Western Rally 2007/Mt. Rushmore

It was a dark and stormy night…. no, it was not but it's a great way to start a story. In reality it was a cool air conditioning cubical and I was eye balling the clock on the wall. I watched the seconds tick off before I was to leave on my trip. 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes...aww forget it I'm leaving now!

I bolted outside to 101 degrees. Whoa its hot out here. I jumped on my bike and was home in less than 2 minutes. My gear was still sitting on the living room floor all packed and by the time I put it all on the bike I was drenched with sweat.

Once on the road the wind cooled my sweaty head as I road towards I-80 to head north. I was already buzzing past Donner lake when I knew I needed to take a pictures of the beginning of the trip.

Donner Lake is just before the Nevada boarder.

(Click on any picture to enlarge it.)

I was hurrying and decided I had traveled far enough from home to relax. I slowed to 85 mph. I finally hit the Hwy 95A exit and turned south to Ronnie’s house.

As I crested the hill overlooking Silver Springs Nevada I took another picture.

I pulled up into Ronnie’s house just as the sun was setting on the mountains to the west. Ronnie was just packing the last of his things (he found more things later.)

Out plan is the go to Winnemucca NV then turn north on Hwy 95.

Out first leg of the trip.

There is nothing sweeter than starting a trip and first sunlight. The air is clean and this morning the sum was warm.

Off to I=80 then we head east.

We kicked it into high gear once we hit the Interstate and before we knew it we rolled into Winnemucca, NV. Here is the mountain next to it.

Since we had not had breakfast yet we stopped for some food.

Next leg of the trip was to turn North on Hwy 95 and get to Bosie, ID by night fall.

This road started out desert and I was hoping that the terrain would change soon.

Ronnie seem to thing that it wouldn't be long before we were buzzing through rolling green hills.

This is him giving me the signal that it's just a few more miles up the road...

An hour later I took this picture.


Then another hour later I saw some promising hills.



But once we crested those few hills it was more desert.



Here we are at the pass of the next ridge. Is that green I see in the next valley?

The road started to drop out of the high desert. We could see Bosie below. Ronnie mentioned he needed to call some people he knew. (imagine that...)

We had dinner with them (forgive me I'm terrible with names) and was about to head north for a couple more hours before getting a room when they asked if they could ride north with us for awhile. Well Ronnie and I always like company so we said sure.

Here is the happy couple on there VTX1800.

They took us up Hwy 55



The road took us over a ridge then up into this canyon.

And things started turning green. Just in time because I had grown tried of singing that song about a horse in the desert with no name.

The road then started winding its way up the canyon and the temperature dropped a welcome 10 degrees.

The cool air was refreshing as we rode along the river up the canyon. Our guests were running at a pretty good clip so there was not much time for pictures. We finally arrived in Horseshoe bend just as the sun was setting in the west.

Ronnie and I got a hotel room and we all went for drinks at the only local pub open. After drinks our friends left to ride back to Bosie and Ronnie and I crashed for the night.

The next morning we were up and going through town when Ronnie spotted the wholly grail of signs.

Let me zoom in a little.

That’s right breakfast for only 1.95. Not the best meal, but good for the price.

After breakfast we head west on Hwy 52 to hook up with Hwy 95 again.

THE WOBBLE.

It was about the time we hit Hwy 95 that Ronnie notice a wobble in his bike. We stopped to check out the front end and found nothing wrong. Everything was tight.

We continued on and the wobble wouldn’t go away.



There was nothing we could do here (far from any towns) so we just keep riding.

The scenery was getting better all the time but I kept worrying about Ronnie’s bike behind me.

So I decided to let Ronnie lead so I could keep an eye on his bike. He hates to lead so I’m sure he was not enjoying this part of the ride.

From behind his bike looked fine. When he hit the breaks it would wobble like it was going to fall apart.

Then out of the blue we came upon this bridge. Looked strange out here in the middle of no where.

Had to get one of Ronnie crossing the bridge.

We stopped again about 50 miles up the road because the wobble was getting worst. I was starting to worry that the front tire would blow.

It was about this time we decided to find a dealership and have it looked at. The closest place was Louiston, ID about 40 miles up the road.

We found the address and plugged it into my GPS and prayed we would make it. Another hour later we pulled into the dealership.

They said the front tire was cupped and worn badly on one side. This was strange because this tire only had 1000 miles on it.

While they were replacing the tire I got a room for the night. About an hour later Ronnie showed up at the room with a new tire on his bike.

The next morning we awoke, packed up and headed out of town. Within 5 miles the wobble was back. So we turned around and headed back to the dealership for more trouble shooting.

After waiting an hour for the place to open up they took another look at it with their best mechanic and he said everything was good and we might want to check his load.

It turns out that Ronnie had packed too much weight in his rear trunk. That makes the front end light and wobble. We took his heavy bag in his trunk and put it on my back seat to see if that would fix the problem. Then we headed out of town again.

As you leave town you head up this hill and it was at this time the wobble was GONE! It was the way Ronnie had loaded his bike that was the problem. We stopped at the top of the pass and Ronnie had a grin from ear to ear.

From here it was clear sailing up Hwy 95.



And just in time too, because the views were getting better all the time.

This is the part of Idaho that becomes God like. Not many trees but rolling hills of green and yellow filling my senses like a rainstorm.

I was just starting to soak in all this great color when we come upon a amusement park. Strange being out here in the hills.

Our trip for today was to take us up all the way on Hwy 95



Just before Coeur D Alene, ID we hit some nice lakes.

Once we arrived in Coeur D Alene we hit traffic. It was a good hour to get though the city and it was HOT.

So we just blew though and headed north on Hwy 95.

We hit Sandpoint, ID and decided to spend the night. It was only Thursday and we were tired.

The nexty morning we packed up and hit the road.

This morning was great and the weather was even better. Here is Ronnie giving me the “everything is great” sign.

It wasn’t long before we started seeing signs for the border. We had to stop in Bonners Ferry to see if Ronnie could check in his firearm. They told us to stop at the store at the border and check it in there. So off we went.

Here is the store at the border.

Nice views from this store.

We hit the border and I didn’t take any pictures because I was afraid they would take my camera. As it turns out it was a piece of cake to cross and the nice lady only asked for my ID.

Once we hit Creston I was following my GPS, Ronnie on the other hand was behind me enjoying the view, so when we passed the first motel with everyone parked I didn’t notice it. I hear the honk and Ronnie turned off and I had to make a U-turn. Pulled into the parking lot and saw this.

Everyone seemed to be here and it looked like they were ready to go riding. Someone yelled at me to through my bags into someone’s room and get ready to ride.

I had to zip down to my motel and make sure I had a room. With that done we were off to ride.

Here is Jim (Vol210) on his FJR. It's going to be fun riding with him.

I was not leading and I didn't know what road we are on, which is nice for a change. Sometimes it is just fun to follow and not have to think of the whats, wheres, whens and hows.

Everything up here is spread out. Nice wide canyons and roads. The weather is perfect.

Then our first stop at the pass. I've never seen this many bikes at a Western Rally. That's a good thing...I think. Then the cameras started coming out.

This is only half of the bikes. Not enough room to fit them all in.

A couple of cute girls walking by were recruited to take pictures of the group with several cameras. Here is Warren instructing them on how to use the cameras...or is he begging for a date?

And here is the picture you have been waiting for...the whole group.

Can you see your face?



Ok, Knock it off! Let me take another...be still now.



Then it was down the other side into this wonderful canyon.



Green everywhere! You can see the road on the right side.



Here is part of the group winding through a turn.



Here is another of the group.



Group coming up on a bridge.



This place is so nice. Takes me back in time.



Ok, I had to take a few shots as riders were passing by. I think more for them and me.



Of course some start waving their arms and shaking all over the place, so it is hard to get focused.

And everyone loves to get his or her picture taken from the front while riding. It always makes them smile.

Here is one shot with most of the group in it. Lots of bikes.



And now we are back in Creston. Not a big town, but nice.



That evening we drove back to the U.S. to have dinner.
A very nice place out in the woods. Here is a night picture of some bikes.



The next day our ride was to the Ferry, then loop back to Creston.
Here is our first pit stop of the day.

As we pulled up to the Ferry I was wondering if this was like in Washington State where they let the motorcycles go to the front of the line. But, when I saw the amount of bikes on this day I realized that they would take up half of the Ferry.

Our group was just one of three groups riding that day. I think they were even more bikes in the group getting off the Ferry.

This is just part of our group. Good time for everyone to take pictures.

And what do a bunch of bikers do while waiting for the Ferry? Why they get off their machines and start telling tall tells!

Once loaded on the Ferry it turned to a motorcycle show with everyone looking at everyone else's bikes. It can be a good place to get ideas.

Here is Hiway watching over the bikes....or is he watching the women?



And there is Dan e Boy telling some tall story of when he was a jigalow.



Here is where we left from.



It's cool on the water and everyone knows a ferry ride is the best of both worlds. You get to rest while moving.



Here is another of just our group of motorcycles on the ferry.

Here is a small group of our riders. Most likely talking about ME! Or at least I hope so...

Once back on land I noticed in Canada they have these road blocks incase they need to close the road. I saw several of these.

Green, green everywhere. Canada is very lush this time of year. The temp is around 78 degrees.

Gentle sweeping curves through tall evergreens. It was so nice just rolling through this.

At some point the group broke up into 2 groups. We (the second group) had stopped at this little store for drinks. I parked next to Vol210 with just enough room between our bikes for us to dismount. Jim and I were standing there when a lady on a bicycle pulled up and parked in between out motorcycles. She reminded me of a old bag lady. For a moment I thought she was going to start talking to us but she got off her bike and went into the store.

Jim and I could not stop laughing.

Down the road we caught up to the group. Jim got there first and I was pulling up when the group took off. I still had a few bikes behind me so I stopped and waited. Jim went with the group. Now our group was one smaller. Warren decided we need to take a short cut back to Creston. The group had went left and we were going right.

This looks like a short cut!

On the turn off where the group would come back onto our road we saw Jim sitting, waiting to turn. But the rest of the group was nowhere to be found.

That night everyone seemed to get to bed early. The next morning everyone was heading back home so some wanted a early start.

This was the start of real trip for Ronnie and I. Our destanation was South Dakota. Our route today was to cut accross Montana.

Jim (vol210) agreed to ride down with us as far as Bonner Ferry, ID. We had breakfast there then we parted ways.

It's always good to ride with Jim. He is one of these unique riders who is just fun to ride with. I hope someday to ride accross country with him. Ride safe Jim, have fun and take pictures!

From here Ronnie and I turned west on Hwy 2. We thought about going through Glazier Nt Park, but the signs said it was not open yet.

Ronnie decided to go full face helmet. He wanted to listen to some music and this helped him hear better. Here he is on the yellow school bus adjusting his tunes.

Here we are stopped for another break. Seems like every time we stop Ronnie goes into this adjusting mode.

That evening we got a room in a little town called Seeley Lake, MT. The next morning we woke up to this...

Yep, that's rain. It was also chilly out. As we stood there deciding what to do and with no coffee in the room or lobby we waited. It looked like it might clear up in a bit.

And it did. We dawned warm gear and headed out. We were looking for a place to eat breakfast when we tripped over this place.

We were both impressed with this little dinner. The food was good, cheap and it was run by one family. Ronnie even got the owner out and got a picture with him.

He was in the process of selling the place. He owned some land near here and wanted to open a resort there. You know have groups of bikes show up and camp and sit around big bon fires. Ummm...

From here it was west on Hwy 83. Today’s route.

The mountains open up to prairie lands. And the weather is starting to get nice again.

Not many pictures today. It was just a process of peeling off layers of clothing as it got hotter. That night we ended up in Helena, MT.

And what would a road trip be with out at least one visit to a Walmart.



This is our route for the next day.

You may notice we are taking it easy on this trip. Our daily speed is between 60 to 65 mph. Which, by the way gives you great gas mileage.

Montana now turns into piarrie lands. The road reaches out from every crest like a ribbon. You cross one series of rolling hills only to find another, then another.

Then another...



Finally a rest stop. You can go 60 to 70 miles between anything.

Then we run into Little Big Horn. You know the place where General Custer got shot up from the Indians. Interesting place. Easy to imagine running around out here on horses. What takes me a day use to take them a week.

Here is a monument to the great battle.

This is a drive through park. They have a little 2 lane road that winds across the high ground with pull outs for special places.

Here are some grave stones for US soliders. They were scatter all over the hill side.

The monument for Little Big Horn.



The battle field for Little Big Horn.

After about an hour and half we left the park and headed east. Saw some strange looking old barns out this way.

The land was changing again. Started seeing these rock out-crops showing up.



After riding through a certain terrain for awhile it is good to see change.



I was hopping for a few more curves.

We were in Indian land now. One reservation crossed over into another. You run into to some strange towns in this neck of the woods. In one town a small boy rode up on his bicycle and stared at the Yellow Bus (Ronnie's bike.) Ronnie told him to hope on and I would take a picture. It made his day.

Then we crossed over into Wyoming.



And a few miles down the road it was into South Dakota.



Here is Belle Fourche, SD


This place has a real cowboy feel. Dusty, but a good place to get a room.

After we check in we ran into a couple staying at the same place who were also on a road trip. She was riding a HD sportster and he had a Suzuki C50. We didn't get to meet them until the next morning when we were packing up.

I don't remember their names (forgive me) but Ronnie did give them the web site address. We had breakfast together and ran into each other during the morning ride.

Today's mission we to try and hit everything. Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Strugis...

So we hit the road then try to hit I-90 because that will take into Strugis.

We stopped about 10 miles outside of town to do a bike check (gear and such..) the couple from the Motel pulled up. They were looking for a place to eat breakfast and we all decided to find a place together.

Here we are at the restaurant.

After breakfast we said our good byes again and headed for Strugis. A few miles down the road you run right into it. Not much in the off season.

And this place...which I'm sure is one hell of a great place to be at in August.

Then we are back on the road. Let's see Strugis out of the way, what's next. I must confess I finding it difficult to figure which to see in which order. I was heading for the Bad Lands (and work our way back from there) when I see this sign.

So we turn off to see Mt Rushmore. Here is the town of Mt. Rushmore...and for those who wanted to know where Trish's Fishes is, it right there on the right.

As we are driving through town I see this place and stop. Why you ask? Well Ronnie did mention (several times) that he wanted to get some black hills gold for his wife.

Yep, he said, "if you see some cheap black hills gold, let me know."

I thought the buffalo out front were very cool. I wish I could get my bike painted this way.

I really like the one in front. Nice face!

After we left the gold shop we passed Reptile Gardens. Ummm, naw, we don't have time. These places can take hours.

Then we came across this strange thing. Turned out to be caverns.

Cave warning! I always take pictures, honk my horn, flash my lights and take off my sun glasses when I go through a cave. Caves are cool!

Finally the entrance.



We start to climb now, and around a turn I see the faces.

We pull up to the park and it's free to get. Only problem is you have to pay 8 dollars to park. Plus now there is people everywhere.

Here is the walk up to the viewing stage.



And here it is....Mt Rushmore!

Wait a minute is that a rope hanging from one of the president's heads?

And just in case you think I stole this picture off the internet here I am in the picture.

We was there about 20 minutes and then it was back on the road. This time no stopping until Bad Lands!

A few miles down the road we starting seeing the Wall Drugs signs.

"Free coffee at WALLS DRUGS!"

then another mile down the road...

"We serve 10,000 glasses of ice water a day at WALLS DRUGS"

then another mile down the road...

"Oldest Drug store in the West...WALLS DRUGS!"

This went on for the next 40 miles. It was hot and I though...I need to see this place.

As it turns out this whole town is Walls Drugs! All these building connect and it's one giant shopping mall.

We ate, I had a cheese burger. The lettuce and tomato cost extra. I will not be back.

Another 20 miles down the road we finally hit the gate to the Bad Lands.

During the whole drive here I keep wondering why they would call it the bad lands. Was it because of bad cowboys hiding out here? Or was it haunted? It wasn't until I started to see it I realized it was because it was not easy to cross by wagon or horse.

Even the park road curved around the outside of them.

The heat of the day was leaving and we could see the sun lowering in the west. It made for better views of the park.

The road goes from one ridge to another.



Now this is fun.

After we left the park we turned south west on Hwy 44. This is where we ran into Indian land again.
Better make a check to see if my wingman is still back there.

He always is...we at least most of the time.
There is nothing out here...

The sun was starting to get close to the horizon now and I didn't know where the next town was. I needed to find a room for Ronnie and I. The bonus of leading the pack.

I just need to keep heading south or west...this road looks OK.

Looking back I could see this nice sunset.



Not good enough? How about this?

I really needed to find a Hotel, it was getting late. We drove for another hour and half before we found one. This was a special hotel and I got the secret room 27.

What made room 27 special was it had a small door and when inside it was bigger than the normal room.

The next morning was a different feeling. We were heading back home now. Not in a hurry but still it was different.

Now all there was to do was find good roads and enjoy the view.

We stayed on the small two lane roads and headed south down the east side of the Rockies. Then we came across this lovely little town which looked like a military base.

Then we crossed into Nebraska. Not much out here...



Looking back into Wyoming. Not much here either....

When we stopped for gas I took a good look around. I was hoping that I would see some mountains soon.

We got another 50 miles down the road when nature called, and called hard. I stopped in front of this old building which use to be an old gas station. Kind of sad to see it in such decay. Wished I could of rode a motorcycle when this place was open.

The roads had been pretty straight for the last 100 miles and I'm getting tired of it. Could that be the Rockies? They have to be around here somewhere.

We keep heading west. It's hot and the road is boring. Then out of the blue I see them, THE ROCKIES! Umm, are those clouds?

Ah, the Rockies. Twisties, hills and trees! As we start to climb up in the canyon the clouds start getting worst. "Naw, it's not going to rain."

Now I like this road.



Another photo moment...those pesky clouds are not getting any better.



Cave alert! Honk horn, take picture, flash lights. Not necessarily in that order.

Then the rain gods blessed us! At first it was a few drops. Then the temp dropped 10 degrees. Then lots of rain. Ronnie stopped in a rest stop to dawn rain gear. I joined him and by the time we got back on the road the temp had dropped another 10 degrees.

You could see the rivers swelling up as we drove. Another 20 minutes up the road the rain had all but stopped. We were not taking any chances so we kept our suits on.

We kept climbing and climbing. When I saw this I knew we were really in the Rockies.

Another 30 minutes later we reached the pass. In the last hour in a half the temp had gone from 100 degrees down to 68 degrees. It was almost refreshing!

Ronnie likes to point things out for the blind...

The road lead us across a meadow at 8000 feet. Then we head up another mountain.

Up and up and up...



Very beautiful up here. Hope we don't run into any more snow....I hate snow.



Then we drop into a high valley. Again about 8000 feet.

Then we came into Steamboat Springs. Time to get a room. This is a resort town so nothing is going to be cheap here. Were in Colorado now, but I didn't see any place where we crossed the border.

This place reminded me of Lake Tahoe with out the lake. It was a cross of old resorts and new shopping centers.

We unpacked and ate dinner. Took them an hour to serve us and the food wasn't that good. Give me a small town cooking anytime. The next morning I wanted to get out of this town as quickly as possible.

Traffic in this town was like the traffic on Hwy 50 on a Sunday night coming back from Lake Tahoe. Fast and in tight packs. All this happening on 2 lane hwys. If your too slow some idiot will try to pass you.

As we (a pack of 10 or so cars) are zooming down the road we come up on this train. It was only doing a couple of miles per hour slower than us and I broke out the camera. I started waving it in the air and the people on the train saw me and starting waving from their seats. If you look closely you can see some waving.

You can't see it here but I even got the engineer to wave. Petty good while I'm on the bike and in traffic.

From here I'm expecting nice rolling hills with lots of green. It didn't turn out that way. Just a few miles outside of Steamboat Springs the terrain starts to turn brown again.

OH, better check on my wingman....yep still there!

Then I came across this building. At first I though it was a strange barn of some kind, then I find out it's a drive in theater. In the middle of nowhere.

OK, now back to the road. This isn't what I expected....



Ronnie is just as surprised as I am....see!



AH HA! A turn!!!!



Then we passed Dinosaur Nt Monument. Looked like a rest stop.

Ok this isn't funny any more. I'm in the Rockies, where are the green trees and flowing rivers?

Then we hit Utah. As I was taking this picture Ronnie pulled up right in the middle. I think he wanted his picture taken. Another interesting thing is as you cross the border you grow through this ridge. Kind of neat.

Here is a better picture. Utah is just over that ridge.

And since the next little town was close to Dinosaur Monument it had to have a dinosaur....but pink?

Better check on my wingman...he likes to get lost in town.

We rode on for another couple of hours then I started seeing green lands again. The last ridge before we drop out of the Rockies.

And right over this mountain the road turns into a 4 lane freeway and you drop and drop for the next 20 miles.

The traffic picks up and by the time you get to the Salt Lake City basin it's crazy with cars. We had called Ted Bell about 60 miles from SLC to see if we could hook up. Also I was in need of a new front tire (the tread bars were showing) so he give us the address to the Honda dealer ship in SLC.

We pulled into the dealer ship around 5 pm and there was Ted on his new VStorm. It was too late to get a tire from the dealership so I would have to do that in the morning. Now it was off to find a room and have some dinner. After driving up and down the main drag we finnally get a room.

Then if is off to dinner. Mexican OK?



Here is close up of Ted's new VStorm. He already rides it like a mad man.



Another of Ted in front of the restaurant.

After dinner Ted had to go home (he still have to drive an hour to get home.) We went back to the room and fell alseep in front of the TV. The next morning we go up early and went over to the Honda dealership and I got a new front tire.

We left SLC at 9:30am and the temp was already 93 degrees. It was going to be a hot day crossing the desert.

Then we hit the salt flats....which means for the next 52 miles the road will be perfectly straight.

We drove for 30 minutes only to see this...



Another 30 minutes of driving and this is what you see...



Then in the middle you come across this tower.



Then another 30 minutes....but wait are those mountains I see?



It will be much better past the ridge.....or not.

There wasn't much wind today but everyone once in awhile you would see this dust devils.

Tunnel alert! Today was hot, I felt like stopping in this tunnel to cool. But I couldn't so I just....Honked my horn, flashed my light and took a picture....

Ronnie seems to be doing pretty good back there....

After several hours we hit our turn off. I could see the sun was starting to set in front of us. It was good to turn south.

After another hour we finally hit Ronnie's house. I know he was glad to see his wife. I didn't stay long, I wanted to get home also. I arrived home around 1 am and it felt good. The night air was warm for it being so late.

I'm tired and ended up sleeping for the next 14 hours.

The ride was great!