Trip Update

Hi Folks,  I am posting an update about John and Wendy.

For those of you that don't know, they were involved in an accident Monday night and were both hospitalized.

The great news is Wendy was released today and John will be out tomorrow.

I am posting a couple of pictures to let you all see that they are on the mend and have retained their sense of humor.

As  you can see from the pictures, I have too.

FYI - Barb and I took a quick ride on our bikes today, so everything's good.

Oh, I love my new Turtle Shell.

Sturgis 2011

Devils Tower, Deadwood & Rapid City

We left Gillette WY and headed East towards our first stop,  Devils Tower.

In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act.  His action made Wyoming the home of both the first national park - Yellowstone and the first National monument - Devils Tower.  There are many Indian legends associated with Devils Tower, here is one;

Crow Legend
Once when some Crows were camped at Bears House, two little girls were playing around some big rocks there. There were lots of bears living around that big rock and one big bear seeing the girls alone was going to eat them. The big bear was just about to catch the girls when they saw him. The girls were scared and the only place they could get was on top of one of the rocks around which they had been playing.

The girls climbed the rock but still the bear could catch them. The Great Spirit, seeing the bear was about to catch the girls, caused the rock to grow up out of the ground. The bear kept trying to jump to the top of the rock, but he just scratched the rock and fell down on the ground. The claw marks are on the rock now. The rock kept growing until it was so high that the bear could not get the girls. The two girls are still on top of the rock.

Deadwood SD
Just a little bit of the colorful history of Deadwood;

The town attained notoriety for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, and Mount Moriah Cemetery remains the final resting place of Hickok and Calamity Jane, as well as slightly less notable figures such as Seth Bullock. It became known for its wild and almost lawless reputation, during which time murder was common, and punishment for murders not always fair and impartial. The prosecution of the murderer of Hickok, Jack McCall, had to be sent to retrial because of a ruling that his first trial, which resulted in an acquittal, was invalid because Deadwood was an illegal town. This moved the trial to a Dakota Territory court, where he was found guilty and then hanged.

We had lunch in the salon that has the chair he was killed in.

Our last stop was Black Hills Harley Davidson, wow do they have their act together in preparation for Sturgis.

Today's Mileage 218

Trip Mileage 1,153

Today's Highlights and Memorable Moments were,

1.  75 MPH is the new 65.

2.  It is possible to eat a complete breakfast, including a carton of milk while driving your bike on I90.

3.  It was hard to keep Barb out of the casino's in Deadwood.

4.  If it Fits, it Ships!!  I guess you could say we've been shopping.


Devils Tower



Damn, That bike is loud!!



That's one place to keep the antlers.

Would you like a seat?

Main Street Deadwood



The 12's are out, which one should I buy?



Gillette Wyoming

Today (Sunday, 7/24) was a travel day with no specific stops planned except our end destination of Gillette WY.   As we rode we witnessed some of the affects of their recent flooding.  The Shoshone and Big Horn Rivers are still raging and numerous roads are under repair.

Our route took us up into the Wyoming High Country and Big Horn National Forest.  At times we were even with the remaining snow lines with altitudes as high as 9,800 feet. Route 14 East and West provided us with breathtaking views and awesome switchbacks.

Our next stop is Rapid City, South Dakota which will be our home base for the remainder of the trip.

See you there.

Today's Mileage 348

Trip Mileage 935

So......

Today's Highlights and Memorable Moments were,

1. How come the items you unpack never fit back into your bags the next morning?

2. Which do you prefer, riding on loose gravel and dirt or heavily grooved pavement?

3. Today we saw a moose with her young calf.  Very Cool!!

4. Regular unleaded $3.47, High Test $3.78



Big Horn Basin



Route 14 Switchbacks

What is That?



Hey Guys,,Hey Guys.......I'm Stuck!



Yellowstone National Park

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs.

Today, (Saturday-7/23), we enter the park through the north gate. We rode a 152 mile loop where we saw Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls, Old Faithful and Yellowstone Lake.  The altitudes within the park vary greatly by location as do the temperatures.  We experienced temps today ranging from the high fifty's to the mid 80's.

The vegetation ranges from near desert types near the North entrance, to subalpine meadows and forests on MT Washburn.  Lodgepole pine covers over 60 % of the park.  We saw Elk, Bison and a snake. Oh, and a Polar Bear, see picture below.

We left the park through the East entrance and headed to Cody WY our last stop of the day.  The ride to Cody was spectacular!

Tomorrow we are off to Gillette WY.

Today's Mileage 214

Trip Mileage 587

Wendy's Next Hybrid

Mammoth Hot Springs

Yellowstone River

Tower Falls

Polar Bear -
Remember Do Not Feed the Wildlife!

Old Faithful

Yellowstone Lake

That's all Folks Until Tomorrow!

Gardiner MT

Today, (Friday-7/22), we left Billings MT and headed north towards Route 12.  We travelled past forgotten towns, hugh ranches and snow covered peaks.  I think the word "vast" best describes it.

Our next stop was Yellowstone Harley Davidson in Belgrade MT.  The dealership was hosting the Montana State Hog Rally.  Regardless of the state, the one thing they all have in common is a love of riding and Harley Davidson's.

Our final stop today was Gardiner MT.  Gardiner is approximately one mile from the north entrance to Yellowstone Park, our destination for tomorrow.

The last 53 miles today were done in the rain.  The skies looked so ominous, we were smart enough to stop and put on our rain gear.  Smart Decision!!

Today's Mileage 353

Trip Mileage 373

Today's Highlights and Memorable Moments were:

• U-Turns don't actually count if they are done through a parking lot.
• When traveling in rural places,  if you see a gas station, Stop at it!!  
• Today it brought to mind the scene from Wild Hogs where they are pushing the bikes.  The only thing that Barb, Wendy and I couldn't figure out was, how was John going to push all three bikes?
• It is so quiet out here we could actually hear our bikes pinging from the 85.5 octane gas we were forced to put in our tanks.
• How do they get their mail out here?
• It's only day two and John's Tour Packs are full!

 

Snow covered peaks along Route 12







Wendy just can't decide
which one she wants.






Rest stop amenities along
Route 12






The Glamour's Gone!



Does this picture make my nose look small?

 





Billings MT

Today was a travel day. We arrived in Billings MT early and headed off to pick up the bikes.  The bikes left New Britain on July 7th and were delivered to Baker's shipping company on July 15th.

Our first stop was for gas because the bikes have to be shipped close to empty.  It was a pleasant surprise to see regular unleaded at $3.65 a gallon and high test at $3.85. There is a slight difference in octane levels here, See below.

Last year our first stop was to a Yamaha dealership for a broken nipple, a.k.a. Air sensor.  This year our first stop was to a dentist.

The highlights of our day were:

• Arriving on time, and picking up our bikes in the same shape as we shipped them.
• Finding a dentist, and not just any dentist, this one belongs on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. 
• Is it just me, or do all the woman out here sound like Sarah Palin? 
• Today it's 85 and sunny.  Even the sky seems bigger out here.

85.5 - Really?



Say ahhhhh.....

How big does your yard have to be for these lawn ornaments?

Beartooth Harley Davidson





Time Zones- It's Five O'Clock Somewhere in the Wild Wild West

Hi folks
The mountain time zone (MTZ) for Montana and Wyoming is two hours behind CT eastern standard time zone.....so when it is 5:00 pm in CT, it will be 3:00 pm in Montana and Wyoming. To make matters confusing, "some" regions of South Dakota central time zone is one hour behind CT time and other regions operate under MTZ.

The change in time zone does not matter -- as indicated in Jimmy Buffett song...It's five o'clock somewhere! Thought you would like to know, in case you wanted to call us at 6:00 am your time. Check out the YouTube Jimmy Buffett video clip located under our main blog title.

Count Down to the Wild, Wild, West

OK, it's five days before we leave, so it's time to get our blog started.  This site will allow our friends and family to follow along as we travel through Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. I hope you enjoy sharing the journey with us. 

Our bikes left New Britain a little earlier than we expected.  John and I "Thought" we remembered the ship date as July 11th, it was not, it was July 6th.  A fact we discovered on July 1st, right before the holiday weekend.  John and I had scheduled our service appointments for the 8th.  Thanks to some really good friends we were able to get them serviced, packed and dropped off in time.  Hopefully our bikes arrived in Billings Montana on July 15th. 

We have some pictures to share with you detailing the packing process and our bikes.



I thought I heard a squeak.

                                                         

Barb's always the first one packed and on her bike!

                                    

Did you pack the Bear Repellent?

I heard a pack of motorcycles from CT are coming
to the wild wild west. They can't roam where I roam.

 

No, there's  no room for that!

 
 



 

Please check back once our adventure begins.