2007 WESTERN TRIP

This started out a little differently than many before it. I actually almost started on time. Leaving the Sun Prairie, WI McDonalds at 7:30 am I headed west on US 19 until reaching I-90 West. This road takes you past the Wisconsin Dells and through Lacrosse, over the Big Muddy and into Minnesota (10:00). At this section, the Big Muddy is really pretty clear. Those that are in the know understand the value of roadside historical markers.

The first day out brought me through Minnesota and into South Dakota 2:50 pm. Knowing that time was going to be short to take such a long trip I opted to set Wall, SD as the destination for the first day. This is a trip of 734 miles. Everyone knows I like to travel hard and long. This was a difficult day due to the heat. Upon arriving in Wall the Temperature was 110º. Normally on a trip to SD I would spend the night in Mitchell, SD which is approximately 500 miles. It was in Wall that I met a fellow rider coming out of Sturgis on his circuitous route back to Texas.

Since I had no desire go to Sturgis for day 2 , after breakfast in Rapid City I flew through on my way to Yellowstone by way of US 16 and US 14. This is not the fastest route but it does go through Big Horn National Forest and through Cody WY. It was after fueling up in Cody and traveling several miles that I adjusted my riding position and my foot hit something where there should not have been anything. Looking down to my dismay, I spotted the culprit. My shifter rod had broken (keep in mind that now I'm running between 75 and 80 mph in top gear with nowhere to pull off the road and if I stopped would not be able to shift. Fortunately after about an hour I came across a convenience store (great ice cream) and coasted in. Unfortunately they did not have any wire to connect the dangling shifter rod. The owner took me next door to his shed and cut off some wire to get me back on the road. this fix got me through the rest of my trip.

Now for day 2 I had no reservations for the night hoping to reach Yellowstone. Upon arriving at the East Gate of Yellowstone Park the attendant stated that there were no rooms in Yellowstone and my best bet would be to go straight over to West Yellowstone and try to get a room there, a trip of normally 2 1/2 hours.
 I spotted this car and the painted buffalo while there.  The east gate a little while later due to the Columbine fire raging in the park at the time.
After spending some quality time with a friendly heard of buffalo.. You know you are too close to buffalo when you are on a defenseless motorcycle and can smell their breath at the same time. Shall we say it somewhat of a religious experience.
Everyone should spend time in Yellowstone
 but I don't suggest getting quite this close to something that could easily take out a pick up truck if disturbed. After finally reaching West Yellowstone early in the evening I learned that available rooms were almost non-existent. This was a recurring problem for the rest of the trip I might add.

Day 3: I left West Yellowstone and returned to the park to see many deer at play. A truly marvelous way to start your day. A visit to Yellowstone would not be complete without visiting Old Faithful.   

 The reason for going back into the park  was to head down to the Grand Tetons which are also a fantastic site. Leaving the Tetons it was time to head into Jackson, WY. If you are ever in Jackson make sure to stop at the Merry Piglet for some delicious Tex-Mex cuisine.  

Taking US 189 south into Kemmerer I turned onto US 30 which is part of the old Oregon Trail. I would have taken this road further
but it bypassed NV and CA.

One of the goals of this trip was to ride into NV, CA, OR and WA. these states would complete my travels in the lower 48. Up to this point I had managed to avoid any big city. Readers of my previous rides know my disdain for large cities.

On US 30 I entered the Fossil Butte National Monument. Every school child should have a field trip there. If this trip     pointed out nothing else the lessons learned about how geology, geography, economics and history are  intertwined were brought into perspective. I then headed south again and took I-80 through Salt Lake City. This to my way of thinking is just another big city to be avoided at all cost. Something that I already knew became quite apparent after leaving Salt Lake City on my way to Wendover, UT, that being never to rely  on locals for road information. Spend the money and buy a good atlas. I had brought two of them with me. Making  conversation with a convenience store clerk in Wendover, I asked what the next town west would be. He did not know the answer. The correct answer is West Wendover. Like I said, never ask directions. I spent that night in Elko NV.

I had originally set 2 more goals for this trip. Those being to ride on America's Loneliest Highway US 50 in NV and US 666 in Colorado. Due to time constraints these were not to be.

Like a stated earlier, this trip became a geography lesson. I knew from watching old Bonanza reruns that NV had some hills. I did not realize that these hills were full fledged mountains as rugged and beautiful as those of Colorado and Wyoming. Leaving Reno, NV I headed north on US 395 into CA, OR and WA. Not until passing Susanville, CA does this route become very interesting. It's pretty alright but after spending time in the mountains this area is relatively bland. That is until you hit the northeast corner of California. This is where the scenery really takes on some character. Upon entering Oregon, check fuel and get gas every chance you can, US 395 becomes the Oregon Scenic Corridor. I had traveled only 57 miles since getting fuel so topping off the tank was not particularly on my mind at the time. This is when I entered the scenic corridor and had to 128 more miles before fuel became available again. The good thing about this is the road travels through some of the most beautiful ground that I have ever seen. Remember geography? Did you know that Oregon is home to a desert? This high plains desert transitions directly into Fremont National Forest. When I say directly it is an understatement, you have sand and straight into trees with nothing in between. 395 then travels along Albert Lake Lake and Albert Rim before ending in Riley, OR and fuel again. I spent the night in Burns, OR about 30 miles away. Rooms were once again in short supply as the 6th annual Desert Dash motorcycle rally was being held. From the name I thought it was an off-road event but it turns out to be a charity fund raiser. Had I know in advance I might have taken part but at this point I was getting tired and cranky. Socializing was not be had by the big guy at this time.

The next day took me further north on US 395 through the Malheur, Umatilla,Ukia-Dale and Battle Mountain forests. I cannot say that any one was less gorgeous than the others.

After crossing the bridge into Washington state I soon spotted Shumate Harley Davidson. The guys there were great and after a short wait were able to work me in for an unscheduled appointment to take care of my long overdue lubrication needs. Leaving the shop I headed to Coeur d'Alene Idaho. Since leaving Jackson concern for room availability had not been an issue. This was soon to change. There were no rooms available in Coeur d'Alene. After a very spirited ride through the Bitterroot Mountains I found it very discouraging not to be able to find a room in Missoula MT. Calling ahead from Missoula I was able to secure a room in Butte Montana. Let me tell you that after spending 2 1/2 hours in a Harley shop, an 800 plus mile day riding through the mountains with a less than optimal road surface (spell that paved at best) no lighting (color that, praying to God that no animals dart out in front) in cool weather, exhausted, is not my idea of a pleasurable ride. Arriving in Butte I nearly dumped the twin cam in front of a cop. He either did not see me or did not care as he never hit the blue lights. After shaking violently for about an hour from the cold and exhaustion I finally got to sleep.

Oh, what a good sleep does for the soul. The new day took me on my way again. this time staying on I-90 west I spotted Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. As I have stated before a trip like this brings many studies into perspective. This is another site that I highly recommend. Further down the road I decided to head south on I-25 into Casper, WY. Going trough Gillette would have been shorter but never having been to Casper it was for me a no-brainer. The road into Casper took me along the side of a major thunderstorm. The good news is that every time the storm came closer the road veered away from it. The bad news is that tumbleweeds were unavoidable.

After spending an uneventful night in Casper I checked the atlas and picked out a route through Thunder Basin National Grassland. Remember the statement about not asking locals for directions. A local told me there were 3 gas stations along the route (count that 0 gas stations along the route.) I had already anticipated the worst, so fuel conservation was planned in advance. Letting the 88 cubic inch beast take a leisurely stroll at 55 mph, it sipped fuel at a misery 55 mpg rate. 
Another sidebar to this route is that it passed by Thunder Basin Coal Company. It turns out that this is the site of the world's largest surface coal mine.

Next fuel stop was Newcastle WY. From there it was short ride into Deadwood SD where I spent the next two days. After checking out the obligatory barroom shooting of Wild Bill Hickock and capture and trial of the assassin Jack McCall it was time for some rest. Day two of Deadwood I checked out some items that I had not seen before. The Adams Museum and Adams House are interesting history lessons. From there it was on (and up) to Mt Moriah Cemetery. This is the final resting place of  Preacher Smith, Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and many other  notable citizens of Deadwood's past. After finding the remnants of lung tissue that I had puked on the road up to Seth's grave I spent The evening in Deadwood . I spent some time talking with one of the street actors and learned a bit about  current day Deadwood and the events during the year. No problems at this point. It was the next day that my knee decided to remind me of my weight and poor conditioning. Several days later I am now able to walk relatively pain free.Leaving  Deadwood it was an easy two day ride back home. Not until arriving in Wisconsin did I  encounter any rain, and then it was not significant.  9 states and 5152 miles later I was back home. Time to rest for  the next trip.