On the way home from Redmond, Oregon - Day 13

Monday, July 19, 2010 7:00:00 PM America/Chicago

Total Miles = 477 Driving out of Butte, MT on I-90 E this morning was beautiful with more curves, rock formations and green trees. But quickly, the landscape turned to the typical look of Montana.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, but it looked basically the same for 400 miles! Stops were made in Bozeman, Columbus, Custer, Miles City, Glendive, and finally I stayed in Wibaux at the Beaver Creek Inn.
Today consisted of interstate driving and was kind of boring. I spent my stops re-adjusting my new Airhawk seat cover (I had too much air in it) and the windshield. I had to keep raising it. My new ZTechnik windscreen really makes a difference at highway speeds. A nice UPS man in Custer helped me re-attach the motorcycles windscreen. I realized as I headed down the road that I didn't extend the brackets on the windscreen, so I stopped at the next exit in Bighorn. I watched the UPS guy pass by and then lost a piece of the bracket for 20 minutes! When I arrived in Glendive to rent a hotel room, the hotels were all full. Thankfully, Jonny had called ahead to Wibaux and reserved a room for me there. And good thing too, because I was getting tired!
0 Comments | Posted in News By Denise Maple

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 6

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 4:27:24 PM America/Chicago

Total Miles = 320

Days like today make days like yesterday all worth it.

 The highlight of the day was riding Hwy 26 in Oregon through a mountainous, cavernous, gorgeous (gorges!) landscape. Roads just technical enough to engage us but not tiring. I highly recommend this route to any motorcycle riders or travelers. On our first gas stop, we encountered some fellow BMW travelers (see our motorcycle helmets all lined up together?) and the inside of the gas station had a bison head hanging as well as other local game.
It also had funny signs up all over - reminding customers not to pee on the seat in the washroom, etc. We arrived in Redmond around 5:00 pm at the BMW MOA International Rally site. We found a place next to some Canadians that quickly become friends. Mike from Trenton, Ontario and Jerry and Sharon from Niagara Falls. They are a ton of fun and we enjoyed dinner with them at Coyote Ranch. A good time was had by all, ay.
0 Comments | Posted in News By Denise Maple

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 4

Sunday, July 11, 2010 4:40:31 PM America/Chicago

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.
0 Comments | Posted in News By Denise Maple