Tourists from Yellowstone to Deer Lodge

 

Jackson Hole is a gem. 

We liked it so much that we decided to spend an extra night even though we're on a bit of a schedule. We were able to replace a couple of tires, we walked around the downtown area a bunch, met a wonderful photographer at his gallery (David Brookover), found our new favorite artist (Melissa Graves Brown), Elga received an anonymous flower while we were away from the bike, and we ate an incredibly greasy and perfect hot dog and burger. Life is good.

We reluctantly left Jackson Hole and headed up to the Grand Tetons. After about 5 minutes out of town we ran into the mother of all traffic jams. We have never driven through this park or Yellowstone but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a lot of other people want to see them as well. 

Turns out that there's a reason for all the traffic. Mount Moran and Jenny Lake are absolutely spectacular even with moody weather. 

What a boss.

We had a quick lunch and moved on from the Tetons - we will definitely be coming back. We headed north into America's favorite park, Yellowstone. The traffic was pretty horrendous and while on our way to Old Faithful, an older gentleman in a Suburban very nearly ran us off the road and subsequently off of a mountain. I was not happy, understandably, and went to see wonder of Yellowstone with an annoyed spirit. Old Faithful stayed true to its namesake and blew us both away. What a display of nature's glory. We feel so blessed to have seen such a show. 

After hanging out for a bit, we hopped back on the bike and headed for the nearest campsite.

I slept like an absolute rock with the mountain air blowing gently through the tent. Kristen, however, woke up wondering how I ever talked her into this. I think her sleeping bag was not made for the mountains...

Do to being freezing all night, Kristen decided to try out her heated gear for the first time. I'm pretty sure this is going to become a necessity from now on. She's in love. Anyway, we saw a bunch of elk that were all being pestered by an eternal flock of photographers, so we took our leave and headed out the west exit. 

The afternoon was a real treat. Montana is gorgeous and huge and wild. Even Kristen, a beach lover, told me that she was ready to move. Hebgen Lake and the surrounding area was awesome and we had a fantastic day of riding until getting to Butte and highway 90.

We decided to jump on the interstate for a quick jaunt when the skies opened up. We both got drenched as there was no exit in sight and spent decided after another 20 minutes of riding to find a place for the night. We rolled into Deer Lodge and stayed at a motel/casino directly across the street from the local prison. More on that later after Kristen edits the pictures from today!

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

 

Our 12th day on the road started with a congratulatory pat on our backs as we finally left before 9 AM. Feeling good about ourselves, we began our trek from Vernal to Flaming Gorge. The rise in elevation was enough to keep us at around 25 mph - slow enough for even a Smart Car to pass us. 

One of the byproducts of this trip thus far is that I've had to relinquish this idea that I NEED to go fast. It's really easy to get caught up in trying to keep up with traffic but with the Ural, that's not even an option. 

We kept climbing into the park until it became quite apparent that we needed to either change the spark plugs or at least clean them, so I pulled over and did a little work. As I was doing so, Kristen spotted a red sidecar rig going by and we both hoped we would run into them before leaving the park. Unfortunately, we got held up by a very nice (but super talkative) man who only let us out of his grasp after nearly half an hour. We continued on towards the dam and pulled into a parking lot there to find the red sidecar!

A 1989 Moto Guzzi from Switzerland traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles for their Honeymoon. Some of the nicest people we've come across and I wished we had more time with them. Such a good thing for the soul to be with people that have a similar desire to explore. Godspeed.

We left them to check out one of the scenic viewpoints, which I can't remember but it was one of the more spectacular places in the park. 

The landscapes of Flaming Gorge are otherworldly. So glad that we rode through the park. 

After leaving the park and entering Green River, we decided to try and make a run for Jackson, WY, before dark even though it was early afternoon. It was about 200 miles and so we saddled up and got ready for a sprint. Unfortunately, southwest Wyoming is pretty flat and the day was particularly windy. We had a strong headwind nearly the entire way and struggled a bit to keep up speed.

Then, after hitting La Barge on 189, I suddenly realized that we were in serious danger of getting caught in the dark - which was something I really wanted to avoid. Especially since a man at the gas station there told us the valley before Jackson was filled with wildlife that constantly crossed the road at night.

We hoped on the bike, feeling a bit anxious, when she provided us with a moment of Zen. For the last 115 kms, our Russian steed did not leave 4th gear. She purred forward at 55 and 60 mph through hills that she was no designed to climb at speed. She darted through corners as nimbly as any bike on the road. Her sweet putter was replaced with a roar that we had not heard before. And before we knew it, we were in Jackson while the sun had yet to set.

We spent the night in this cabin and seeing as everything else in town was super expensive (the front desk guy at the Best Western scoffed at my face when I was shocked at the $270 pricetag for one night), and we could not find a tent camping spot ANYWHERE. I'm pretty sure everyone in Wyoming is currently camping in Jackson Hole. 

Kristen liked it and Jackson so much that we decided to stay another night which was good cause I needed to do a few things for the bike. 

I cleaned out the air filter, replaced the plugs (again) and decided to put my spare on the pusher and my pusher on the hack because of some unusual wear. I never knew the hack tire would wear like this. Is it because of the weight the sidecar is hauling?

Anyway, today we head off for Grand Tetons and Yellowstone - Kristen is feeling inspired!

Movin' On Up

 

Today was a bit different than the past couple that we've spent in the mountains. The scenery was so different and it was hot again! Not Texas hot, but I got a bit spoiled riding at 60F for the past couple days. Anyway, we headed north from Montrose up Highway 50 towards Grand Junction, and we hit a milestone for this trip. We broke 75 mph for the first time this trip! Without any gear loaded on the bike, it's not such a big deal, but I was surprised with so much weight on the rig. Elga is definitely most comfortable at 55 mph so 75 is a bit of a sprint. 

We then headed on and rode a particularly nice and mountainous section between Loma and Rangely. Beautiful and much cooler than earlier in the day. It was actually very steep in a few sections and I got stuck going about 20 mph.

We then headed northwest towards Vernal, Utah where we rode past a few places that had more than a few dinosaurs milling about...

While headed to a hotel for the night, we came across a really nice war memorial where they had a couple of sweet vehicles that could have been distant cousins of our Ural. Maybe not family, but they definitely liked each other's style.

VFW Post 5560.

A great day! We head through Flaming Gorge tomorrow then onto Grand Tetons.

Slumgullion Pass (11,530 ft)

 

We slept amazingly good last night with the sound of the river in the background and the cool, mountain air filling our tent. And by cool, I mean chilly for me and arctic for Kristen. She may have lived in Ohio for most of her life, but Kris has embraced the weather of Texas. 

We bundled up after packing away our gear and treating ourselves to tortillas and peanut butter, then headed up through Lake City and on to Gunnison. 

Earlier in the morning, I saw Kristen do a curious thing. She put on three pairs of pants because she was so cold. I laughed at her until we really started to rise in elevation. By Slumgullion Pass (11,530 ft) I was an icicle in my jeans. 

The riding, however, was amazing. Elga is a carbureted machine, meaning without a little love she  doesn't particularly like drastic changes in elevation. For whatever reason, she ran as strong as could be expected through the climb. I was proud, but I'm pretty sure we looked similar to the movie Dumb and Dumber as they were making their way to Aspen on the scooter. WE didn't go very fast, but Elga gave a solid effort to keep us at a steady 25 mph.

It was still early afternoon as we hit Gunnison. A decision had to be made: go west towards Montrose or east towards Buena Vista. "What about Aspen", Kristen asked. A thin, dotted line showed us that there was a direct route on our GPS. We headed into Gunnison National Forrest. 

It was here that we learned something very important about motorcycle travel. It's very easy to get distracted! We spent several hours riding for a few turns only to promptly stop for photo ops. It was impossible to resist sitting by the river and just hanging out for a bit. Before we knew it, we had blown the entire afternoon and were not even close to Aspen. We turned around and headed back west to Montrose. If we were going to make it to Canada, we would need to make some sacrifices and eat some road. 

This...

...for this:

We really wanted to stay in whatever this place is:

Before sleeping, we did a quick air filter cleaning from the dirt road, spark plug brushing and added a little oil. Whew...what a day.

"In the Big Rock Candy Mountains..."

 

We slept so well after getting assistance from Chuck. We woke the next morning and headed north from Las Vegas, but not before Kristen got to read her new favorite publication, Gallinas: The Biker Babes Edition".

We packed up Elga like a mule and headed out.

Neither of us have spent much time in New Mexico before. But as we headed to Angel Fire we were absolutely floored by how beautiful and mountainous it can be. I swear that the scenery was making our eyes explode as we rolled through Eagle Nest and Red River. If you've never been to this part of the country, go. Seriously. 

After lunch in the ski town of Angel Fire, we headed north through Eagle Nest and Red River. Late August seems to be ideal for the weather in this part of the country. 

We hit 522 in Questa until we connected with 159... in Colorado! I have to say we were pretty stoked about getting here. We've had a few setbacks but the mighty Ural refuses to be stopped. Even though we rose to 7,700 ft in elevation, Elga plowed through to Monte Vista and South Fork as the afternoon disappeared.

All of a sudden, we found that the sunset had snuck up on us and we were very lucky to find a scenic, empty campground right when we needed it. We set up camp right next to a river and Kris had some fun with her camera as the stars gleamed with stars. It's good to be in the mountains...