No time to ride when you are working like a dog. Up by 6:00 a.m. to shower and ready to work the booth around 8:00. On my way to the showers, I snapped a pic of the mountain range.

Total Miles = 108

After breakfast in the Canyon Lodge cafeteria, we headed for Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. Along the way, we encountered hordes of bison. We stopped to take pictures and came very close to some of them. Too close for my liking! I couldn't believe how many people walked really close to these bison to take pictures. Bison weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can travel at 40 mph. Every year, park visitors are injured by bison.

We also took pictures by Yellowstone Lake in many spots. We stopped at one of the many sulfur springs, which was cool, but the highlight was seeing a bear down below from a small cliff. It was fun to take a picture at the Continental Divide, but watching the famous Old Faithful erupt was even more fun. Our final destination for the evening was the Mammoth Hot Springs, which are in the northwest corner of the park. The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel was built in the 30s and quite nice. After dinner, there was the most vivid rainbow I have ever seen.

We then enjoyed a challengingwalk to visit the many locations of hot springs in that area. Below Sandra contemplates the meaning of life watching over Cleopatra's Table.

Total Miles = 442

The motel in Osmond, Nebraska was very nice and new! The nearby mini-mart ladies were also very nice. We left Osmond around 10:00 am - too late in my book, but we were on our way. As we continued on U.S. 20 west, we went through many small towns, including Eli with a population of 2. I've never seen the sky look so beautiful with the wide open spaces, big blue sky with fluffy clouds dotted across the landscape. Our favorite stop of the day was in Merriman, where we stopped to rest and eat at the Sand Cafe. An old fashioned diner with pictures of customers on the wall, shakes and malts with fresh ingredients, and the best club sandwiches ever - fresh ham cut from the bone. It makes a difference! When we went out to our bikes, Sandra and I discovered ants in our helmets! Lesson not to put your motorcycle helmet on the ground! This little guy hitched a ride on Sandra's motorcycle. After we crossed the border into Wyoming, we say many longhorn sheep and bison. We passed through a town called Lusk - known for the only legal cathouse in Wyoming at one time. They are no longer in service but there is a monument to prostitutes on the outskirts of town. We settled on Douglas as our resting place for the evening. There was a little league convention in town, so we were lucky to find a room at the Super 8!

The next several blogs will chronicle my trip from Chicago to the BMW MOA International Rally in Redmond, Oregon.

Total miles = 551

Sandra and I left Chicago at 5:30 a.m. We met Jonny in Galena for breakfast and then took off for our adventure around 10 am. We traveled west on U.S. 20 the entire day. Our goal was to reach Valentine, Nebraska. We did make it to Nebraska, but only to Osmond. Our ride was uneventful until Sandra got a flat tire in Waterloo, Iowa. She handled it well and pulled over slowly and calmly. A nice man from the Iowa Department of Transportation pulled his truck behind us to protect us, while Jonny plugged Sandra's tire.  We had enough CO2 cannisters to get her to Weber's Cycle in Waterloo, where she had a new tire put on. We rode to Sac City, Iowa next where we saw the largest popcorn ball in the world! For some more information on Sac City and the Largest Popcorn Ball, here. There was also a little fake town that had some interesting historic artifacts inside. We were on our way again and stopped in Belden, Nebraska to find a hotel. We weren't having any luck on our own. Luckily, a nice couple stopped and told us about a new motel 20 miles up the road. Yay! We stayed at the Hill Street Inn in Osmond, NE. Quite nice! We made it just as darkness was setting in...