Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember15
By the numbers:
1- dead bike
1 – amazing view
3 – prisons
14 – buses
So…we got a late start. My fault. I wanted to finish the previous days blog, edit a few pics, and grab breakfast downstairs. We finally get out of the hotel about 9:15am and head to Sandia Peak – I was *very* excited to go on this ride since it’s been recommended to me by numerous friends. The turquoise trail takes us from Santa Fe to the base of the impressive peak. I look my google maps to see if there’s a short cut through the mountain to ABQ and it looks like there is. Sweet!
We get to the base of the mountain and I look up to see the top and it doesn’t look that high but maybe that’s because we’re already at 6000 feet. The road is amazing – everything I’d been told. It’s perfectly maintained, banked, with good signage. Awesome. Even more awesome if the fact that there’s NO ONE on the road. I should ride on Tuesday mornings more often. We head up to the peak and we’re almost there before I realize that the “peak” I saw before was just a low pass. The looming peak just ahead of us is the real peak. I’m embarrassed I was that wrong but thrilled there’s a lot more awesome road ahead of us!
I get to the turn off before the peak to head to ABQ and not 100 feet ahead of us the road turns to gravel and mud. Damn it! Again! This time the GPS said it was a road. Hmm – I go to start my bike and it just goes dead. No power at all. Then some power but it won’t turn over. Ghen dead again. Hmm – something electric. I was the last person to touch the battery so I check the connection. It seems solid but the screw is loose so I tighten it and my problem goes away. Whew.
Off to the peak! It turned out to be another good change of route since the road got better as we climbed to over 10000 feet. The view from the top is stunning. It’s perfectly clear and we can see for close to 75 miles in any direction. I was up on Sandia Peak last year but it was at night. Glad I made it back to see it in the light. It’s very high – just climbing the stairs to the lookout point has us both outta breath. We snap a few pics and head back down the mountain to make up some lost time and even downhill is a blast.
Back down to more reasonable elevations, we head down to Hwy 40 and drone on for 150 miles to Gallup before taking a short cut Tim and I found last year. This road goes through the Navajo and Hopi reservations and really puts things into perspective. I was hit hard by it last year and this year it really had an impact on Dan. I really am fortunate to be able to take a trip like this…
We make good time through the meandering roads avoiding 14 (yes! 14!) school buses and some VERY fast moving semis. For the first time on this trip, we headed into the sun as it set….and it sucked! We roll into Tuba City a little after 6pm and it looks strange but familiar after seeing it during a power outage last year. We check in and immediately head over to the only restaurant in town conveniently attached to the hotel. Nice. We wait 15 minutes before even being acknowledged and are then told food might be out to our table in an hour or so. Uggh. Not nice. I’m moments away from going a block down the street for dinner when our water comes by to take our order. An appetizer is in front of us just a few minutes later and my thought of a big mac quickly fade away.
Tomorrow – Vegas, baby!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 10 - Grand Junction CO to Santa Fe NM - 483 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember14
By the numbers:
1 - delicious stout
2 - meals with delicious green chiles!
4 - passes over 10000 feet
11118 – highest elevation reached
The weather was nice when we got up – slightly cool, some high clouds, and no rain. We put on a layer to keep warm and headed south. We know the mountain passes would be colder and it was still early morning. We’re glad we did as we climbed over a variety of mountain passes in Southern Colorado. A little rain here and there but no real issues.
We stop in Ridgway for some great breakfast and to get some sorely needed caffeine. We’re high up in the pretty mountain passes and it only gets better as we climb up and down the constantly rising ranges. We pass Telluride and the road goes up. And up. And up. 8500 ft, 9500 ft, we went all the way up to 11118 feet! Our bikes had a hard time with this elevation and we noticed that breathing was a bit more challenging. As expected, it was very cold up top and the roads were wet. Not a good combination for a ride like this – high tire pressures at that elevation, slick roads, and cold temps make traction sparce. We keep our speed down and don’t have a problem.
Every time we think we’re headed down in elevation we go back up to 10000 feet. The weather gets worse as we head to lower elevations and the skies really open up a few times. We make it to Durango and the weather improves but there’s still dark clouds in front of us. This doesn’t look like fun for Los Alamos.
We decided to take a number of county roads to keep things interesting and it was a good decision. They’re pretty much empty, have a 65mph speed limit, and have lots of turns. Nice. We make it to the border of New Mexico and keep on trucking since we still have 250 miles to go. A friend of Dan’s recommended that we ride the road up to Los Alamos and we take a route so we end up in Santa Fe after. We stop for gas and I check the GPS one more time. The road I wanted to take doesn’t seem to exist. Errr. Now what. I ask a local and they say that road I want is just a dirt road…which is now mud after a day of rain. Shit. Now we need to head 30 miles south to get to the mountain road.
We make it to the foot of the mountain with just under 2 hours of daylight and head up. We pass multiple Indian towns with a slow 25-35 mph speed limit. Uggh. Just at the point I think “this isn’t worth the trouble”, the road opens up and gets awesome. The road is nice – very nice. Reminds me of Hwy 9 in Santa Cruz with great pavement and good sight lines. Again, we climb and it gets cold and the roads go from damp to wet. Luckily, there aren’t many tar snakes but it really slows us down. Well, that and the fact that we couldn’t feel our hands.
As we approach the top and head into Bandolier Park, we come to El Calderon which is a large valley at the top of the mountain. It was great to see at near sunset with the intermittent dark clouds. We climb some more and head into the park as the sun hides behind storm clouds. We make one turn and I can see Albuquerque and Sandia Peak – cool! I can’t stare too long or I won’t make it down the hill…
We make it down, enjoying the great views at sunset and head into Santa Fe. I follow the GPS to the wrong address for a cute little hotel. The lobby clerk points me down one block to the correct place and we pull in to an impressive looking hotel. My Mom would love it’s Southwest architecture and feel. We check in, shower, and head out for a meal. Well, we tried too. Most every restaurant was closed by 9pm. We get pointed to the Sleeping Dog Tavern for an excellent meal – Kobe burger with green chiles for me, and ribs and Yukon gold potatoes for Dan. Of course, I sample their beers from Marble brewery in ABQ and it’s great! I love their stout….
I’m about ready to pass out by the time we get back to the room and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. Tomorrow, we head over Sandia Peak and make the long straight ride to Tuba City AZ.
By the numbers:
1 - delicious stout
2 - meals with delicious green chiles!
4 - passes over 10000 feet
11118 – highest elevation reached
The weather was nice when we got up – slightly cool, some high clouds, and no rain. We put on a layer to keep warm and headed south. We know the mountain passes would be colder and it was still early morning. We’re glad we did as we climbed over a variety of mountain passes in Southern Colorado. A little rain here and there but no real issues.
We stop in Ridgway for some great breakfast and to get some sorely needed caffeine. We’re high up in the pretty mountain passes and it only gets better as we climb up and down the constantly rising ranges. We pass Telluride and the road goes up. And up. And up. 8500 ft, 9500 ft, we went all the way up to 11118 feet! Our bikes had a hard time with this elevation and we noticed that breathing was a bit more challenging. As expected, it was very cold up top and the roads were wet. Not a good combination for a ride like this – high tire pressures at that elevation, slick roads, and cold temps make traction sparce. We keep our speed down and don’t have a problem.
Every time we think we’re headed down in elevation we go back up to 10000 feet. The weather gets worse as we head to lower elevations and the skies really open up a few times. We make it to Durango and the weather improves but there’s still dark clouds in front of us. This doesn’t look like fun for Los Alamos.
We decided to take a number of county roads to keep things interesting and it was a good decision. They’re pretty much empty, have a 65mph speed limit, and have lots of turns. Nice. We make it to the border of New Mexico and keep on trucking since we still have 250 miles to go. A friend of Dan’s recommended that we ride the road up to Los Alamos and we take a route so we end up in Santa Fe after. We stop for gas and I check the GPS one more time. The road I wanted to take doesn’t seem to exist. Errr. Now what. I ask a local and they say that road I want is just a dirt road…which is now mud after a day of rain. Shit. Now we need to head 30 miles south to get to the mountain road.
We make it to the foot of the mountain with just under 2 hours of daylight and head up. We pass multiple Indian towns with a slow 25-35 mph speed limit. Uggh. Just at the point I think “this isn’t worth the trouble”, the road opens up and gets awesome. The road is nice – very nice. Reminds me of Hwy 9 in Santa Cruz with great pavement and good sight lines. Again, we climb and it gets cold and the roads go from damp to wet. Luckily, there aren’t many tar snakes but it really slows us down. Well, that and the fact that we couldn’t feel our hands.
As we approach the top and head into Bandolier Park, we come to El Calderon which is a large valley at the top of the mountain. It was great to see at near sunset with the intermittent dark clouds. We climb some more and head into the park as the sun hides behind storm clouds. We make one turn and I can see Albuquerque and Sandia Peak – cool! I can’t stare too long or I won’t make it down the hill…
We make it down, enjoying the great views at sunset and head into Santa Fe. I follow the GPS to the wrong address for a cute little hotel. The lobby clerk points me down one block to the correct place and we pull in to an impressive looking hotel. My Mom would love it’s Southwest architecture and feel. We check in, shower, and head out for a meal. Well, we tried too. Most every restaurant was closed by 9pm. We get pointed to the Sleeping Dog Tavern for an excellent meal – Kobe burger with green chiles for me, and ribs and Yukon gold potatoes for Dan. Of course, I sample their beers from Marble brewery in ABQ and it’s great! I love their stout….
I’m about ready to pass out by the time we get back to the room and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. Tomorrow, we head over Sandia Peak and make the long straight ride to Tuba City AZ.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 9 – Provo UT to Grand Junction CO – 371 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember13
By the numbers:
0 – people out on a Sunday in Utah
1 – rain storm
2 – busted iPods – almost
3000 + - great views of the desert
6am came WAY too early. I was beat and there was no way I was getting coffee at a Mormon Presidents house. So, we went a couple miles down the road to a Texaco for a fresh cup of joe and a chocolate donut. Just what we needed. We head south on Hwy 6 – apparently the most dangerous road in Utah according to locals. Hmm – sounds like a challenge compared to California roads. So, we head south on 6 to 89 south and are pelted with about 40 mph wind. Unfun. We make it past some large windmills and it finally clicks what that large half propeller was a couple days ago. Hmm - I must not be using my brain on this vacation.
The canyon is cold. Much colder than the 65 degree weather in Springville. My summer gloves were a bad idea. A real bad idea and my lack of layers underscores that sentiment. Ooops. We keep rolling south on some gorgeous, unpatrolled roads before I finally wuss out and pull over to get warm in the 40+ degree weather. We pause just long enough for me to look down the road an take stock of the dark clouds and rain that would tease us the rest of the day.
Sure enough, the skies opened up and we got wet but it wasn’t for long. This was good since we were both cold and we dried out quickly. We kept on truckin’ down 89 past town after town. Or shold I say ghost town after ghost town. Sunday in Utah is predictably dead. So dead that we aren’t sure if we can find a restaurant to serve us breakfast. Hmm – maybe we’ll have to wait until Colorado. That’s a long way away. Fortunately, as we go south Utah has fewer Mormon and we find a town full of heathens willing to serve us breakfast. Mom’s café is cute and has all the usual fixins for us. And it’s good – real good. Must be the fresh ingredients.
We head south the hours roll on with nothing special to see. Kinda boring. But we’re freezing so we just want to get the miles over with. We finally hit I-70 and head south to 24. Well, we were *supposed* to head to 24 but it was north on I-70 so I completely screwed that one up. I didn’t realize it until 20 miles down the road when I don’t see the turn off for 24. Oooops. We chat for a minute and decide to keep going on I-70 since we had a long day anyway. Turns out, it was a blessing in disguise. I-70 is the most picturesque interstate in America. It’s stunning. Unreal. Gorgeous. I have to put this road very close to the top of the list for this trip. It’s that good. Go and check it out – it’s worth the drive!
Dodging rain all day, we finally make it to the exit for Moab and quickly head south hoping to avoid more wet stuff. We do…but it gets hot quickly and we strip on the side of the road looking for some relief. None comes as we head into the hotter, and slower moving, section of the road. We head in to Arches to see the sights and make our way to Grand Junction. The heat was worth it - I enjoyed Arches as much, if not more, than Glacier park. I was disappointed that I didn’t actually see the arch stone…bummer. I still don’t know where I was supposed to see it. Can anyone enlighten me??
We head back to I-70 to make our way to Grand Junction and it goes by fast. We hit the state border quickly and about 45 minutes later we’re pulling into the hotel at ~5pm. Nice. I’m beat and we relax a bit, drink a little whiskey, do our laundry and watch Top Gun. Nothing else was on. Don’t judge me! We head to the Mexican place next door and eat a feast for $20 and spend more on margaritas. We go looking for a bar but all we can find is an Applebees. Boo. It’ll do and we have a beer and talk up the cute waitress before calling it a night.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT - 0 miles
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
Friday, September 11, 2009
Day 7 – Idaho Falls ID to Provo UT – 452 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember11
By the numbers:
1/2 – of a propeller arm that was as long as a semi
2 – Mormon churches on every block
84 – construction zones
The annoying hotel alarm came way too early but we were mostly ready to go and got packed quickly. We haul our gear down in the standard luggage cart as I walk past the coffee to our bikes – I’ll get plenty of that in a minute once I load the bike up. I’m greeted by the sound of the Idaho Falls as we load up and I can’t help but walk over and snap a few pics. It’s pretty even if it seems a little man-made since it’s right in the middle of town and the area surrounding it is set up for tourism.
I head back to the lobby to grab some coffee only to see the concierge take the pot away. It’ll be another 10+ minutes and I decide that I can just wait until our first stop in a couple hours. So, we hit the road at 7:15am hoping to make the most of our early start. As we get going over a few rolling passes and vast farm land, we’re stopped or slowed multiple times by road construction.
I want to rename this trip the “North American Road Contruction Tour – 2009.” My radio announcer would say, “Hurry – traffic is being slowed now!” or something like that. We’ve hit construction in every state including Canada. I suppose it has to do with the harsh winters a California boy like me just wouldn’t understand. It just sucks…and adds another element of danger to our daily rides.
We roll into Soda Springs ID for gas and some much needed breakfast. I ask the cute girl at the gas stop where we should go and she suggests the “old hotel” at the end of the road. Sounds creepy. We pull up to a row of old buildings with a few cars out front and walk in to a very cute little café and hotel. We get our coffees (and fancy creamers – I love ‘em) and breakfast and I go check the place out. It’s almost a century old but has been redone over the last few years with brand new wood, floors, and fixtures yet it still retains the old furniture, dead animals on the walls (a moose!), and a quaint feel. It’s pretty cool. We hit up the local drug store down the street for a few necessities and hit the road to Montpellier.
The time flies as we come to, and quickly pass, Montpellier. Didn’t seem like there was much to see there so we head south towards Bear Lake and boy were we in for a treat. The lake is a stunning shade of bright turquoise that I haven’t seen before. It was different that the gorgeous water color in Canada yet reminded me of a couple lakes in Montana. We follow the banks of the lake and make it to the pass that takes us to Logan UT. But not before taking us up to 7800 feet with great views of the lake. Awesome.
We arrive in Logan and gas up and take a needed break since the temperature jumped about 20 degrees once we got to the Salt Lake basin. We grab Gatorades, some jerky, and change out of our cold gear and start the 100 mile trek down towards Provo. It looks so small but it took a lot of time. Especially on a Friday. At the beginning of rush hour traffic. Uggh. No lane splitting here but at least the HOV lane allows motorcycles so we’re not just sitting in 90 degree heat.
Any squiggly line on a map is intriguing. So, we take a detour to Uinta National forest. We told the guard we were just passing through so he didn’t charge us. Cool. The road is twisty and great but the 25mpg seems significantly stifling but we play along until the road goes up. And up. And up. As we pick the speed up the bit the road gets very twisty. So twisty that we can barely do 25 mph. And that’s pushing it with each car running right down the middle of the narrow road. We avoid any catastrophe and make it to the summit over 8300 feet. The temperature if about 20 degrees cooler and I love it. As we come down the backside the scenery changes and it’s like we’re on another continent – really cool.
The road into Spanish Fork is fast and fun and we stop for gar to call Dan’s step-brother and head over to his house. It’s a new place with a huge detached garage in the back and we roll up to see 3 covered cars. Of course, we ask about them and he takes the covers off to reveal three awesome Dodge Chargers that have been completely restored and made to stock. One is purple and the other (his wifes) is pink. Both were factory colors and they really stand out. The cars are in great shape.
Dan’s step brothers come over to say “Hi” and we talk shop, have a few beers (limited to 5.5% alcohol – boo!), and relax a bit. Our hunger pangs and watches tell us it’s time to go so we head to Dan’s uncles for the night to crash and get some much needed sleep. We decide to take the tomorrow off and get some bike maintenance done before another 3000 miles home. My ass needs a rest anyway ;-)
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
By the numbers:
1/2 – of a propeller arm that was as long as a semi
2 – Mormon churches on every block
84 – construction zones
The annoying hotel alarm came way too early but we were mostly ready to go and got packed quickly. We haul our gear down in the standard luggage cart as I walk past the coffee to our bikes – I’ll get plenty of that in a minute once I load the bike up. I’m greeted by the sound of the Idaho Falls as we load up and I can’t help but walk over and snap a few pics. It’s pretty even if it seems a little man-made since it’s right in the middle of town and the area surrounding it is set up for tourism.
I head back to the lobby to grab some coffee only to see the concierge take the pot away. It’ll be another 10+ minutes and I decide that I can just wait until our first stop in a couple hours. So, we hit the road at 7:15am hoping to make the most of our early start. As we get going over a few rolling passes and vast farm land, we’re stopped or slowed multiple times by road construction.
I want to rename this trip the “North American Road Contruction Tour – 2009.” My radio announcer would say, “Hurry – traffic is being slowed now!” or something like that. We’ve hit construction in every state including Canada. I suppose it has to do with the harsh winters a California boy like me just wouldn’t understand. It just sucks…and adds another element of danger to our daily rides.
We roll into Soda Springs ID for gas and some much needed breakfast. I ask the cute girl at the gas stop where we should go and she suggests the “old hotel” at the end of the road. Sounds creepy. We pull up to a row of old buildings with a few cars out front and walk in to a very cute little café and hotel. We get our coffees (and fancy creamers – I love ‘em) and breakfast and I go check the place out. It’s almost a century old but has been redone over the last few years with brand new wood, floors, and fixtures yet it still retains the old furniture, dead animals on the walls (a moose!), and a quaint feel. It’s pretty cool. We hit up the local drug store down the street for a few necessities and hit the road to Montpellier.
The time flies as we come to, and quickly pass, Montpellier. Didn’t seem like there was much to see there so we head south towards Bear Lake and boy were we in for a treat. The lake is a stunning shade of bright turquoise that I haven’t seen before. It was different that the gorgeous water color in Canada yet reminded me of a couple lakes in Montana. We follow the banks of the lake and make it to the pass that takes us to Logan UT. But not before taking us up to 7800 feet with great views of the lake. Awesome.
We arrive in Logan and gas up and take a needed break since the temperature jumped about 20 degrees once we got to the Salt Lake basin. We grab Gatorades, some jerky, and change out of our cold gear and start the 100 mile trek down towards Provo. It looks so small but it took a lot of time. Especially on a Friday. At the beginning of rush hour traffic. Uggh. No lane splitting here but at least the HOV lane allows motorcycles so we’re not just sitting in 90 degree heat.
Any squiggly line on a map is intriguing. So, we take a detour to Uinta National forest. We told the guard we were just passing through so he didn’t charge us. Cool. The road is twisty and great but the 25mpg seems significantly stifling but we play along until the road goes up. And up. And up. As we pick the speed up the bit the road gets very twisty. So twisty that we can barely do 25 mph. And that’s pushing it with each car running right down the middle of the narrow road. We avoid any catastrophe and make it to the summit over 8300 feet. The temperature if about 20 degrees cooler and I love it. As we come down the backside the scenery changes and it’s like we’re on another continent – really cool.
The road into Spanish Fork is fast and fun and we stop for gar to call Dan’s step-brother and head over to his house. It’s a new place with a huge detached garage in the back and we roll up to see 3 covered cars. Of course, we ask about them and he takes the covers off to reveal three awesome Dodge Chargers that have been completely restored and made to stock. One is purple and the other (his wifes) is pink. Both were factory colors and they really stand out. The cars are in great shape.
Dan’s step brothers come over to say “Hi” and we talk shop, have a few beers (limited to 5.5% alcohol – boo!), and relax a bit. Our hunger pangs and watches tell us it’s time to go so we head to Dan’s uncles for the night to crash and get some much needed sleep. We decide to take the tomorrow off and get some bike maintenance done before another 3000 miles home. My ass needs a rest anyway ;-)
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Day 6 - Butte MT to Idaho Falls ID - 440 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember10
By the numbers:
8749 – height of the tallest pass in Yellowstone we visited (Bear Tooth Pass is taller)
5 – elk sighted
10 – minutes late to old faithful
8 – miles of wet gravel roads to Teton Park
We were tired from our long ride the night before and didn’t get a good start. We made some instant brown water….err, coffee but that didn’t get us going any faster. About 9:30am we were finally moving and I was glad we got gas the night before despite it being after midnight. We thought we had enough time to get through everything but it was a day of bad timing…
Butte to Yellowstone was uneventful after dodging deer and horses and the weather got warmer as we approached. We met a nice couple from Texas at the last gas stop before the park and, again, we’re told we should have taken a different route! They recommended Bear Tooth Pass and we decided we’d just have to come back again soon.
We enter the park and are handed a map of the place which I quickly shove into my bag. After all, how big can this place be anyway? We head up through the northern gate and traffic isn’t bad but it’s slow. 25mph slow. We were told to expect this and decided to play nice since multiple riders warned me about how easy it is to get a ticket in the place. Bummer – the roads are awesome!
We roll past steaming sulfur geysers, expansive fields, babbling brooks, and distant peaks all in about 30 minutes. The scenery changes so fast you don’t really have a chance to put your camera down – each turn has a new sight to capture. We pull over to capture a close up of a boiling sulpher geyser and I pull out the green map that has a road closure on it. Let’s see, we’re here…and Old Faithful is here….and the road we take is…closed. Shit. Talk about bad timing.
So, how do we get around? Only 87 miles to Old Faithful. At 40 mph that’s two hours to just get there not to mention actually leave the park. We make the trek to Old Faithful and head over a pass at 8749 ft – the highest of the trip so far.
We *finally* make it to Old Faithful and the place is a zoo. There’s enough parking for a Metalica concert with 18 different bathrooms and concession stands. We wander over to the geyser and have to fight the crowds leaving it. Hmm – we must have just missed the last one. Bummer. Talk about bad timing. I make a perverted joke about asking the next good looking woman “when does it go off again”. We chuckle at my immaturity and go to check it out. The area is pretty large, much larger than I thought. Clearly, they’ve planned for this many people with a well constructed deck above (made of TREX, I think) with benches and different vantages circling the famous spout.
Sure enough, everyone has left and we indeed missed it by just 10 minutes. Damn. 87 miles for nothing. The viewing deck has cleared out quite a bit and I see two women nearby (one was just my type) so I wander up to find out when Old Faithful will be faithful again. Instead, I say “Excuse me but do you know when it goes off again?” Errr – I mean…ummm…nevermind. Luckily (or unluckily???) she wasn’t a pervert and said it would be another 3 hours. 3 hours?!? By that point we need to be well outside of the Grand Tetons. Oh well, we’ll need to come back anyway to hit up Bear Tooth Pass.
We head back to the bikes to make up the lost couple hours as best we could. As we head back, the two women I embarrassingly queried happen to be walking past us to their car. I give a short, friendly wave and they come over to check out our bikes. Hmm – maybe I should make more obscure sexual references in the immediate future. We start talking and they’re from Arkansas and one is working in Lake. She mentions that we should come by for a drink. Talk about bad timing. I comment that we need to be out of the park well before then but that we’d love to. Oh well, next time.
We head out of the park and to the Grand Tetons. I was really looking forward to seeing them – hell, any grand Tetons are OK by me! We leave Yellowstone and enter Grand Teton Park just a couple miles later. Unfortunately, just a couple miles in, we’re stopped for road construction. Talk about bad timing. We’re stopped for almost 20 minutes before they finally let us through. We start rolling through the bad road to find out it’s pretty bad – the pavement is completely gone and we’re left with wet gravel. We assumed it would be done in a few hundred feet. Wrong. Try 8 miles of the stuff. Uggh.
As the sun it setting and the views are amazing, stunning, and gorgeous. I almost can’t comprehend the size of the peaks some 7000 feet above our 6500 foot elevation. As the sun sets all I can really see if the sharp outline of each mountain top which is quite breathtaking but bad for pictures. I snapped a handful anyway.
We make it to Jackson Hole (which apparently, likes to be called just “Jackson” now) and stop for gas and a nice meal. We stop at some fancy restaurant on the main strip and ordered a steak. Delicious. Now we just have 100 miles to go to Idaho Falls. The road looks flat on the map but it’s actually just a little pass over 8300 feet. I bet it was beautiful but I won’t know until I come back through.
Idaho Falls can’t come soon enough and as we take our luggage off I can hear the falls just two lanes away. I wander over to see the illuminated falls. Pretty neat. I’ll have to snap a few pics in the morning. Our room is huge so we enjoy being able to spread out. We hit the sack as fast as possible knowing we need to be up early the next day.
By the numbers:
8749 – height of the tallest pass in Yellowstone we visited (Bear Tooth Pass is taller)
5 – elk sighted
10 – minutes late to old faithful
8 – miles of wet gravel roads to Teton Park
We were tired from our long ride the night before and didn’t get a good start. We made some instant brown water….err, coffee but that didn’t get us going any faster. About 9:30am we were finally moving and I was glad we got gas the night before despite it being after midnight. We thought we had enough time to get through everything but it was a day of bad timing…
Butte to Yellowstone was uneventful after dodging deer and horses and the weather got warmer as we approached. We met a nice couple from Texas at the last gas stop before the park and, again, we’re told we should have taken a different route! They recommended Bear Tooth Pass and we decided we’d just have to come back again soon.
We enter the park and are handed a map of the place which I quickly shove into my bag. After all, how big can this place be anyway? We head up through the northern gate and traffic isn’t bad but it’s slow. 25mph slow. We were told to expect this and decided to play nice since multiple riders warned me about how easy it is to get a ticket in the place. Bummer – the roads are awesome!
We roll past steaming sulfur geysers, expansive fields, babbling brooks, and distant peaks all in about 30 minutes. The scenery changes so fast you don’t really have a chance to put your camera down – each turn has a new sight to capture. We pull over to capture a close up of a boiling sulpher geyser and I pull out the green map that has a road closure on it. Let’s see, we’re here…and Old Faithful is here….and the road we take is…closed. Shit. Talk about bad timing.
So, how do we get around? Only 87 miles to Old Faithful. At 40 mph that’s two hours to just get there not to mention actually leave the park. We make the trek to Old Faithful and head over a pass at 8749 ft – the highest of the trip so far.
We *finally* make it to Old Faithful and the place is a zoo. There’s enough parking for a Metalica concert with 18 different bathrooms and concession stands. We wander over to the geyser and have to fight the crowds leaving it. Hmm – we must have just missed the last one. Bummer. Talk about bad timing. I make a perverted joke about asking the next good looking woman “when does it go off again”. We chuckle at my immaturity and go to check it out. The area is pretty large, much larger than I thought. Clearly, they’ve planned for this many people with a well constructed deck above (made of TREX, I think) with benches and different vantages circling the famous spout.
Sure enough, everyone has left and we indeed missed it by just 10 minutes. Damn. 87 miles for nothing. The viewing deck has cleared out quite a bit and I see two women nearby (one was just my type) so I wander up to find out when Old Faithful will be faithful again. Instead, I say “Excuse me but do you know when it goes off again?” Errr – I mean…ummm…nevermind. Luckily (or unluckily???) she wasn’t a pervert and said it would be another 3 hours. 3 hours?!? By that point we need to be well outside of the Grand Tetons. Oh well, we’ll need to come back anyway to hit up Bear Tooth Pass.
We head back to the bikes to make up the lost couple hours as best we could. As we head back, the two women I embarrassingly queried happen to be walking past us to their car. I give a short, friendly wave and they come over to check out our bikes. Hmm – maybe I should make more obscure sexual references in the immediate future. We start talking and they’re from Arkansas and one is working in Lake. She mentions that we should come by for a drink. Talk about bad timing. I comment that we need to be out of the park well before then but that we’d love to. Oh well, next time.
We head out of the park and to the Grand Tetons. I was really looking forward to seeing them – hell, any grand Tetons are OK by me! We leave Yellowstone and enter Grand Teton Park just a couple miles later. Unfortunately, just a couple miles in, we’re stopped for road construction. Talk about bad timing. We’re stopped for almost 20 minutes before they finally let us through. We start rolling through the bad road to find out it’s pretty bad – the pavement is completely gone and we’re left with wet gravel. We assumed it would be done in a few hundred feet. Wrong. Try 8 miles of the stuff. Uggh.
As the sun it setting and the views are amazing, stunning, and gorgeous. I almost can’t comprehend the size of the peaks some 7000 feet above our 6500 foot elevation. As the sun sets all I can really see if the sharp outline of each mountain top which is quite breathtaking but bad for pictures. I snapped a handful anyway.
We make it to Jackson Hole (which apparently, likes to be called just “Jackson” now) and stop for gas and a nice meal. We stop at some fancy restaurant on the main strip and ordered a steak. Delicious. Now we just have 100 miles to go to Idaho Falls. The road looks flat on the map but it’s actually just a little pass over 8300 feet. I bet it was beautiful but I won’t know until I come back through.
Idaho Falls can’t come soon enough and as we take our luggage off I can hear the falls just two lanes away. I wander over to see the illuminated falls. Pretty neat. I’ll have to snap a few pics in the morning. Our room is huge so we enjoy being able to spread out. We hit the sack as fast as possible knowing we need to be up early the next day.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Day 5 - Calgary AB to Butte MT - 634 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember9
By the numbers:
22 - mpg on my bike
65 - wind speed in Montana
1 - Super Model EMT in Glacier Park
25 - degrees through the pass to Butte
We got a decent start leaving Calgary at about 9am and we couldn't wait to get out of that shithole hotel we stayed in. Eh, you can't always pick the winners, right? So, I plug in the address of our hotel in Butte and take off south. It's cold but not too bad once the high clouds burn off a bit. We stop at a crappy diner late in the morning at Smitty's. Lots of fried delicious ness. We scan the menu and wonder if all bacon in Canada is Canadian Bacon. Looks like it's not. Bummer. Another myth busted.
We keep on trucking south and there isn't much to see. It looks a LOT like Hwy 5 in the winter. A little green, a lot flat, and very straight. I traveled to Canada to ride Hwy 5 - the antithesis of fun. Yippee. We're making good time and stop for gas about 10 miles north of the border. The gas stop is owned by one old man who's very friendly and the place is completely empty. The weather has warmed up a lot so we're drinking Gatorade and peeling off layers. We take a look at the map and Irealize that the GPS route we're following completely skips Glacier National Park. Shit! I figure we're a bit too far out to make it a reality this late in the day and move on to getting ready to head in to the US for beer, booze, and loose women. Wait - Canada has all of that already and we can't get a ticket. Why are we leaving again???
A guy rolls up to get a few things at the gas stop and starts asking us a few questions about our bikes and what direction we're headed in. He mentions that it's too bad we aren't headed to Glacier -- it's worth the drive. OK - back to the map. There's a road that runs parallel to the border for ~65 miles and drops us off just 5 miles north of the border. We gear up and take off trying to make up for my GPS gaffe.
We hit the road and I do a little math and realize we now have 10+ hours of riding if we make good time through the park. And that's a *really* bad assumption. So, I pick it up a notch. 70mph, 80, mpg, 90mph, we average about 95 for a lot of it and make it the 65 miles in just under 40 minutes. During this time, my low fuel light goes on. Note to self - flogging the piss out of your bike results in very bad mileage (~20mpg).
We head to the border crossing, wait for one car, hand over our papers. The guard asks if I have any Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms. I reply, "Nope - boring, huh? We meant to get some back a few towns but never quite got around to it." He cocks his head and gives me a funny look as I smile. Luckily I'm waved through instead of being subject to a cavity search.
We stop for gas and are nearly knocked over by the winds. Woah. Not fun. I ask the guy at the gas station and he says, "It's nice now that the winds have died down". Huh? This is "died down"?? "Yup", he replies, "it's only 65 mph now."
We head to the park and can't help but stare at the jagged peaks and beautiful scenery. And this is just approaching the park. We wonder what it's like inside and find out just 15 minutes later once we get through the line. Traffic is slow, as expected, but I'm too busy taking pictures to care. Wow - gorgeous. The roads cut their way through the mountains and leave little room for error. Traffic slows at one spot to see a tow truck pulling some vehicle out of a ravine. There's a slew of emergency folks around and we almost crash noticing a tall, thin, blonde EMT. Wow - what's in the water in MT???
We roll on through perfectly paved roads but are suddently stopped. And stopped again. And stopped some more by road work. 2-3 miles of the road is completely unpaved, gravelly, and wet. Needless to say, it sucked.
But the paved road appears once again and we keep on trucking past, beautiful passes, waterfalls, and the occasional glaciers. They've shrunk a lot from what I hear but it's still a sight to see. We finally get to the edge of the part and check out the GPS - 279 miles to go and just an hour and a half of sun light. The race is on! We take a highway that runs on the southern end of the park and we're instantly put into the cold shadows. We plunge on hoping for a few sections with sun so we can warm up a bit. Little did we realize, these cold sections were a Miami summer compared with what we were about to experience.
We make it to the main highway and head south. We stop for gas as the sun has just set and grab some food at "Taco John's". Finally, a mexican place that has combined cheeze whiz and tater tots! Ugh - that meal will be with me for a while.
We hit the little country highway and I make a right. I notice the road is moving on the right. I take a closer look to find that I'm just 5 feet away from about 10 large horses in a fast gallop right next to me. My heart drops as I pin the throttle and lunge ahead out of the way. This stretch will not be fun as we see constant signs of wildlife crossing the road. The road is pitch black only brightened by my high beams -- which don't so much. We can't see the horizon and it's just black everywhere. Ominous. A hazy moon appears to our left and I swear I see what appears to be a setting sun to our right. Then it's gone and I think I've just been riding too long.
About 50 miles in, our scanning the road sides has slowed and we've fallen into a pace. Bad idea. Two deer shoot across the road and I grab a fist full of brakes and start to swirl as it leaps out of the way. My heart is now 300 feet behind me and I'm WIDE awake as the adrenaline vigorously pumps through me. And the fun has just started. We slow our pace and scan closer as we head south. A few foxes and deers on the road and as we approach the main interstate. As we get a few miles away we see fires blazing on the mountain sides. They glow a deep red and must have been that "setting sun" I saw earlier.
We hit I15 south and ride CHiP's style filling both lanes to better illuminate the road. Then we start climbing the pass. It get's pretty cold and I think we've made it through the worst of it. We start falling in elevation than shoot up to 6348 feet at the top of the pass. And it's cold. Freezing cold. Literally. It was 25 degrees and we've slowed down to about 55 on a 75mph freeway to try to stay warmer. We're tucked as far into our fairings as we can get...
We finally roll into Butte at 12:15am and I make sure we get gas for a speedy getaway in the morning. I grab us a few beers, check in, and fall fast asleep. Tomorrow, Yellowstone!
By the numbers:
22 - mpg on my bike
65 - wind speed in Montana
1 - Super Model EMT in Glacier Park
25 - degrees through the pass to Butte
We got a decent start leaving Calgary at about 9am and we couldn't wait to get out of that shithole hotel we stayed in. Eh, you can't always pick the winners, right? So, I plug in the address of our hotel in Butte and take off south. It's cold but not too bad once the high clouds burn off a bit. We stop at a crappy diner late in the morning at Smitty's. Lots of fried delicious ness. We scan the menu and wonder if all bacon in Canada is Canadian Bacon. Looks like it's not. Bummer. Another myth busted.
We keep on trucking south and there isn't much to see. It looks a LOT like Hwy 5 in the winter. A little green, a lot flat, and very straight. I traveled to Canada to ride Hwy 5 - the antithesis of fun. Yippee. We're making good time and stop for gas about 10 miles north of the border. The gas stop is owned by one old man who's very friendly and the place is completely empty. The weather has warmed up a lot so we're drinking Gatorade and peeling off layers. We take a look at the map and Irealize that the GPS route we're following completely skips Glacier National Park. Shit! I figure we're a bit too far out to make it a reality this late in the day and move on to getting ready to head in to the US for beer, booze, and loose women. Wait - Canada has all of that already and we can't get a ticket. Why are we leaving again???
A guy rolls up to get a few things at the gas stop and starts asking us a few questions about our bikes and what direction we're headed in. He mentions that it's too bad we aren't headed to Glacier -- it's worth the drive. OK - back to the map. There's a road that runs parallel to the border for ~65 miles and drops us off just 5 miles north of the border. We gear up and take off trying to make up for my GPS gaffe.
We hit the road and I do a little math and realize we now have 10+ hours of riding if we make good time through the park. And that's a *really* bad assumption. So, I pick it up a notch. 70mph, 80, mpg, 90mph, we average about 95 for a lot of it and make it the 65 miles in just under 40 minutes. During this time, my low fuel light goes on. Note to self - flogging the piss out of your bike results in very bad mileage (~20mpg).
We head to the border crossing, wait for one car, hand over our papers. The guard asks if I have any Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms. I reply, "Nope - boring, huh? We meant to get some back a few towns but never quite got around to it." He cocks his head and gives me a funny look as I smile. Luckily I'm waved through instead of being subject to a cavity search.
We stop for gas and are nearly knocked over by the winds. Woah. Not fun. I ask the guy at the gas station and he says, "It's nice now that the winds have died down". Huh? This is "died down"?? "Yup", he replies, "it's only 65 mph now."
We head to the park and can't help but stare at the jagged peaks and beautiful scenery. And this is just approaching the park. We wonder what it's like inside and find out just 15 minutes later once we get through the line. Traffic is slow, as expected, but I'm too busy taking pictures to care. Wow - gorgeous. The roads cut their way through the mountains and leave little room for error. Traffic slows at one spot to see a tow truck pulling some vehicle out of a ravine. There's a slew of emergency folks around and we almost crash noticing a tall, thin, blonde EMT. Wow - what's in the water in MT???
We roll on through perfectly paved roads but are suddently stopped. And stopped again. And stopped some more by road work. 2-3 miles of the road is completely unpaved, gravelly, and wet. Needless to say, it sucked.
But the paved road appears once again and we keep on trucking past, beautiful passes, waterfalls, and the occasional glaciers. They've shrunk a lot from what I hear but it's still a sight to see. We finally get to the edge of the part and check out the GPS - 279 miles to go and just an hour and a half of sun light. The race is on! We take a highway that runs on the southern end of the park and we're instantly put into the cold shadows. We plunge on hoping for a few sections with sun so we can warm up a bit. Little did we realize, these cold sections were a Miami summer compared with what we were about to experience.
We make it to the main highway and head south. We stop for gas as the sun has just set and grab some food at "Taco John's". Finally, a mexican place that has combined cheeze whiz and tater tots! Ugh - that meal will be with me for a while.
We hit the little country highway and I make a right. I notice the road is moving on the right. I take a closer look to find that I'm just 5 feet away from about 10 large horses in a fast gallop right next to me. My heart drops as I pin the throttle and lunge ahead out of the way. This stretch will not be fun as we see constant signs of wildlife crossing the road. The road is pitch black only brightened by my high beams -- which don't so much. We can't see the horizon and it's just black everywhere. Ominous. A hazy moon appears to our left and I swear I see what appears to be a setting sun to our right. Then it's gone and I think I've just been riding too long.
About 50 miles in, our scanning the road sides has slowed and we've fallen into a pace. Bad idea. Two deer shoot across the road and I grab a fist full of brakes and start to swirl as it leaps out of the way. My heart is now 300 feet behind me and I'm WIDE awake as the adrenaline vigorously pumps through me. And the fun has just started. We slow our pace and scan closer as we head south. A few foxes and deers on the road and as we approach the main interstate. As we get a few miles away we see fires blazing on the mountain sides. They glow a deep red and must have been that "setting sun" I saw earlier.
We hit I15 south and ride CHiP's style filling both lanes to better illuminate the road. Then we start climbing the pass. It get's pretty cold and I think we've made it through the worst of it. We start falling in elevation than shoot up to 6348 feet at the top of the pass. And it's cold. Freezing cold. Literally. It was 25 degrees and we've slowed down to about 55 on a 75mph freeway to try to stay warmer. We're tucked as far into our fairings as we can get...
We finally roll into Butte at 12:15am and I make sure we get gas for a speedy getaway in the morning. I grab us a few beers, check in, and fall fast asleep. Tomorrow, Yellowstone!
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