer and relax a bit... Soon the bug gets me and I want to head downtown. Jackie rides with me the first trip and we head off. We ride around a bit then park and go for a walk.... We are finally here.
Day Six Saturday
Sturgis SD
We take it easy today, ride into town and spend the day walking around looking at bikes, leathers and people. Talked with a few locals, some can't wait for bike week to be over and others who just love it.
Day Seven
Sturgis - Mount Rushmoore - 120 miles
We start the day by heading down to Rapid City to visit HOG hospitality and pick up our run pins. Jackie checked out the new Heritage while I just wondered around. From there we went to the local WalMart to get some sunblock as it was a very bright sunny day. Eventually we got going in the right direction and found our way to Keystone and the Borglum Museum
where we got a view into the history of Mt. Rushmoore. Just like anywhere within a two hundred mile radius of Sturgis the parking lot was full, as was the whole town, of Harleys. We rode up to the Monument and strolled around taking pictures like everyone else. Leaving Rushmoore we join the throng of bikes headed North towards Deadwood. Bikes in front of us and bikes behind us I just love it.... We close the day walking around downtown looking at this and that.
Day Eight Monday
Sturgis
Another day off today and we spend all day downtown looking at everything and giving the legs a good stretch.
Day Nine
Sturgis - Badlands NP - 217 miles
We get an early start today for the ride to the Badlands and Wall Drug. Then I miss the turn in Rapid City and we go a few miles out of our way. The ride across the open grasslands of SD is very nice with cool temps and open views of grass. It stands in stark contrast of the canyons and gullys of the Badlands. The exposed hills of the NP remind me of the Painted Desert of Arizona in the stratas of color and smooth slopes. In winding our way through the park there is always time to take pictures if nothing else to remind us at some later date that we were once there. Sometimes it is so hard to capture the ambiance of a place on film perhaps it was too late in the day to capture it. Perhaps early morning would provide the lighting necessary in the Badlands. Once out of the park it is a short hop to Wall were we have lunch at tourist trap with some really nice merchandise, Wall Drug... I had been there once 15 or so years ago and I had always wanted to go back, sadly time has changed it a bit...
Day Ten Wed
Sturgis
Day Eleven
Sturgis SD to Cody WY - 363 miles
Day Twelve
Cody WY to Yellowstone WY - 93 miles
Day Thirteen Saturday
Yellowstone
Day Fourteen
Yellowstone to Salt Lake City - 443
The day of trouble....
Day Fifteen Monday
Salt Lake City to Winnemucca - 353 miles
Day Sixteen Tuesday
Winnemucca to Redding - 361 miles