Wandering Retirees

We set off for a fun ride to the Mt. Rushmore and Chief Joseph monuments this morning. The roads are twisty and a bit challenging and filled, this holiday weekend, with a lot of vehicles filled with people with the same idea. Mt. Rushmore is a fantastic emblem of our nation’s heritage carved into a solid granite mountain. Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln are among our greatest presidents (Lincoln has my vote as number one) and it is fitting they should be memorialized this way. Coming to this memorial should be a ritual for all Americans if they can afford it. We decided to forego the pleasure of paying Xanterra Inc. their parking fees and the very long line into their parking lot, but enjoyed the view from several pullouts along the highway. The view is especially fitting on this July 4th weekend.

We then headed toward the monument honoring Chief Joseph (aka Crazy Horse) that is still under construction. It is also fitting to honor one of the great chiefs representing all tribes of the first Americans. When completed, it will depict the 19th century Chief of the Lakota pointing from horseback to the land where his people are buried. The welcome center is filled with memorabilia and pictures recording important moments from Native American history. This was definitely worth the modest entrance fee with proceeds going to the continuation of the monument. Glad we stopped.

From there, we set out to do some serious riding, first on the Needles Highway. The highway, Rt. 87, winds through the Custer State Park within the Black Hills. There’s an entrance fee ($10) in case you’re interested in trying it some time. There are distinctive vertical granite pinnacles akin to hoodoos (sandstone) all along the way, with multiple one lane tunnels through the rock. There are no lights, so whoever gets there first, and has a bit of guts, goes first. We were happy to follow on the heels of several humongous SUV’s at those junctures. This was one of the twistiest roads we’ve been on, with 5, 10, 15 and 20 MPH curves. Remember to keep your head turned through the curves and your hand easy on the throttle. They were fun and even a bit thrilling. There were a lot of bikes out, including a club from Montana composed of Harley’s from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Helmets are not required in SD, so some of the hats and headgear were authentic and fascinating. We felt just fine wearing our helmets, thank you. The traffic was heavy, though, and even slower than conditions called for. We would suggest visiting and riding on a non-holiday weekday.

Not having enough mountain riding, we headed immediately north onto the Iron Mountain Road, a 17 mile stretch of seriously challenging curves and changes in altitude. It’s lots of fun unless you get stuck behind someone who’s intimidated. Fortunately, most folks going slowly will pull off into one of the many turnouts to let quicker folks pass. Now “quick” is a relative term. The speed limit is 35, but no one reaches that exalted velocity. The key is to take your time and pull off to take in the sights. There are many views of Rushmore and beautiful mountains from many spots along both the Needles and Iron Mountain highways. One tunnel framed the monument as though through a telescope. Fascinating and beautiful. Though there are folks who will stop their vehicles mid-tunnel to catch that pic. Some do a family portrait. Good for them. Really, I mean it. So saying while holding our bike on a 10% grade, but I digress.  

We covered about 170 miles today, which brings us into spitting distance of 10,000 miles. We’ll cross that marker tomorrow on our way to western North Dakota. Still excited about seeing what’s on the other side of the hill with my Queen. Still looking forward to the beauty of our country. And looking forward to visiting (brother) Jeff and Rose and Joe in Minnesota in a few days. In sum, we’re still having fun. See you.

Chief Joseph, Crazy Horse

The plan for the completed monument to Chief Joseph and the Lakota.

The landscape is more lush than yesterday.

Badlands, SD.

Our journey today took us to the Badlands National Park about 60 miles east of Rapid City. It’s an amazing preserve that combines many characteristics of the Grand Canyon (but not on the large scale) and the petrified dunes we saw in New Mexico and the southern Colorado Plateau. The land is really dry except for the occasional small stream, so there is a lot of brown vegetation. And it’s striking to ride/drive/walk along gently rolling grassland and suddenly come upon canyon walls that plunge steeply to a narrow defile carved over the ages by water and wind erosion. We learned that the face of the Badlands has changed quite quickly in geological terms, and will continue to do so. In 500 years it will not resemble its present shape. The rock lacked the red of iron oxide we have come to expect: it was very light tan, grey and white that stood out in stark contrast with the vivid blue of the sky. Austere and pretty.

Along the way we saw several colonies of prairie dogs who seemed to like putting on a show for silly humans; big horn sheep who couldn’t have cared less, and a rough-legged hawk who was being harassed by a couple of smaller birds. Some birds of prey.

The ride was a lot of fun. Apparently this is a popular ride during the rally in Sturgis during August when 200,000 bikers come from all over North America. The roads are fun and relaxing, so, we can see why. Frankly, we’re just as happy to miss the crush of traffic.

We covered about 180 miles today and returned to the AirBnB in time to do some laundry and have a cocktail with supper. We’re happy with the fruits of the day. Tomorrow it’ll be Mt. Rushmore and the Chief Joseph/Crazy Horse monuments, and a ride on the Needles Highway. In the mean time, have a great night. We will.

Interior, SD – a little town with a big heart.

And a big trade in animal skins??

Rapid City, SD.

We had a nice, relaxing day riding around the Black Hills of Western SD today. We covered about 150 miles including the town of Deadwood where Wild Bill Cody and Calamity Jane are laid to rest. The movies “Dancing With Wolves” and “A River Runs Through It” were filmed nearby in Spearfish Canyon, which has a beautiful road about 14 miles long. Kevin Costner has a restaurant in Deadwood called the Midnight Star that features a number of props used in his films. (We didn’t eat there ourselves – a little too touristy.) Connie got some nice pics, including the Bridal Veil Falls. We do love our waterfalls. We liked the road through the canyon so much we rode through both ways!

We had supper tonight with Arnie, a fellow rider from Florida, whom we first met at a Redwood Forest in Northern California. It was great sharing stories and suggestions for rides. We may meet up again further east as we move closer to home. We are following each other through FB.

It was a short day of riding. We have topped 9,600 miles, though.

Tomorrow we will be a bit more adventurous. We plan to ride east to the Badlands, a unique geological feature in SD.  Really looking forward to it.

Rapid City, SD.

Relaxed and mellow today.  We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary by going out to dinner in Rapid City, SD.  What a cute downtown.  It happened to be”Summer Nights, “a weekly outdoor event.  The music was nice, the ambiance nice and the ice cream really good.  

Celebrated street art – in a designated area of course.  Very cool.

Bronze statue of an Indian head with a turtle, an eagle, a bison and a globe with the inscription: “We are all related.”

Red Lodge, MT to Buffalo, Wyoming to Rapid City, SD.

Connie filled in for me yesterday because I was a bit stewed after an evening of cocktails with new found friends.  So tonight, I need to catch you up.  On Tuesday, the 27th, We left the Yodeler Inn in Red Lodge, MT for Buffalo, WY on our leg toward Rapid City, SD where we will spend several days. The Yodeler is a terrific stopping point for bikers (and others) with a wash station for bikes, and in-room steam baths to soak the grime of the day away. The manager is also a biker who is attentive to our needs.  
We decided to take the most direct route to Buffalo because several days of inclement weather have been in the forecast. The land is very pretty with a number of huge ranches lining the highway on both sides. There’s a lot of enduring evidence of Montana’s and Wyoming’s volcanic past with ancient lava flows and rocks jutting from the pasturelands. We managed to outrun the storms that were moving east from the Tetons and Yellowstone.

Upon reaching the Z-Bar Lodge in Buffalo, we ensconced ourselves in the cutest little cabin for the night. Our neighbors were Stan and Toni who were on a bike trip out of Pocatello, ID. They are a friendly and funny pair and we hit it off from the start. Stan was a long haul trucker, Toni is a mistress of many trades, including billing and payroll for a trucking company.  And they are delightful company. Stan has a basket full of stories that kept us laughing.  One story comes to mind about “cattle guards.”  For those who grew up in more rural surroundings, you’ll know that cattle are sometimes moved along roads that connect separate pastures. “Cow guards” are metal grates that cows find really uncomfortable to cross and will keep them from straying too far. Anyway, Montana was short on highway funds to make needed highway repairs. Stan had such fun telling the story of a Montana politician who publicly stated that they should fire all the cow guards and use the salary savings to pay for repairs. It is funny. Every time they ride over a cow guard now they point and say, “You’re fired!). The next uptime we get together, we’ll share some of our juicier NJ tales, some of which are even humorous.

After fond good-byes this morning we set off for Rapid City, stopping along the way to view Devil’s Tower in northeast Wyoming. (remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind?) it is really impressive. One theory is the tower was formed by lava stalling as it arose through a volcano some 50 million years ago. Gradually, the cone eroded away until a few million years ago, leaving a cylinder of solid basalt, which is what we see today. Very, very cool.

In the little town of Hullet, WY, population 383 as of the 2010 census, we saw a really interesting sing advertising the Crazy Woman Realty, featuring an allegedly crazy woman and a male companion toting rifles, and promising they will always have your back when buying/selling a home. (See the pic.) My, this is not Hamilton, or Ocean City, or Beverly, NJ. American society surely has a lot of different cultures, no?  By the way, Crazy Woman Realty was featured in a NY Times article a few years back. Worth a gander. 

All across the western/northern states (Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, S Dakota, etc.) we have seen a lot of Highway warning signs (with gates) that advise motorists to turn back the way they came should the lights be flashing. Not just on state and county roads, but on the Interstates, too, winter snows, ice and wind can make roads impassible for extended periods of time. Winter weather can extend from October to June in some places, and becoming stranded on the highway in those conditions is a very serious, even deadly business. There are huge snow fences and many pull-offs built specifically for “chaining up” your wheels. You can see some of this on the Weather Channel from time to time. The Going to the Sun road has just opened this week in Glacier Nat’l Park, and the Tioga Road in Yosemite just opened today because the snow has just now been cleared.  In the winter, the temps dip into the -20F on average.  Yikes! I’m not sure I can complain in good conscience any more about the rigors of NJ winters any more. 

We got into Rapid City late this afternoon and completed our shopping and unpacking just before some ferocious storms over ran the area. We have hunkered down to enjoy some supper and watch the rough weather pass through. We have again been blessed with a day that avoided some nasty skies. Tomorrow is another day, so now to bed.

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An honest to goodness haystack.  You don’t see much of these around anymore.

Red rock in Montana and Wyoming. 

A lot of people stop just take pictures of Devil’s Tower and keep on going.  We saw this sign just after a scenic overlook where we took pix.  We even stopped in the driveway of this place to take another photo of Devils Tower.  We felt kinda bad.

Hulett, WY.  Definitely going for the real Wild West look.

Yep, read the sign.

Roads are closed due to snow or wind.

Snow fence.

Red Lodge, MT to Buffalo, WY
Due to expected bad weather, we stayed to the highways. We traveled through Billings, MT, a big railroad town, to Sheridan, WY to Buffalo. The land is mostly inhospitable yet beautiful. Sadly, a large area of the land along our journey was imposed upon displaced native Americans.

The storms west of us, along our original route, were quite severe. We were happy to have chosen the route we did.

Tomorrow, we are off to a five day stint in Rapid City, SD.  We plan to visit the Black Hills, Deadwood, the Badlands, and Mt. Rushmore.

Cooke City, MT to Red Lodge, MT With a Dip into Wyoming 

Today was a brief but exciting day. Our night’s lodging at the Big Bear Lodge was a wonderful stop. It is a rustic in with log cabins for the guests. It’s a family run business that started only late last year. You could call the accommodations “simple” but the rooms seem to be maintained with care and the mountain setting is just beautiful. Some folks we met at breakfast shared our view. One couple, Michael and Michaela are from Augsburg, Germany and are on a three week holiday focused on the Rockies and the National Parks in southern Utah (Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyons). This is the seventh or eighth visit they have made to the states. Their home is in southern Germany; Augsburg is near Munich in Bavaria. I find it remarkable that they have the Alps, the Pyrenees and all of Europe to enjoy and they decide to come here for the beauty. We tried to sell them on Jersey as a destination. You know, the shore, proximity to NYC, Philly and so forth. Even offered deluxe accommodations at Chez Schwedes. Maybe we’ll see them one day. They reciprocated with an offer to visit Bavaria. Sounds very tempting. 

We left our rustic cabin in Cooke City, MT on the way to Red Lodge, WY across the Gallatin Range of the Rockies on the Bear Tooth Scenic Byway (Rt. 212) through the Custer and Shoshone National Forests. We took a small detour along what I could swear is called the Crazy Creek and had a great time dodging cows (free range!) and taking in the sights of both rugged gorges and gentle meandering streams. We met several riders at a lovely scenic overlook and shared some experiences and tall tales while taking in the sights. All were from the area bounded by North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, and they were very free with their suggestions of great rides. One guy in particular, Pete from Wyoming is a rancher of some indeterminate years who was just taking a day off to ride his home-custom Harley through countryside he knows so well. Originally from San Diego, he and his wife wound up owning a ranch close to the mountains. Full of kindness and great stories, he shared richly of his knowledge of the great rides in Wyoming and Montana, and generally of his experience as a small rancher (about 65 head of cattle). It was worth hearing and we enjoyed his presence so much. We learned that life as a rancher is quite different from what folks in our region imagine. So glad he shared freely and kindly. So glad, too, that we had the good sense to listen to his story. Turns out we were headed the same way and met him again on the Beartooth Highway where we picked up where we left off.

Back to the ride. We started up the Beartooth Highway/Byway and began ascending the gorgeous road toward the pass at nearly 11,000 feet. Twisties, waterfalls, and beautiful vistas on all sides. Of course we stopped often to take it in. The road is less than 100 miles long but took us over 3 hours passing from Montana into Wyoming. There are precisely two stops where stores may be found. At one, called Top of the World, we stopped for some lunch and ran into Pete who was basking in the sun sipping a Diet Coke. Another great conversation.  

Then back on the road east to the pass at the summit. More twisties and switchbacks, gorgeous canyons, and snow packs all around. Mind you, this is June 26th. In some places the snow piled along the side of the road was still over 6 feet high. Ice still filled several lakes and ponds at altitude. There was snow removal equipment parked and ready in a number of turnouts. And there’s the possibility of snow in the forecast for the next couple of days. And July is only a couple of days away. We are really fortunate that the weather today was perfect, so the ride was a dream. Oh, there’s a summer ski resort at the pass complete with running chairlift and snow mobiles parked and ready. Amazing.

We had a great ride down into Red Lodge and checked into the Yodeller Motel which is filled with bikers a lot like us. We did some shopping for our dinner and breakfast and have settled in for the night. This is a great little motel. Tomorrow it’s off to Buffalo, WY and what promises to be another good riding day.

Beautiful Wyoming 

One of the mountains in the Bear Tooth Chain

On the Bear Tooth Scenic Byway – in the snow.

Driggs, ID to Cooke City, MT via Yellowstone National Park 

In order to tour Yellowstone from Driggs, ID and have a chance to see the Grand Tetons one more time, we left our Air BnB at 6:30 am. This involved packing the night before and slurping massive amounts of coffee so we were awake enough to get on the bike safely. It worked out well, oddly enough. 

The dawn ride through the Teton Pass into Wyoming was beautiful. It was full of elevation changes and twisty turns. So fun to do again. We stopped for some quick rustic breakfast at Dornan’s at the entrance to the Grand Tetons. We ate our meal at a picnic table with a view of the mountain range. Just magnificent.
 We rode along the range, mostly by ourselves. We got some nice shots. It was a morning for wildlife. We saw a coyote, some elk and a herd of bison.   

Eventually we arrived at Yellowstone National Park. We were surprised at the lack of traffic and congestion. We had read and heard the park is routinely packed with tourists. But we had a lovely ride to “Old Faithful,” America’s iconic natural geyser. There we met crowds. There were people everywhere waiting for the big eruption. We met some nice folks from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona. After much anticipation, (the kids close by and Hank had to be bribed with the promise of ice cream) the geyser erupted and we were sprayed with smelly mist!! Obviously, we neglected to consider the direction of the wind when choosing our seats! You live and learn. 

Our next stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring the the Upper Geyser Basin. Wow! Despite the throngs of people jockeying for a good vantage point, we so enjoyed the Grand Prismatic Spring. It was truly other worldly.

We stopped for lunch at a meadow and had the thrill of watching two bison munch away at the grass and then roll around in it to find a comfortable position for a nap. So cool.
 The last leg of our tour of Yellowstone took us through more scenic and pristine portions of the park. We saw large herds of bison. It was quite peaceful. 

We arrived at our lodging for the night, a remote, rustic motel outside of Cooke City – at the beginning of the Bear Tooth Scenic Byway, our route the next day. We had no cell service and very spotty wifi at the motel. And there was no shopping or restaurant nearby. We ate from our “feed bag,” a collection of granola bars, nuts and jerky. Thankfully, we had vodka and the innkeeper gave us ice. All was right in the world.

 

Driggs, ID

Not much to report for today. We had a down day, doing some laundry and doing some chores. Slept late and relaxed. Had the chance to spend time over cocktails with our hosts, Hannah and Tom, their friend Genevieve, and Tom’s mom.  The four of them are fun.  In fact, we’ve invited them to Jersey.  Now, now.  It’s an invitation for adventure, not a punishment.

We’ve prepacked our things in preparation for an early start in the morning. The plan is to see some of Yellowstone and head on to Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT – the gateway to the Beartooth Highway.  

We’re looking forward to a long but fun day. Let you know how it all turns out. Have a good night.

Grand Teton National Park

We had a beautiful day in Teton Nat’l Park. Headed out mid-morning from Driggs and crossed the Teton Pass into Wyoming and arrived in the Park around 10:30. We would have left earlier but it was downright cold, only 38 degrees when we got up a bit after 6 – a little chilly for riding comfortably. After passing through Jackson on ID Rt 33/22, We veered off to the site of a very famous photo by Ansel Adams, the Mormon Mission homestead. Our shots aren’t as good, but it’s easy to see why this view of the Tetons is so iconic. We pulled off the side of the road and just basked in the glory of the view for quite a while. In the presence of such an awesome spectacle of creation, silence, even reverence is both right and enough. We saw a lot of folks who parked their vehicles to sit in lawn chairs to take it all in. Personally, this one stop justified our efforts to make this trip. We both felt full from the vision.  

Along the way, we saw a huge bison grazing a few yards from the road. He (she?) did not feel it necessary to acknowledge the flock of gawking bipeds pointing and clicking away at the cameras. Did I mention he was big? At least 2,000 pounds of gentle power. A little later we watched a coyote lope across the road ahead. He seemed pretty interested in something in the field to our right. The motorcycle? Not so much.  Sorry, no pics.

When we entered the park proper, we stopped at the Visitors Center for a much needed rest stop and to get some news from the rangers. At our ranger’s advice we rode to Signal Mountain which has a long, twisty, beautiful road to the summit. There are two views at the top: one of the mountains and one of the valley that sits in its shadow. This area is at the top of the Snake River and is still full from winter runoff. A lot of new growth and gorgeous wildflowers everywhere. We met folks from Alabama, Washington State, a couple of Aussies who helped us get our bearings and, of course, several Chinese tourists. It always amazes me how diverse the folks are who visit our national treasures.

We had packed lunch at Signal Lodge on Jackson Lake. I enjoyed watching some intrepid city folks trying to figure out how to operate a canoe. Connie urges me to be nice. I am nice. It’s just a wonder how hilarious people can be when just being themselves. Just saying.

We jumped south to Tagert Lake and the 3 mile trail to get there. Jenny Lake had been on the docket, but we couldn’t get anywhere near the place for the traffic. So Tagert it was and we were really pleased. The hike in traced along Tagert Stream and it was gorgeous. The sound of a roaring stream and the wind whispering through groves of aspen is a real treat. And upon reaching the Lake we plopped on a fallen log to take in the sights.

We wound up sharing our log with a couple from Scottsdale, AZ, Vinnie and Annie Larkin. They are native New Yorkers, he from Queens and she from Brooklyn. Something about their attitude and word choice made us miss NY. Vinnie is a retired vascular surgeon and Annie had a career as an ICU nurse. We hit it off and shared the remainder of the hike and met for supper on the way home. They are headed north to Calgary, Alberta, Canada (eh?) and will get to see the Calgary Stampede. We had a wonderful time and look forward to hearing more from them.

The ride back was a bit challenging coming into the setting sun. Remembering that the throttle works both ways helped. (Think about it.) Having Connie on board with an extra set of eyes was a better help. Settled in to our Driggs Digs for the night.

Tomorrow is yet another relaxed day for laundry, snoozing and eating fattening foods. For tonight, that is all. Be well!

The view from Antelope Flats

From Signal Mountain 

On the way to Tagert Lake

New found friends

Tagert Creek

The view from Tagert Lake