Motorcycle Trip July/August 2003

previous page

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ALL

next page

11 Days - 8 States - 3'577 Miles	Thursday 7/24/2003 - We have an early morning start.	Highway 80 - right across the Illinois border in Iowa - potty stop.	Another pit stop - look at the German Willkommen sign.
A yellow hitchhiker on my mirror.	The next morning, Friday 7/25/03, ready to hit the road again, after a yummy steak and a good night's sleep in Omaha, Nebraska.	Where all the big truckers stop you can certainly get the best breakfast.	North Platte, Nebraska - it is hot, hot, hot - 113 degrees Fahrenheit = 45 degrees Celsius !!!
Not even sitting in the shadow for a little while brings relief.	But somehow we make it to Buffalo Bill's ranch.	The barn and stables,	and the house where William F. Cody - Buffalo Bill - lived.
Claus trying a different kind of saddle.	7/26/03 - In front of the Palomino Motel in Sidney, Nebraska, where we spent the night.	We are heading towards Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is probably the oldest gas station we have ever seen.	Our first 1'000 Miles - 7/26/2003 10:40 am.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, has Frontier Days and a Rodeo each year during the last week of July.	A blacksmith shows how his profession worked about one hundred years ago.	And then we watch the Rodeo - yeeHa !	And a little more Rodeo.
And some more.	Claus with his new hat - that's what the Rodeo does to you ! Bye-bye Cheyenne, we gotta go.	From Cheyenne we take Hwy 26 towards Casper, Wyoming, and with every mile the mountains are getting a little closer.	Sunday 7/27/03, we leave Casper in the morning, and about 40 miles northwest, quite unexpectedly, we find this unique place.
But should we really take a break here ?	Hell's Half Acre is actually a 320 acre canyon, and a very surreal example of nature.	About 50 Million years ago the earth was shifting and left behind	this fantastic depression with
jutting rock formations and hidden caves.	The native Americans used this canyon for hunting Buffalo.	A hord of buffalo was driven into the canyon, thus had no more escape route, and could easily be killed.	And by just looking at the play of light , shadow, and colour we can understand
that there are many stories haunting these hills.	Hell's Half Acre, Wyoming	We are heading further west on Hwy 26	and it almost seems like we are in nowhere-land, sometimes we don't even see mailboxes at the side of the road anymore.
Part of our route leads us through the Wind River Reservation, which is home of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes	One very famous battle between the Shoshone and Bannock on one side, and the Crow on the other, was fought at Crowheart Butte	The Wind River Reservation is with 2.2 Million Acre the third largest in the United States.	The Big Wind River and Little Wind River run through the reservation.
The reservation known to the Shoshone as “Warm Valley” is surrounded by the Wind River Mountain Range to the west,	the Owl Creek Mountain Range to the north, and the Absaroka Mountains to the south.	And the further we go the hillier it gets.	But still not a soul to see.
And all of a sudden, almost out of nowhere, Dubois appears.	Everything in Dubois, Wyoming is in Western style and very inviting,	so we stop for a cold Coke in this little Bar.	But we are anxious to leave again because we are about to climb our first mountain pass.
Togwotee Pass with an elevation of 9'600 feet has lots of fun twisties and allows us first glimpses of the Teton Mountain Range.	On the way down the pass - Claus a little off the road !	If this is Moran Junction then Jackson can't be that far away anymore ?	And finally, we are right in front of the Grand Tetons - awesome !
Grand Teton Mountain Range with the Snake River in front.	The Snake River originates in the Tetons and runs in and out of Jackson Lake, and forms the headwaters for the Columbia River.	Grand Teton rises to 13'770 feet, and twelve of the Teton peaks in the mountain range rise above 12'000 feet,	more than a mile above the valley below, known as Jackson Hole.
The Teton Range is the youngest range in the Rockies - only about 9 million years ago today's Teton Range started rising.	Over a comparatively short span of time, mountain glaciers of the last major glacial period	shaped the Teton skyline more than any other erosional force.	The Teton Mountain Range is 40 miles long (65 km) and 7-9 miles wide (11-14.5 km).
The mountain valley Jackson Hole is 55 miles long (89 km), 13 miles wide (21 km), with an average elevation of 6'800 feet.	The Town of Jackson is the county seat of Teton County and the only incorporated municipality in the county.	Jackson is a popular tourism destination because of its closeness to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks.	Jackson is a skiing mecca during the winter with three challenging ski areas,
and Claus and I already dream about skiing and snowboarding here sometime soon.	Monday morning 7/28/2003 - we are heading towards the south entrance of the Grand Teton National Park,	the mountains always in sight, loading our inner batteries.	A little further north into the park we come to Jackson Lake, a large natural glacial lake.
Jackson Lake sits at an elevation of 6'772 feet, when full, and is fed by snowmelt and cold spring water by the Snake River.	Claus is testing the water, but unfortunately we don't have time for a swim, we are heading north to Yellowstone National Park.	Established on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the first and oldest national park in the world.	High above the Lewis River we can still see the impacts of the last big forest fires in 1988 that burnt about 36% of the park.
Many people thought that Yellowstone would never recover, but fire is also a necessary part of the cycle of life in a forest.	Lewis Falls - Claus and I taste the water, it is fresh and crisp, but people around us only shake their heads in disbelief.	A little further along the road we see deer grazing,	peacefully and not at all impressed or disturbed by the photo-shooting tourists.
Our next stop is Old Faithful, the biggest regular geyser in Yellowstone.	Old Faithful erupts every 35 to 120 minutes for 1 1/2 to 5 minutes, its maximum height ranges from 90 to 184 feet.	We have to wait for more than 25 minutes, during which Old Faithful only shows some peaceful bubbling and a bit of steam.	And all of a sudden the bubbling turns into hissing
and Old Faithful finally erupts.	Water is spurting high into the sky	creating a curtain of steam	that looks impressive against the deep blue sky.
But not at all impressive is the smell of sulphur all around us.	After a few minutes of hissing and spurting Old Faithful becomes calm again	and goes back to its peaceful bubbling and steaming, and all the tourists leave again.	We are not quite sure whether these trees close to Old Faithful died from the stinky sulphur steam
or from the big forest fires.	Preserved within Yellowstone are approximately 10'000 hotsprings, mudpots, fumaroles, and geysers.	These geothermal features are evidence of one of the world's largest active volcanoes;	its last eruption (2 million years ago) created a crater or caldera that spans almost half of the park. (Photo = Emerald Spring)
Pathways are built to give tourists the closest possible access, but soon sulphur smell and sauna-like heat are too much for us.	Shortly before we reach the Madison Junction, we discover this hidden treasure -	Firehole Canyon Drive - a small one way road along the Firehole River and passing Firehole Falls.	One and a half miles of pure excitement, steep climbs, narrow twisties and turns, and - the best - no traffic and no police.
As we reach the main road again we see elk basking in the last sunlight of the day.	Because it is already late in the day we are the only visitors, and the elk are absolutely undisturbed.	Our last destination for the day is Mammoth Hot Springs. Here the Main Terrace and Mount Everest (7'841 feet) in the background.	Bacteria and algae create the color on Orange Spring Mound. Its shape is from very slow water flow and mineral deposition.
Angel Terrace was dry for decades but recently hot springs have been active in parts of the formation.	We leave Yellowstone through the North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, where we spend the night.	Tuesday morning 7/29/03 - we go back to Mammoth Hot Springs and across the Blacktail Deer Plateau	to Tower Falls, the second most popular falls, which drops 132 feet into the canyon below.
From there we climb Dunraven Pass at 8'856 feet, with the Yellowstone River deep down below us, and Mount Washburn (10'243 ft)	leading us to The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.	Yellowstone's Grand Canyon may not be as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it is nonetheless breathtaking.	The view down on the Yellowstone River from Artist Point,
with the Lower Falls in the background.	The canyon is roughly 20 miles long, measured from the Upper Falls to the Tower Fall area.	The canyon as known today is a relatively young geologic feature, it is no more than 10'000 to 14'000 years old.	We drive a little further south into the canyon
where we can walk down to the brink of the Lower Falls	Lower Falls is 308 feet high.	The Lower Falls is often described as being more than twice the size of Niagara,	although this only refers to its height and not the volume of water flowing over it.
The volume of water flowing over the falls can vary from 63'500 gal/sec at peak runoff to 5'000 gal/sec in the fall.	Our next destination is Fishing Bridge about 26 miles south, and along the roadside we see a buffalo herd.	Just like the deer and the elk yesterday, the buffalo are completely unmoved by the many tourists staring at them.	They simply ignore us, even snort and produce big dust clouds.
After a short pit stop in Fishing Bridge this little beauty is waiting at my windshield, but I don't want to give him a ride.	From Fishing Bridge we go east and ride along the winding shore of Yellowstone Lake,	the largest high altitude lake in the US (7'733 feet). This is the view from Mary Bay.	The road to Yellowstone's East Entrance leads us across Sylvan Pass at an altitude of 8'530 feet.
We stop and take a last look back at Yellowstone National Park,	and we both make a silent promise to come back soon.	From there our route leads us to Cody, Wyoming, about 53 miles from the East Entrance.	Shortly before we arrive in Cody we drive through the Buffalo Bill State Park,
which is dominated by a big dam, retaining the waters of the Shoshone River. Colonel Cody was influential in bringing irrigation	and agricultural development into the area and founded the town that bears his name.	From Cody we take US 14 East through the Bighorn National Forest. It is already late afternoon,	and with every mile it is getting cooler. We climb Granite Pass at an altitude of 8'950 feet, and at the peak
we are freezing and change into our warmer gear. So prepared we arrive in Sheridan, Wyoming, at around 7:30 at night.	We take Hwy 90 east for the next 250 miles and arrive in Rapid City, South Dakota long after midnight.	Luckily, Luke arrived earlier and already found us a motel, so we can collapse into our beds right away.	Too early the next morning, Wednesday 7/30/03, we are heading to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located 23 miles southwest of Rapid City, in the Black Hills of South Dakota.	It memorializes the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States of America.	Between 1927 and 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the 60-foot busts of Presidents George Washington,	Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history.
Washington represents the struggle for independence, Jefferson the idea of government by the people. Lincoln was chosen for his	ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the US in world affairs.	At Lunch Luke and Claus see this picture of the Iron Mountain Road in the men's bathroom, should we be scared ?	This winding road extends between Mount Rushmore and Hermosa, in the northeast corner of Custer State Park.
Along the highway are pigtail bridges. three tunnels, steep climbs, and narrow twists as well as hairpin turns.	Motorcyclist's paradise ! And on top of Iron mountain the view of the South Dakota Black Hills is wonderful.	In the distance we can even see Mount Rushmore one more time.	This is the sight I had in front of me for now close to 3'000 miles.
On the road through Custer State Park we are stopped by donkeys. Some drivers even feed them.	And then we see free roaming Bison again right next to the road.	Luke and Claus	Claus can heardly wait to hit the road again, we are heading to Needles Highway.
Needles Highway in Custer State Park is an exciting area for motorcycle riding	consisting of tight turns and some tough climbs, this highway gets its name from the interesting rock formations	that look like large needles sticking out of the ground.	This highway is very narrow and there are some small rock tunnels that are so tiny that tour busses barely fit through them.
Claus coming through one of those tunnels that leads us directly to	one famous rock formation, called Needles Eye.	Claus, Luke, and I in front of the tunnel.	We see some more granite rock formations before the day slowly comes to an end
and we need to ride back to Rapid City.	At dinner this evening Luke and Claus play a quiz game, and we have a lot of fun.	The next morning, Thursday 7/31/03, we visit Deadwood, South Dakota, an old Western Town.	The city was founded following the discovery of gold in 1876. (Photo = Main Street)
Many old hotels and historic saloons are preserved here,	and shoot-outs take place in various locations throughout the day.	Claus with one of the very dangerous gun-slingers.	James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was shot in Deadwood and is buried in the Mount Moriah Cemetery,
Deadwood's famous Boothill. Right next to him Calamity Jane has her last resting place.	The view from Boothill down on the city of Deadwood.	Deadwood is only about 15 miles away from Sturgis, where the 63rd Annual Motorcycle Rallye is about to start, and we can see	all different kinds of crazy motorcycles. And since we are already in the area, why not visit Sturgis and see what it's like.
Different kinds of shops are set up, and bars and restaurants are ready to welcome the thousands of riders coming this weekend.	For us it is already crowded enough and we cannot even begin to imagine what it will be like next week.	Even the parking lot of our hotel looks like part of Sturgis this night.	Friday morning, 8/1/03, we take Hwy 90 east and stop at Wall Drug, a sprawling tourist mall/trap,
occupying the majority of downtown Wall, South Dakota, also known as "the geographical center of nowhere".	Another twohundred-and-something miles later, still in South Dakota, which is now "flat as a pancake".	Almost 600 miles behind us today, still about 30 more to go until we reach Bloomington, Minnesota,	and Claus is not the least little bit tired !
600 miles of bugs on the visor of the helmet :-)	On Saturday, 8/2/03, we spend all day in the Mall of America, and this night our feet hurt instead of our butts.	And on Sunday morning, 8/3/03, we saddle our steel horses for the ride home.	And from La Crosse, Wisconsin until home, more than 250 miles, the sky is crying with us that our trip is over.
* * * THE END * * *

previous page

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ALL

next page