We left the motel in the morning and stopped at a turnout just outside of Dayton, WY and unloaded the bikes for the first time since we left Johnson City. Click that Dayton Link and follow 14 southwest through Burgess Junction We had planned originally to take US14A and come back on 14, back to Dayton... but 14A was still snowed over and won't be open until sometime later.
Finally free, off the trailer, ready to ride!
Here's a couple of views from the parking area before we left to ride.
On the other end of 14, in Shell, WY at a little country store. The people there gave us some interesting stares, but were very nice. We got the impression that they don't see too awful many sportbike riders up here, which is too bad -- people really don't know what they're missing!
We didn't stop much on the way out to Shell because we planned to come back in the truck and figured that we could get pictures then, this was riding time!
The ride up was pretty wild... it was hard to decide what to do, ride hard and enjoy the bike, or ride slow and enjoy the scenery. It was actually difficult to stay focused on the road on the way up because of the amazing views.
I'd say that the temperature when we left (Dayton sits at about 4000' elevation) was about 70ish... but it was definitely below freezing at the top. The roads were crystal clear, but there was snow everywhere along the sides. Basically the road climbs to 9300', then there's a small decent to around 8000 at Burgess Junction. There's all kinds of 'snow machine' (we know them as snow mobiles) cross-country skiing and snowshoeing resorts up there. On the way back down to the truck after stopping in Shell Dave nearly ran out of gas (he was running so rich that he underestimated his fuel mileage) and we wound up stopping at one of the 'show machine' resorts which, thankfully, had a gas pump.
Dave, pointing out the canyons in the distance.
A pic from the highest point on 14 from Dayton to Shell, WY... nearly 9300 ft (the bikes were running a bit rich).
Yes, both knees have been firmly planted in Wyoming :)
Neat pic, the sign kinda puts things into perspective.
Begin bighorn views...
There were lots of these up... they block snow drifts and help to keep the roads clear during winter.
The local school system does geology field trips up here. We heard a bit of lecture while we were there.
Amazing panoramic views. From here we were able to see nearly the entire last day of travel!
Very nice sweepers...
Before we loaded up the bikes we changed out of the leathers and headed back into Dayton for dinner. There was a nice little diner that served the absolute best enchilada I've ever had.... and Dave had his usual burger and fry combo. We were the only customers in the whole diner and the staff was really friendly. They were flying around little indoor remote control helicopters!
Oh well, full bellies and totally thrilled about the day we headed back to the truck (which had now been parked in the same spot for almost 6 hours) to load up the bikes.
Headed back over to Shell in the truck, loaded down. Notice the road -- ya, we were there just a few moments ago.
So remember the picture of that rock w/ the sign? We decided to hike a bit toward that rock... you can just make out the truck at the bottom of the hill.
Another, from a bit further up.... truck's a bit smaller now :)
Guess I should get ready to duck!
Here's some views from the top -- well, as far up as we were willing to hike that day.
Dave.
Me.
These were all over the hillside.
Dave got creative and figured he'd found his 'purple lotus' (yes, the flower from batman begins grasshopper)
A few views from the pickup.
Anyone for a swim?
There was snow everywhere ...
So, one would think a ski resort would be a good idea... but this one closed down. It would seem that cross-country, 'snow machines', and snow shoeing own the market and no one out here likes downhill skiing.
As it turned dusk the Mule Deer started to come out of their hiding spots. They were EVERYWHERE!! Thankfully they weren't around earlier while we were running through there on the bikes! We were going really slowly in the truck anyway, so the deer were a welcome diversion.
The ridgeline as you enter the canyon is a real sight...
Ya, left knee, right knee -- nice road.
Another nice turn, there were plenty of these to be had.... now, let's see, scenery - or road :)
You can see the river responsible for carving the wonderful canyon that we're in off to the right. There were actually some really amazing falls further up the hill, but it was too difficult to get a shot as the visitor's center (and hence the trails that led to a decent viewing area) was closed.
These are so hard to get used to. They're up all over the state -- whenever a road is closed due to weather or other impassible condition these gates will come down.... like railroad crossings back east :)
Well, we made it over the bighorn mountains with the bikes. I must say that my little pickup truck has been doing extraordinarily well considering the terrain out here, and the load that I've got on it. I'm impressed.
Anyway, we've stopped in Graybull, WY about 171 miles or so east of Old Faithful, in Yellowstone park and tomorrow the plan is to head to Cooke, WY just outside of Yellowstone and ride down and see the Old Faithful geyser tomorrow. If we have time we'll head for the Tetons, otherwise we'll do that on Friday.
The little motel that we're staying in tonight is swell. The fella that works the counter used to ride a 900RR before he bought his Harley and gave us a sweet map of the park, recommended several routes, and told us about all the road closures. Unfortunately, it seems as though we're just a bit early for what everyone around here has been telling us is 'the most scenic road in all the US'. Oh well, maybe another time.
Tired, I'm off to bed now. Goodnight everyone, sleep tight!
1 comment:
The views are AWESOME!!! Sounds like you guys are having a GREAT time. No one should be able to have that much fun. Hope to see you in July. Don't miss out on anything. Just keep having a great time. See you soon.
Post a Comment