266 Miles- Great Falls, MT to Red Lodge, MT

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Last night, we were trying to figure out which way we wanted to make our way back towards Yellowstone without spending a fortune in lodging. We also knew that we want to take the Beartooth Highway. Over the last few days, we have had a few people tell us that we really need to drive that route. Yellowstone National Park is at one end of this highway, and Red Lodge, MT is at the other end of it. Red Lodge it is.

This is purely a travel day. The temperature ranged from 72° to 97°. We got covered in bugs from every direction. Somehow, I have more bug splats on my fuel tank that on my windshield. A quick 5-minute rain shower, and a very strong wind gust on MT 78.

We ate dinner at the Red Lodge Cafe. The regular chicken fried steak is 8 oz, but it is the largest I’ve ever seen. It was very good too.

121 Miles- Missoula, MT to Kalispell, MT

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This is an interesting day, This is a part of Montana that I have never been to before (Dad has never even been anywhere in Montona). The first part of the day, is straight land, but I’ve been told that the west shore of Flathead Lake is a great ride, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Polson, MT is a town within the Flathead Indian Reservation, is on the the southern point of Flathead Lake. the signs here are written in the expected English and the unexpected native local language, as seen in the text to the right.

We followed our way around Flathead Lake, to our home for the next few days, Kalispell, MT.

A view of Flathead Lake from the west shore

Kalispell, MT and Moose’s Saloon

One of the first things I noticed in Kalispell is the abundance of classic cars. Our lodging is at the Red Lion Hotel, who has no desire to honor a AAA discount in the summer time.

Using Google Places, we found a local place to eat and drink, Moose’s Saloon. It is about 2 blocks from the hotel. If we hadn’t found this place with good reviews online, neither of us would have bothered going in. Walking through the door, you get the vibe of a honky-tonk (but there was no music). The exterior doors were old-west saloon style. But since this is in Montana, the inner door is a conventional style door to keep the winter-time cold out. There is a solid inch of sawdust on the floor, and people have carved their names in every thing wooden in the place…the walls, the tables, the chairs, the beams on the ceiling. This is a completely self-service place. We ordered the large combo pizza. Then we stepped over to the bar, and asked for a local amber beer and an order of peanuts (yes, we had to pay for the peanuts). What we got was Yard Sale Amber.

Both the pizza and the beer were the best of either that I have ever had. While you can get the Yard Sale micro-brew beer at other Montana restaurants and bars, the pizza is well worth the drive from Houston. I will be back here as often as I can make it.

295 Miles- Gardiner, MT to Missoula, MT

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Today is another travel day. Most of it has been on the interstate. However, before we got onto the interstate, we followed the swift-moving, Yellowstone River.

The scenery was better than most interstates, but it was windy all day. By the end of the day, we were dirty, bug-covered (both the bikes and us), and we were ready for a cold beer. We decided that this would be the first time that we would eat at a chain restaurant…Hooter’s. Just by dumb luck, it was 25¢ wing night.

278 Miles- Rifle, CO to Rock Springs, WY

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After the late showers yesterday, we were seeking to hit the road early in order to avoid them. Since the summer time is actually construction season, we spent the first part of the day doing the lower speeds due to the construction. We headed up CO 13 north to Meeker (where we found the construction). From Meeker, we took CO 64 West to Dinosaur. Most of CO was under construction with 45 mph speeds, but the road was in good condition.

We arrived at Dinosaur at lunch time, so we went to the B & B Family Restaurant and had Bronto Burgers for lunch. These 10 oz Bronto Burgers weren’t even close to the largest burgers, they have a 1 lb burger and a 2 lb Megasaurus burger. This burger is so enormous that you have to order it the day before so they can make a bun for it.

Dinosaur National Monument

We did not know what to expect, but we learned that Dinosaur National Monument really should be 2 places. In Colorado, there is the protected canyons. These are supposed to be some of the most scenic canyons in the US. We did not go here because of some obviously nasty looking clouds that were just a few miles south of this entrance. After experiencing the rain yesterday, we weren’t anxious for a repeat today. (We will be back to here in the future).

Instead, we went to the fossil site of this national monument. To access this area, we headed west on US 40 to Jensen, UT where the entrance to the fossil canyons are. Due to structural deficiencies in the visitors center, the fossil wall was off limits to visitors. If you want to see the fossils this year, you have two options. Every morning the rangers will shuttle visitors to the current excavation area to see the fossils being excavated. Otherwise, you can go to a local museum in Vernal, UT where the park has loaned some of the fossils during the visitors center reconstruction.

Additionally, you can see petroglyphs carved into the walls from 10,000 years ago.

Through Flaming Gorge and into Rock Springs

From Vernal, UT, Take US 191 North, where a few miles north of town, you run into a set of switchbacks and tight and twisty curves leading to the Flaming Gorge Dam.

Then you’ll cross into Wyoming and run across a ridge line all the way to Rock Springs. About 10 miles from Rock Springs, our luck started to run out, it started to rain. It took us a few locations to find an available hotel, but we ended up staying at America’s Best Inn. It is obvious that when this hotel was built, it truly was something spectacular. Now it is a nice hotel at a reasonable price. The restaurant in the hotel was an above-average mexican restaurant. Neither of us was anxious to go out in the rain.

245 Miles- Pine, CO to Rifle, CO

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The Original Plan

Taking some advice to the best roads around for some great motorcycle roads, we decided to follow US 285 to Buena Vista, then turn north on US 24 East through Leadville to the I-70 corridor. But instead of I-70, we were going to take US 6 West to CO 131 North to Steamboat Springs. Then turn west on US 40 West to Craig. Turn south on CO 13/789 to Meeker. And then turn west on CO 64 to Dinosaur (visiting the Dinosaur National Monument) and continue west on US 40 to Vernal, UT. Now looking back, I realize that I was planning on a big day at 443 miles.

Plans Change

We stopped in Leadville for lunch the Golden Burro Cafe & Lounge. Within 5 minutes of leaving Leadville, we found a hard rain. About 5 minutes after that, we found a place to pull off and get our rain gear on. (Yes, we were already pretty wet.) When we arrived at the the US 24/I-70/US 6 interchange, we discovered that US 6 West was closed for several miles. We stopped at a coffee shop in Vail, CO to view the weather. We realized that the rain cloud is moving south to north right along the CO 131 corridor. So we chose to cruise down I-70 to Rifle, CO, where we called it a night.

For those of you that have never traveled I-70 between the Eisenhower Tower and through the ski valley’s of central Colorado, it is worth the drive. In particular, heading west is even more scenic. However, there isn’t anywhere to pull off the road safely and take photographs.

233 Miles- Raton, NM to Pine, CO

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We woke up this morning to great weather. This was the first time in a while that I have woken up to cool weather. It really felt nice. The Motel 6 that we stayed at, did not come with breakfast. Next door to the motel, there was a restaurant where we both ordered huevos rancheros. These are by far the best huevos rancheros I have ever had. Order them with the green chili sauce. It has great flavor, and it isn’t nearly as hot as most green chili sauces.

We took I-25 north through the Raton Pass (our first pass of the trip). Less than a month ago, this pass was closed due to a massive wildfire. Most of the grass and trees through the pass were burned and charred. Then to our surprise, gas was less expensive in Colorado than it was in Texas or Oklahoma.

We left the interstate in Colorado Springs on US 24 heading west. We stopped for lunch in Woodland Park at the Hungry Bear. This was really great food. We continued up CO 67 through Deckers and up a county road into Pine to my uncle’s house.

We had steaks, green bean casserole, and garlic bread. It was fantastic.

464 Miles- El Reno, OK to Raton, NM

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One more day of riding in the heat (maybe it’ll cool off for the return trip). Leaving El Reno, it was uneventful. We headed to Amarillo, turning north onto US 87 through Dumas, to one of our favorite Mexican food joints in Dalhart, TX. (It’s the La Espãnola II, on the right as you come into town.) Our original plan was to go as far as Clayton, NM, but we were both feeling good, and continued onto Raton, NM. About halfway between Clayton and Raton, we were staring to wonder if we were going to see rain, but we got lucky, went between 2 rain clouds. The temperature dropped from 102° to 82°. About time we found some cooler weather. As we rolled into Raton, we saw Motel 6 advertising rooms from $35.99. Went got one of the last rooms, with a AARP discount and WiFi ($2.99 extra) for about $43 including taxes.

489 Miles- Spring, TX to El Reno, OK

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This morning, my alarm went off at 4 AM. For those that know me, Know that I rarely volunteer to wake up before 8 AM. I was on the road before 5 AM. I learned some things. First, if the gas price is really good the night before you leave out, fill up then. Gas went up 15¢ over night. Second, Starbucks isn’t open at that time of the morning…really, what were they thinking.

I made really good time heading north. I made it through Dallas just after 9 AM, and by 9:45 it was 97°. When I reached the Oklahoma state line, it was already 102°, and it wasn’t even noon yet. The day peaked out at 108°. Man was I ready for a cool shower and a cold beer by time I reached Dad’s.

61 Miles- Liberty, TX to Spring, TX

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This year, we are heading north. It is a good thing with all the record-breaking heat in the middle part of the US. I have taken 24 days off of work, today being the first. I have already polished and waxed my bike and trailer. And prepped both for the journey. Today I have packed my bags, and headed to my girlfriends house where I will be staying the night. This gives me an hour head start before the heat begins early tomorrow. I am hoping to be in Oklahoma, before the true heat of the day.

This Year’s Plan

We have no reservations anywhere along the way, but we generally have good luck finding lodging as long as we don’t wait until to late at night.

Tomorrow, I will head to Oklahoma, where Dad lives.

Then we will head west towards Raton, NM, and then north. The closest thing to lodging plans that we have is to spend the night at my uncle’s house in the Denver area.

We will stay as close as possible to the continental divide, heading for Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. Then we will work our way back south in whatever path seems interesting.

We are going to watch the weather, and if we see real bad weather, we will change our destination plans.