I'd better start in on this report before I start forgetting what happened.
Sept 5
The Montana-Wyoming-Idaho leg began with our departure early afternoon Sep. 5th. My friend Steve was along on his trusty Pacific Coast, and me on the ’75 750F. We took ID21 up through Idaho City, Lowman, to Stanley. Here’s a pic of the Sawtooth Mountains taken at a spot where everybody takes pictures of the Sawtooths –
From Stanley, we turned north on ID75 toward Challis. I didn’t take a lot of pictures along here as we had gotten a late start and if I stopped at everything that was photo worthy, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. If you’ve never been on this road, don’t pass it up if you get the chance to ride it. Those who have know what I am talking about. Here is a video taken along the Salmon River south of Challis.
ID75ID75 meets up with US93 just outside Challis. From there, we took 93 north through Salmon, over Lost Trail Pass and spent the night in a campground at Sula, MT. No pictures through here either, but believe me, riding doesn’t get any better than on this stretch, either.
Sept 6
Woke up to 28 degrees F the next morning. It was a little frosty.
After breakfast at the café there at Sula, north on US93 through Missoula, Polson, along the west side of Flathead Lake, then the cut-off over to MT35, and on to Glacier National Park. Last time I was up there, it was $10 to get in the park on a motorcycle. Now it is $15. Here’s a heads-up for all you geezers. You can get a lifetime pass to enter all the national parks for 10 bucks if you are over 62. A pretty good deal except for the fact you have to be aged. Oh well, I’ll be there soon enough myself.
Here are a few pics and video on the Going to the Sun highway heading up to Logan Pass. It is an amazing road. It is a good thing it is there, because this country will never build anything like it again, I’m afraid. The park service will occasionally float a proposal to close the road to private vehicles, making everybody ride the shuttle buses (aka cattle cars) to get up there. The proposal has always been beaten down, but it doesn’t keep them from trying again once in awhile.
There was a lot of construction to put up with and they were slobbering all over the road with water trucks to keep the dust down, but the upside is that it gave plenty of time to admire the scenery.
Some video of the climb up the west side –
Going to the SunWild America –
Wild AmericaIt is a nice ride eastbound down from Logan Pass, if not as spectacular as the west side. There is usually a lot less traffic on that side, and still plenty to look at. The end of the day found us at the KOA at St. Mary, MT. 30 bucks for a tent site! Oh well, as KOAs go, the St. Mary KOA is a nice one. (Too many KOAs sit alongside freeways these days.)
While we were at the KOA, a couple pulled up in a beautiful ’36 Ford pulling a little Scamp camp trailer. The car was a very nice piece of work. It is cool when people use these cars rather than letting them sit in a climate controlled garage under a cover.
Sept 7
Another frosty night –
Today was the day for the handoff from Kris (kap284). He suggested meeting at the Two Sisters café between St. Mary and Babb that morning. An excellent suggestion, as it turned out. He was riding all the way down from Calgary, AB that morning.
Kris wasn’t there yet, so we had something to eat. I can recommend their buffalo burger. Thanks, Leona! I was finishing up when Kris pulled in on a 750F2 that looked like it had just come out of a time warp from 1977. He has done an exceptional job on it. It is a beautiful bike. Just like that ’36 Ford, it is cool to see a bike like this on the road being used as it was intended.
The handoff –
We went back into the café and visited awhile and GZ made a new acquaintance. All too soon it was time to hit the road. Thanks, Kris, for coming down to St. Mary to make this happen. Thanks for the great conversation. It was a pleasure to meet you as it is always great to meet another committed bike nut.
Back on the road, GZ back in his old spot. Last time we rode together he griped about temps in the low to mid 30s, this time he was crying about how hot it was. I thought he was quite a whiner for a world famous city stomping mutant dinosaur, then I remembered he’s cold blooded, so started to cut him some slack. Then he started #$%*ing because I hadn’t cleaned the windshield. Naw, he’s just a whiner.
So it was south through Browning, Choteau, Augusta, Wolf Creek, a little bit of interstate to Helena. We didn’t do much interstate on this trip because riding on the interstates sucks, but the stretch of I-15 between Wolf Creek and Helena ain’t bad with nice sweepers through canyons.
The next couple of days were smoky from forest fires. It’s a big country –
Big CountryI am a snag aficionado, so am always on the lookout for a good one. This is a decent specimen.
In keeping with the new tradition of posing GZ about to stomp buildings or dwarfing well-known landmarks, here is a lame attempt to make it look like he is humping a concrete stegosaurus in Choteau, MT. I could have done a better job if I’d had my SLR. You can’t really control depth of field with a point and shoot.
We landed at the KOA in Townsend, MT. Cheaper than the St. Mary KOA, but not as nice either. Another great day of riding.
Sept 8
Up at dawn, and a pleasant surprise – no frost. We headed toward Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park. My original plan was to avoid Yellowstone because the place is annoying with the crowds, traffic, anal speed enforcement, confused tourists, not to mention they charge 20 bucks to ride a bike in there now. The original plan was to head toward Red Lodge, take the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highways to Cody and head south to get around the park. But I heard about the construction on the Beartooth and after putting up with it over Logan Pass, I decided to do it another day. So Yellowstone it was.
In keeping with the National Park Service's goal of keeping the park as close to its natural state as possible, it used this interesting naturally occurring stone arch for an entrance.
Wyoming is finally going to be in the bag –
One of the Indian names for Yellowstone is “E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay” which loosely translates to “land of a thousand fart smells.” Very apt, as we see here. Just like a kid farting in the bathtub –
on the boilI took pretty much no pictures in the park. Been there and done that too much, I guess. Here's a cool car we saw during a gas stop at Flagg Ranch south of Yellowstone. A nice older couple had driven this all the way from New York State. They have to be tougher than me. My uncle has a T-bucket set up with a similar suspension (ha ha), and 20 minutes on a rough road in that will have your spleen begging for mercy.
Onward to Grand Teton National Park. I guess I see why GZ was griping about the windshield.
GZ told me “Grand Tetons” means “Big Titties” in French. Those trappers were out in the boonies too long, I'd say. It was not a good day to photograph the Tetons. It was smoky and the sun was in the wrong place.
Next up was Jackson Hole, WY. Hole is right. It used to be a nice place. But now it typifies the “New West” with its rich snobs, development, congestion, inadequate roads, out of control cost of living, idiot tourists, ridiculous politics, etc. If there are any Jackson Holians reading this, sorry. We were stuck in a traffic jam going through town, so no pix even if I felt so inclined. However, I did take a pic of this extremely ironic sign at the top of Teton Pass.
The top of Teton Pass, 8431 feet.
Idaho in the bag! –
It is a nice little descent on the Idaho side. We ended up tenting it in an RV park in Tetonia, ID. The dog’s name is Callie. She is very smart. She had me trained to throw sticks for her to fetch in no time.
Sept 9
Another cool night, getting down to 31. Back on the road, heading for the barn. Idaho has its wide open spaces too.
ID33Here is Teton Dam, or I should say ex-dam, one of the Bureau of Reclamation’s more memorable boo-boo’s. When it let go while they were filling the reservoir for the first time in 1976, it did a good job of flushing out Rexburg and other towns, killing 11 people and a #$%*load of cows.
A fixer-upper in Howe, ID.
GZ makes friends wherever he goes –
Lava at the Craters of the Moon National Monument. I have a Craters of the Moon rant to go along with my Yellowstone rant, but I’ll spare you all.
GZ back at the barn, awaiting the Oregon leg.
It was an excellent 5 day ride. The weather was great all the way, even when getting rained on in Jackson. After all the heat, the rain felt good. Plus it took some of the bugs off the windshield.
Sept 13 –
It took a few days, but we now had a solid plan for an Oregon handoff. Mickey6 was going to travel over from Roseburg, OR and we were to meet in John Day, OR. Steve was along again on his Pacific Coast. We left early afternoon on another warm day. Our route was US26. This is yet another great road that traverses river bottom farmland, mountains, and high plains featuring abandoned farms, farms that look abandoned but aren't, forests, deer jumping across the road, expansive vistas, mountain passes, scenic valleys, etc, etc, etc. It is not a technical road with a lot of curves (there’s a few curvy sections, tho), but there is plenty to look at. There is a lot that fans of the ‘Abandoned’ thread on this forum would be interested in.
Here is the post office in Jamieson, OR. It looks sort of abandoned but it is still in operation.
Here’s one of those farms that looks abandoned but isn’t –
Coming out of the hills looking toward Prairie City –
Here’s a video along US26 as we skirted the edge of a thunderstorm. The farm shown in this one was probably abandoned, but you never know. From what I’ve seen, some people out here don’t seem to sweat not having glass panes in the windows that much.
US26We beat Mickey to John Day by about 30 minutes. We began to set up camp at the fairgrounds. It wasn’t long and we heard the mellow, civilized exhaust note of what could only be another SOHC4. Turns out it was indeed Mickey on his trusty CB500. He had made pretty damn good time. I surmised that he may have bent a few of Oregon’s rather conservative speed limits on the way over.
Some Oregon art found near the campsite. It appears someone wrapped a cigar band around a turd, an example of artistic self-expression more commonly seen around Portland but apparently making its way eastward.
Sept 14
After breaking camp, we repaired to the local McDonalds for a dollar meal breakfast and the handoff. There was a little confusion as Mickey fired up his 500, after which Steve and I couldn’t tell if our bikes were running. But I decided to trust the tach, and sure enough the bike responded when I eased out the clutch. Hey Mickey, good thing you have that washer in there or that thing would really be loud.
The handoff-
GZ on his new perch –
A gas stop was in order before heading out of town. Progressive state that it is, Oregon understands that not just anyone should be pumping gas, so prohibits the untrained from doing so. Fortunately, there is a cadre of schooled professional pump jockeys across the state there to get the job done. This is undoubtedly a much safer system than in other less enlightened states that recklessly allow just anybody to pump gas. The downside to this is that because of the rigorous training and strict requirements, with the resulting high washout rate, there is an apparent shortage of pump jockeys. So sometimes you have stand around for a while waiting for one of the pros to make it over to you. Kind of a pain, but if even one child’s life is saved, it is worth it. So whatever you do, don’t be handling your own nozzle in Oregon.
We turned north on US395 just west of John Day. This is yet another great road with plenty to look at. Lots of deer though, so you have to pay attention.
Here is the old post office in Fox. This one has been decommissioned.
I first saw this gas pump back in 1994. I am surprised it is still there, as these things are sought after by restorers and collectors.
More old stuff along the way -
GZ has to eat, too. I’m pretty sure Mickey intended to swab GZ down with Lysol or something later. But is case he didn’t, you guys with GZ now better not touch your face or anything else after handling GZ until you wash your hands really good.
Back on the road. A Mickey6 flyby –
Mickey6 flyby.aviRoundup time. Mickey can tell this part of the story if he wants –
round upWe split up at the junction near Ukiah, with Mickey heading north to Pendleton and Steve and I east toward La Grande. Thanks again to Mickey for his epic ride to make this part of the relay happen. Like Kris from Calgary and everybody else I’ve met on this relay, he is a true biker and I am proud to make his acquaintance.
This next image was supposed to be a video of Mickey blasting off toward Pendleton, but since I can’t work my own friggin camera right, here is a snapshot of nothing instead.
Here are a few more pics of old stuff on the way back. If you like to look at and photograph old buildings that are still somehow more or less defying gravity (I do), then you’ll like OR244.
That’s it for me. Between the Nevada-Utah leg and this Montana/Wyoming/Idaho/Oregon trip, these rides have been as satisfying as, or more so than any I have ever been on. (And there have been quite a few.) That is because I was on the old 750 that has been with me for over 34 years now. It used to be my touring bike, but for the last 20 years other bikes have filled that role, while the 750 has been mostly relegated to commuting and making runs to the hardware store. I’ve bragged many times that even with all the miles on it, I wouldn’t hesitate to ride it anywhere. When this relay came about, it was time for me to put up or shut up. And the bike came through. Especially in Nevada, the bike carried me solo through some places where it would have been
very inconvenient to break down. But it never missed a beat.
Thanks again to all you guys who followed through and did what you said you would do to get the relay done. I had to ride a considerable distance to get to the handoff on each of the legs I did. Everybody I met had to do the same thing and everybody was where they said they’d be when they were supposed to be. I don’t take that for granted. Pretty awesome and much appreciated.
