No Thru Traffic

That’s us at the Grand Tetons, up there.

The KOA that we stopped at outside of Montpelier, Idaho was amazing. We had free wifi, chatted with the owner, had an incredible shower, a nice fire, and slept next to a roaring stream in probably the prettiest campsite we’ve had so far.

We got to wash our bikes up a bit as they’ve gotten pretty filthy riding dirt and gravel construction roads – the only types that run through Yellowstone.

Apparently my body thinks that my bandages are new skin, so it fuses to them.. making changing them like ripping off new skin every time. The lesson just keeps teaching.

My bike needs a new chain pretty bad, so our plan is to head out this morning to Logan, Utah to get a new one installed. From there, we head through Utah…

Oh, and you may notice that I’m growing a gross beard. Comments welcome.

I feel like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Bear with me here.

You say you want to ride a motorcycle and all the crazies, nay-sayers and other people too afraid of their own shadow will tell you that you’re crazy. You’ll crash, you’ll die. There are two types of riders: those who’ve gone down, and those who will.

Whatever. Life is for living, not questioning.

I thought that if I ever got into a motorcycle accident, then it would be because someone hit me, not because of anything I did. I’ve taken my rider safety course, I know the physics of riding and common sense takes care of the rest. Practice is the only thing I don’t have much of, but something that is increasing every day. Well, it turns out that practice may just be what I need the most. And boy, did I get some good practice in Yellowstone.

I was following a huge tour bus on the second day in the park – the kind that you tour Europe with, the kind that you can’t see anything in front of. I noticed that it was from Nebraska and had stupid lettering on the back that read “Please drive carefully, very special people onboard”. What does that even mean?

Well I had a safe distance, maybe could have had more, but we were only traveling about 25 mph and were approaching an open field. So, I looked to the right to see if there were any bison, held my glance for maybe a second or two, then turned to look back ahead.

The rest of this happens in a split-second.

I immediately notice that the bus is slowed way down, which looked stopped to me at the time, and all I could see was a wall of metal. I threw all logic, education, and common sense out the window and instantly grabbed the front brake. My fight or flight syndrome apparently said it was time to stop or kiss the bus. Unfortunately, the physics of motorcycling don’t agree with sudden and drastic application of the front brake as it quickly reminded me of when the front tire locked up, skidded for about five or six feet then sent me sliding on my left side down the pavement.

Don’t worry, the bike faired pretty well, as my leg was between it and the pavement for the whole slide. Don’t worry, I faired pretty well too… the biggest bruise was to  my ego, I think.

So now my bike has some scrapes on it, but most everything has bent back into place. And brace yourself moms, I wasn’t wearing my riding gear. I know, stupid, but I was planning on hiking and didn’t want to have to deal with it.

So my jeans were torn and I ruined a nice jacket and I lost a few layers of flesh on my knee, elbow, hip, and side.

A painful lesson learned. At least now I’ve got some practice, and I didn’t shoot my eye out, either.

Ah, Yellowstone. It was our most anticipated destination and boy were we excited to get there. Unfortunately, the trek required that we ride through yet another windy mess of a thunder/rainstorm.

Along the way, we rode past the guest ranch that I stayed in during my first Red Bull training and the lake that they took me wakeboarding on in very similar terrible weather almost four years ago. Its weird returning to places that you thought for sure you would never see again in your life, and recognizing the details that you’ve forgoten since you left.

We took refuge in a delicious Subway in West Yellowstone and watched two of the most hardcore gamers ever build maps for WOW in the corner with their headphones on. We also discovered that if you work at McDonalds then you are entitled to a discount at Subway as well. Sweet.

The rain let up and we rode into the park at about 5:30, so it was already starting to get a bit dark. In contrast to the weather we have had up until this point, we were surprisingly chilly. And this was before the rain.

We had luckily reserved the last tent site available for a 3-night span and were placed at Bridge Bay campground, about 60 or so miles into the park. Who knew Yellowstone was so big, anyway? Before we could get to our site though we were stuck in a long line of cars that had stopped to look at a lonesome bison. Then it started to rain. So we stood there, straddling our bikes, and got soaked while everyone stopped in the middle of the road to take a blurry picture of a bison’s ass in the dense woods.

It was a good start.

It turns out that the weather is always, or always when we are there, filled with looming clouds and threatening weather. The second day was so wet and hail-y that t-shirt equiped Ryan had to head back to camp to seek refuge as I trudged along in the hail to see Old Faithful bellow steam. While I was out seeing the sights, Ryan’s life was saved as a sensible motorist saw his sorry sight and allowed him to enjoy the dry warmth of their car while the storm passed.

Yellowstone sure is beautiful though – some of the most gorgeous scenery that I’ve ever seen. I loved the diversity of the massive park, the beautiful yet terrifying displays of thermal activity, and the abundant wildlife. It’s just too bad that everyone else loves all these things too as the park was just too damn crowded. Everytime a bison was withing telescope range the road would turn into a parking lot and you would have to sit and wait for sometimes half an hour at a time.

We could have done without the rain greeting us at camp everynight too… it wouldn’t have been so bad if we had some escape other than the tent, as even that refuge became suffocating after a while.

In the end, we both loved Yellowstone, but we would have loved it more if the weather were nicer or if we were the only ones there. It was truly one of the most beautiful places we both have ever seen.

So long, Yellowstone.

Photos that didn’t make it onto the site yet.

Trying to find Ghost Towns, the gravel was just too much to handle

The Owners of The Worlds Greatest Campsite and Square Dance Center

Marmot > Rock

Our 12 mile hike through Glacier.

On our Glacier Hike

Unicorn

The sky IS bigger here

Cooling down along the Lewis and Clark trail

After leaving Glacier we headed south towards yellowstone.  We stopped in Helena Montana to get some lunch at Safeway and stock up for dinner. Up until this point we had been fortunate enough to stay dry, safe and happy. Like two babies tucked into bed, we were content. Until the rains came…

We got soaked riding to Yellowstone. The kind of rain that only takes a couple drops to make you feel like you fell into a bathtub. Just as fast as we were drenched, we dried out. The furry disappeared and the sun came out. It was a good day once again. Or was it….

Riding for a few more hours we were getting ready to find a place to camp for the night. Earlier in the day we had made arrangements to stop at Lewis and Clark State park. We were promised “The Most Well Preserved Caves in All The Land”. About 20 minutes out it was once again bath time. We pulled into the desolate campground and cried under the nearest tree. Luckily we retained our hard persona as our tears mixed with the heavy rains. We’re not crying, its just rain.

The sun soon dried our tears and the breeze blew in warm air. It was once again a good day. Alex played with his motorcycle chain and I listened to the radio. Later on, I made dinner and Alex played with his motorcycle chain. It was getting dark so I brushed my teeth and settled down for bed and Alex played with his motorcycle chain.

In the morning we slept as the breeze blew in.  We awoke to its fresh woodsy aroma and headed up the hill to the caverns. They were really rad. So rad in fact that I am just going to compare them to the lovable kids television show and mini movie series Fraggle Rock.

Its even hard for me to tell them apart.

-Ryan

Glacier National Park

So it’s been a little while since we were last able to update this thing, turns out there isn’t much service in Montana – expecially in Glacier National Park. It also seems as though AT&T shut off my internet tethering, so posts may be more limited or without photos unless we find hotspots during pitstops.

Since we left Lolo, Montana, we rode some back roads and stumbled upon a network of ghost towns by Garnet Ghost Town off of 200. We went back to try and see as much as we could of the 20 mile road but unfortunately it turned to gravel before we could make it all the way. We went with our better judgement and turned back before one of us dumped our bikes.

From there it was a pretty long and boring ride up 83 to West Glacier and the gateway to Glacier National Park. We indulged ourselves with a well-earned, overpriced gut bomb of a lunch at a Pizza Hut in Kalispell, Montana and bought some more noodles and sauce for our upcoming dinners with a nice side of bagels and peanut butter for lunches.

When we finally entered the park, we both thought that it felt like we had entered Jurassic Park as everything was instantly less mollested and prettier. Our campsite was awesome and was nestled in a pretty thick forest along with everyone else.

Our campsite at Glacier

Definitely I more than Ryan thought for sure that we were going to be eaten by a bear as every park ranger and joe hiker had bear spray and a tinge of terror in their eye.

Our campsite, or any campsite in the whole park, didn’t have any showers so we went for a swim in Lake McDonald and enjoyed the sights as we let the mosquitos have their first feast.

Overnight we experienced our first rain – which came in the form of buckets, and was accompanied by the most epic thunderstorm ever. Since we had no other option but to get soaked if we left our sanctuary of a tent, we slept in the next morning until the rain stopped at about 9:30 and headed to Logan Pass along the Road to the Sun.

We had heard that the Highline Trail would be a good hike for us “young whipper-snappers” so we had that as our goal. Along the way we experienced some of the most breath-taking scenery along the road and we both felt as though we had entered the swiss alps. The road literally clung to the edge of the mountain and made only one switchback as we headed the 30 miles to the top.

After being accosted by the overweight harley riders on their 800 pound 3-wheeled beasts, we started our hike… and saw a sweet mountain goat within the first mile. The hike was gorgeous and the terrain wasn’t that bad. But as the miles trudged on and we became more accepting of our less than stellar physical condition we were ready to stop.

After nearly 12 miles (hey, we were at over 8,000 feet… I think) we finally collapsed at the end and took the shuttle back to our bikes at the top. It was quite the trek, but well worth it.

A fact that we both admitted after just the first day, we definitely wish we had brought less clothes as packing up at night with two tiny motorcycles and too much crap is already getting a little annoying. We had a fire though this time and fresh strawberry milkshakes in our bellies so it was a little better this time.

Right now we are in Helena, Montana on our way to the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park where we will hopefully find a spot to camp. After that, it’s to Yellowstone we head and have a spot reserved for three nights.

Oh yeah, we ran into a bunch of bugs today, our gear is getting a little haggard.

The ghost of the Red Pearl lives on

We got a much earlier start today on our way back south to Lewiston and US 12. Yes, we had to backtrack – chalk one up to poor map planning. Once we got back onto US 12 though the road snaked through a valley and hugged a river as we retraced the tracks of Lewis and Clark on our way to Lolo, Montana.

Along US 12 towards Kooskia, ID

The journey went pretty quick and we whizzed by people, barely hearing their snickerings about Red vs. Blue. We were unfazed as the vision of the best motorcycle road ever was just beyond the horizon. At our quick lunch at a local diner in Kooskia, ID we surprised the entire town with showing them their first vegeterian. Ryan feasted on a bun with veggies in it.

And then, we were there at last…

US 12 to Lolo, MT

It wasn’t long after this picture was taken though that we found ourselves at the first of many frustrating construction zones. They littered the first 30 miles of the road and clogged everything up so bad that we were having a hard time coping with the 100+ degree heat. Although for us, salvation was found in the tubes from our CamelBaks, the bikes had no such savior. If mine had a gauge it probably would have barked at me too, but it was Ryan’s bike that gave out first:

Lolo's best dressed victim

We had to stop and cool ourselves and our bikes down and did so while swimming in the incredibly refreshing river right next to the road. We gave the construction workers a sight they will never forget…

After we got through the construction we had the whole road to ourselves in all its brilliant windy and impeccable brilliance. It lived up to it’s hype, but I think the road we took into Lewiston was way sweeter and more desolate.

Entering Montana

We forgot we had to change our clocks going into Montana, so now we are up late with lots of light.

Eating healthy tonight was a main goal, so we stopped at the only gas station between Lolo and our awesome campground to stock up. A meal for champions:

mmmm... Mac and Cheese

And that brings us to our gem of a campground that we found through the otherwise unnecessary AAA books that we brought: Square Dance Center and Campground. This place is incredible! Not only is it really nice, with old and tall trees and a virtually secluded campsite, but we are surrounded by friendly old people who are here to dance. Every night the place hosts square dancing, line dancing, and all other sorts of dancing. Maybe we danced, maybe we loved. Some things will remain a mystery…

Our picturesque campsite

Tomorrow we head to Glacier National Park in northern Montana. We will be staying two nights and hopefully avoiding the thunderstorms…

We started the day off with breakfast in the little town of Joseph before heading to Lewiston, Idaho.  En route to Lewiston we found some truly awesome roads.  Roads straight out of a fairytale. The type of fairytale you were not told as a child because only one fairytale involves 21^st century gadgetry and the Wild West.  But that fairytale has already been made into a big budget Hollywood movie staring Will Smith.  The start of this road warned us of its impending awesomeness with two signs, “Next Gas Station 77 Miles” and “Open Range Livestock in Road”.  Only one of which we got to truly experience when we gassed up 77 miles later.  Disappointed from not seeing livestock in the road Alex sought out the natural inhabitants of the area later on in ride when he sailed down the center of a flying-V formation of some low flying prairie birds. The birds avoided the collision and Alex was reminded of his youthful age by his quick reaction time.  Upon arriving at our mid day destination we found an air-conditioned Starbucks and escaped the sweltering valley that is Lewiston Idaho.  We basked in the greatness of free highspeed internet, downloading the newest episodes of My Super Sweet Sixteen for bedtime entertainment.

Before leaving Lewiston we stopped at Safeway and bought our dinner, which was a can of tomato sauce and a family size bag of noodles.  We hit the road again, on course with Coeur d’Alene.  The road this time consisted of vast expanses of flat plains. Like looking into the constellations,  its the kind of vast expanse that reminds you of how small you really are.  We eventually arrived at Heyburn State Park, a little South of Coeur d’Alene and set up camp. Our Campspot is right on a beautiful lake and we spend some of the evening on the docks watching the remainder of the sunset.

Tomorrow we will backtrack to Lewiston then head to Lolo Pass, Americas greatest road.  You may be familiar with this road. Its known for its 100+miles of twisties winding through the Rockies.  Its home to that famous road sign “Winding Road Next 100 Miles”.  The result of which, will put us at Americas greatest campsite and Square Dance Center. After this campground I don’t know how we will be able to live anywhere else.