Lush green ranch just before entering the canyon into the Little Bighorn National Forrest.

It turned out to be pretty cold and nasty, and rained most of day. But not to worry, I had already ridden through snow, rain and cold on this trip and I was ready for it.  I remembered driving through them somewhere when I was a kid, but it had been so long that I really didn’t remember much.  So when we finally started into the mountains, I was in for a good surprise.  It was more beautiful than I had remembered.  That’s always better than the other way around.  And I’ve been there and done that too!

Just before we started into the Little Bighorns on Hwy 14, the landscape became very lush and green, with mountains looming ahead of us in the distance.  I knew we had to ride through the mountains at some point.  So, as I rode along, I tried to see if I could see any tell tail signs of where the road might go into the mountains.  At first it seemed like it was a futile attempt.  But then, way out ahead of me and to my left, I started to see what looked like a canyon cutting into the mountains.  Aha!  That had to be it.  I kept my eye on that canyon as I rode along.

Heading into the canyon, entrance to the Little Bighorn National Forrest.

Well, as it turns out, I was right.  In spite of the fact that it was raining and cold enough that it could almost have been snow instead of rain, and the clouds were low, it was absolutely beautiful.  As we headed into the canyon the view became almost breath taking.  The canyon walls were beautiful colored and rose almost straight up for hundreds of feet above us.  The clouds were actually low enough that I could not see the top of the canyon wall.

There was a small river rushing to the left of the windy Hwy 14. As we continued to climb through the canyon, and up higher into the mountains, the temperature began to drop.  I was warm enough in my riding suit, but I was a little concerned about slick roads if it began to freeze with all the rain on the road, and the possibility of it snowing.

Shell Falls - Bighorn National Forrest, WY

After taking pics of everyone with Shell Falls in the background, we headed on East towards Mt. Rushmore.  By the time we got to the summit, it was snowing lightly.  I was still warm, but was wishing that I had some heated gloves.

Me standing in front of Shell Falls on Hwy 14, WY.

Coming down the East side of the Little Big Horns, WY

The next point of interest was Sturgis, SD.  I often get asked if I have even ridden my bike to Sturgis.  Until this trip I had to tell them no.  Well, now I have.  But unfortunately, it was not during the rally.    But hey, I did ride my bike there as apposed to the majority of the bikes that get towed there.  So, I didn’t feel quite as bad at the fact that I had missed the rally.

Mt. Rushmore.

Our next stop was Mt. Rushmore.  You know how you have childhood memories of things, and then when you see them again as an adult, they just don’t hold up to your memories?  Well, that was Mt. Rushmore for me.  It was a spectacular sight, and learning how the sculpting was planned and carried out was quite fascinating.  And probably the highlight of being there on that particular day was the fact that I got to meet the last living worker that helped with the sculpting of Mt. Rushmore, Mr. Nick Clifford.

Me and Nick Clifford, the only man that helped in the sculpting of Mt. Rushmore that is still living.

After leaving Keystone and Mt. Rushmore, we once again headed East again and went as far as Rapid City, SD where we stopped for the night.  As we pulled off the freeway an into town the thunderstorm that had been looming ahead, finally cut loose its torrents or rain.  By the time we got into town, there was about a foot of water on the sides of the street and I had to ride in the left lane of the 4 lane street to keep my feet out of the water!  Almost 500 miles from where we started this morning, I had ridden through valleys, canyons, mountains, rain, sleet, snow and ended the day with getting poured on by a thunderstorm.  Oh, and I even saw my first live moose in the wild today.  Maybe tomorrow will be a nicer day. 

Heading towards Yellow Stone. These pics were taken by my sister who was in the van following me.

We left Jerome, ID this morning and head for Yellowstone National Park.  The weather was outstanding again today.  Riding Interstate freeways can get pretty boring

when the scenery is not that great.  But today, unlike the norm, I had three cars full of wimps (they were in car’s not on bikes…what did you expect me to call them?  lol)  following me, and we all had CB radios which made the boring freeway a little less boring.    However it all started to change as we got closer to the mountains.

Long before we got there, the jagged, rocky peaks of the Titans loomed ahead. The view was absolutely breath taking. I could hardly wait to actually be riding through the mountains ahead.

River running through Yellowstone National Park

And now that it’s over I can tell you I was not disseminated! About 240 miles after leaving Jerome we stopped at a convenience store/gas station in Box Canyon.  The view across the road was awesome, with a gentle, clear water river flowing just a few yards from the road and mountains in the background.  Unfortunately I think my digital pics of that view have been lost cause I can’t seem to find them any where.  The trees and vegetation was starting to look a lot like the pictures you see of Yellowstone Park. After our little break in Box Canyon (marker B on the map), we headed onward.  My brother’s CD antenna was not working very well and it was getting frustrating for all of use.  So we stopped again at the Radio Shack in West Yellowstone and bought him a new one.  It worked!

Here come the bison!

Now we were just around the corner from the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. As luck would have it, there was a long line of traffic waiting at the gate. And my luck only got worse in the line (from marker C to D on the map). lol My mom and dad got to jump into the express lane cause they had a senior citizen pass and did have to pay to get into the park. So, they went through and waited for us on the inside.  My sister has a daughter with CP, so they have a pass to get into the national parks for free, and my brother’s wife has a pass for a disability from a head on car accident a number of years ago.  So, I was the only one stuck at the gate waiting in line to pay.  That pretty much sucked…ok it really, really sucked!  lol They were all hungry and wanted to find a picnic site instead of waiting on me.  So they went on into the park and started on lunch, while I sat in the line.

Bison on this side too!  Look at that bull!

I finally got through, and had to pay more than I though was right…the same price as a car load of people, and I’m one person on a bike.  But oh well, I was finally in. I found the picnic area where the others were and joined them.  After taking a few pics of some elk that were right close to our picnic area, we got back on the road and headed for Old Faithful.

A few miles down the road from our picnic area, traffic slowed…then came to a stand still. I pulled right up to the yellow line (not to be confused with the “yellow stone” lol) to see what had traffic stopped.  It only took a second to see what it was.  There was a huge herd of bison walking right down the middle of the road and along both sides.

This bull was only about 6 or 7 ft from me and my bike when he passed ahead of the oncoming traffic.

People were leaning out of car windows and open van doors taking pics like no body’s business.  Here were all these people leaning out of windows and doors to get a better view and better pics of the bison, and I was right out in the open on my bike with the bison walking within a few feet of me!  Once again, I was convinced I had the better end of the deal and it kinda made up for my having to pay to much for waiting in line at the gate. 

After the bison passed we were driving again.  It was fairly warm and I was riding in a sleeveless shirt and no jacket, but there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground.  When we finally made it to the lodge at Old Faithful, we were told we had just missed her last “spewing session” so we decided to hang around and wait for her to

Thar she blows!  Oh, that what they say when whales spout!  But oh well, this kinda looks like a whale spouting.

blow again. In the mean time the gift shop was calling. I bought a few gifts for my wife Kenisha and my four kids and went outside to wait on the geyser to blow again.

We sat out on the platform for about 20 min and then she blew.  It was pretty cool, but not as awesome as I remember from my childhood days. Sitting on my bike in the middle of a herd of bison was more exciting.  Which reminds me…how many of you guys know the Roger Miller song, “You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd?” Well, maybe you can’t roller sake in one, but you can sure ride motorcycle in on! I’m living proof of that on! lol

With time running short and Old Faithful having done her thing, we hit the road again. There were a lot of places we wanted to stop but couldn’t for lack of time.  But it was an awesome ride and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Actually, forget the recommendation.  Just put riding through Yellowstone on you “must ride” list.

We decided to go out the North East entrance because it’s higher altitude and we had heard that you see more wildlife on that route out of the park.  Don’t know if we saw “more” or not, but we sure saw a lot! Including black bears, a grizzly that was to far away to get a decent picture of, antelope, and more bison…and more bison…and then even more bison. lol

Crossing the Continental Divide in Yellow Stone.

The entire route through the park is fabulous.  But there was a section of road on Chief Joeseph Rd – State Hyw 296 that is worth noting as it relates to bikers. It is about 20 miles of very sharp switch backs. And some very beautiful scenery. Not really the kind of road you are going to want ride very fast, but it’s an awesome ride with sheer rock cliffs, snow capped mountain tops and a very deep canyon that you cross.  Great view to the bottom of that one.  Not recommended for those that get squeamish at heights to go to the edge and look down. lol

By the time we got to Cody, WY it was very late and we just hit the hay so we could leave early the next morning.  All in all it was the best ride of the trip so far. I rode almost 500 miles today. Not my longest day, but a good ride.

Frozen Lake in Yellowstone National Park.