Sunday, December 30, 2012
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thanks to everyone for following me on this incredible trip.
Please turn to the previous blog entry for the last 2 days of my trip.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
40th day - 524 miles & 41st day - 718 miles
After numerous attempts (and failures) to finish my blog... here are the last 2 days... finally!!
Upon arriving in Cody last evening, I decided to take advantage of the weather and push on a bit further. Bad decision! As the sun started to sink past the desert horizon I entered the Bighorn Range.
"Located in north-central Wyoming, the Bighorn Mountains are a sister range of the Rocky Mountains. Conveniently located half-way between Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park, the Bighorns are a great vacation destination" (Quote of the official USDA Forest Service website) - How could I forget about that?!
The wind picked up, picked up a bit more and suddenly I had trouble passing over a 1.5 mile long bridge crossing Bighorn Lake. Suddenly the road made a sharp turn and aimed straight at an endless gray mountain cliff. The pavement progressively got worse as the road climbed into the sky. After 30 minutes I reached the plateau covered with alpine meadows...and snow!! Cold, tired and disappointed that I couldn't see much of the natural beauty surrounding me, I tried to get off those mountains as fast as possible. That's when the pavement disappeared completely and was replaced by gravel, sand and some old construction signs lining what must have once been a road. Could it get worse? Maybe, but for sure it got darker. Both my auxiliary lights and my high beam burnt out and with a lot of guessing of what's in front of me I slowly, very slowly, worked my way down the mountain into lovely Dayton, WY...at 2:00 am.
Next morning, I was looking forward to an easy riding day through the Black Hills of South Dakota. I was pretty familiar with this area. It was my 3rd time riding through this beautiful place. But this time I planned to take as many dirt roads as possible. To my delight the gravel started much earlier than I expected and soon I got lost along the many little intersecting dirt roads with no signs to point me into the right direction. Well if one has to get lost... let it be in the Black Hills!
Lush wild flower meadows, dark green forest covered hills, a refreshing sounding mountain creek - absolutely lovely!!
Finally I found asphalt and soon by way of Deadwood I got to Sturgis - pilgrimage site to thousands of Harley Davidson riders every year.
In the meantime the temperature rose to 98 degrees and replacing my light bulbs at the local BMW dealer turned out to be quite a chore. Little did I know a heatstroke was the next chapter to come.
As I left Sturgis heading towards the Badlands National Park the temperature increased more and more. To save time, I decided to leave my helmet on while I was taking pictures. But as I got towards the end of the park I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and got really dizzy. The waiter at the park headquarters had a strangely concerned look as he served me numerous glasses of water.
By now I almost could smell home. Feeling a lot better, I got back on the highway to cross as much of the prairie in front of me before night would fall.
Upon arriving in Cody last evening, I decided to take advantage of the weather and push on a bit further. Bad decision! As the sun started to sink past the desert horizon I entered the Bighorn Range.
"Located in north-central Wyoming, the Bighorn Mountains are a sister range of the Rocky Mountains. Conveniently located half-way between Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park, the Bighorns are a great vacation destination" (Quote of the official USDA Forest Service website) - How could I forget about that?!
The wind picked up, picked up a bit more and suddenly I had trouble passing over a 1.5 mile long bridge crossing Bighorn Lake. Suddenly the road made a sharp turn and aimed straight at an endless gray mountain cliff. The pavement progressively got worse as the road climbed into the sky. After 30 minutes I reached the plateau covered with alpine meadows...and snow!! Cold, tired and disappointed that I couldn't see much of the natural beauty surrounding me, I tried to get off those mountains as fast as possible. That's when the pavement disappeared completely and was replaced by gravel, sand and some old construction signs lining what must have once been a road. Could it get worse? Maybe, but for sure it got darker. Both my auxiliary lights and my high beam burnt out and with a lot of guessing of what's in front of me I slowly, very slowly, worked my way down the mountain into lovely Dayton, WY...at 2:00 am.
Next morning, I was looking forward to an easy riding day through the Black Hills of South Dakota. I was pretty familiar with this area. It was my 3rd time riding through this beautiful place. But this time I planned to take as many dirt roads as possible. To my delight the gravel started much earlier than I expected and soon I got lost along the many little intersecting dirt roads with no signs to point me into the right direction. Well if one has to get lost... let it be in the Black Hills!
Lush wild flower meadows, dark green forest covered hills, a refreshing sounding mountain creek - absolutely lovely!!
Finally I found asphalt and soon by way of Deadwood I got to Sturgis - pilgrimage site to thousands of Harley Davidson riders every year.
In the meantime the temperature rose to 98 degrees and replacing my light bulbs at the local BMW dealer turned out to be quite a chore. Little did I know a heatstroke was the next chapter to come.
As I left Sturgis heading towards the Badlands National Park the temperature increased more and more. To save time, I decided to leave my helmet on while I was taking pictures. But as I got towards the end of the park I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and got really dizzy. The waiter at the park headquarters had a strangely concerned look as he served me numerous glasses of water.
By now I almost could smell home. Feeling a lot better, I got back on the highway to cross as much of the prairie in front of me before night would fall.
On the way to the Black Hills.
Out of the dessert.
And the fun starts...
Cows in Paradise.
Rest stop in the Black Hills.
I've fallen and I can't get up!
Motorcycle National Park!
and it's getting hotter and hotter...
Last service stop.
Buffalo Gap National Grass Lands.
Badlands National Park.
Errosion exposes sediments and fossils from millions of years ago.
Last Picture. The next day I just wanted to get home.
Thanks Jenny, Ellie & Max,
This was a trip of a lifetime!
Friday, July 2, 2010
39th day - 376 miles
Thunder and lightning woke me up this morning. But as I started to pack my bike, blue sky appeared and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Fly fisherman were casting their lures into the Gallatin River as I rode up the valley to get to Yellowstone.
Once I entered the park things got a bit busier. Yellowstone, the oldest of all American National Parks is also one of the most visited. Cohorts of over sized RVs and sightseeing tourists in their cars trying to negotiate their way through the two loop roads that connect the major attractions in the park. One elk or buffalo sighting accounts for a 5 minute delay, a herd of buffalo (5 or more) will cause a 10 minute holdup, a baldheaded eagle causes a 20 minute backup and when you see a Bear strolling along the road all bets are off. After I managed my way through construction zones and countless animal sightings and the delays they caused, I visited the Norris Geyser Basin. The scenery as well as the smell were unbelievable.
Chief Joseph Highway follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he led the Nez Perce Indians out of Yellowstone and into Montana in 1877 during their attempt to flee the U.S. Cavalry and escape into Canada. I was looking forward to riding this scenic byway for a long time as fellow travelers raved about the beauty of this road. They were not lying. If you ever plan to visit Yellowstone Park I suggest taking this beautiful scenic byway from Cody, Wyoming. You won’t regret it.
Once I entered the park things got a bit busier. Yellowstone, the oldest of all American National Parks is also one of the most visited. Cohorts of over sized RVs and sightseeing tourists in their cars trying to negotiate their way through the two loop roads that connect the major attractions in the park. One elk or buffalo sighting accounts for a 5 minute delay, a herd of buffalo (5 or more) will cause a 10 minute holdup, a baldheaded eagle causes a 20 minute backup and when you see a Bear strolling along the road all bets are off. After I managed my way through construction zones and countless animal sightings and the delays they caused, I visited the Norris Geyser Basin. The scenery as well as the smell were unbelievable.
Chief Joseph Highway follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he led the Nez Perce Indians out of Yellowstone and into Montana in 1877 during their attempt to flee the U.S. Cavalry and escape into Canada. I was looking forward to riding this scenic byway for a long time as fellow travelers raved about the beauty of this road. They were not lying. If you ever plan to visit Yellowstone Park I suggest taking this beautiful scenic byway from Cody, Wyoming. You won’t regret it.
Galattin River Valley.
In the Norris Geyser Basin.
The colours in these hot springs are caused by bacteria thriving in these thermal features living of the minerals. Each spring hosts different bacteria because of difference in temperature and minerals. That is the reason why the colours vary from pool to pool.
Small geyser erupting.
A mud pot spouting.
Delicate flowers grow right up to the edge of hot water ponds.
Trees killed by the constant change of location of the thermal features.
Steamboat Geyser gurgles. Steamboat Geyser is the world’s tallest geyser that is currently active. Shooting water into the air up to 300 feet. It is very unpredictable and major eruption happen only happen once or twice a year.
Moos and grass growing in the basin.
Entering the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.
The next images are all taken on this byway from west to east.
Should I be concerned about this cloud. This is how it normally starts...
Back in the desert...weird after just coming from Alaska.
Oil well in Wyoming.
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