Day 11

The final was very long boring ride across South Dakota. Ate lunch outside the badlands. It was a very tireing ride as I was fighting a very strong cross wind the whole way to Sioux Falls.

Here I am the last morning before I hit the road


I stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace...


While in Mitchell I ran across another car wash. This time it was for a girls volleyball fundraiser. It was nice to have a clean bike for the final push home. At Sioux Falls I deceided to cut up to Renville, MN to visit my mother on the way home. Well as everytime I am at moms I really relax, get tired and fall asleep so deceided to spend the night. The next day was only a 112miles home.

The final total was 5017 in 12 days.

Day 1 West St. Paul-Glendive, Montana
627.6 miles
Day 2 Glendive, MT to Glacier National Park-St. Mary, MT
495.5 miles
Day 3 St. Mary, MT to Spokane, WA
385.9
Day 4 Spokane, WA to Seattle, WA
354 Miles
Day 5 Seattle WA to Oceanside, OR
269.7 miles
Day 6 Oceanside, OR to John Day, OR
377.7
Day 7 John Day, OR to Hells Canyon, Snake River back to John Day
344.5
Day 8 John Day
173.4
Day 9 John Day, OR to West Yellowstone, WY
769.8
Day 10 West Yellowstone, WY to Rapid City, SD
626.9
Day 11 Rapid City, SD to Renville, MN
480.5 miles
Day 12 Renville, MN to Home
112 miles

Day 10

I set my phone for 6am so I could pack up and get into the park before the crowds. I was still a bit tired from the long technical ride the day before and the short night of sleep. I was loaded gased up and in the park before 8am. I didn't realize just how big Yellowstone is. By the time entered the park and the west side and exited on the north end I had about 120 miles on. I stopped at Old Faithful but jsut my luck she had blown right before I got there. I didn't want to wait for the next one so I took a pic and hit the road. Heres old Faithful



Some other Geysers..


Yellowstone Lake..




The other road I wanted to ride this trip was the Beartooth highway which starts at the north entrance to the park.



Some pics from the Beartooth...





After driving over the pass I was getting hungry plus I was a bit cold so I stopped at the Red Lodge resort for a late lunch of a buffalo burger. I got back on the road and headed for I90 again. I made it Laurel, MT when I was getting to tired to ride. I pulled into a riverside park, found a nice shaded spot under a huge tree and slept for a couple of hours. During the nap I heard a helicopter fly over and opened my eyes enough to see it was carrying a water bucket for fighting fires. Also the local sherrif was launching a boat at the ramp. After I came too I found out there was a fire on an island in the middle of the river.

I got on the interstate and headed for Rapid City. I had a reservation at the Super duper 8 that evening. Finally pulled in about 10pm after "only" 626 miles. I had a heck of a time finding any pizza delivery that late but finally conviced a local shop to bring me one. Another long day and slept like a baby.

Day 9

Well after much deliberation the night before it was determined that I probably was not going to reach West Yellowstone in one day. Because of this I slept a bit longer than originally intended finally starting out a little after 7am. when I was heading across the parking lot some people noticed that I had a low rear tire.
I pulled into a parking space, put the bike on its center stand, and proceded to find a very long roofing staple in my tire. It couldn't have happened in a better place because there was ample help and advice. I got out my tire repair kit and was taught the proper way to plug a tire. After the tire was inlfated and determined it wasn't leaking I finally hit the road about 8am.

I headed north out of John Day on hwy395. This was the same road I rode the day before but this time I was going all the way into Washington to Walla Walla. From there I hooked up with US 12. Took 12 to Lewiston Idaho. I got my pictures of the state signs I missed earlier in the trip.




At Lewiston Idaho I was greeted with this proof that God loves Motorcylists.....


This is the begining of Lolo Pass where US12 follows a winding river up a mountain. It was hot and I was trying to make some time so this road was actually pretty tireing. I stopped a few times to dip my shirt in the river to cool off. Here are some more pics of the road.





I stopped at the visitors center at the top of the pass. I ran into a couple who were on Harley with Minnesota plates. They had an RV and had trailered their bike and were using for day trips. Leaving the visitor center I rode behind 3 dual sport bikes. Their seats must have been very uncomfortable as they rode standing up on the pegs most of the way to Lolo MT. I talked to them when we all stopped for gas. They had tried to go do some forest road riding but had to turn around because of snow. This is just weird to me because its the first week in July and its been in the 90's for me most of the week.

The night before we determined I would spend the night in Missoula but I have found that when I am traveling these distances it all becomes relative. From Missoula to West Yellowstone its "only" 280 miles. At the rate I was riding on the interstate I figured I could knock upwards of an hour off the 4.5 hour estimate of the GPS. To me I wasn't that far from my original destination so I hit I90 towards Yellowstone. Unfortunatly it was turning dusk when I left the freeway and hit the road to Yellowstone. For the next couple hours I had to slow way down due to the many deer and elk that were along the road. I saw more wildlife that evening than I have in all my other nights driving combined. Well I made it to West Yellowstone and pulled into my campsite right at 10pm which was 11pm local time.

Thankfully my campsite was next to the main office/bath house. I pitched my tent in the dark trying not to make too much noise as everyone else were sleeping. I took the longest shower I can remember and finally got to bed around 1am. I had driven the longest day of my adventure which totalled 769 miles this day.

Day 8

Had a good nights sleep and a lonnnnggg hot shower in the morning. When I was gearing up for the day I couldn't find my gloves. The last time I saw them was when I left them on the bike when we went into the restaurant the night before. I don't remember if I wore them from the restaurant to the campsite or not. They were a very nice pair of vented leather gloves that have been discontinued from Aerostich. The sad thing is that they were finally fully broken in on this trip. There is not much out in Cowboy country of Oregon but was able to find a pair of gloves at the gas station. They were leather on the bottom but a blue neoprene on top. Actually they were really comfortable in the heat. Not much protection in an off but protected from the sun.

This day I again rode with Bruce H and StevenM but were joined by RevRayfrom New York City, and Tank who is from Oregon.

RevRay


Tank is on right in white T-shirt.


We left John Day and headed north on Hwy 395 with Tank leading the way. You could say that he is a more spirited rider when leading than Bruce H was. I like either pace but it was nice to run a brisk pace in a group setting as I don't ride with others too often. Here we are with Tank in the lead and RevRay behind him.


We rode north for about 85 miles where we found a nice place for a swim.




I knew tomorrow was going to be long day for me so I parted ways with the crew and drove back to John Day after the swim. I had laundry to do plus I had to break down and pack my camp. I got a room for the night at the Americas best so I would be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Passed this on the way back to John Day..



Some bikes at the hotel



When I was at the laundromat, Twisties came in to do his and his wife laundry. Boy she must have him trained. He is from Salt Lake City, UT and had a nice chat. While we were waiting for our stuff to dry a young lady pulled up on a BMW 1200GS to do her laundry. Come to find out she wasn't part of our group but passing through from the Washington DC area on her way to California to attend a gathering of the riff raff from the Advrider.com community. We invited her to our banquet dinner that evening. She told us that a light was out on her bike pointed her to Americas Best and there would be a bunch of people to help her out.

That evening I headed over to the banquet at the fairgrounds. There were about 100 registered people but I am sure there were more than that there. Had a nice meal and met some more great people.




After dinner we broke out my map to see how I was going to get to West Yellowstone tomorrow. With the help of Tank, Bruce H, StevenM, and many others who chimend in, it was determined that I probably wouldn't make it in one days ride.


I wasn't thinking when I made my reservations. On the map West yellowstone is just across Idaho from John Day but there are these things called Mountains in the way. I could either head south through Boise and back up or head north to Walla Walla, Washington and on to Lewiston Idaho. I chose to head north becasue I wanted to ride the famed Lolo Pass/Hiway 12. More on that on Day 9...

Day 7

Day 7 started out with breakfast at a local restaurant in John Day. While eating breakfast I was joined by BMWST member Doc47 who had a fascinating story to tell. He is a family physician in Montana who is writing a book about his time in Gambia, West Africa. While there he was put in charge of the ER which is quit a change for a family physician. After breakfast I hooked up with members Bruce H from Oregon and StevenM from Longview, Washington. They were camping next to me at the fairgrounds and I weasled my way in when they were planning there trip for the day. They were headed east to something called Hells Canyon and that sounded pretty interesting.

StevenM


Bruce H


We took 26 out of John Day to 7 to Baker City. Out of Baker City we headed east on 86 and ended up in town of Oxbow on the Snake River. As the name suggests its damn hot in Hells Canyon with temps pushing 100 degrees. We took a nice refreshing dip in the snake river. I wear lighweight microfiber longjohns and t-shirts for a base layer under my riding gear. Getting these wet and then riding sure made the trip back more comfortable.

Here we are on the way to the Snake and Hells Canyon



After our little dip into the snake we headed back. We detoured a bit on the way back and headed up to a scenic overlook in the Hells Canyon National Rec Area. at the top of the overlook we saw some very nice looking scenery......





These two ladies were from Canada and on a 2 week trip through Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. One was on a Honda ST1300 and the other on a sport bike...don't remember what it was but the rear tire did not have any chicken strips. I am sure these gals could ride circles around the three of us. Here are the views from the overlook.




We headed back west to John Day butthe sun and glare were brutal. I don't have prescription sunglasses nor a smoked visor on my helmet so I rode for many miles blocking the sun with my hand. The best advice I have ever heard is "Never live West of where you work". Here are some shots from the bike but aren't very clear.





When we got back we had a nice dinner at a local restaurant and indulged in a beer or two. I was tired and went to bed when I got back to the campsite. Thanks Bruce for being our personal tourguide. I am forever jealous of the diversity of your cruising grounds.

Day 6

I slept like a baby listening to the waves roll onto the beach all night. My body was still on central time so I got up early. The camp was packed and I was on the road before 7am. Today's travel would take me to Oregon wine county, then Portland for lunch and on to my destination of John Day Oregon.

On the map I found a road that looked like it went close to where I was going. The road not having a name on the map should have been a hint. It was a little back country road that went from Blaine, OR to Carlton, OR. I hoped the road went through but I my doubts increased as the tarmac went to dirt and gravel.


I took my chances and continued on up the pass. At the top I was rewarded with this.




I ran down the back side of the pass and into Oregon wine country.
I wanted to stop Sokol Blosser, the vineyard's of one of my favorite wines. I found it on my GPS and it took me right to their front door. I can't find their Pinot Noir anymore in Minnesota so I had some shipped home. They told me they don't ship the Pinot because the demand regionally sells them out each year. I remember when this stuff was the best value at about $10 a bottle but that sure has changed. :( Here are some shots of the Vinyard.






I had a lunch date in downtown Portland with a friend from college. It was a very nice to see Sean again and catch up about family and friends.



After lunch I had a 275 mile trip to John Day. Along the way I stopped and ran up Mount Hood to the . It was a beautiful old lodge that was built as a WPA project during the Great Depression.




The trip to John Day, Oregon was pretty uneventful except the radar detector was lit up quit a bit due to the heavy enforcement areas along the route. It also got quit hot through some valley's with the thermometer on the bike hitting 101 degrees. I saw this tree full of shoes along the road and had to turn around and get a pic.


I pulled into John Day that evening and set up camp at the county fairgrounds. Here is my view out from the camping area of the local wildlife.


After I got my camp set up I went to dinner with other members of the BMWST.com forums that were also camping. After dinner I got to meet some other great members sitting around the campfire. I am definitly the am on the younger end of the demographic of those riding BMW's but they come from all walks of life and had great story's to tell.