Yamifj1200
10-24-2009, 02:29 PM
LETS SEE SOME OF THE WEST RIDE AUGUST 2009
Frank and I met up in Roanoke Va. to tow our bikes out to Lee Carkenord’s house in Denver Colorado. Lee and his wife Louise were nice to let Frank and I park the van and trailer safely behind their home while we were away on our adventure.
Friday evening Frank decided to drive straight through from Roanoke Virginia to Limon Colorado. Excited about the trip we drove all night talking about our plans and discussing the selected routes. The time went by quickly as we drove through West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and into Colorado. We were getting very tired and got a hotel room in Limon Colorado.
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Sunday morning after a quick breakfast we drove the last hour and a half to Lee’s house unloaded the bikes packed them up and headed north to meet up with Lee at Ayers Natural Bridge just southwest of Doulas, Wyoming; riding north out of Denver was a true adventure. It was great to see Lee again and catch up on the last few years since we had been together. We all enjoyed the evening laughing and talking about motorcycles and some of the routes great through the western states we planned on riding through.
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Monday morning we said our so longs to Lee. Frank and I rode west on interstate 25 through Casper and on to Buffalo Wyoming. Nice weather and light traffic made the ride a breeze and we were in Buffalo in no time at all. Heading west out of Buffalo on route 16 west we are beginning to see what the mountains in the area are like. The road was perfect with continuing sweepers until we reached the top of the pass. The weather was gray and cold as we neared the top a welcome change from the heat and humidity we had left back at home. Once over the pass we made our way through copper canyon and on to Worland.
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We headed south on route 20 to Thermopolis so Frank could check out the natural hot springs. I have to say after the tow out and riding for a couple days the hot springs were a welcome relief.
Tuesday morning, We rode northwest out of Thermopolis on route 120 to Cody Wyoming then onto route 296 the Chief Joseph memorial highway on our way to route 212 the Bear tooth pass. The scenery in Wyoming was fantastic from the open plains to the huge mountain passes. Making our way into Red Lodge Montana on the Bear tooth pass was simply amazing. You can see just how powerful nature has be to create such a place. We were both impressed with how rugged these mountains are and at just over 11,000 feet the view was inspiring as well as being breath taking literally.
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Wednesday, We rode out of Red Lodge on route 78 making our way to Columbus Montana where we picked up interstate 90 and headed west. Frank and I had a great lunch in Big Timber Montana in a little bar there. Back on the interstate we continued west where we picked up route 89 north riding up to Great falls Montana for a hotel and a good night’s sleep.
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Thursday morning we were once again on route 89 north riding it all the way to Saint Mary Montana were we had a reservation for a cabin for two nights at the KOA campground there. The KOA there is very large with great view of the Glacier National Park Mountains from our cabin porch. Frank was having some fuel issues and decided to remove and clean his carburetors. Frank was able to repair his carburetors and get the bike running great again in a couple hours.
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Friday, Frank and I enjoyed a late morning ride onto the Going to the Sun road that passes through Glacier National Park. Our cabin at Saint Mary was located one mile from the eastern park entrance and we quickly made the ride across to the western side of the park had lunch at Apgar village and took the ride back across to the east side. We both liked GNP but agreed that with the road repair and so much more traffic it made the ride too tourist like. The scenery is nice, but not as extreme as the Chief Joseph memorial highway or the Bear tooth pass. The sights at GNP are worth the trip, just understand this is a very popular National park and there will be crowds there not found on so many of the other roads in the area.
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Saturday morning we left GNP and headed southwest on route 2 towards the western side of the park then continued south on to Kalispell Montana. The ride on route 2 on the outside the park was much less crowded, actually had better pavement and was much more fun to ride on compared to the Going to the Sun road inside the park. In Kalispell we picked up route 93 and rode it south to Missoula Montana where we had some dinner and picked a hotel room for some rest.
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Sunday morning we were heading for Lolo pass...In Idaho….Lolo pass is located just southwest of Lolo Montana. Riding west on route 12 was a blast, fantastic scenery, great pavement and perfect weather. Route 12 was over 100 miles long of sweeping corners climbing to the pass and continuing on southwest to Kooskia Idaho. We rode for many miles alongside the Salmon River and before long we arrived at Kooskia Idaho for some gas and lunch stop where we learned that the town is described as a small drinking town with a big fishing problem. We had a nice lunch at the local dinner and continued south through Hell’s Canyon stopping for the evening at a small motel in New Meadows Idaho.
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Monday’s ride was changed so that we could enjoy a few more of the many canyon roads in the area. They are just too much fun to ride and we also avoided some of the miles of boring interstate we were planning on riding originally. Frank had learned about a natural hot spring that he was interested in checking out from the owner of the hotel the night before. It just happened to be right alongside one of the canyon routes we had selected. We enjoyed a nice couple hour break at Kirkland hot spring is just off rt.21. Frank was able to check out the hot springs while I chose to grab a nap under a shade tree. We enjoyed another great day of riding with perfect weather and very little traffic. Idaho is a perfect place to ride and with all the friendly folks we met along the way made it even better. We ended up in Twin Falls Idaho after another long day of riding for some sleep.
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Tuesday’s ride took us south from Twill Falls Idaho on route 93 south to Wells Nevada. We headed east from Wells Nevada on interstate 80. I was surprised to see that Nevada was rather mountainous on the roads we traveled on. I thought Nevada was all flat and desert, I was wrong. We continued riding east into Utah on interstate 80 east and stopped at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats for a rest stop. After a short break, a few pictures and a cold drink we were ready to ride on heading for Salt Lake City where we picked up route 40 east stopping for the night in Heber Utah. We had one of our longest day’s rides and were very tired from the ride and dry heat of the Utah flatlands.
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Wednesday morning we left Heber Utah and continued on route 40 into Colorado. It was another nice day of dry weather and very nice scenery along the way once we were in Colorado we spent a couple of hours riding around inside the Dinosaur National monument. The park was totally empty except for the few park rangers we saw riding around. The scenery there is like nothing I have ever seen in my life. It appears very foreign to me almost as if we were riding into another world. We enjoyed a leisurely pace and took many photo’s before continued on riding east on route 40 to the small town of Craig Colorado where we decided to call it a day. We enjoyed a good barbeque dinner at the restaurant next to the little motel we had stopped for the evening.
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Thursday, is the last day on bikes riding together and we are sensing the end of our trip. Today I find myself staring at the scenery and fantastic roads a bit more trying to savor every mile, every new sight. At the pace we have been riding at for the past 11 days it can be difficult to take in all that we have seen along the way. So today is special, trying to remember all the places we have ridden, all the other riders we have talked with and just how nice total strangers can be. We ride on to the town of Granby Colorado where we head northeast on route 43 towards Rocky Mountain National Park. What a wonderful way to end our trip through such an amazing national park. We enter the park and ride on eastward through a gorgeous tall tree lined road towards the summit at nearly 13,000 feet. The road quickly begins to wind its way through switchback after switchback towards the summit. Coming out of one of the corners we notice a bull elk grazing in one if the alpine meadows. As we climb the air is getting colder, the clouds are becoming darker the farther we ride and when we reach the summit it is actually snowing. The view at the summit was awesome with very rugged mountains with snow tucked into rocks all over the area. We continue our ride heading east out of the park and making our way south back to Denver on the eastern side of the park. We arrive back at Lee’s Carkenord’s home in Denver just after 7:00 pm, and find that he and Louise are not home. We packed the bikes and gear into the trailer and decided to begin our long drive back home.
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Friday and Saturday we are towing the bikes back east through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Arriving at Frank’s apartment around 3:00 pm we are tired and suffering from two days of road lag. I load up my bike, said goodbye to Frank and took off for my last ride of the trip. One hundred and eighty miles later I pulled into my driveway around 6:30 pm Saturday evening and I was home. Looking back on the trip I’d say it was a total success. We actually saw more than we thought we might, added another state to our list of states ridden in and only endured three hours of rain in our twelve days of riding. It was a fantastic adventure and we will have great memories for years. I highly recommend taking some time to enjoy some of the great roads and scenery found out west.
Eric M
Frank and I met up in Roanoke Va. to tow our bikes out to Lee Carkenord’s house in Denver Colorado. Lee and his wife Louise were nice to let Frank and I park the van and trailer safely behind their home while we were away on our adventure.
Friday evening Frank decided to drive straight through from Roanoke Virginia to Limon Colorado. Excited about the trip we drove all night talking about our plans and discussing the selected routes. The time went by quickly as we drove through West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and into Colorado. We were getting very tired and got a hotel room in Limon Colorado.
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Sunday morning after a quick breakfast we drove the last hour and a half to Lee’s house unloaded the bikes packed them up and headed north to meet up with Lee at Ayers Natural Bridge just southwest of Doulas, Wyoming; riding north out of Denver was a true adventure. It was great to see Lee again and catch up on the last few years since we had been together. We all enjoyed the evening laughing and talking about motorcycles and some of the routes great through the western states we planned on riding through.
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Monday morning we said our so longs to Lee. Frank and I rode west on interstate 25 through Casper and on to Buffalo Wyoming. Nice weather and light traffic made the ride a breeze and we were in Buffalo in no time at all. Heading west out of Buffalo on route 16 west we are beginning to see what the mountains in the area are like. The road was perfect with continuing sweepers until we reached the top of the pass. The weather was gray and cold as we neared the top a welcome change from the heat and humidity we had left back at home. Once over the pass we made our way through copper canyon and on to Worland.
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We headed south on route 20 to Thermopolis so Frank could check out the natural hot springs. I have to say after the tow out and riding for a couple days the hot springs were a welcome relief.
Tuesday morning, We rode northwest out of Thermopolis on route 120 to Cody Wyoming then onto route 296 the Chief Joseph memorial highway on our way to route 212 the Bear tooth pass. The scenery in Wyoming was fantastic from the open plains to the huge mountain passes. Making our way into Red Lodge Montana on the Bear tooth pass was simply amazing. You can see just how powerful nature has be to create such a place. We were both impressed with how rugged these mountains are and at just over 11,000 feet the view was inspiring as well as being breath taking literally.
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Wednesday, We rode out of Red Lodge on route 78 making our way to Columbus Montana where we picked up interstate 90 and headed west. Frank and I had a great lunch in Big Timber Montana in a little bar there. Back on the interstate we continued west where we picked up route 89 north riding up to Great falls Montana for a hotel and a good night’s sleep.
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Thursday morning we were once again on route 89 north riding it all the way to Saint Mary Montana were we had a reservation for a cabin for two nights at the KOA campground there. The KOA there is very large with great view of the Glacier National Park Mountains from our cabin porch. Frank was having some fuel issues and decided to remove and clean his carburetors. Frank was able to repair his carburetors and get the bike running great again in a couple hours.
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Friday, Frank and I enjoyed a late morning ride onto the Going to the Sun road that passes through Glacier National Park. Our cabin at Saint Mary was located one mile from the eastern park entrance and we quickly made the ride across to the western side of the park had lunch at Apgar village and took the ride back across to the east side. We both liked GNP but agreed that with the road repair and so much more traffic it made the ride too tourist like. The scenery is nice, but not as extreme as the Chief Joseph memorial highway or the Bear tooth pass. The sights at GNP are worth the trip, just understand this is a very popular National park and there will be crowds there not found on so many of the other roads in the area.
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Saturday morning we left GNP and headed southwest on route 2 towards the western side of the park then continued south on to Kalispell Montana. The ride on route 2 on the outside the park was much less crowded, actually had better pavement and was much more fun to ride on compared to the Going to the Sun road inside the park. In Kalispell we picked up route 93 and rode it south to Missoula Montana where we had some dinner and picked a hotel room for some rest.
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Sunday morning we were heading for Lolo pass...In Idaho….Lolo pass is located just southwest of Lolo Montana. Riding west on route 12 was a blast, fantastic scenery, great pavement and perfect weather. Route 12 was over 100 miles long of sweeping corners climbing to the pass and continuing on southwest to Kooskia Idaho. We rode for many miles alongside the Salmon River and before long we arrived at Kooskia Idaho for some gas and lunch stop where we learned that the town is described as a small drinking town with a big fishing problem. We had a nice lunch at the local dinner and continued south through Hell’s Canyon stopping for the evening at a small motel in New Meadows Idaho.
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Monday’s ride was changed so that we could enjoy a few more of the many canyon roads in the area. They are just too much fun to ride and we also avoided some of the miles of boring interstate we were planning on riding originally. Frank had learned about a natural hot spring that he was interested in checking out from the owner of the hotel the night before. It just happened to be right alongside one of the canyon routes we had selected. We enjoyed a nice couple hour break at Kirkland hot spring is just off rt.21. Frank was able to check out the hot springs while I chose to grab a nap under a shade tree. We enjoyed another great day of riding with perfect weather and very little traffic. Idaho is a perfect place to ride and with all the friendly folks we met along the way made it even better. We ended up in Twin Falls Idaho after another long day of riding for some sleep.
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Tuesday’s ride took us south from Twill Falls Idaho on route 93 south to Wells Nevada. We headed east from Wells Nevada on interstate 80. I was surprised to see that Nevada was rather mountainous on the roads we traveled on. I thought Nevada was all flat and desert, I was wrong. We continued riding east into Utah on interstate 80 east and stopped at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats for a rest stop. After a short break, a few pictures and a cold drink we were ready to ride on heading for Salt Lake City where we picked up route 40 east stopping for the night in Heber Utah. We had one of our longest day’s rides and were very tired from the ride and dry heat of the Utah flatlands.
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Wednesday morning we left Heber Utah and continued on route 40 into Colorado. It was another nice day of dry weather and very nice scenery along the way once we were in Colorado we spent a couple of hours riding around inside the Dinosaur National monument. The park was totally empty except for the few park rangers we saw riding around. The scenery there is like nothing I have ever seen in my life. It appears very foreign to me almost as if we were riding into another world. We enjoyed a leisurely pace and took many photo’s before continued on riding east on route 40 to the small town of Craig Colorado where we decided to call it a day. We enjoyed a good barbeque dinner at the restaurant next to the little motel we had stopped for the evening.
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Thursday, is the last day on bikes riding together and we are sensing the end of our trip. Today I find myself staring at the scenery and fantastic roads a bit more trying to savor every mile, every new sight. At the pace we have been riding at for the past 11 days it can be difficult to take in all that we have seen along the way. So today is special, trying to remember all the places we have ridden, all the other riders we have talked with and just how nice total strangers can be. We ride on to the town of Granby Colorado where we head northeast on route 43 towards Rocky Mountain National Park. What a wonderful way to end our trip through such an amazing national park. We enter the park and ride on eastward through a gorgeous tall tree lined road towards the summit at nearly 13,000 feet. The road quickly begins to wind its way through switchback after switchback towards the summit. Coming out of one of the corners we notice a bull elk grazing in one if the alpine meadows. As we climb the air is getting colder, the clouds are becoming darker the farther we ride and when we reach the summit it is actually snowing. The view at the summit was awesome with very rugged mountains with snow tucked into rocks all over the area. We continue our ride heading east out of the park and making our way south back to Denver on the eastern side of the park. We arrive back at Lee’s Carkenord’s home in Denver just after 7:00 pm, and find that he and Louise are not home. We packed the bikes and gear into the trailer and decided to begin our long drive back home.
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Friday and Saturday we are towing the bikes back east through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Arriving at Frank’s apartment around 3:00 pm we are tired and suffering from two days of road lag. I load up my bike, said goodbye to Frank and took off for my last ride of the trip. One hundred and eighty miles later I pulled into my driveway around 6:30 pm Saturday evening and I was home. Looking back on the trip I’d say it was a total success. We actually saw more than we thought we might, added another state to our list of states ridden in and only endured three hours of rain in our twelve days of riding. It was a fantastic adventure and we will have great memories for years. I highly recommend taking some time to enjoy some of the great roads and scenery found out west.
Eric M