The chili Mac is middle of the road. My favorite mountain house is the lasagna. Makes a mess out of your spoon, but it's tasty.
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Chipmunks are noisy?
Scott and family stopped by on their way to Ten Sleep a little while ago having a blast with something new breaking on the bikes every day .
Went down there yesterday and rode up the mountain just because . Good lunch here . And everything in Wyoming is for sale , so they can do everything they can’t do now . Good enough reason for me . My place is for sale too .
That would be a Snowberry bush. Thanks for the pictures and accompanying text, videos!
I’m so eager to read more that I keep forgetting to “put a like“ on ea post!
Rest assured, reading along and enjoying the report mucho!
Rest assured, reading along and enjoying the report mucho!
Same here!
Yup!
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Day thirty, Monday, September 11th
Holland Lake, MT., to Butte, MT.?
It was really cold last night, again! Sarah and I must be part reptile because we don’t like to do anything other than sleep when we are cold. Daniel was up and moving early with the birds and chipmunks. When I finally got up, I grabbed my clothes and made a beeline to the bathroom. Even with the concrete floor, it was still warmer to change in the bathroom than in my tent! It was getting “warmer”… back in camp but I was moving pretty slow, anxious for the Sun to hurry up and peak over the mountains. Daniel got a nice fire going and that helped, but it was those first rays penetrating the trees that really made the difference! My lower back was still hurting pretty bad even though I doped up on the Aleve before going to bed. I took some more after getting up. We finally got packed, said goodbye to the camp host and headed for the highway.
Much of the ride down MT 83 was in the trees and shaded, so it was still quite cold when running 65-70mph. We stopped in Seeley Lake for gas, snacks, and to warm up a bit. While there we met Monica from Slovakia. She was on a V-Star 650 cruiser and doing a several day long trip before she had to head home. She was one of the European college students that work here in the summers through a work program. After a short visit with her we headed out of town on a really fun road. For some strange reason I had a song bouncing around in my head, "I need a little Monica in my life..."
I made sure to share that with the kids so that NONE of us would ever forget her name. They did not appreciate my humor 
Anyway, back to the dirt road. It was mostly dirt with a little gravel. It was narrow and winding, following a creek through the mountains. It eventually dropped us out on MT 200 not far from Ovando, a cool TINY town. All of us really enjoyed this road. There were no nasty surprises and it was a very easy and relaxing ride, exactly what Sarah needed to help her keep her confidence up!
When we reached Ovando, we stopped for a restroom break and the kids got ice cream. Sarah got something called Moose Tracks, but it looked more like Moose Poop...
She liked it…
Sugared up, we continued East on 200 to Flesher Pass Rs., and turned South. It was paved and fun! It eventually dropped us out on the NW side of Helena, MT. We stopped for gas and drinks. Our timing was terrible. School had just let out and we got caught up in nasty traffic at one intersection. There was an unprotected left turn for us and the oncoming road was the exit for the school parking lot! We eventually had to get a little aggressive and just run the light when it changed to yellow and it still took a while to get all three of us through it. Helena looked like a cool town, but we didn’t have time to check it out. We headed SW out of town on a nice wide dirt road with great views, Oro Fino Gulch Rd. At one point we stopped and a lady in a car ahead of us went left… we went on the road less traveled… It started climbing and had some mild ruts, but it was still wide and not too bad, if we dodged the big potholes! Then it started getting narrow, but it still wasn’t steep, so we kept going. After a bit I asked Sarah if she’d like to stop for a break. She did! Daniel and I took advantage of being guys in the woods and then we continued. We crossed a castle guard and the road took a turn for the worse. It was still level, but some of the potholes covered the entire width of the road and were filled with water. We rolled through them without any trouble, but then the road came to a nasty looking descent and I stopped before going over the top. Sarah managed to get stopped on uneven ground near me and we were both in a position where turning around would be extremely difficult and getting off the bikes was well nigh impossible. Fortunately, Daniel stopped behind us on better ground. He got his bike turned around, then held mine so I could get off, and then we turned mine around. Next we helped Sarah get off her bike and got it turned around. We took advantage of a well placed stump in the shade to rest a bit before riding back out. A look down the hill confirmed we did not want to attempt it. Sarah wanted nothing to do with it, wisely. A dude in a Kawasaki Mule came chugging up the hill, saw us and said he’d recommend not trying it on big loaded bikes. We weren’t disagreeing!
The ride back was fun. Sarah was a bit upset when we stopped earlier because the road was stressing her, but she enjoyed the ride back on the exact same surfaces. We made good time getting back to where the lady in the car went left and we went the same way. It turned out that the road was very nice and we were soon seeing some VERY nice homes!! We reached I-15 and decided to just cruise to Butte, our destination for the evening. It was late in the day and we were tired. I got us a room in the historic Hotel Finlen in the historic downtown district. It was a nice place and amazingly affordable! We had a two room suite, the same room my buddy Roger and I had stayed in years ago when we were up here on a trip. We cleaned up a bit and walked around the corner to Sparky’s Bar and Grill for a nice dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for the evening. Despite getting turned around yet again by a nasty road we had a great time! They did not have a hot tub at the hotel, but the shower had fantastic water pressure, a massage shower head, and REALLY hot water! The beds were also quite comfy!
A COLD morning on Holland Lake waiting for the sun to make a grand appearance
The camp host's place, his name was Kurt, super nice!
Monica from Slovakia on her V-Star 650
Cottonwood Lakes Road East of Seely Lake. MT., on MT 83
General store and inn in Ovando, MT. Cool old dude runs the place
Sarah enjoying her Moose Tracks ice cream.
Sarah learning to make friends and smile instead of smirk
Nice!
Looking Northwest from the top of Flesher Pass on MT 279 heading toward Helena, MT.
Even Daniel loses his balance occasionally
Heading SW out of Helena, MT., on Oro Fino Gulch Rd.
We probably should have turned left here, but... that's not how we roll.
This is how we roll!
Things got interesting just over that cattle guard...
Just past that stump in the shade on the left, it starts getting really steep and really rough... My topo map shows it dropping about 1000 feet in about 1-1/2 miles with no switchbacks... just straight down!
Looking back to the top from a short way down on what appears to be a long and steep descent
Got the bikes turned around
I walked down a bit just for a look before it really dropped off down where the road vanishes!
Daniel shot and edited this video of us riding into the bad stuff...
Rocks like this were everywhere!
Sarah struggles with smiling...
The struggle is real!
It pays to practice!
Our destination
Cool flowers all over the parking lot
You don't see many hotel lobbies like this anymore!
Strange stairway in the lobby, apparently it leads to storage areas below.
They were setup for some kind of event and I poked my head in through the doors for a look
Lots of rooms for lots of parties!
View from second floor lobby area
I think the top six floors are apartments. The laundry room was on floor seven and we had to use a passcode on the elevator to get to it. It had a nice view though!
Our room was in the back corner and had a nice porch area with a picnic table
The "New" Tait Hotel across the street... kind of creepy
Looking West down the main drag
All of the apartments are in the taller side of the hotel. There is a fancy bar/lounge entrance lower left by the car. It was closed though.
I love the ornamental brick work on all the old buildings and the contrast of old and new
This place was thumping!
Also in the same building as the hotel and accessible from inside the hotel
Note that the neon sign on the Tait Hotel is working... It just adds to the creepy vibe
Cool park across the corner from the hotel with a great view of the city below
10,000 MILES!!
Kind of disappointing that the top part wasn't working
Made me think of the Weeping Angels in Manhattan episode of Dr. Who... 
Time for dinner!
Food makes Sarah smile!
How cool is that!?
Huckleberry ice cream! It is all the rage in Montana. I approve
Other than the neon, this place looks abandoned...
We decide to stay a second day, do laundry, and check out the town. So I booked the room for another day.
Holland Lake, MT., to Butte, MT.?
It was really cold last night, again! Sarah and I must be part reptile because we don’t like to do anything other than sleep when we are cold. Daniel was up and moving early with the birds and chipmunks. When I finally got up, I grabbed my clothes and made a beeline to the bathroom. Even with the concrete floor, it was still warmer to change in the bathroom than in my tent! It was getting “warmer”… back in camp but I was moving pretty slow, anxious for the Sun to hurry up and peak over the mountains. Daniel got a nice fire going and that helped, but it was those first rays penetrating the trees that really made the difference! My lower back was still hurting pretty bad even though I doped up on the Aleve before going to bed. I took some more after getting up. We finally got packed, said goodbye to the camp host and headed for the highway.
Much of the ride down MT 83 was in the trees and shaded, so it was still quite cold when running 65-70mph. We stopped in Seeley Lake for gas, snacks, and to warm up a bit. While there we met Monica from Slovakia. She was on a V-Star 650 cruiser and doing a several day long trip before she had to head home. She was one of the European college students that work here in the summers through a work program. After a short visit with her we headed out of town on a really fun road. For some strange reason I had a song bouncing around in my head, "I need a little Monica in my life..."
I made sure to share that with the kids so that NONE of us would ever forget her name. They did not appreciate my humor Anyway, back to the dirt road. It was mostly dirt with a little gravel. It was narrow and winding, following a creek through the mountains. It eventually dropped us out on MT 200 not far from Ovando, a cool TINY town. All of us really enjoyed this road. There were no nasty surprises and it was a very easy and relaxing ride, exactly what Sarah needed to help her keep her confidence up!When we reached Ovando, we stopped for a restroom break and the kids got ice cream. Sarah got something called Moose Tracks, but it looked more like Moose Poop...
Sugared up, we continued East on 200 to Flesher Pass Rs., and turned South. It was paved and fun! It eventually dropped us out on the NW side of Helena, MT. We stopped for gas and drinks. Our timing was terrible. School had just let out and we got caught up in nasty traffic at one intersection. There was an unprotected left turn for us and the oncoming road was the exit for the school parking lot! We eventually had to get a little aggressive and just run the light when it changed to yellow and it still took a while to get all three of us through it. Helena looked like a cool town, but we didn’t have time to check it out. We headed SW out of town on a nice wide dirt road with great views, Oro Fino Gulch Rd. At one point we stopped and a lady in a car ahead of us went left… we went on the road less traveled… It started climbing and had some mild ruts, but it was still wide and not too bad, if we dodged the big potholes! Then it started getting narrow, but it still wasn’t steep, so we kept going. After a bit I asked Sarah if she’d like to stop for a break. She did! Daniel and I took advantage of being guys in the woods and then we continued. We crossed a castle guard and the road took a turn for the worse. It was still level, but some of the potholes covered the entire width of the road and were filled with water. We rolled through them without any trouble, but then the road came to a nasty looking descent and I stopped before going over the top. Sarah managed to get stopped on uneven ground near me and we were both in a position where turning around would be extremely difficult and getting off the bikes was well nigh impossible. Fortunately, Daniel stopped behind us on better ground. He got his bike turned around, then held mine so I could get off, and then we turned mine around. Next we helped Sarah get off her bike and got it turned around. We took advantage of a well placed stump in the shade to rest a bit before riding back out. A look down the hill confirmed we did not want to attempt it. Sarah wanted nothing to do with it, wisely. A dude in a Kawasaki Mule came chugging up the hill, saw us and said he’d recommend not trying it on big loaded bikes. We weren’t disagreeing!
The ride back was fun. Sarah was a bit upset when we stopped earlier because the road was stressing her, but she enjoyed the ride back on the exact same surfaces. We made good time getting back to where the lady in the car went left and we went the same way. It turned out that the road was very nice and we were soon seeing some VERY nice homes!! We reached I-15 and decided to just cruise to Butte, our destination for the evening. It was late in the day and we were tired. I got us a room in the historic Hotel Finlen in the historic downtown district. It was a nice place and amazingly affordable! We had a two room suite, the same room my buddy Roger and I had stayed in years ago when we were up here on a trip. We cleaned up a bit and walked around the corner to Sparky’s Bar and Grill for a nice dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for the evening. Despite getting turned around yet again by a nasty road we had a great time! They did not have a hot tub at the hotel, but the shower had fantastic water pressure, a massage shower head, and REALLY hot water! The beds were also quite comfy!
A COLD morning on Holland Lake waiting for the sun to make a grand appearance
The camp host's place, his name was Kurt, super nice!
Monica from Slovakia on her V-Star 650
Cottonwood Lakes Road East of Seely Lake. MT., on MT 83
General store and inn in Ovando, MT. Cool old dude runs the place
Sarah enjoying her Moose Tracks ice cream.
Sarah learning to make friends and smile instead of smirk
Nice!
Looking Northwest from the top of Flesher Pass on MT 279 heading toward Helena, MT.
Even Daniel loses his balance occasionally
Heading SW out of Helena, MT., on Oro Fino Gulch Rd.
We probably should have turned left here, but... that's not how we roll.
This is how we roll!
Things got interesting just over that cattle guard...
Just past that stump in the shade on the left, it starts getting really steep and really rough... My topo map shows it dropping about 1000 feet in about 1-1/2 miles with no switchbacks... just straight down!
Looking back to the top from a short way down on what appears to be a long and steep descent
Got the bikes turned around
I walked down a bit just for a look before it really dropped off down where the road vanishes!
Daniel shot and edited this video of us riding into the bad stuff...
Rocks like this were everywhere!
Sarah struggles with smiling...
The struggle is real!
It pays to practice!
Our destination
Cool flowers all over the parking lot
You don't see many hotel lobbies like this anymore!
Strange stairway in the lobby, apparently it leads to storage areas below.
They were setup for some kind of event and I poked my head in through the doors for a look
Lots of rooms for lots of parties!
View from second floor lobby area
I think the top six floors are apartments. The laundry room was on floor seven and we had to use a passcode on the elevator to get to it. It had a nice view though!
Our room was in the back corner and had a nice porch area with a picnic table
The "New" Tait Hotel across the street... kind of creepy
Looking West down the main drag
All of the apartments are in the taller side of the hotel. There is a fancy bar/lounge entrance lower left by the car. It was closed though.
I love the ornamental brick work on all the old buildings and the contrast of old and new
This place was thumping!
Also in the same building as the hotel and accessible from inside the hotel
Note that the neon sign on the Tait Hotel is working... It just adds to the creepy vibe
Cool park across the corner from the hotel with a great view of the city below
10,000 MILES!!
Kind of disappointing that the top part wasn't working
Made me think of the Weeping Angels in Manhattan episode of Dr. Who... Time for dinner!
Food makes Sarah smile!
How cool is that!?
Huckleberry ice cream! It is all the rage in Montana. I approve
Other than the neon, this place looks abandoned...
We decide to stay a second day, do laundry, and check out the town. So I booked the room for another day.
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That first pic of early morning Holland Lake blows my mind!!! The 2nd is nice also but the 1st just gets me deep. By far the best I have seen anywhere in a long time. That is not just a scenery pic from a vacation but pure ART! Would love to have a big one like that to frame. And the rest of the day you show is just more spots we will have to make. I also have a much much deeper appreciation of Slovakian beauty also. Thank you!
Poor old Kaw-Liga. Kaw-Liga, too stubborn to ever show a sign!
- Joined
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Day thirty one, Tuesday, September 12th
A "Rest" day in Butte, MT.
There are a LOT of pictures in this day's report because we spent hours walking around the historic part of town and there are TONS of cool buildings and homes! The day would be more accurately described as a "ride free" day rather than a rest day. I don't know how far we walked, but it was 3-4 hours of walking at least. We slept late, did laundry, and basically goofed off until early in the afternoon. Eventually I suggested that we walk around and check out all the cool buildings in the historic district and then that morphed into checking out all the really cool old houses in the historic residential district. This part of town was not flat either... So yeah, there wasn't much rest involved!
Hanging out taking pics of cool cars as they go by below.
25 feet to concrete below if he loses his balance and goes over...
The bikes are FILTHY!
That is dirt and bug guts on the forks, not oil...
A lot of the old buildings have these huge advertising murals on them but many are hard to get pics of because of newer buildings close to them or because they have just faded so bad
Have to go out the windows to get to these balconys
Some have been restored, some are being restored, and some could really use some restoration!
So what if your neighbor won't let you cut through his apartment to get to the fire escapes?
A lot of the buildings have/had stores on the lower floors and apartments above
Originally built before electrification, so now it is all on the outside.
Rooms between buildings. There were quite a few speakeasy locations as well, but we were not on a tour so didn't get to see any of them
First Church of Christian Scientists
No longer "United Methodist"... There has been a recent nationwide fracture in the United Methodist Church and many are no longer associated with that denomination. Some have gone independent and many have formed the Global Methodist Church (or something like that).
These are everywhere. I have no idea how they mapped and tracked claims back then and prevented claim jumping. It is a wonder the city hasn't disappeared into a massive sinkhole!
This road is actually quite steep!
Cool house, but note the curved corner of the building in the background with curved glass as well!
They don't make them like they used to!
Imagine how much time and effort it takes to keep the paint on all those details looking clean and fresh!?
This dude came out into the sidewalk to greet us. Daniel was very pleased as he is very much a cat person!
In general, I am not a fan of painted brick, but there were quite a few homes here that actually looked nice with it. Still not sure I would want it on my own home though.
So different from today's vast tracts of bland McMansions where you get to pick from 1 of 5 house plans.
This one was getting a serious makeover and a huge three story deck added to it
Look at all the cameras around the porch!
Essentially the same house as the previous pic, but with different exterior. This was a common house plan.
Variations on this shape were common, but the trim details and colors were rarely even close to being the same
This one was in rough shape, but still appeared to be fully occupied
There were lots of duplexes and quadplexes
Many homes were in serious need of repair/restoration but ALL of them appeared to be occupied
The round turrets on the corner of the house was also a common feature of the time
That is a LOT of pink!
Restoration in process
Bed and breakfast
The simplicity of this one appeals to me even though I like the ornate features of many of the other homes
This cat was not interested in attention from anyone...
That same shape, but note that this one is not flat roofed like many of the others
This place was really cool! LOTS of Frank Lloyd Wright vibes...
Yikes!
All the rain gutters looked like brand new copper but are likely aluminum colored to look like copper. They had heater coils in them.
In between two apartment buildings
Three doors, four mail boxes...
Which side has access to the middle? Shared area?
Crabapples, VERY tart!! The owner let us try them. She was a very friendly and interesting person!
Crabapple lady's home next door to the Hawke residence
So different from today's massive thousand unit apartment complexes!
High dollar restoration or replica, not sure.
To each his own I always say, but I would not want to live next door to this, or even across the street!
The missing brick looked intentional
One block down the hill. I didn't feel like walking down there. I wonder if AI Chat-GP or something like it could remove those power lines?
Corner turret turned up to 11! This places does tours, unless we are here..., then they are closed
Servant's entrance? Was at the back, but also near a garage, so it could just be a back door.
Like many churches today, this one has been repurposed
"Fire Proof" was a big thing at the turn of the century because much of the historic district burned because of the prevalence of tightly packed wood structures, much like many other cities at the time.
If you are a Doctor Who fan, you know
Where we ate a very good dinner!
So much more interesting than the modern glass encased towers of boring we have today.
No doubt this was designed to torment those with the Symmetry OCD
We didn't get to sit here, but a later party did. I don't know if you have to reserve it
I think these might be in the early stages of restoration. I wonder what it costs to restore something like these buildings? Do they get building code exemptions because of their age or do they have to be "brought up to code"? No doubt that would be a HUGE issue cost wise!
I love the brick work details on these windows! That is a LOT of work to have them stick out rather than be flush with the wall.
A portent of things to come...
These fire escapes are at the ends of common halls on each floor.
No doubt the views from the penthouse rooms are very nice!
The modern open pit mine, one of the largest in the world
Our room window, right above the noisy automatic garage door for the underground parking for the residents of the building.
The kids headed to Dairy Queen for dessert and I just wandered back to the room to call it a day. My feet hurt from so much walking, but it was worth it!
A "Rest" day in Butte, MT.
There are a LOT of pictures in this day's report because we spent hours walking around the historic part of town and there are TONS of cool buildings and homes! The day would be more accurately described as a "ride free" day rather than a rest day. I don't know how far we walked, but it was 3-4 hours of walking at least. We slept late, did laundry, and basically goofed off until early in the afternoon. Eventually I suggested that we walk around and check out all the cool buildings in the historic district and then that morphed into checking out all the really cool old houses in the historic residential district. This part of town was not flat either... So yeah, there wasn't much rest involved!
Hanging out taking pics of cool cars as they go by below.
25 feet to concrete below if he loses his balance and goes over...
The bikes are FILTHY!
That is dirt and bug guts on the forks, not oil...
A lot of the old buildings have these huge advertising murals on them but many are hard to get pics of because of newer buildings close to them or because they have just faded so bad
Have to go out the windows to get to these balconys
Some have been restored, some are being restored, and some could really use some restoration!
So what if your neighbor won't let you cut through his apartment to get to the fire escapes?
A lot of the buildings have/had stores on the lower floors and apartments above
Originally built before electrification, so now it is all on the outside.
Rooms between buildings. There were quite a few speakeasy locations as well, but we were not on a tour so didn't get to see any of them
First Church of Christian Scientists
No longer "United Methodist"... There has been a recent nationwide fracture in the United Methodist Church and many are no longer associated with that denomination. Some have gone independent and many have formed the Global Methodist Church (or something like that).
These are everywhere. I have no idea how they mapped and tracked claims back then and prevented claim jumping. It is a wonder the city hasn't disappeared into a massive sinkhole!
This road is actually quite steep!
Cool house, but note the curved corner of the building in the background with curved glass as well!
They don't make them like they used to!
Imagine how much time and effort it takes to keep the paint on all those details looking clean and fresh!?
This dude came out into the sidewalk to greet us. Daniel was very pleased as he is very much a cat person!
In general, I am not a fan of painted brick, but there were quite a few homes here that actually looked nice with it. Still not sure I would want it on my own home though.
So different from today's vast tracts of bland McMansions where you get to pick from 1 of 5 house plans.
This one was getting a serious makeover and a huge three story deck added to it
Look at all the cameras around the porch!
Essentially the same house as the previous pic, but with different exterior. This was a common house plan.
Variations on this shape were common, but the trim details and colors were rarely even close to being the same
This one was in rough shape, but still appeared to be fully occupied
There were lots of duplexes and quadplexes
Many homes were in serious need of repair/restoration but ALL of them appeared to be occupied
The round turrets on the corner of the house was also a common feature of the time
That is a LOT of pink!
Restoration in process
Bed and breakfast
The simplicity of this one appeals to me even though I like the ornate features of many of the other homes
This cat was not interested in attention from anyone...
That same shape, but note that this one is not flat roofed like many of the others
This place was really cool! LOTS of Frank Lloyd Wright vibes...
Yikes!
All the rain gutters looked like brand new copper but are likely aluminum colored to look like copper. They had heater coils in them.
In between two apartment buildings
Three doors, four mail boxes...
Which side has access to the middle? Shared area?
Crabapples, VERY tart!! The owner let us try them. She was a very friendly and interesting person!
Crabapple lady's home next door to the Hawke residence
So different from today's massive thousand unit apartment complexes!
High dollar restoration or replica, not sure.
To each his own I always say, but I would not want to live next door to this, or even across the street!
The missing brick looked intentional
One block down the hill. I didn't feel like walking down there. I wonder if AI Chat-GP or something like it could remove those power lines?
Corner turret turned up to 11! This places does tours, unless we are here..., then they are closed
Servant's entrance? Was at the back, but also near a garage, so it could just be a back door.
Like many churches today, this one has been repurposed
"Fire Proof" was a big thing at the turn of the century because much of the historic district burned because of the prevalence of tightly packed wood structures, much like many other cities at the time.
If you are a Doctor Who fan, you know
Where we ate a very good dinner!
So much more interesting than the modern glass encased towers of boring we have today.
No doubt this was designed to torment those with the Symmetry OCD
We didn't get to sit here, but a later party did. I don't know if you have to reserve it
I think these might be in the early stages of restoration. I wonder what it costs to restore something like these buildings? Do they get building code exemptions because of their age or do they have to be "brought up to code"? No doubt that would be a HUGE issue cost wise!
I love the brick work details on these windows! That is a LOT of work to have them stick out rather than be flush with the wall.
A portent of things to come...
These fire escapes are at the ends of common halls on each floor.
No doubt the views from the penthouse rooms are very nice!
The modern open pit mine, one of the largest in the world
Our room window, right above the noisy automatic garage door for the underground parking for the residents of the building.
The kids headed to Dairy Queen for dessert and I just wandered back to the room to call it a day. My feet hurt from so much walking, but it was worth it!
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One of my favorite posts yet, but I am also a sucker for architecture. Love it!
Being from a family of bricklayers, that was a 2 mugs of coffee read! Couple decades since I was in Butte.
The one time I was in Butte, I definitely noticed something special about it. Great photos, thanks!
I don't think Rowlett has one Nat'l Registry sign. Wasteland of suburbia. 
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.Yep. But its time for some more cool little towns. And pie!
I remember some weird local pie way earlier but not sure where. Not asking for pie at least once a day on a ride is sacrilege IMO..
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Day thirty two, Wednesday, September 13th
Butte, MT., to West Yellowstone, MT.
We suck at getting an early start. By early, I mean actually on the bikes and leaving town/camp by 9:00am. Today was no different. I think we rolled out of the parking lot pretty close to 9:00am, but then spent nearly 45 minutes at a gas station while everyone loaded up on gas and "breakfast". On the plus side, it was a bit warmer as we finally got on the road and headed South on MT 2 to MT 41. At Twin Bridges we cut SE on MT 287 to get down to Alder. I think it was outside of Twin Bridges or maybe Sheridan where we saw all the cool old mining equipment laid out in someone's yard. It wasn't technically a museum as far as I could tell. There was no place to check in or pay. So I just walked around the edges and took some pics. At Alder we cut South on MT 357, also called Upper Ruby Road. It was a really nice hard packed and wide dirt road. Sarah really like this one! It was fast with big sweepers, just lazily following the Ruby River to the Southeast. Along the way. we saw a HUGE herd of Bison/Buffalo at one point, easily several hundred head or more, babies and all. We eventually reached the Warm Springs Creek Road which would lead to the road I was hoping would be a highlight of the day, Gravelly Range Road.
Warm Springs Creek Road was narrow two track with gravel, but otherwise a nice road. It went back into the mountains in a little creek valley and arrived at a camping area with a vault toilet right next tot he road. Just past the camp area the road started climbing. Daniel was already out of sight, as is usual when he leads Sarah was a few hundred yards ahead of me where I could not see her, but could still talk to her on the communicator. I heard her emit an "OH CRAP!" kind of sound and then a few seconds later the sounds that I hate hearing. She was on the ground again and VERY upset! I reached the cause, a very tight right hand corner with ruts and loose gravel that was also very steep. She actually made the corner but then fixated on the shallow run off "ditch" on the side of the road and went right into it. It was only 8-9 inches deep and basically a V shape on the side of the road, almost like a roadside gutter, but that was enough to take her down. When I got to her, she was sitting on the road next to the bike. She said she wasn't hurt, but I could tell she was quite mad. I managed to get my bike stopped so I could visually check her and talk to her, but I couldn't park at this point. I had to get moving again to get to were I could park and actually get off my bike. Getting the bike moving again was difficult in the loose gravel with the Trailmax Mission tires because they just don't grab that well in loose gravel. The back end really wanted to slide out to the sides whenever I tried to get on the gas, even gently. I eventually managed to get rolling and got a bit further up the hill where it was level enough to stop and dismount. I walked back down to Sarah and checked her over to make sure she was fine. Then we both wondered how long it would take for Daniel to come back looking for us as there was no way we'd be getting the bike out of the ditch without some help. Also, a certain part of the bike was damaged... AGAIN!!
It didn't take very long for Daniel to come back. We assured him Sarah was okay but we did need his help. He managed to get turned around and parked higher on a better spot than me so he would not be blocking the road if anyone else tried to pass. Before he could even walk back down to us, a truck came down around the corner and had to stop because I was still blocking the road. They immediately asked if we were okay and or needed help. This was Lars and Nick. They also asked if we needed tools. I showed them Sarah's rear brake lever. We removed the toe pedestal and I used a closed end wrench to grab the end of the lever and bend it out away from the foot peg slightly. This allowed us to attach the hooks of a ratchet strap to it and the front forks so we could pull it away from the foot peg. We went slowly as I watched for signs of cracking in the aluminum brake lever. We got it straight enough and then I bent the outside of the tip up a bit so it would be mostly level and act as a new toe pedestal. About this time an older couple come around the corner in a side by side and they wanted to see what all the excitement was. It was good timing though as it meant more help getting the bike back onto the road. At this point, Sarah was DONE riding dirt, but I told her she would still have to ride it back to Alder to get on the highway. She knew this, but she really didn't want to do it. It did not help that while all this was going on, some nasty weather was rolling in pretty fast. It was starting to lightning and thunder. We could see rain coming in the distance. I still had to get my bike out of the way so the truck and side by side could get past us. I managed to get around the truck on the very edge of the road and then parked higher up next to Daniel's bike where the road was level and slightly wider. Satisfied we were as good as we could be, Lars, Nick and the couple left after we thanked them for their help.
Daniel volunteered to ride Sarah's bike back down to the bottom near the campground, then walk back up to get his bike, no small thing for a flat lander at 6500 feet of elevation! I walked about half way down with her and then back up with him. Daniel and I were still pointing up hill with no good place to turn around easily. He wanted me to see how close we were to the top, so we rode a bit further up to get to where Daniel had turned around earlier when coming back to check on us. It was loose, rutted, and fairly steep in places. I don't know if Sarah would have made it. I DO know she would have been VERY unhappy about having to try
We made it to the top and I paused to look around and take in the views. This was another road I really wanted the kids to experience, much like Skyline Drive back in Utah. So there was a tinge of frustration, but at the same time I knew pressing on in the face of bad weather could mean more serious trouble, not just for Sarah, but for all of us. Daniel was right. We were pretty close, maybe another 3-4 miles to reach the ridge and Gravelly Road, but looking at the map revealed numerous tight switchbacks going up a very steep incline, nearly another 2000 feet of climbing! I knew this should be saved for another trip. So we turned around, and started back down. On these tires, with this bike, and all this luggage... I was puckering a bit! I just had to keep repeating all the things I say to Sarah, "Let it roll! Eyes up! Knees into the tank! Loose on the bars!" Of course Daniel just ripped down it like it was nothing Sarah eventually reached her bike and we all gathered together near the vault toilet because it was on level ground.
Then it started to rain...
Sarah led the way so she could set the pace. Daniel followed and I brought up the rear. She claimed to be worried about getting back to the big dirt road which she liked, but she was really cruising on the little road to get there! It was raining pretty good by this point, but the road wasn't muddy, just wet and crunchy. She reached the big dirt road without issue and then took off for the highway with Daniel chasing. I of course had to stop and take a few pics along the way By this time the rain had stopped, well... actually it was still raining, but it was going a different direction and we had ridden out of it. Looking back where we were headed earlier, I realized it was a good thing we had turned back because it was really coming down hard up on the mountain where we would have been had we continued. After grabbing my pics, I set off after the kids and had fun catching up to them.
Back in Alder we stopped at a bar and found a restaurant in the back. At first glance, things looked a bit shady. Once inside, it was amazingly nice! The food was quite good and very reasonably priced. Before leaving we found some cool old cars in a field behind some self storage units next door to the restaurant. Yeah, I had to go get pics Then we hopped on MT 287 to run through Virginia City to Ennis. Outside Old Virginia City we spotted some cool old dredge mining equipment and had to do a u-turn to check it out. After snapping many pics we continued to Ennis and then turned South on US 287. On our right was the Gravelly Range, taunting us with its long high ridges encased in nasty weather. The longer we rode, the more I realized that getting turned around was yet another good thing because we would have been caught in some seriously bad weather up on the mountains. As it was, we just had to endure quickly dropping temperatures! It was dropping into the low 50s and getting late the in afternoon. We were loosing the sun and that makes it get chilly FAST! The ride past Hebgen Lake was very fun and cool. We eventually reached US 191 and turned South toward West Yellowstone. Those last few miles getting into town were COLD and dark. We arrived to find the city PACKED full of people! I started checking hotels and they were all booked. I eventually found a room at a Holiday Inn and it was over $400 for one night and did not include breakfast!? It was again, literally the last room Right after I booked it, they started turning folks away. Location, Location, Location. These folks have it. The room was at least decent.
Sarah and I decided to go walking and look for dinner. Daniel stayed at the hotel. We found a place and split a Roast Beef with gravy on toast with mashed taters. It was exceptionally good and we got out for under $20! We continued walking and ended up at a place with ice cream, hard to believe, I know. While we were sitting there Daniel called because he got lonely. So he hoofed it down there and got himself some ice cream as well. We headed back to the hotel and called it a day. I was beat. We had a relatively long day ahead of us tomorrow if things actually went according to plans...
Looking North toward Butte on MT 2 from the switchbacks atop Pipestone Pass
We've spent a LOT of time threading the storm needles on this trip. I just wondered how long our luck could last...
The big pulley wheels normally seen atop the vertical shaft towers and the elevator used to raise and lower workers (the white box)
Made in the days before giant CNC machines!
The massive winches that raised and lowered ore, men, and machines
Ore cart, elevator box, and a more modern dump truck wheel
Used for the dump trucks in the open pit mines
Just a small part of the overall herd seen on Upper Ruby Road (MT 357)
Near the start of Warm Springs Creek Road. It quickly got narrower after this, but not really any rougher.
Heading into the mountains and the campground area
Daniel bringing up the rear
Storm clouds brewing in the distance...
That is about a 150 degree corner with ruts and washboard as you come out into a steep climb. She cleared most of that by going wide and then just fixated on the edge of the road. It looks flat, but it was challenging to keep my footing in the loose gravel if I wasn't paying attention!
She's fine, just taking gear off and setting it on the side of the hill. My bike had to be moved.
This sucks... I have NEVER had a bike so prone to brake lever damage! And I have dropped a lot of bikes
Lars and Nick helping us get the bike sorted
Storm clouds were coming from two directions as once and we were in the middle! Daniel rode Sarah's bike almost all the way back down to that road in the distance, which was MUCH lower than where I was standing. We were both huffing hard when we got back up to our bikes and I only walked half way up! This was taken further up the hill and around the corner where Daniel had parked and where I moved my bike so people could get around us. After this I walked back down to assist with fixing Sarah's bike and getting it out of the ditch.
Lars and Nick, at the right place, at the right time, with the right tools, and the right attitude! Thanks guys!
Sarah walking down, beating herself up for not being perfect, and feeling like she's the only one that ever falls down... She needs to read more ride reports... specifically some of my old ones
Cool shot taken by Daniel on the ride back to main dirt road
The fun wide and smooth road. The rain had let up once we got back here, but got worse behind us.
Cool old truck parked at the restaurant in Alder, appeared to be driven regularly.
Good place to eat!
Like many buildings, new cars just aren't as cool as the old cars... They're just so sterile, bland, and uninspiring thanks to the endless quest for better fuel efficiency and lower drag coefficients. Imagine these beauties restored with souped up engines in them sitting next to you at a light...
Big dredging barge outside Virginia City on MT 287
Ore crusher powered by water wheel
Nozzle for hydraulic mining
Fine ore crusher. They still used mercury for refining the gold here
This had to be quite the sight and sound when up and running!
I am guessing the ground wasn't super hard if those buckets were able to cut through it.
Old air compressor?
Necessity is the mother of invention!
Gas/Diesel powered air compressor?
We met some guys in Ennis. One was on this Triumph 900 that is factory lowered with every available accessory. Sarah LOVED it.
Heels on the ground finally gets her to give me a decent smile!
West Madison Fork Rd., off of US 287, across the Madison River from the highway and a rest stop
This stuff was pounded down into the ground along large areas of the river bank, presumably to help prevent erosion.
This was just a giant rock sitting by the parking lot and the pattern caught my eyes
Either Quake Lake or Hebgen Lake on US 287 Northwest of West Yellowstone, MT.
Saw this while walking to dinner with Sarah
Despite Sarah's issues today, she still ended up having a fun day. She was frustrated and mad in the moment, but by the time we were having lunch she was laughing and having a good time. She ended up banging her right elbow and hip when she came off. The elbow bruise was showing by this evening. The hip was tender, but not yet visible. She was actually disappointed that it hurt so much and didn't even have a bruise to show for it
Butte, MT., to West Yellowstone, MT.
We suck at getting an early start. By early, I mean actually on the bikes and leaving town/camp by 9:00am. Today was no different. I think we rolled out of the parking lot pretty close to 9:00am, but then spent nearly 45 minutes at a gas station while everyone loaded up on gas and "breakfast". On the plus side, it was a bit warmer as we finally got on the road and headed South on MT 2 to MT 41. At Twin Bridges we cut SE on MT 287 to get down to Alder. I think it was outside of Twin Bridges or maybe Sheridan where we saw all the cool old mining equipment laid out in someone's yard. It wasn't technically a museum as far as I could tell. There was no place to check in or pay. So I just walked around the edges and took some pics. At Alder we cut South on MT 357, also called Upper Ruby Road. It was a really nice hard packed and wide dirt road. Sarah really like this one! It was fast with big sweepers, just lazily following the Ruby River to the Southeast. Along the way. we saw a HUGE herd of Bison/Buffalo at one point, easily several hundred head or more, babies and all. We eventually reached the Warm Springs Creek Road which would lead to the road I was hoping would be a highlight of the day, Gravelly Range Road.
Warm Springs Creek Road was narrow two track with gravel, but otherwise a nice road. It went back into the mountains in a little creek valley and arrived at a camping area with a vault toilet right next tot he road. Just past the camp area the road started climbing. Daniel was already out of sight, as is usual when he leads
Sarah was a few hundred yards ahead of me where I could not see her, but could still talk to her on the communicator. I heard her emit an "OH CRAP!" kind of sound and then a few seconds later the sounds that I hate hearing. She was on the ground again and VERY upset! I reached the cause, a very tight right hand corner with ruts and loose gravel that was also very steep. She actually made the corner but then fixated on the shallow run off "ditch" on the side of the road and went right into it. It was only 8-9 inches deep and basically a V shape on the side of the road, almost like a roadside gutter, but that was enough to take her down. When I got to her, she was sitting on the road next to the bike. She said she wasn't hurt, but I could tell she was quite mad. I managed to get my bike stopped so I could visually check her and talk to her, but I couldn't park at this point. I had to get moving again to get to were I could park and actually get off my bike. Getting the bike moving again was difficult in the loose gravel with the Trailmax Mission tires because they just don't grab that well in loose gravel. The back end really wanted to slide out to the sides whenever I tried to get on the gas, even gently. I eventually managed to get rolling and got a bit further up the hill where it was level enough to stop and dismount. I walked back down to Sarah and checked her over to make sure she was fine. Then we both wondered how long it would take for Daniel to come back looking for us as there was no way we'd be getting the bike out of the ditch without some help. Also, a certain part of the bike was damaged... AGAIN!! It didn't take very long for Daniel to come back. We assured him Sarah was okay but we did need his help. He managed to get turned around and parked higher on a better spot than me so he would not be blocking the road if anyone else tried to pass. Before he could even walk back down to us, a truck came down around the corner and had to stop because I was still blocking the road. They immediately asked if we were okay and or needed help. This was Lars and Nick. They also asked if we needed tools. I showed them Sarah's rear brake lever. We removed the toe pedestal and I used a closed end wrench to grab the end of the lever and bend it out away from the foot peg slightly. This allowed us to attach the hooks of a ratchet strap to it and the front forks so we could pull it away from the foot peg. We went slowly as I watched for signs of cracking in the aluminum brake lever. We got it straight enough and then I bent the outside of the tip up a bit so it would be mostly level and act as a new toe pedestal. About this time an older couple come around the corner in a side by side and they wanted to see what all the excitement was. It was good timing though as it meant more help getting the bike back onto the road. At this point, Sarah was DONE riding dirt, but I told her she would still have to ride it back to Alder to get on the highway. She knew this, but she really didn't want to do it. It did not help that while all this was going on, some nasty weather was rolling in pretty fast. It was starting to lightning and thunder. We could see rain coming in the distance. I still had to get my bike out of the way so the truck and side by side could get past us. I managed to get around the truck on the very edge of the road and then parked higher up next to Daniel's bike where the road was level and slightly wider. Satisfied we were as good as we could be, Lars, Nick and the couple left after we thanked them for their help.
Daniel volunteered to ride Sarah's bike back down to the bottom near the campground, then walk back up to get his bike, no small thing for a flat lander at 6500 feet of elevation! I walked about half way down with her and then back up with him. Daniel and I were still pointing up hill with no good place to turn around easily. He wanted me to see how close we were to the top, so we rode a bit further up to get to where Daniel had turned around earlier when coming back to check on us. It was loose, rutted, and fairly steep in places. I don't know if Sarah would have made it. I DO know she would have been VERY unhappy about having to try
We made it to the top and I paused to look around and take in the views. This was another road I really wanted the kids to experience, much like Skyline Drive back in Utah. So there was a tinge of frustration, but at the same time I knew pressing on in the face of bad weather could mean more serious trouble, not just for Sarah, but for all of us. Daniel was right. We were pretty close, maybe another 3-4 miles to reach the ridge and Gravelly Road, but looking at the map revealed numerous tight switchbacks going up a very steep incline, nearly another 2000 feet of climbing! I knew this should be saved for another trip. So we turned around, and started back down. On these tires, with this bike, and all this luggage... I was puckering a bit! I just had to keep repeating all the things I say to Sarah, "Let it roll! Eyes up! Knees into the tank! Loose on the bars!" Of course Daniel just ripped down it like it was nothing Sarah eventually reached her bike and we all gathered together near the vault toilet because it was on level ground.Then it started to rain...
Sarah led the way so she could set the pace. Daniel followed and I brought up the rear. She claimed to be worried about getting back to the big dirt road which she liked, but she was really cruising on the little road to get there! It was raining pretty good by this point, but the road wasn't muddy, just wet and crunchy. She reached the big dirt road without issue and then took off for the highway with Daniel chasing. I of course had to stop and take a few pics along the way
By this time the rain had stopped, well... actually it was still raining, but it was going a different direction and we had ridden out of it. Looking back where we were headed earlier, I realized it was a good thing we had turned back because it was really coming down hard up on the mountain where we would have been had we continued. After grabbing my pics, I set off after the kids and had fun catching up to them.Back in Alder we stopped at a bar and found a restaurant in the back. At first glance, things looked a bit shady. Once inside, it was amazingly nice! The food was quite good and very reasonably priced. Before leaving we found some cool old cars in a field behind some self storage units next door to the restaurant. Yeah, I had to go get pics
Then we hopped on MT 287 to run through Virginia City to Ennis. Outside Old Virginia City we spotted some cool old dredge mining equipment and had to do a u-turn to check it out. After snapping many pics we continued to Ennis and then turned South on US 287. On our right was the Gravelly Range, taunting us with its long high ridges encased in nasty weather. The longer we rode, the more I realized that getting turned around was yet another good thing because we would have been caught in some seriously bad weather up on the mountains. As it was, we just had to endure quickly dropping temperatures! It was dropping into the low 50s and getting late the in afternoon. We were loosing the sun and that makes it get chilly FAST! The ride past Hebgen Lake was very fun and cool. We eventually reached US 191 and turned South toward West Yellowstone. Those last few miles getting into town were COLD and dark. We arrived to find the city PACKED full of people! I started checking hotels and they were all booked. I eventually found a room at a Holiday Inn and it was over $400 for one night and did not include breakfast!? It was again, literally the last room Right after I booked it, they started turning folks away. Location, Location, Location. These folks have it. The room was at least decent.Sarah and I decided to go walking and look for dinner. Daniel stayed at the hotel. We found a place and split a Roast Beef with gravy on toast with mashed taters. It was exceptionally good and we got out for under $20! We continued walking and ended up at a place with ice cream, hard to believe, I know. While we were sitting there Daniel called because he got lonely. So he hoofed it down there and got himself some ice cream as well. We headed back to the hotel and called it a day. I was beat. We had a relatively long day ahead of us tomorrow if things actually went according to plans...
Looking North toward Butte on MT 2 from the switchbacks atop Pipestone Pass
We've spent a LOT of time threading the storm needles on this trip. I just wondered how long our luck could last...
The big pulley wheels normally seen atop the vertical shaft towers and the elevator used to raise and lower workers (the white box)
Made in the days before giant CNC machines!
The massive winches that raised and lowered ore, men, and machines
Ore cart, elevator box, and a more modern dump truck wheel
Used for the dump trucks in the open pit mines
Just a small part of the overall herd seen on Upper Ruby Road (MT 357)
Near the start of Warm Springs Creek Road. It quickly got narrower after this, but not really any rougher.
Heading into the mountains and the campground area
Daniel bringing up the rear
Storm clouds brewing in the distance...
That is about a 150 degree corner with ruts and washboard as you come out into a steep climb. She cleared most of that by going wide and then just fixated on the edge of the road. It looks flat, but it was challenging to keep my footing in the loose gravel if I wasn't paying attention!
She's fine, just taking gear off and setting it on the side of the hill. My bike had to be moved.
This sucks... I have NEVER had a bike so prone to brake lever damage! And I have dropped a lot of bikes
Lars and Nick helping us get the bike sorted
Storm clouds were coming from two directions as once and we were in the middle! Daniel rode Sarah's bike almost all the way back down to that road in the distance, which was MUCH lower than where I was standing. We were both huffing hard when we got back up to our bikes and I only walked half way up! This was taken further up the hill and around the corner where Daniel had parked and where I moved my bike so people could get around us. After this I walked back down to assist with fixing Sarah's bike and getting it out of the ditch.
Lars and Nick, at the right place, at the right time, with the right tools, and the right attitude! Thanks guys!
Sarah walking down, beating herself up for not being perfect, and feeling like she's the only one that ever falls down... She needs to read more ride reports... specifically some of my old ones
Cool shot taken by Daniel on the ride back to main dirt road
The fun wide and smooth road. The rain had let up once we got back here, but got worse behind us.
Cool old truck parked at the restaurant in Alder, appeared to be driven regularly.
Good place to eat!
Like many buildings, new cars just aren't as cool as the old cars... They're just so sterile, bland, and uninspiring thanks to the endless quest for better fuel efficiency and lower drag coefficients. Imagine these beauties restored with souped up engines in them sitting next to you at a light...
Big dredging barge outside Virginia City on MT 287
Ore crusher powered by water wheel
Nozzle for hydraulic mining
Fine ore crusher. They still used mercury for refining the gold here
This had to be quite the sight and sound when up and running!
I am guessing the ground wasn't super hard if those buckets were able to cut through it.
Old air compressor?
Necessity is the mother of invention!
Gas/Diesel powered air compressor?
We met some guys in Ennis. One was on this Triumph 900 that is factory lowered with every available accessory. Sarah LOVED it.
Heels on the ground finally gets her to give me a decent smile!
West Madison Fork Rd., off of US 287, across the Madison River from the highway and a rest stop
This stuff was pounded down into the ground along large areas of the river bank, presumably to help prevent erosion.
This was just a giant rock sitting by the parking lot and the pattern caught my eyes
Either Quake Lake or Hebgen Lake on US 287 Northwest of West Yellowstone, MT.
Saw this while walking to dinner with Sarah
Despite Sarah's issues today, she still ended up having a fun day. She was frustrated and mad in the moment, but by the time we were having lunch she was laughing and having a good time. She ended up banging her right elbow and hip when she came off. The elbow bruise was showing by this evening. The hip was tender, but not yet visible. She was actually disappointed that it hurt so much and didn't even have a bruise to show for it
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Enjoying every report!
What a great update. Tell Sarah not to worry about falling, that's to be expected in any type of off-road riding and she has to remind herself that she's extremely new to the discipline as well. The best part is that she keeps getting back on the bike and doesn't let the off's deter her from soldiering on. Label me jealous of how long y'all have been on the road, I wish I had the time for a grand journey of this duration.
I think Sarah might benefit greatly with a better front tire, cringed the first time I saw what she has. My nephew has a Heiden-something that I think would work much better.
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Day thirty three, Thursday, September 14th
West Yellowstone, MT., to Cody, WY., via Yellowstone NP
When we were checking into the hotel last night I was griping about the fact that breakfast was not included with a hotel room that cost us almost $500 after all the taxes and fees were added to it. The clerk must have felt bad about it because she gave us complimentary breakfast passes for the restaurant that was part of the hotel. That was nice, but even with this the breakfast was still barely as good as most of the free continental breakfasts we had been enjoying at other hotels. Still, it was better than nothing. While Sarah and I were eating, we could hear a couple behind me talking and it sounded kind of like they were speaking French. As they were about to leave I stopped them and asked where they were from. The wife said they were from Israel. I mentioned that it sounded like they were speaking French, but she said they were speaking Hebrew. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone speak Hebrew before and I told her how much it sounded like French to me. She said that numerous people had told her the same thing. She did in fact happen to speak French fluently as well, and her English was also very good. Impressive. They were here for an extended vacation, as was the case with so many of the Europeans we had been encountering along our travels.
After breakfast we headed back to the room to get everything packed and ready to go. It was a very cold and damp morning, with a thick fog obscuring everything. By the time we got out to the bikes, it had lifted enough that it was clear under it, but still blocking the sun. I could barely see it trying to peek through from above. Across the street there was some kind of adventure touring company that had all these jacked up 4WD yellow vans with massive tires. Those were pretty cool. Once we got the bikes loaded, we stopped for gas and then headed for the entrance to Yellowstone Park. We did not need the vehicle permit now because it was after September 10th. From that point on, all that was needed was the regular annual park passes, which all of us had. The line to get in wasn't too bad and we didn't have to wait a long time. There was a good deal of traffic though. Once in the park we headed South upon reaching the Grand Loop Road. Just across the Gibbon River we turned onto Firehole Canyon Road. This runs one way from North to South through a tight canyon formed by the Firehole River. It is all 25 mph, which is fine because it is very narrow and tight, and there is a load of traffic! We stopped at an overlook not far from the beginning and again at the waterfalls where there was a decent parking lot. It was crowded! Once we got past the falls, there were a few other places where lots of people were stopping, but we opted to just head back to the main road and continue South. Just a bit further down the road we turned onto Fountain Flat Road, which runs next to the Firehole River a short way before dead ending into a parking area with walking trails leading away. We immediately got back on the main road, crossed the Nez Perce Creek and encountered heavy traffic almost immediately. It was that annoying speed that is too fast to just stop but not fast enough to leave it in first gear and crawl, so the clutch hand was getting a serious workout! When we reached a pull out area I pulled over just to take a break. From there I could see the problem. There were a bunch of Buffalo hanging out not far from the road near Firehole Lake Drive. People were stopping to take pics and they weren't being real quick about it When we eventually got up there a Park Ranger was standing there trying to waive people along to keep them from stopping, but everyone just flat out ignored her and stopped anyway So that took a good 15-20 minutes to get through. No sooner did we get through that we got down the road a few more miles only to have the traffic come to a complete stop for another 15 minutes or so. This was near the Biscuit Basin Trailhead parking lot. Apparently they were painting new crosswalks 
So... we finally got past that and made our way to the Old Faithful complex.
It was immediately clear that Old Faithful is a huge draw for tourists. The size of the parking lots and number of buildings indicated that a LOT of people come here! We rolled in and found nice parking spots near the main buildings. We headed over to the Old Faithful Lodge and Cafeteria to find out when the next show was supposed to happen. It would seem Old Faithful has been slacking in recent years because it now had an eruption time plus or minus twenty minutes! So Old Mostly Faithful Anyway, we went into the lodge and it was actually very nice. The main area had a massive fireplace and huge windows facing out toward the geyser. If you wanted, you could easily sit inside and watch the show. The cafeteria had a wide variety of overpriced food, so we got ice cream 
Then we went outside to wait and people watch. The next eruption was supposed to be 20 minutes from now, so we decided to hang around and watch. Already people were gathering around the benches that surround the South side of the geyser. Off in the distance on the other side of the Firehole River we could see another geyser erupting at a fairly steady rate for quite a while with the steam rising high above the trees. Cool.
As the time for the Old Faithful eruption drew nearer, we moved down to the benches and got a front row spot. We really didn't know what to expect. We were hearing all kinds of languages being spoken around us. That was kind of cool. Then there were a few spurts and everyone got all excited, holding their cell phones high to catch the drama. Then there was nothing but some steam... A few minutes later there were more spurts and gurgling, and then slowly more steam and water began to push up out of the ground. It wasn't as loud as I would have thought it would be. The volume of water was also much less than I expected. The stream of water shot up maybe 50 feet, if that? Mostly it was just a LOT of steam rising into the air and cold water vapor raining down on us as it drifted on the breeze. Within a few minutes it was completely done. The kids looked at me. I looked at them. "I guess that's it!?" We were all a bit underwhelmed by the experience, but at least now we would be able to say, "Been there, done that." So we headed back to the bikes and fought the traffic to get back out on the main road. It was a lot like trying to leave at the end of a football or baseball game where everyone is trying to leave at once.
The traffic wasn't quite as heavy heading East from Old Faithful as it had been trying to get here from the Northwest. I've no idea why, but we were glad. The road crested at Craig Pass around 8200 feet and then dropped a few hundred feet down into the De Lacy Creek Valley and quickly climbed back up around 8400 feet before gently dropping down to US 287 at Yellowstone Lake. Right at this intersection there was a large parking area for the West Thumb Geyser Basin. I pulled in just to see what it was. It was an interesting collection of hot springs basically, all slightly different in character from the others. They varied by sizes, colors, and even the consistency of what was coming out of them. Some were bubbling gray mud, and some clear water, green water, blue water, orange, etc,... We were all kind of surprised by this variety. We did have to do some walking to view most of them. There were a series of the elevated board walks that eventually led down to an overlook where there was a really big hot spring that drained into the lake. I got tons of pics and then we wandered back up to the bikes. At this point it was getting on into the afternoon and it was dawning on me that the likelihood of actually completing the planned route for today was a big fat ZERO. We were going to run up to US 212 (The Northeastern Entrance Rd) and then head up and over Beartooth Pass, then backtrack to Chief Joseph Pass, and eventually head down into Cody for the night. But that was still a few hundred miles!! The traffic had really slowed us down. So I went into seat of the pants mode and spent a few minutes communing with my GPS. I asked the kids what they thought about just cutting that North part off the route and heading directly to Cody and taking an extra day to come back and ride those sections tomorrow. They liked that a lot.
We headed North up the Grand Loop Road and followed that around the North side of Yellowstone Lake. This was a nice scenic ride. At the East Entrance Road we continued along the lake shore until the road turned away from the lake and climbed into the mountains. The lake it self sits at about 7800 feet and Sylvan Pass is only at around 8500 feet, so it was a gentle climb following Clear Creek. After the pass the road followed Middle Creek Valley down out of the mountains. This road got a bit twistier and more fun on this side of the mountains. It did not take long to reach the park entrance and the start of US 14. We stopped to get come pics of the park signs before continuing down through the valley. The real fun started when Middle Creek merged into the North Fork Shoshone River. There was very little traffic here compared to inside the park and we could enjoy the road a bit more. Where we did encounter traffic, we were usually able to pass or people even pulled over to let us go by them. We were also dropping faster now and my ears kept popping as we made our way to lower altitudes. At one point I got stuck behind a school bus full of kids and the road was twisty with steep drops, so I just hung back. I didn't want the driver trying to go faster with a bus load of kids! I think the driver appreciated that because he pulled over at the first available turn out to let me go by and then pulled out behind me as I went by waiving to the kids that were all waving frantically at me
If you look at a map of US 14 you will see all the twisty bits coming out of Yellowstone and then it quite suddenly straightens out a few miles West of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. This is a right hand corner if you are traveling East as I was. In the middle of the corner on the left was a dirt road. The paved road was banked, low inside and high on the outside right where the dirt road was. It looked level on that side and there was a wide shoulder. The view on the North side of highway was nice and I wanted to shoot a panoramic video of it. With no traffic coming, I quickly crossed the oncoming lane and pulled off wide onto the shoulder just beyond the gravel road. I put the side stand down, pushed and pulled the handle bars to feel whether not the bike had its weight on the side stand, which it did... or so I thought. Typically when I take pics while still on the bike I will stand up on the pegs to make sure the luggage and controls don't show up in the lower parts of the images. I did this now, as I have done hundreds if not thousands of times before today. I had my phone up, my torso twisted left and back, and the left side of the scene in the frame. As I hit the record button to start the video and began rotating my torso back to the right, I suddenly felt the bike starting to tip over away from the side stand and toward the oncoming lane of traffic! There was nothing I could do to save it, so I ejected, doing everything I could to keep myself from crossing the white line into that coming lane. As luck would have it, there was a car coming right at that moment, the first one since I had thought about stopping The lady driving happened to be paying attention and saw me going over. She swerved to make sure she wouldn't hit me and immediately pulled over to check on me. I never crossed that white line, but I sure came close!! The bike was now laying on its side on a downhill slope. The kids were somewhere up the road ahead of me and I did not want to have the bike laying here waiting for them to come back looking for me. So I started removing luggage. I ended up only removing the large duffel bag that had my tent, sleeping back, and sleep mat in it. As I was doing this the bus load of kids went by waving The lady came up and asked if I needed her to call her husband to come help me. He was only a few minutes away. I told her to hang on a sec while I gave it a go. I squatted, grabbed the right grip, put my butt against the seat, grabbed the right side passenger grab rail, and started in with the old man grunting! Surprisingly, I got it up with very little trouble. I didn't even feel like I had to strain. Maybe all that walking I'd been doing in the past few weeks was paying off! I got it back on the kickstand and then moved it to make sure the weight was REALLY on the side stand this time before strapping the bag back on the bike. Seeing that all was good and I was not injured, the lady hopped back in her car and went her way.
As I was getting everything situated, I noticed a spot of fresh oil on the pavement where the bike had been laying... Ruh roh! This was the same side the bike fell over on back on Day nine when Sarah's new brake lever got snapped in two and the same side I dropped it on when we were leaving the campground at the Salmon River headwaters. I took a peek and the valve cover guard looked wet, but nothing was pouring out. There wasn't really anything I could do here, so I hopped on the bike and took off to find the kids. I quickly found them sitting in a parking lot on the side of the road just a few miles later. When I pulled up Daniel immediately pointed out the oil that was all over the front of my right saddle bag and my riding pants! Sure enough, I was losing oil. We checked the sight glass level and I still had plenty left, so I was pretty sure I could get to Cody without any problem. So we got back on the road and ran the rest of the way into Cody. Once in town I set about finding a place to stay. There were several Best Westerns in town, but they were pricey! I recalled a hotel where I had stayed with Roger in 2017 and called them. They were on the far side of town by the airport, but they had a room and the price was right!
We got checked into the room and unloaded the bikes. It was nice because the room had a door to the hallway but also a door to the parking lot and we were able to park right outside our backdoor. We had arrived fairly early in the evening and I still had a few hours of daylight, so I decided to pull the valve cover and see what kind of damage I might be able to find and the source of the oil leak. I carry most of the tools I need to work on the bike, but they aren't always the easiest tools to use because I am trying to minimize size and weight. Parked right next to me was a big work truck and it looked like one that would have all kinds of tools. The owner just happened to be in the parking lot so I struck up a conversation with him, explained my problem, and asked him if he had any tools I might be able use. "Oh? You need tools?! I HAVE TOOLS!!" He proceeded to open up the truck and pull out an amazing collection of tools. He told us to just use what we needed, then put it back in the truck and holler up at his room window, which was open, to let him know to lock the truck when we were done. Sweet!!
Daniel and I proceeded to take the engine guards off, then the MachineArt Moto head guard, and finally the cover itself. I inspected the cover gasket for any signs of damage and could not find any. I carefully wiped the excess oil from the inside of the cover and inspected the inside and outside of it, but still could not find anything obvious. So I made sure to clean the gasket and both mating surfaces very carefully, just in case dirt or something had forced its way in there and created a leak path for the oil. We got everything buttoned back up tight, cleaned up, and started thinking about dinner. We were all in the mood for a good steak. Unfortunately, Cody didn't have an Outback or Texas Road House. Bummer. We did see a steak house when we came into town, the Wyoming Steakhouse. We decided to give that a try. There was no Uber in Cody, but there was a private cab service. We got their number from the guys at the front desk of the hotel and gave them a call. Before we left I hollered up at the room window of the tool guy and listened for the, "chirp chirp" of the alarm. Shortly after that a nice lady showed up in a minivan and drove us across town. Right away the steak house didn't give a good vibe. The people were friendly, but the place was practically empty at dinner time... We ordered and waited. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, and it wasn't bad, it was just kind of... meh... We did meet a nice couple from Ogden, UT., after dinner as we were about to leave. He does a LOT of riding on Harleys. We had a nice visit with them. Disappointed with dinner and feeling the need for a pick me up, we walked next door to the Dairy Queen and got some ice cream! It was good! I had mentioned to the cab lady that we were going to be needing a ride back to the hotel after dinner and she said she'd probably be back over on this side of town in a hour or so. While we were sitting in the Dairy Queen, I got a text from her and I replied that we were at the Dairy Queen and would wait for her outside. I must have misunderstood her text. As soon as I looked up from my phone I spotted a face outside the Dairy Queen door staring at me intently. It was her sitting there in her van waiting for us! She had already gone by the restaurant to look for us and spotted us over here! That is service! She got us back to the hotel via interesting back roads through town and then we called it an evening. I made plans for tomorrow's ride and turned in for the night.
Cold and foggy start to the day in West Yellowstone
They had a fleet of these and do winter snow tours. There were more behind the trees on the left and across the back of the parking lot.
The fog eventually yielded to the sun and cleared off as we got into Yellowstone park
Start of Firehole Canyon, a one way 25mph road
Firehole Canyon Falls
He's standing on higher ground. She's not really that short and refuses to stand up straight!
People HAVE to stop in the middle of the road when they see stuff and they back up traffic for miles
In this case a small herd of buffalo lounging in the grass
Happy to see the sun and have it warming up
We sat here for 15-20 minutes without moving. They were repainting a crosswalk...
Inside the Lodge near Old Faithful
You can watch from inside
People getting seats for the show
LOTS of people!
Front row seating
My phone stopped recording for some reason so I don't have the whole thing start to finish, here is what I got,
Lake over look pull out on West side of the lake where the Grand Loop road meets the Rockefeller Jr., road. There was a hot spring right in the parking lot full of percolating mud.
We decided to do a bit of walking to see the sights
Got this as we were heading out the East side of the park on US 14 after deciding to cut the route short and head for Cody.
The North Fork Shoshone River Valley
My first attempt to shoot a video of the scenery at the end of the nice canyon run on US 14
And the video I was trying to take...
Daniel pointed this out to me after I caught up with them shortly after the tip over!
The dent in the crash bar is from the Day Nine tip over, and I think the real culprit of the damage. Today's tip over might have been the final feather that made it really start leaking.
Buffalo Bill Reservoir
The sun was setting right in the V of the canyon we had just finished riding before rolling into town to find a hotel
The guy with the truck behind my bike had TONS of tools and let us use whatever we needed!
I'd butcher his name if I tried to say it, Gildardo Ruiz Meneses. Super generous and a real gentleman.
No immediately obvious signs of what was leaking other than perhaps the seal on the cover bolt, so we cleaned it and put it back together.
Sarah's rear brake lever. The part with the four holes should be roughly parallel to the side of the bike and the foot peg center line should be perpendicular.
She says it works and is getting the job done for now
View from the door our of hotel room. There is a door to the hallway inside and a door to the parking lot outside. It makes it convenient to load and unload the bikes!
Looking back into the US 14 valley
Distant clouds tops in the East still lit up by the waning sun
Gildardo's personal truck, brand spanking new. He has a big diesel tank in the bed and gets $1500/mo from his employer to haul the fuel to worksites where he is a heavy equipment operator and maintainer. Over $100K for this truck!! He is doing very well for someone that is only 27 years old!
Our backdoor
West Yellowstone, MT., to Cody, WY., via Yellowstone NP
When we were checking into the hotel last night I was griping about the fact that breakfast was not included with a hotel room that cost us almost $500 after all the taxes and fees were added to it. The clerk must have felt bad about it because she gave us complimentary breakfast passes for the restaurant that was part of the hotel. That was nice, but even with this the breakfast was still barely as good as most of the free continental breakfasts we had been enjoying at other hotels. Still, it was better than nothing. While Sarah and I were eating, we could hear a couple behind me talking and it sounded kind of like they were speaking French. As they were about to leave I stopped them and asked where they were from. The wife said they were from Israel. I mentioned that it sounded like they were speaking French, but she said they were speaking Hebrew. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone speak Hebrew before and I told her how much it sounded like French to me. She said that numerous people had told her the same thing. She did in fact happen to speak French fluently as well, and her English was also very good. Impressive. They were here for an extended vacation, as was the case with so many of the Europeans we had been encountering along our travels.
After breakfast we headed back to the room to get everything packed and ready to go. It was a very cold and damp morning, with a thick fog obscuring everything. By the time we got out to the bikes, it had lifted enough that it was clear under it, but still blocking the sun. I could barely see it trying to peek through from above. Across the street there was some kind of adventure touring company that had all these jacked up 4WD yellow vans with massive tires. Those were pretty cool. Once we got the bikes loaded, we stopped for gas and then headed for the entrance to Yellowstone Park. We did not need the vehicle permit now because it was after September 10th. From that point on, all that was needed was the regular annual park passes, which all of us had. The line to get in wasn't too bad and we didn't have to wait a long time. There was a good deal of traffic though. Once in the park we headed South upon reaching the Grand Loop Road. Just across the Gibbon River we turned onto Firehole Canyon Road. This runs one way from North to South through a tight canyon formed by the Firehole River. It is all 25 mph, which is fine because it is very narrow and tight, and there is a load of traffic! We stopped at an overlook not far from the beginning and again at the waterfalls where there was a decent parking lot. It was crowded! Once we got past the falls, there were a few other places where lots of people were stopping, but we opted to just head back to the main road and continue South. Just a bit further down the road we turned onto Fountain Flat Road, which runs next to the Firehole River a short way before dead ending into a parking area with walking trails leading away. We immediately got back on the main road, crossed the Nez Perce Creek and encountered heavy traffic almost immediately. It was that annoying speed that is too fast to just stop but not fast enough to leave it in first gear and crawl, so the clutch hand was getting a serious workout! When we reached a pull out area I pulled over just to take a break. From there I could see the problem. There were a bunch of Buffalo hanging out not far from the road near Firehole Lake Drive. People were stopping to take pics and they weren't being real quick about it
When we eventually got up there a Park Ranger was standing there trying to waive people along to keep them from stopping, but everyone just flat out ignored her and stopped anyway So that took a good 15-20 minutes to get through. No sooner did we get through that we got down the road a few more miles only to have the traffic come to a complete stop for another 15 minutes or so. This was near the Biscuit Basin Trailhead parking lot. Apparently they were painting new crosswalks So... we finally got past that and made our way to the Old Faithful complex.It was immediately clear that Old Faithful is a huge draw for tourists. The size of the parking lots and number of buildings indicated that a LOT of people come here! We rolled in and found nice parking spots near the main buildings. We headed over to the Old Faithful Lodge and Cafeteria to find out when the next show was supposed to happen. It would seem Old Faithful has been slacking in recent years because it now had an eruption time plus or minus twenty minutes! So Old Mostly Faithful
Anyway, we went into the lodge and it was actually very nice. The main area had a massive fireplace and huge windows facing out toward the geyser. If you wanted, you could easily sit inside and watch the show. The cafeteria had a wide variety of overpriced food, so we got ice cream Then we went outside to wait and people watch. The next eruption was supposed to be 20 minutes from now, so we decided to hang around and watch. Already people were gathering around the benches that surround the South side of the geyser. Off in the distance on the other side of the Firehole River we could see another geyser erupting at a fairly steady rate for quite a while with the steam rising high above the trees. Cool.As the time for the Old Faithful eruption drew nearer, we moved down to the benches and got a front row spot. We really didn't know what to expect. We were hearing all kinds of languages being spoken around us. That was kind of cool. Then there were a few spurts and everyone got all excited, holding their cell phones high to catch the drama. Then there was nothing but some steam... A few minutes later there were more spurts and gurgling, and then slowly more steam and water began to push up out of the ground. It wasn't as loud as I would have thought it would be. The volume of water was also much less than I expected. The stream of water shot up maybe 50 feet, if that? Mostly it was just a LOT of steam rising into the air and cold water vapor raining down on us as it drifted on the breeze. Within a few minutes it was completely done. The kids looked at me. I looked at them. "I guess that's it!?" We were all a bit underwhelmed by the experience, but at least now we would be able to say, "Been there, done that." So we headed back to the bikes and fought the traffic to get back out on the main road. It was a lot like trying to leave at the end of a football or baseball game where everyone is trying to leave at once.
The traffic wasn't quite as heavy heading East from Old Faithful as it had been trying to get here from the Northwest. I've no idea why, but we were glad. The road crested at Craig Pass around 8200 feet and then dropped a few hundred feet down into the De Lacy Creek Valley and quickly climbed back up around 8400 feet before gently dropping down to US 287 at Yellowstone Lake. Right at this intersection there was a large parking area for the West Thumb Geyser Basin. I pulled in just to see what it was. It was an interesting collection of hot springs basically, all slightly different in character from the others. They varied by sizes, colors, and even the consistency of what was coming out of them. Some were bubbling gray mud, and some clear water, green water, blue water, orange, etc,... We were all kind of surprised by this variety. We did have to do some walking to view most of them. There were a series of the elevated board walks that eventually led down to an overlook where there was a really big hot spring that drained into the lake. I got tons of pics and then we wandered back up to the bikes. At this point it was getting on into the afternoon and it was dawning on me that the likelihood of actually completing the planned route for today was a big fat ZERO. We were going to run up to US 212 (The Northeastern Entrance Rd) and then head up and over Beartooth Pass, then backtrack to Chief Joseph Pass, and eventually head down into Cody for the night. But that was still a few hundred miles!! The traffic had really slowed us down. So I went into seat of the pants mode and spent a few minutes communing with my GPS. I asked the kids what they thought about just cutting that North part off the route and heading directly to Cody and taking an extra day to come back and ride those sections tomorrow. They liked that a lot.
We headed North up the Grand Loop Road and followed that around the North side of Yellowstone Lake. This was a nice scenic ride. At the East Entrance Road we continued along the lake shore until the road turned away from the lake and climbed into the mountains. The lake it self sits at about 7800 feet and Sylvan Pass is only at around 8500 feet, so it was a gentle climb following Clear Creek. After the pass the road followed Middle Creek Valley down out of the mountains. This road got a bit twistier and more fun on this side of the mountains. It did not take long to reach the park entrance and the start of US 14. We stopped to get come pics of the park signs before continuing down through the valley. The real fun started when Middle Creek merged into the North Fork Shoshone River. There was very little traffic here compared to inside the park and we could enjoy the road a bit more. Where we did encounter traffic, we were usually able to pass or people even pulled over to let us go by them. We were also dropping faster now and my ears kept popping as we made our way to lower altitudes. At one point I got stuck behind a school bus full of kids and the road was twisty with steep drops, so I just hung back. I didn't want the driver trying to go faster with a bus load of kids! I think the driver appreciated that because he pulled over at the first available turn out to let me go by and then pulled out behind me as I went by waiving to the kids that were all waving frantically at me
If you look at a map of US 14 you will see all the twisty bits coming out of Yellowstone and then it quite suddenly straightens out a few miles West of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. This is a right hand corner if you are traveling East as I was. In the middle of the corner on the left was a dirt road. The paved road was banked, low inside and high on the outside right where the dirt road was. It looked level on that side and there was a wide shoulder. The view on the North side of highway was nice and I wanted to shoot a panoramic video of it. With no traffic coming, I quickly crossed the oncoming lane and pulled off wide onto the shoulder just beyond the gravel road. I put the side stand down, pushed and pulled the handle bars to feel whether not the bike had its weight on the side stand, which it did... or so I thought. Typically when I take pics while still on the bike I will stand up on the pegs to make sure the luggage and controls don't show up in the lower parts of the images. I did this now, as I have done hundreds if not thousands of times before today. I had my phone up, my torso twisted left and back, and the left side of the scene in the frame. As I hit the record button to start the video and began rotating my torso back to the right, I suddenly felt the bike starting to tip over away from the side stand and toward the oncoming lane of traffic!
There was nothing I could do to save it, so I ejected, doing everything I could to keep myself from crossing the white line into that coming lane. As luck would have it, there was a car coming right at that moment, the first one since I had thought about stopping The lady driving happened to be paying attention and saw me going over. She swerved to make sure she wouldn't hit me and immediately pulled over to check on me. I never crossed that white line, but I sure came close!! The bike was now laying on its side on a downhill slope. The kids were somewhere up the road ahead of me and I did not want to have the bike laying here waiting for them to come back looking for me. So I started removing luggage. I ended up only removing the large duffel bag that had my tent, sleeping back, and sleep mat in it. As I was doing this the bus load of kids went by waving The lady came up and asked if I needed her to call her husband to come help me. He was only a few minutes away. I told her to hang on a sec while I gave it a go. I squatted, grabbed the right grip, put my butt against the seat, grabbed the right side passenger grab rail, and started in with the old man grunting! Surprisingly, I got it up with very little trouble. I didn't even feel like I had to strain. Maybe all that walking I'd been doing in the past few weeks was paying off! I got it back on the kickstand and then moved it to make sure the weight was REALLY on the side stand this time before strapping the bag back on the bike. Seeing that all was good and I was not injured, the lady hopped back in her car and went her way.As I was getting everything situated, I noticed a spot of fresh oil on the pavement where the bike had been laying... Ruh roh! This was the same side the bike fell over on back on Day nine when Sarah's new brake lever got snapped in two and the same side I dropped it on when we were leaving the campground at the Salmon River headwaters. I took a peek and the valve cover guard looked wet, but nothing was pouring out. There wasn't really anything I could do here, so I hopped on the bike and took off to find the kids. I quickly found them sitting in a parking lot on the side of the road just a few miles later. When I pulled up Daniel immediately pointed out the oil that was all over the front of my right saddle bag and my riding pants!
Sure enough, I was losing oil. We checked the sight glass level and I still had plenty left, so I was pretty sure I could get to Cody without any problem. So we got back on the road and ran the rest of the way into Cody. Once in town I set about finding a place to stay. There were several Best Westerns in town, but they were pricey! I recalled a hotel where I had stayed with Roger in 2017 and called them. They were on the far side of town by the airport, but they had a room and the price was right!We got checked into the room and unloaded the bikes. It was nice because the room had a door to the hallway but also a door to the parking lot and we were able to park right outside our backdoor. We had arrived fairly early in the evening and I still had a few hours of daylight, so I decided to pull the valve cover and see what kind of damage I might be able to find and the source of the oil leak. I carry most of the tools I need to work on the bike, but they aren't always the easiest tools to use because I am trying to minimize size and weight. Parked right next to me was a big work truck and it looked like one that would have all kinds of tools. The owner just happened to be in the parking lot so I struck up a conversation with him, explained my problem, and asked him if he had any tools I might be able use. "Oh? You need tools?! I HAVE TOOLS!!"
He proceeded to open up the truck and pull out an amazing collection of tools. He told us to just use what we needed, then put it back in the truck and holler up at his room window, which was open, to let him know to lock the truck when we were done. Sweet!!Daniel and I proceeded to take the engine guards off, then the MachineArt Moto head guard, and finally the cover itself. I inspected the cover gasket for any signs of damage and could not find any. I carefully wiped the excess oil from the inside of the cover and inspected the inside and outside of it, but still could not find anything obvious. So I made sure to clean the gasket and both mating surfaces very carefully, just in case dirt or something had forced its way in there and created a leak path for the oil. We got everything buttoned back up tight, cleaned up, and started thinking about dinner. We were all in the mood for a good steak. Unfortunately, Cody didn't have an Outback or Texas Road House. Bummer. We did see a steak house when we came into town, the Wyoming Steakhouse. We decided to give that a try. There was no Uber in Cody, but there was a private cab service. We got their number from the guys at the front desk of the hotel and gave them a call. Before we left I hollered up at the room window of the tool guy and listened for the, "chirp chirp" of the alarm. Shortly after that a nice lady showed up in a minivan and drove us across town. Right away the steak house didn't give a good vibe. The people were friendly, but the place was practically empty at dinner time... We ordered and waited. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, and it wasn't bad, it was just kind of... meh... We did meet a nice couple from Ogden, UT., after dinner as we were about to leave. He does a LOT of riding on Harleys. We had a nice visit with them. Disappointed with dinner and feeling the need for a pick me up, we walked next door to the Dairy Queen and got some ice cream! It was good! I had mentioned to the cab lady that we were going to be needing a ride back to the hotel after dinner and she said she'd probably be back over on this side of town in a hour or so. While we were sitting in the Dairy Queen, I got a text from her and I replied that we were at the Dairy Queen and would wait for her outside. I must have misunderstood her text. As soon as I looked up from my phone I spotted a face outside the Dairy Queen door staring at me intently. It was her sitting there in her van waiting for us!
She had already gone by the restaurant to look for us and spotted us over here! That is service! She got us back to the hotel via interesting back roads through town and then we called it an evening. I made plans for tomorrow's ride and turned in for the night.Cold and foggy start to the day in West Yellowstone
They had a fleet of these and do winter snow tours. There were more behind the trees on the left and across the back of the parking lot.
The fog eventually yielded to the sun and cleared off as we got into Yellowstone park
Start of Firehole Canyon, a one way 25mph road
Firehole Canyon Falls
He's standing on higher ground. She's not really that short and refuses to stand up straight!
People HAVE to stop in the middle of the road when they see stuff and they back up traffic for miles
In this case a small herd of buffalo lounging in the grass
Happy to see the sun and have it warming up
We sat here for 15-20 minutes without moving. They were repainting a crosswalk...
Inside the Lodge near Old Faithful
You can watch from inside
People getting seats for the show
LOTS of people!
Front row seating
My phone stopped recording for some reason so I don't have the whole thing start to finish, here is what I got,
Lake over look pull out on West side of the lake where the Grand Loop road meets the Rockefeller Jr., road. There was a hot spring right in the parking lot full of percolating mud.
We decided to do a bit of walking to see the sights
Got this as we were heading out the East side of the park on US 14 after deciding to cut the route short and head for Cody.
The North Fork Shoshone River Valley
My first attempt to shoot a video of the scenery at the end of the nice canyon run on US 14
And the video I was trying to take...
Daniel pointed this out to me after I caught up with them shortly after the tip over!
The dent in the crash bar is from the Day Nine tip over, and I think the real culprit of the damage. Today's tip over might have been the final feather that made it really start leaking.
Buffalo Bill Reservoir
The sun was setting right in the V of the canyon we had just finished riding before rolling into town to find a hotel
The guy with the truck behind my bike had TONS of tools and let us use whatever we needed!
I'd butcher his name if I tried to say it, Gildardo Ruiz Meneses. Super generous and a real gentleman.
No immediately obvious signs of what was leaking other than perhaps the seal on the cover bolt, so we cleaned it and put it back together.
Sarah's rear brake lever. The part with the four holes should be roughly parallel to the side of the bike and the foot peg center line should be perpendicular.
She says it works and is getting the job done for now
View from the door our of hotel room. There is a door to the hallway inside and a door to the parking lot outside. It makes it convenient to load and unload the bikes!
Looking back into the US 14 valley
Distant clouds tops in the East still lit up by the waning sun
Gildardo's personal truck, brand spanking new. He has a big diesel tank in the bed and gets $1500/mo from his employer to haul the fuel to worksites where he is a heavy equipment operator and maintainer. Over $100K for this truck!! He is doing very well for someone that is only 27 years old!
Our backdoor
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