A Memorable Return

Many thanks to you who have taken the time to peruse this blog. If you are here for the first time thank you also for your interest! The sequence of stories and photos starts at the bottom and you just work your way up to here. Please click on the photos to enlarge and, if you like any of the photos, please feel free to save them on your computer or print them out and do with as you please. If you enjoy the stories just a tenth as much as I enjoyed my time on the road then I am happy to have brought all this to a fellow armchair traveler.

Day Ten - Last Leg Home

I was up and on my way by three local time which made my departure four in the time zone to which I was pointed. When I started the bike I learned that one of my headlight bulbs was blown and on looking saw it was the full beam. Given that there was quite a bit of traffic on this freeway I didn’t worry about it at that time and decided to change it when I stopped for breakfast.

After breakfast and topping the bike off I rode through Indiana to just east of Toledo, filled up again and brought my steed home to its stable in one dirty piece after 5,000 miles, many new memories and a wish to be back out there soon for a little more quality time with the mountains that are developing a stronger and stronger pull on me.

Day Nine - South Dakota Plains

The hands of the clock were just done announcing the passing of the second wee hour of the morning when I reluctantly pointed my steed in the direction of the soon to be rising sun. It was not long before the lights of Rapid City South Dakota receded in my rear view mirrors into the memory of what had turned out to be an adventurous time in the mountains.

Glancing up I could see some stars under the new moon sky and I figured that as long as I could see stars there were no rain clouds in the sky!

With the exception of three deer sightings alongside the freeway, there is not much to report on the happenings between the last traffic light and pulling up to the pump when the tank was drained after a few hours on the freeway. I also grabbed a hearty breakfast at Al’s Diner which was attached to the gas station.

As I finished up, a Gold Wing rider who had spent the night at the neighboring motel came in for breakfast and struck up conversation. He was very hard of hearing and repeated my every answer to his conversational banter many decibels higher than the level at which I had provided my responses thereby informing the entire gathered three tables that I was from Cleveland and was returning from a trip to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks.

When I was outside getting myself ready for the next few hours of riding he came outside for a smoke and introduced himself as Maurice, a retired trucker who had owned ten rigs in his day as well as all manner of motorcycle over the forty or so years he had been riding. It was his preferred form of travel and he had been to the Harley Davidson event in Milwaukee and was on his way back home to Santa Fe New Mexico.

He talked about how he had once owned a BMW but gave it to his son when he went off to college because he wanted his son to have a reliable bike and, he didn’t want him hanging out with Harley guys because, if the rest were anything like he was, his son would get into trouble in a hurry (protective father using lessons from his past to protect his progeny).

The next tank was as unremarkable as the first. I stopped at a gas station just outside Alberta Lea Wisconsin. There was no restaurant at this stop so I ate pre-made hot gas station subs with a cup of coffee standing out by the pumps.

As I was getting to my second sandwich a sparkling clean Harley Road King with a trailer and two-up pulled into the spot by the pump behind mine and I chatted to the couple for a few minutes. They were amazed at my trip mileage and also at the fact that I was doing it by myself. The wife then took a better look at the bike and said “well, of course he can do that, he is riding a BMW”.

A couple of miles up the road I turned south on interstate 35 for my run through Iowa before I jumped on I-80 east for the last leg home. The initial plan had been to try to get the trip home done in one long pull but just east of Waterloo Iowa I missed a freeway intersection and rather than heading south towards Iowa City on route 27 I was instead headed east on route 20 towards Dubuque. It was at that point that I made the decision that Cleveland would have to wait until tomorrow and I pulled over to book a hotel for the night.

Looking at the clock and the map I figured I would be in Davenport Iowa around 5:00 – 5:30 so that is where I booked a hotel and then continued to that destination for the night. I ate at Red Lobster (the prices have gone way up in the ten years since my last visit) and hit the sack with the intent of departing early in the morning for home.

Day Eight - The Big Horn Mountain Range

The captions are below the photos. Please click on the image to enlarge and keep any you like.


I was in no big hurry when I got up for this day’s riding. I had two alternate routes and either would get me into Rapid City South Dakota before nightfall. I was going to let the weather pick my route today, starting on the north end of the range and, if weather allowed, working my way down to the south.

With my room being right next to the lobby I smelled the first toast to be dropped in the toaster and, with the knowledge that breakfast was served I decided to eat here before taking off so that I would not have to stop for breakfast, or, worse, risk getting into another no-meal-day situation.

At breakfast on an extremely comfortable couch I saw the biker I talked to the prior afternoon on my return from dinner and we chatted a little more about roads, rides and bikes. With my two bowls of cereal and five mini-muffins quaffed I opened up a space on the couch for another traveler. Loaded and ready I pointed the bike northeast on Alternate Route 14. It was flat riding with mountains on each horizon and it saddened me that I was reeling in the miles in the direction of the last mountain range before the plains called a flat and featureless end to what had been a great visit to the mountains.

This is the view of the mountains to the west when you are standing in the motel parking lot.

This one is looking north.

As I left Cody I caught a glimpse of the lower end of the Absaroka Range in my rear view mirror so I stopped to get a shot.

I also got a shot of this mountain.

And then decided to use my bike as a frame for another shot.

Along the way I rode through the south end of the Big Horn Canyon National Recreational Area. The little bit I saw from the road made me decide that it didn’t warrant a visit. I think that further down and closer to the dam it is probably a lot more interesting but this end of it was just a shallow lake in the otherwise barren landscape.

Looking at what lay ahead there was no way to go but up. The first part of the climb into the Big Horn range was slower than I would have preferred because the road was pretty badly damaged – my guess is that the avalanches in the winter drag rocks down with them and those pound the road. I posit this theory because each place where the damage occurred was directly below un-treed sharp slopes covered with rocks the size of small Volkswagens. Once past that lower part, though the pavement cleaned up quite a bit and the foot pegs had their first encounter with the road and that would be the situation for the rest of the ride up.

The top of the range is in around 9-10,000 feet in elevation and I rode along for a few miles on highland plains before getting to the Route 14 intersection. It was here that I decided to take the shorter route out of the mountains because the longer route looked to be under precipitation and judging from the snow around me and temperatures up here in the low 40’s and wind chills probably in the mid to low 30’s I figured that if I were to take that route I would encounter falling snow at the higher elevations in the couple of passes I hoped to ride.

Having seen more than my fair share of precipitation so far on this trip and having lucked out with the light snow in Yellowstone I didn’t feel like doing any wet weather riding on this day. Besides, on my last trip through the Big Horn mountains I had ridden through that southern pass in pouring rain in the dark and I had no desire to do it again in the damp. As I have said before, mountain riding in precipitation is precipitous and puts you in greater danger of an unplanned visit into the precipice that lies to one side of the entire trip up and down.
My preference was to take to the dry pavement with vigor and the ride down the eastern slope of the Big Horn Range did not disappoint!! Long sweeping turns on clean pavement let me lean way the heck over. I will certainly be back to ride up this side of the mountain on a future trip!

Early snow on the plains at the top of the north end of the Big Horn Mountain Range

This is Bald Mountain with a summit at 10,042 feet, only a few hundred feet higher than the spot where I stopped.

This is near Bald Mountain but looking north. I liked the way the colors came out exactly the way they looked to the eye.

One last look at the mountains before hitting the plains!

At the bottom it was a short jog to the freeway and then under two hours to Gillette were I stopped for lunch. It is funny, when I got off the freeway I immediately recognized the town and remembered I had stopped here before and had lunch at a place called Grandma’s or something like that. I filled up at the same busy Shell station and then found the restaurant. Now, when you are out in the middle of the plains in eastern Wyoming and you go BACK to a restaurant you are practically a native! I had a hot burger which turned out to be two hamburger patties each on its own slice of bread, covered with hot brown gravy, a healthy dollop of mashed potatoes and some woefully overcooked peas.

There were lots of big fellas in there with their western hats on and I thought I should have just left my helmet on so that I would blend in!

From there it was a short couple of hours to Rapid City. Not far from the Wyoming and South Dakota border I started to take a back road but saw that it was storming up ahead and, having ridden through those Black Hills of South Dakota before, I knew that they were populated with buffalo and deer so I didn’t want any surprise meetings with those guys today in the reduced traction conditions the rain created. I had done enough testing of the ABS system and my gear had received a through wash in the ride form Wyoming to Idaho a couple of days before.

When I got into town I gassed up, checked in and walked to the restaurant next door for an unremarkable meal. After that I checked the weather for the next day and, with it being clear and with me having arrived and eaten so early it would be possible to leave from here at o’ridiculously-dark thirty and do a straight through ride to Cleveland the next day. I decided not to book a hotel for the next night and see how the day went. If I had it in me to ride the 1,300 or so miles then I would go for it. If not, I would just ride until I got tired and then find a motel and finish the ride home on Saturday.

Day Seven - Yellowstone National Park

The captions are below the pictures. Please click on the image to enlarge and, if you like any of them enough, feel free to download them onto your computer.

My arrival in Bozeman had been less than ideal. In picking a town near Yellowstone I had the impression that I would arrive well before dark and have time to relax. Instead I did not check in until well after dark and wolfed down a quick meal at the Chinese Buffet down the street before returning to the hotel to look at pictures and write. On return to the hotel I learned that they only place I could receive a signal for my wireless was in the lobby ..... hardly the place to kick off your shoes and relax in your jammies while sipping on a beer!

On getting up this morning I looked outside and saw that the skies were overcast and my bike was wet!! What in the world was THAT about?!?! The weatherman has promised sunshine all day long. I huffed to the lobby and pulled up weather.com and found that the weatherman was standing by his claim! I swear I am going to buy that bastard a window!

The hotel had breakfast ready in the lobby so I ate a healthy portion of biscuits and gravy, a banana and a couple of eggs and polished off a yogurt. I thought that would hold me in good stead for the better part of the day and would avoid a stop in the rain.

I took off under cloudy skies and enjoyed a 25 mile 90 mph sprint on Interstate 90 (they don’t enforce the daytime speed limit in Montana .... I LOVE it here!) to Livingstone where I turned south on route 89 to head up to through the valley carved by the Yellowstone River between the Absaroka mountain range to the east and the Madison range to the west. The drizzle let up a few miles from the northern ranger post and I hoped that was the last of it for the day.

After passing through the ranger post the road turned wickedly curvy with good sight lines for a couple of miles and I was fortunate enough not to have any cars in front of me so I gunned it and soaked them in and then turned around to head back down to take photos ........ um, and, yeah, to ride it again!! hee hee

This is the Absaroka Mountain Range as seen from the valley of the Yellowstone River north of the park. The low clouds and rain limited visibility so I am sure there are even more peaks visible on better days.

When I rode back down the wickedly curvy road I stopped to take a photo of the 45th parallel and a passing bicyclist offered to take a photo of me and my bike! Bicyclists ROCK!!

Here is a shot of the Yellowstone River that I liked.

Mammoth Springs is the first “town” on this end of Yellowstone and has what can be best be described as a plaza or square, although, it was much more of a rectangle with the buildings on the south end of it and lush green lawn down the middle with a one way drive on either side. The north end overlooks the Yellowstone River valley and the views in all other directions are dotted with mountain peaks.

On the lawn was a small herd of elk that seem to have become so accustomed to human attention that they appeared to ham it up for the cameras. All you had to do was ask for a profile view and in a couple of moments your wish was granted.

Just up from the Mammoth Springs I stopped in to see the Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace and got to enjoy a few more geysers and the wonders they push up from beneath the surface.

The elk in the square at Mammoth Springs. You can see that the biker in the photo made sure to be all the way over to the edge of the road!

Mammoth Hot Springs info.

This spring sprung up some interesting stuff. The water is full of minerals and as it pushes up and trickles out this mound made up of subterranean minerals continues to grow

This tree sure found the WRONG place to sink roots!

On the climb out of Mammoth Springs I saw these two lakes and the next two photos are just different angles and reflections

In the foreground you can see clear through to the bottom of this pond!

I decided to take the western loop towards Norris and then east to Canyon Village. I stopped off at Sheepeater Cliff to see what that was all about and then got back on the road. As with a lot of this side of Yellowstone, the drive was pretty much just a drive through the woods and across open plains with not much to see. One of the things I have learned about Yellowstone is that you do need to get out in the back country to really see it so that will mean a trip back out here with hiking boots a backpack and a tent!

Still north of Norris I was passing through a wooded area next to the Gardner River and I was stunned to see a lone bison strolling up the road towards me. I stopped and wondered what to do. I had read the warnings about their unpredictability and also their ability to very quickly get to a full 30 mph charge if provoked. Only, they didn’t tell you what provoked them; for all I knew this one may have had something against imported motorcycles.

As I was stopped pondering my next move a car came up behind me and I waved it by so that I could see how the animal reacted to vehicular traffic.

It totally ignored the car and kept coming towards me. Another car came along, I waved that one by and it too was ignored by the beast. Okay, my test samples produced a result that appeared to be favorable to me so I put the bike in first and putted forward keeping an extremely keen eye on the buffalo and leaning forward, ready to roll heavy on the gas should the buffalo change its habits and all of a sudden develop either an interest in motorcycles or a great irritation with them. I was ready to take advantage of the machine’s ability to sprint to 60 in 3.2 seconds and dart out of danger.

Thankfully, the danger didn’t come and it ignored me. Emboldened by the experience, I turned around and passed it, albeit, very close behind a car so it seemed I was in tow and then, turned around again so that I was in its path but over to the side of the road. I was determined to get my photo but the closer the buffalo got, the lower my boldness sank and, though I had the camera ready, I really didn’t want to take my hands off the throttle and I also didn’t want to turn off the bike or take it out of gear so, having only two hands, I had to be satisfied with just watching this wild beast walk by about ten feet from me as I listened to its every breath and each clip clop of its hooves as it majestically strolled by with a twig hanging from its left horn.

I did get a photo of it but it was of the ass-end when I felt confident that I was far enough out of danger.

Funny how places get named!

At this point it is obvious that I like shots of rivers!

Here is the photo of the ass-end of the bison that was walking along the road.

The drive to Canyon Village was unremarkable but just south of the Village I was greeted by the splendor of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and I will let the photos below tell the story. Even though the colors look good, they are a horribly poor rendering of the true colors and this greatly disappointed me. Now I REALLY want that new camera!

This is a shot across the Yellowstone River at rocks on the other side with different colored moss and plants that I found interesting.

I am not sure if it is moss or fungus but I liked this red growth on the rock. the river behind it didn't come out as I would have liked ....... did I mention I am getting a new camera for my birthday?

The rocks in the foreground tell the possible story of why this park was called Yellowstone.

This photo was a true dissapointment! The actual colors of the rocks are the yellow above and the pinks below.

Beautiful as this view of the Yellowstone River may be from Artist Point, it does not reveal the scale and true beauty of this place!

As I was taking my photos from what is named Artist Point it started to snow! I had to get over Dunraven Pass at 8,859 feet in elevation and if it was stating to snow here that might mean even more up there so I decided to get going. It did get colder than the 41 degrees at Artist Point and there were some light flurries but nothing was sticking on the road. Still, I took it easy on the descent which was a shame because it is a wonderfully curvy few miles on impeccable pavement!

Looking north on the Yellowstone River

Looking south at the Yellowstone River and the Absaroka Mountain Range

Some fun facts along the way

And, my photo of the vertical steam vents

I made a couple of stops to take photos of the Yellowstone River and then turned east towards Cooke City. This road tracks the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek in a wide valley that, to my pleasant surprise, was populated with good sized herds of buffalo. It was a wonderful experience to be zipping along with mountains on either side and herds of buffalo within clear view; I knew there were some songs about the open range and buffalo in the wild west but I don’t know any of them so I just tunelessly sang buffalo lalalalala ...... wild on the range la di da in a horrible rendition of whatever it was I was hoping to sing. Let me just say that you are in no danger of hearing it on any radio station anytime soon; only one set of happy ears was punished.

Bison grazing by the road

A handy escape vehicle should the bison decide to charge

On exiting the park I was greeted by a construction zone with the dreaded “Motorcycles take extreme caution” road sign. I was first in line at the lollipop holder so we chatted as I waited for my turn and she told me that this part was not too bad but further up it got pretty sloppy because of the rain that had come through in the past couple of days.

On this first part I had to ride across a muddy section that took us off the paved road and then curved back on. Just as I was about to get back on the pavement the rear wheel started to slide out on me and I was sure the bike was going down but a good stomp of my size 15 riding boot kept the antenna up! A little further up the road there was another stop and the lights of two bikes I had seen in the rear view mirrors came around the cars and behind me. It turned out to be two German guys traveling around the world and they had come from Germany, across Russia and down through Alaska. I mentioned the mud we had just ridden through and they laughed saying that was not mud. They were a little impatient and when the pilot car came down they went around the waiting line of cars and positioned themselves behind the pilot car. I though of following them but the road became rather slick at that point and I chose to take it easy because I didn’t want to push past the cars and then drop the bike up the road to the glee of the folks I had passed. It was a rather nerve wracking couple of miles with a little slip and slide here and there but I made it without putting one boot down. I stopped in Cooke City to gas up the bike for what, if the rain and snow held off, promised to be a fun run into Cody Wyoming.

The weather up ahead didn't look too promising!

But the views were amazing

And, I stopped to smell the flowers I liked this shot because in a somewhat barren expanse, in among the shaggy grass and rocky soil was this dash of color.

A closer look at the flowers. I liked this one because it show the flowers in various stages of bloom

A look back at the mountains that border Yellowstone to the east.

The weather up ahead looked like it cleared up somewhat

The rain did indeed hold off and I had an enormous amount of fun dragging the foot pegs through hundreds of corners, winding the motor up to the rev limiter between corners and pulling hard on the brakes to scrub off speed in preparation for the next grin inducing and gravity defying lean through a corner. I think the engineer who built this road must have been a motorcyclist! I installed new brake pads the day before leaving and if they had not seated themselves with all the emergency stops for animals in days gone by, they were good and seated now!

If that shot of curves in Dinosaur National Monument was road porn, this is the centerfold! No place for cops to hide, practically no traffic, no gravel on the turns, hairpins, sweepers chicanes and straights long enough to wind it up into the triple digits before jumping on the brakes for the next grin-enducing corner. Oh, and the views are amazing as you can see below!

The eastern mountians of Yellowstone National Park

Panning to the north, even more mountains of northern Yellowstone and southern Montana

Yes, you get a little education on this blog!

I like the fact that you can learn the history of the area as you drive through

In Cody I checked in and had dinner at a restaurant that touted itself as the maker of “The Best New Mexico Style Mexican Food” and it didn’t disappoint!! The service was quick and the food was tasty! I had a good view of the street and watched dozens of bike rumble by and tourists peering in windows. My waiter had lived here for a few years and then gone back to Mexico but he moved back just two weeks before. He took great interest in my bike which was parked right outside and he asked how quickly it got to 60 mph and when I told him it was 3.2 seconds he was amazed and went to tell the other staff members but none seemed to have any interest in his newly learned fact. (there was only one other table seated and they were replacing advertising that was in the ceiling lighting)

After dinner I gassed up and went back to the motel. I pulled in behind a group on Harley’s who were on their way back to Washington state from a huge rally at the Harley Davidson headquarters in Milwaukee Wisconsin. It was a big anniversary for the company and over 300,000 bikes had showed up and they said it was just crazy! After my experience in New Mexico with biker rally traffic over Memorial Day weekend earlier this year I was glad to have missed it. Even they said it was too much.

Back in the room when it was still light I sat down to check out the news of the world and write. I managed to get to the news but I didn’t write ...... as is evident in the delay in getting this leg of the trip posted! The plan for tomorrow was a ride across the Big Horn Mountain range and on east to Rapid City South Dakota and, if time allowed, a stop by the Crazy Horse monument.

A Little More

Thanks all for your patience! I still have the photos and story from a day in Yellowstone to post. I will try to get to it tonight but it may yet be tomorrow.

Here are some photos from Yellowstone for you to see while I work my way through all the photos and pick the ones to include in my post for that day.

I liked the yellow flowers and big stones in ..... YELLOWstone!

I liked this river.

And, the Buffalo roam free!

Day Six - Truly Grand Teton

The captions are below the photos. Please Click on the photos to enlarge and, if you like any of them feel free to save them to your computer.

Having spent the last day cooling my jets in Pocatello I was more than ready to get on the road. When I pulled onto the freeway for the twenty minute run up I-15 to Idaho Falls the a few stars revealed themselves in the receding darkness and that was a good indication, well, at least for the start of the day, of clear skies. It was also COLD!!! With the thermometer serving up a more than brisk 36 degrees I put on every piece of heated gear I had, turned on the heated grips and the heated seat. Once everything warmed up it was a nice cozy ride. I saw a motorcycle up ahead and when I caught up to it I saw it was a Honda Gold Wing and the rider had an open face helmet. He looked over and nodded when I passed by and I could see that his face was very red and he had a rather grim and determined expression on his face. Hah, motorcycling! It is all about freedom and his way of doing it was putting his face to the wind .... even one close to freezing ... better man than me!! That reminded me of the conversation I had with the barista at Snake River Cafe the day before about freedom and government intrusion in so many aspects of our lives.

I love to see the sun rise on a bike (bicycle or motorcycle) and this one was a good one. The horizon to the west of Idaho Falls is broken up by multi-peak mountains and their silhouettes against the morning light were like a magnet as I turned east towards them.

Off the freeway I took route 26 to Swan Valley where I jumped on route 31 for a short run to Victor where I would join Idaho route 33/Wyoming route 22 for the leg into Wyoming.

Coming into Swan Valley I crossed the Snake River and that drop down into the Snake River Valley was a harrowing three mile crawl in pea soup fog with about fifty yards visibility. I had my hazard blinkers on with my hand ready at the brake. the fog lifted just before the bridge and I slowed a little to take in the river (yeah, I like rivers!). Having gone the last few miles with no cars in my rear view I was startled to see a car right behind me when I looked to my left to catch sight of the view on that side of the bridge. I accelerated hard and got back to the posted 65 in about a second and a half but the driver was determined to keep up and was soon close behind. Not tailgating but close enough.

When I turned onto 31 there was a pickup truck in front of me and the car behind me also turned. I followed the truck on the double yellow and passed on a short dashed section just as the curves were starting. I have enjoyed this road before and that is why I decided on it as a route into Wyoming. The car also passed the truck and then passed me. He was hauling *ss and, since I was on this road for fun, I decided to use him as radar bait. We did go faster than I would have gone had he not been there and though the bike was running well within its limits I had fun nonetheless and we made very quick work of that 21 miles.

The short jog east from Victor took me over the Teton Pass and I started out behind some traffic that was chugging through the corners so about half way up I turned around, rode down the way the road should be ridden and then waited for a break in cars and did the same all the way to the top where I caught up with the cars. I stopped to take in the view (actually, I was waiting for the cars to get far enough ahead so that I could enjoy the descent but the view is spectacular!) of the Snake River valley and Jackson Wyoming.

I did make the ride down fun and at the bottom I filled up the bike and, determined not to repeat the meal-less day from a couple of days back I stopped at a roadside diner right there in Wilson for breakfast. It felt just as cold in there as it was outside! I asked the waitress what she would recommend and she told me it was her first day so she didn’t know all the food items yet but she did mention that she was a vegetarian and that being the case her recommendation was the veggie omelet. Being omnivorous and liking my breakfast meat when I am on the road I had my traveling staple of two eggs over easy, hash browns and sausage.

This is a view of the hills just south of Victor Idaho

From there I turned north towards the Grand Teton National Park. I stopped in at the Laurence Rockefeller Preserve to see what that was all about. The friendly ranger at the parking lot told me that this part of the park was formerly owned by the Rockefeller family and had been their private ranch and closed to the public. It turns out that the John D. Rockefellers, in his determination to preserve the natural state of the valley bought 33,000 acres of surrounding ranches and handed it over to the park service with the stipulation that it be added to the Grand Teton National Park. They still own a lot of land in the area and continue to buy up any land that becomes available with the intent of expanding the boundary of the park.

The preserve had an odd looking building set in the middle of a field an on entering I could not help but notice the workmanship that went into the joinery on the doors and windows and every aspect of the building. Everything in there is the very top notch!! I guess it makes sense that the Rockefeller’s would employ only the best craftsmen to work on anything they commissioned.

This had been a 3,100 acre ranch and one of the places where the Rockefeller family would go to enjoy the bounty of nature and its ability to rejuvenate the spirit. A while back they transferred 2,000 acres to the park and just recently, this remaining 1,100 acres and this is the first year it is open to the public.

It turns out that on the land was Phelps Lake and there is a three mile round trip hiking trail up to the lake. I talked to the ranger about it and she said the views of the mountians were spectacular up at the lake. Having decided to spend the day in the park I took off my riding gear and headed up the trail. Just before heading up I asked if she had a map. She did and as she handed it to me I asked what she was knitting; she said it was a glove and her goal was to one day be able to knit a sweater. I was puzzled and told her that it would seem to me that a glove would be harder to knit than a sweater but she said it was the other way around. I noticed she had knitted mittens with ends that folded back so you could use your fingers without having to take your mittens off so I asked if she made those and it turns out she did but she said she crocheted that and she could crochet anything because that was easy for her. She loved to do it and it is what she does for gifts – gloves, hats, scarves, throw rugs. A close look at the gloves revealed that she is really very good at it and that makes for lucky friends and family! When she wants a new set of gloves she just buys the wool and, presto, in two days she has her gloves.
I headed up the trail along a bubbling brook and really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and walk in the woods. It was a bit brisk but a good pace soon warmed me up. On the way up to the lake I stopped at a couple of clearings to marvel at the view. I ran into my first fellow hiker about half way up and she told me that the north side of the lake was very still and I could get some good reflections. I thanked her, wished her a good morning and started back up the hill.

This moss caught my eye

At the lake the view didn’t disappoint. The pictures tell a lot more than my words ever could so here they are. I saw a couple of women figuring out where to take pictures of each other with the lake behind them and I offered to get one of both, an offer they accepted and they took one of me.

When I went around to the north side of the lake I found a group of three, a man, his wife and their daughter. Up here, so far removed from civilization, the man was on his cell phone!!!!! When he finished his conversation he told his wife he couldn’t believe it worked all the way up here and she said she couldn’t believe he answered it. My thought was why in the world did he have it turned on ...... speaking of which, where IS my phone? Hmmmm, who cares? I am on vacation!

Does that guy look happy or what?

Just as promised, the mountains reftlected in the lake.

Another arresting sight

This is the building, I think it is an interpretive center, on the Lawrence Rockefeller Preserve

When I got back to the bottom I saw the woman who had told me about the reflections on the lake. She was taking pictures of the stream and I stopped to do the same and also thank her for the suggestion. She was from the area and spent a lot of time here taking photos and enjoying the hikes. She told me of a couple of places where I could get really good shots of the mountains and I asked her about one particular road that would take me to the summit of Signal Mountain – she said that was a waste of time. It turned out that her husband was in a class that day, a class that taught stuff about mountaineering in general and these mountains in particular so she was taking advantage of the day alone to get some pictures. Though he is an experienced climber, he is always eager to learn more as he was climbing the Grand Teton Mountain the next day with a group of friends.

I admired her camera, a Canon digital Rebel. I think I know what I am getting myself for my birthday! I had better start saving up!

I took the road she said was a waste of time and I am so glad I didn’t listen to her! The views of the Snake River to the north and the Absaroka Range of the Rocky Mountains behind them were spectacular. I also found the views of the Teton Range to be equally spectacular. Boy, am I glad I didn’t listen to her on that!! I did go on to the couple of places she suggested and the views there were also spectacular. Yes, I am using that word a lot and if you have the opportunity to visit this park you will also find that it is entirely appropriate and, though expressive of extreme wonderment, it is a superlative that doesn’t match the beauty of this place.

The woman who told me about the reflections on the lake also told me not to bother going to the top of Signal Mountain because it was a waste of time but this view and the ones below prove otherwise. This time it was a good thing I don't always listen to what I a told!

The Snake River and the Absaroka Range seen looking north from Signal Mountain.

A part of the Teton Range with Jackson and Jenny Lake in the middle ground.

Looking due east from Signal Mountian - I liked the color of the plains.

Another view from Signal Mountain

The Teton Range as seen from the Jackson Lake Dam

This is a view of the Teton Range from the banks of the Snake River at the place where I was directed by the woman told me not to go to the top of Signal Mountain. It is a nice and peaceful setting!

A southerly view of the Teton Range from the north side of Jackson Lake

I had spent a good part of the day soaking in the Teton Range and, looking at the map, I would have to make tracks in order to get to Bozeman Montana before nightfall.

On up to Yellowstone National Park. I had been warned that the drive up from the south is rather bland, and, it was. At the entrance gate I was in line behind an old Honda Hybrid – I forget the name of it but it was a little two door car from the 90’s. I had my Ella and Louis playing in the CD player and turned up quite a bit. I noticed that they rolled down their windows and were bobbing their heads to the tune. I wondered if I was disturbing others and turned it down. Once through the gate I stopped to put the Yellowstone map in the map holder and while I was doing that the couple in the Honda walked over to ask about the bike. They looked to be holdovers from the hippie days. I think it had been quite a number of years since the man’s hair, head and facial, had seen clippers or scissors. She had a silver Mohawk about three inches wide and two tall and the rest of her head was bald. The Mohawk extended back along the top of her head and ended at a tattoo. Below the tattoo she had a half inch wide braided pony tail with all manner of colored yarn incorporated in it.

She was the only one of them who spoke and she, using the word “cool” a lot, told me about their motorcycles – he has a sixties vintage Flathead and she has a Hard Tail from the seventies. She bought it white but had it painted flat black because that was more her style. She said she has a friend with a BMW and she got to ride it once and her opinion of it was that it was smooth, fast and, you guessed it, cool.

The Lewis River by Lewis Falls in Yellowstone National Park

I wanted to exit the park on the west end and take route 191 into Bozeman so I decided to stop by the Old Faithful geyser. I was SO disappointed; it was like freakin’ Disneyworld!! A HUGE parking lot, a gigantic hotel and stadium seating. I didn’t even get off the bike. Just up the road was the Black Sand Basin and I stopped there to take these photos. This was more my speed, just a few people and wooden walkways to keep you off the hot ground.

A Geyser at Black Sand Basin

I liked the colors in this pool. I wonder how deep it is .....

I wondered how this piece of wood got here given that there were no treen nearby. I was also amazed that the grass could grow so green with such toxic water flowing through. Anyhow, I liked the colors so I took the shot and I am glad at the way it turned out.

There were variously colored mosses in this steaming trickle into the stream.

When you read about how dangerous and toxic the water it makes you think twice about breathing when you walk through the geyser steam! If it can dissolve your boots I wonder what it does to your lungs!

I forgot to sheild the camera from the sun so this shot that was initially a mistake turned out to be one of my favorite.

My first Bison view of the day. It was about 30 feet from the road and, being on the bike, I didn't wait for it to get any closer!

This reflection caught my eye as I headed north towards Bozeman.

I headed on west, slowed a couple of times by elk jams and the sun was well on its way down when I exited the park. Onto 191, the pace picked up as I gunned it north towards Bozeman but, alas, an arrival in the dark is what the cards had in store for me! There were several places along the road with construction going on and when that happens here there is only one lane open and a pilot car to guide you through which means you have to wait for the traffic going the other way to pass. I spent probably an hour total sitting by the side of the road. I checked in about 9:00 and went up the road for Chinese buffet.

The hotel had wireless but you couldn’t get a signal in the rooms. It had been my intention to spend two nights here but, my first room key didn’t work, there were no towels in the room so I had to go to the front desk to get those and then the thing with the wireless. My agitation pushed me to book a hotel in Cody Wyoming. That is not too far east of Yellowstone and would make for an easy day of riding and allow me to take in the park. That done, and email answered I hit the sack.