As I was leaving this morning I was thinking it was going to be another rainy day because of the clouds and fog. As I was going up Teton pass I suddenly broke through the clouds ( see picture below ) into a perfect day.

I stopped at a Harley dealer in Idaho Falls to pick up a chip then turned south to Utah. Beautiful scenery the whole trip.

After I broke out of the cloud cover at Teton Pass.

State number 11.

Number 12.

The left side of the photo is Utah, the right side is Idaho. Pretty country either way.

Being excited about seeing two great parks I started out early, leaving at 8:00.
From Jackson Hole you must ride through Grand Teton National Park. I had taken most of the east road on Friday so I decided to take the west road. The road leaves the ranger station and changes into a gravel road filled with potholes. This only lasts a mile or so.
This park is all about the view of the mountains and the lake which is in the center of the park. The views are just breathtaking as you can see in the pictures below.
You never have to look for wildlife as the photographers are there early and all you have to do is look for them. If you see a group of about 20 you know there is something to see. At one spot there was 50 people taking a picture of one owl, granted it was the biggest owl I have ever seen. I didn’t stop for a picture because I was scared the noise of the motorcycle would scare it off.
Going into the south entrance to Yellowstone I found out the road to Old Faithful had a washed out bridge so to see it I would have to ride over 100 miles, bit it is a must see so off I went.
I rode the first hour without seeing anything but great views of rivers and forests.
There has been a fire in the park within the last few years so there is still a lot of burnt trees but you can see the new trees growing in their place. The park service must decide whether to put out the fires or let them burn. The tourists do not want to see a burnt forest but the fires are a natural part of the life of the forest and causes new growth. While you are waiting for Old Faithful they give talks about this and other subjects.
While riding around a curve I came upon a huge bison (buffalo) jus grazing on the side of the road. Like most Americans I had seen them in a zoo before but never one this large, easily the size of a small car. The bison are everywhere in the park and they know they own the park. They walk where they want, when they want.
I didn’t see any bear or deer while I was there but the bison made up for it.
The landscape within the park is fantastic. The Yellowstone River has formed every kind of sight. Rapids, lakes, waterfalls, and canyons are all within the park. The pictures simply do not do justice to the view.
Most of Yellowstone is the giant caldera of an active volcano. The last lava flow was 70,000 years ago, but the ground is very active.
The day was a long one. I rode over 300 miles in eleven hours and was able to see most of the famous sites in the park. Both parks have a speed limit of 45 mph but most of the time it’s 25-35.
This park is not easy to get to and takes a lot of time to see. If you don’t see it once in your life you will really be missing something. I hope I’ll have the opportunity to see it again.

I thought the cloud layers made a good picture in the Grand Tetons.

Great view of the lake.

Yes, that is a down coat. It was cold.

One of thousands of gyesers.

Bubbling mud.

Just off the road.

This was part of a pair that stopped traffic.

Waterfall in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Old Faithful erupting.

Grasslands leaving the park.

Today was another day that started out good and turned nasty in the afternoon.
I started out heading west from Casper with clear sky’s and cool weather.
The temperature was about 60F all day.
The country side here is fantastic! I’ll try som pictures but they do not do it justice. Filled with rivers hills and wildlife. I can’t say which I saw more of today cattle or antelope. Add to that the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. Being from Texas I have seen goods ones but these had been feeding on the spring grasses here and their coats were perfect. As always the antelope were shy, but I tried.
Just outside Dubois ( pronounced du-boys ) I stopped to take a picture and talk to some folks in a camper from Indiana when I felt the first sprinkle. Having had rain before I was prepared and put on the rain suit. When I got to the Continental Divide I was in a heavy snow storm. This was going over Togwotee Pass (9,659 ft. 2944 m ). Those mountain passes are fun. Who was it that talked me into going west first?;-)
After the pass it’s downhill all the way to Jackson where other bikers and I enjoyed a free beer at the Harley-Davidson dealer. Being sunny and warm there I pulled off the rain suit, big mistake!
I decided to stay at the Jackson Hole ski resort which is eleven miles away. During that ride I was rained and hailed on. Did I tell you hail hurts?
After I checked in and checked in I decided to ride the tram to the top of the mountain. (10,450 ft.) The trip was great until the last 200 feet where the cloud cover and snow was so you could not see anything. There is a small shop at the top who’s speciality is waffles and hot chocolate. They do a little twist on the waffles, the speciality is a bacon and peanut butter waffle which I had to try. Take my advice and go with the strawberry.
Off to the parks tomorrow.

Pronghorn Antelope

This is the Snake River. You will see it again when I get to Washington state.

Something fun to know.

This is the butte.

The snow is so thick you can’t see anything but the sign.

The tram to the top.

The view from just below the clouds.

Today was a good riding day but not really much to see. Wyoming is flat on the eastern side like Colorado. I will be going west tomorrow and will get into the high mountains.
Got into Casper around mid-day and had the bike serviced which took the rest of the day. I’ll have more tomorrow.

I love these big signs!

The folks at this dealership opened early so I could get a chip. Great place.

Wyoming countryside.

Today was a strange day, it started wonderful and then turned to crap.
I started the day riding to Royal Gorge which is a great place. The scenery is great. It is a 4 mile ride off the highway to the park which looks like you are riding to the middle of nowhere then there is this great park. I started off walking across the bridge which is only open to foot traffic except at 7:00 in the morning when you can rid motorcycles across. The bridge is only one of the ways across, you can also go by gondola on a cable or once you are the south side you can zip-line back across. I went across all three ways.
Zip-lining across the gorge is something everyone should do if you are in the area.
Once I left the park I decided to take the scenic route to Denver where I’ll be staying a few days with friends. I’m not sure if it was a good idea. First I got rained on, then the rain turned to hail (see picture below).
After that the weather cleared and I saw a small group of deer who were very calm.
I was driving through a light rain as I approached FairPlay, Colorado. The road started climbing toward Kenosha Pass when the temps true dropped to 34f (1c) and it started to snow. I could not believe it was snowing but the pass is 10,000 ft ( 3,047m) so I guess it’s possible, even in late May. Traveling down the pass into the Denver area was like stepping into a warm room. It felt so good to be warm.
I’ll be in Denver a few days so I’ll post again when I leave.

My first view of the gorge.

This is the Arkansas River. If you have been following, this is the same river I posted the picture of while I was in Arkansas.

See the rafters?

Bridge from the south side.

Sitting on the wall.

Another bridge picture.

The gondolas.

Hail! Not fun to ride through.

Part of a group of six. We watched each other for a while.

The white spots are snow.

These rivers run beside all the mountain road.

Today was a strange and wonderful day. It started with a light rain for about the first ten miles, then it was just cold. The sun started to peak out during the second hour but as the clouds cleared it got colder. The first half of the ride the temperature was less than 50 dgs.
The landscape in New Mexico is full of changes, it started out as flat plains and ended in snow-capped mountains. When you enter Colorado the planes are on the east side of the road and mountains to the west.
Lots of animals today including some pronghorn antelope. They were afraid of the motorcycle so I failed to get a good picture. I’m sure I’ll see more.

On the side of a building in Tucumcari.

This is not a sign I expected to see.

My ears were popping as I rode to the top.

Top of the pass.

Great ride so far.

My first snow capped mountain.

Two weeks ago if someone would have told me it would be 47 degrees in Lubbock, TX in mid May I would have thought them crazy. I was the one wearing three jackets and buying heavy gloves today and wish I could buy long underwear. The weather is crazy here!
Something funny I saw today was a road in New Mexico that was built around a small lake. The road builders decided to bank the curves in the road, but they put the banks sloping the wrong direction. I made for an interesting ride.
As for scenery, eastern N.M. Looks just like W. Texas so nothing much to say about that.

I met a group of riders from Hungary today. They are riding from Chicago to L.A. along old Route 66. We had lunch at an old Mexican food place. You just never know who you will meet.

Check out my new rain suit.

I was riding on top of this escarpment.

This is outlaw country. Billy the Kid operated in this area along with Black Jack Ketchum.

This group of riders are from Hungary, they are going along old Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The morning started out with some fog but cleared up quickly, another perfect riding day. The picture of the state sign was a challenge as it was on the side of a hill. I’m too old to run up hills trying to beat the timer.  The Texas country side was beautiful. It has rained a lot during the last week and everything was green.

I passed some Cowboys moving a herd to a water hole. They were nice to let me stop and take pictures of them. I rode through two large historic ranches today, the 6666 (four sixes) and the Pitchfork ranches both date from the 1870’s.

I’ll be visiting family for a couple of days. I’ll post again when I’m back on the road.

Moving the cattle

Working Cowboys

This road didn’t bend for 35 miles

The day started out with rain on the hills of East Oklahoma, but by the time I reached the beginning of the plains the rain had gone and it was a perfect day.

With nothing being open on Sunday I just continued until I had done 300 miles.

This dam was filled to overflowing by all the rain in Oklahoma.

This is the river on the other side of the bridge.

The rain turned into a great riding day. This is the beginning of the Great Plains.

Today it rained for almost the entire ride. In and out for almost 200 miles.

I’ll be spending the evening with my sister that I haven’t seen for years. Back on the road tomorrow.

The picture does not do justice to the view. This is I-40 west of Little Rock.

These are my stylish rain pants. I’ll be buying new ones in a day or two.