Lifes2short....Ride the World

[l84toff]

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, Into Idaho we go

We made our way towards Jackson WY where Fernando and Almu said they found a great campground. Lori's aversion to bear encounters and the desire for more serviced campgrounds (read bathrooms and showers), landed us in Teton Valley Campground in Idaho however. About a 30 minute ride from Jackson over beautiful Teton pass.





The entire day was filled with amazing cloud formations moving about all around us. We could see the rain coming down hard in some places but we managed to zig zag our way around all the storms.



We've been joking about how well our new rain gear is working out so far as we have seen about 2 hours of rain since leaving home a couple of weeks ago. Nice!


About 30 min outside of Jackson we saw some pretty dark stuff directly ahead. No more joking, we put on our rain gear.



Where we were heading.



Where we came from. Both pictures were take in the same spot just looking in opposite directions.


Somehow the rain managed to hold off till we were walking into a coffee shop in Jackson though. By the time we left it was sunny again. Of course by the time we got into our campground and set up, the skies were again threatening to dump on us. It seemed to pass us by however and made for one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen.




















We spent the next few days here as Lori was still feeling unwell. We had absolutely picture perfect weather during our stay and it was nice not to have to pack up in the mornings. We're able to cook some decent food thanks to the fantastic Teton Valley Market & Cafe (if I recall the name correctly) about a 1 min ride into Victor. <a href="http://www.subaonmain.com/#" target=“_blank”>S.U.B.A.</a>, a block over, also had a cool vibe to it, excellent music and great coffee. It was a nice way to spend a few hours relaxing.



In the meantime, Lori was out making friends again.



Bacon, yogurt and fruit...breakfast of champions?






Guacamole, chicken, rice and a cold Stella to wash it down with - Yummy! I realized how much I miss this part of camping, just sitting around, enjoying the weather, cooking good food, chillin'. It's also really dry out here, no bugs to speak of here so it's easy to do all of those things. Temperature was in the high 20's during the day but it feels much more comfortable without all the humidity.


Lori is feeling a bit better this evening so we've decided to make the move north again tomorrow. It's going to be an exciting day as we ride through Yellowstone and take Beartooth pass out.

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, Into Idaho we go

You taking some time in Yellowstone?
Bet it will be crowded this time of year but some lovely areas to explore - your camera should get a work out. Colours in the thermal pools are astonishing. Catch the Devil's Paint Pots

mind the bison ...

enjoy

some info for you
http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/camping.htm

This place is brilliant for a Burger
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restauran...Kiwi_s_Takeaway-West_Yellowstone_Montana.html

But Allie the owner may have packed up shop now
She is a highly trained serious chef that took some time to chill in Yellowstone after tiring of the city life.
No pretense - just damn fine food and not expensive.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

That sunset shot is postcard quality. I am so envious!

I leave tomorrow for a 12 day ride out to PEI and somehow I managed to get the kitchen sink loaded. Lol. I can only applaud you guys doing this two up.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

[MacDoc]

somehow I managed to get the kitchen sink loaded.

Pics??

Have fun -

 

[l84toff]

You taking some time in Yellowstone?
Bet it will be crowded this time of year but some lovely areas to explore - your camera should get a work out. Colours in the thermal pools are astonishing. Catch the Devil's Paint Pots

We've been and we've gone. Didn't get to explore much at all, other than roadside stops. There were a few places that looked like they were worth checking out but to say they were crowded is an understatement, so we kept on trucking.

That sunset shot is postcard quality. I am so envious!

I leave tomorrow for a 12 day ride out to PEI and somehow I managed to get the kitchen sink loaded. Lol. I can only applaud you guys doing this two up.

Thanks again for sharing.

Thanks. Enjoy your trip. We too have our kitchen sink packed...

 

[l84toff]

Teton's, Yellowstone & Beartooth Pass

Wow, what a spectacular day! We rode through the Teton's, Yellowstone and finally up to almost 11,000 feet over Beartooth Pass into Montana. That's a lot to take in in one day I have to say. I have this strange sensation when we do days like this where the start of the day and end of the day feel like they happened on different days. It's a strange sense of time and place that I'm noticing more and more on this adventure. Even on a larger scale, it's harder to put into context being in Newfoundland in June and now finding ourselves in Montana.


Time keeps on slippin' slippin'...


Another sensation that is much easier to contextualize is that of my appetite every morning. So after stopping for breakfast at a little place called Scratch in Victor ID, the best breakfast burrito I've ever had by the way, we headed north towards Yellowstone National Park.






Town square in Jackson, WY with its 4 antler arches. Each arch is made up of approximately 2000 antlers and weighs in at about 10,000lbs. It seems no elk are harmed in the making of these as they get the antlers either from an elk refuge or from dealers. It was another very busy and tourist filled town.



These elk were only a few feet off the road so we pulled over to get the camera out and take a pic.



Of course we also needed the camera as this was the view across the road.



Too bad we had just started riding, or I would have sat here all day starring at Grand Teton.



Entering Yellowstone.



Within a few minutes, everything opened up. Just for perspective, there is actually a buffalo in this shot.



Taking a break next to a massive vertical wall.



As exciting as rock walls are, Lori prefers this view I think.



We passed another wide open area with several rather large herds of buffalo. This small group was just a few paces off the road.



I thought I saw a sign for a bathroom up here somewhere…






No bathroom, but the view was pretty nice.






Back on the road and heading towards Beartooth Pass.



Making our way back up into snow territory.



The temperature dropping to 10.5C as we climbed higher



We snaked our way up through snowfields.



Breathtaking views around every switchback, Beartooth Pass tops out at 10,947 feet.



The switchbacks continue as we descend back to 5500 feet.

 

[l84toff]

Re: Teton's, Yellowstone & Beartooth Pass


I always find it interesting to see a sign indicating a turn to the left but the road actually turning to the right first.



It’s difficult...no, it’s downright impossible to just casually ride a road like this. The constant switchbacks and s-bends just beg for a twist of the throttle at every exit. I have to say that the new tires were just fantastic on this stretch of road. I completely forgot we were 2 up and loaded down or at least didn’t really notice it dropping the bike into the turns. Not sure if Lori agrees, but ultimately it was a safer way to travel along the pass in my opinion. I was either going to stare at the mountains or focus on the riding. I have to give Lori a lot of credit for this ride. Not only for hanging on and not complaining but more importantly for continuing to snap pics the entire time. I think she may have a career in Moto photo/videography, you know like those guys on the back of bikes doing the Tour de France...


Just a brilliant day today! I continue to be amazed how the scenery just keeps on getting better and better.


We stopped just on the other side of Beartooth Pass at Perry's campground in Montana for the night. The owner wanted to show me the campsites so I hopped in his John deer ATV vehicle with him. As we're riding he asks if we have any food with us, apparently they've had a couple of black bears spotted in the park today.


No sooner did those words come out of his mouth, we get to the bottom of the hill and a black bear cub about 10 feet away stops us dead in our tracks. He took off as soon as he spotted us and someone else said they saw mom running after him. Although not my first black bear encounter, this was by far the closest I have ever been to one. Another camper said that the cub fell into the adjacent river this morning and got swept to this side. Mama bear left her other cub on the other side to fetch this one.


I wasn't sure I wanted to tell Lori this but also didn't want her to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and come face to face with one of them, so I felt that I had to. I was very impressed she was ok with staying there the night. Ultimately and happily, it was an uneventful and bear-free night at the campground.

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Teton's, Yellowstone & Beartooth Pass

There were a few places that looked like they were worth checking out but to say they were crowded is an understatement, so we kept on trucking.

good idea ....we were lucky - as the park had been closed few people visited in Nov when it re-opened.

•∞•

Lot of my mountain pics are hazy - do you have a filter on?

 

[l84toff]

Re: Teton's, Yellowstone & Beartooth Pass

good idea ....we were lucky - as the park had been closed few people visited in Nov when it re-opened.

•∞•

Lot of my mountain pics are hazy - do you have a filter on?

Ours too, we're using a Hoya circular polarizing UV filter. No filter on the Lumix but Lori likes the HDR setting on it and seems to think it helps.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I hope she is feeling better. It's tough to be sick and on a bike.

Long weekend traffic started this afternoon, and I'm so very envious of the roads you are riding. I'm definitely heading out that way as soon as I can find the time and the money for it.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Side note, how are you charging your devices? Transferring pics from SD card to Internet?

 

[l84toff]

I hope she is feeling better. It's tough to be sick and on a bike.

Long weekend traffic started this afternoon, and I'm so very envious of the roads you are riding. I'm definitely heading out that way as soon as I can find the time and the money for it.

She's finally feeling better, thanks.

There's one thing I don't miss, summer weekend traffic coming out of the city. Ugh!

Side note, how are you charging your devices? Transferring pics from SD card to Internet?

Except for the computer, everything gets charged on the bike. I have a Powerlet (at the front of the bike) plug to dual 12V. 1 of the 12V plugs is typically occupied with a dual USB, so I can charge the phone and iPad and the other 12V gets rotated between the GPS and the Sena headsets.

The Tiger has a port by the rear seat for another Powerlet socket, which I just picked up. Once I get it installed Lori will charge her own Sena, at the moment I charge both up front, one at a time. The nice thing about the Sena SMH10's is that even after 2 years, they still last 2 days riding. Unless I'm streaming tunes to both headsets. I'm actually very impressed with these little guys, but I'm getting off track here.

The multiple GoPro batteries, and both the LUMIX and the Nikon batteries can also be charged via 12V. We bought aftermarket chargers that can be plugged in via 12V.

Whenever possible, we also charge up at campgrounds, coffee shops or hotels. Some campgrounds have common areas or laundry facilities where you can charge up (and do a load of laundry). Some offer hydro at the campsite, others charge an extra $10 for this so we usually pass if it's extra.

Pics get transferred to the laptop, then uploaded online whenever we have decent wifi. Most free wifi spots have pretty slow speeds so they're useless for uploading anything more than an email. We use Speedtest.net to check for speed before embarking on any large photo upload activity.

 

[l84toff]

We tried to come up with a plan for the day over breakfast at Cafe Regis in Red Lodge, just a few minutes from the campground. We looked north on the map and saw an ugly I-90 looking back at us, so we did the most reasonable thing we could think of, we headed back to Yellowstone, back along Beartooth Pass. We both agreed it was a road worth riding (at least) twice. It really was that spectacular.












Climbing back to the top.












Just as spectacular the second time around.

















Back in Yellowstone, we passed a motorcycle crash scene, Goldwing vs pronghorn. The rider was just being taken away by ambulance as we passed by, we surmised with non life threatening injuries as the ambulance departed without lights and sirens and we could see the medics working in the back. The pronghorn didn't fare as well.


Riding into the town of Mammoth was a treat as the streets were lined with elk just hanging out, grazing, walking around, laying down in back yards, front yards, they were everywhere. I say there were elk in the streets! A strangely cool site. We were so mesmerized by the sight, that we forgot to reach for the camera.


The ride got more windy as the mountains gave way to more open scenery, rolling hills & ranches. We ended up in Helena for a couple of days. The bug Lori was fighting thought it was time for an encore.


Our next stop was in Columbia Falls where I had to pick up a care package. Thanks to Paul at ADVDepot for sending out a new horn and some gaskets for the Globescout lids.


We inched our way out of Columbia Falls in construction traffic, passing no less than 15 crosses lining the side of the highway within a few miles of town. A few were in groups of 3, very sad to see. Seems this is a dangerous section of road, I wondered if it was due to animals, winter conditions, other drivers? A reminder none the less that life is short. It's easy to get lost in your own little world while the miles disappear under you, seeing crosses always seems to wake me a bit.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I find it a sobering reminder that I don't want my own cross on roadside.. Get to your destination with a smile on your face.

I just replied to a kid who asked if motorcycling was dangerous in another thread, and thought of your Goldwing rider and the deer or elk? I just assumed that like you and me he was an experienced rider with many miles logged and all it took was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I couldn't give up this sport while those roads and vistas are out there. Blue sky, good asphalt and some hills and curves ahead.

I'm looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[MacDoc]

Nasty way to end a trip.
Rider on the way to Alaska also ended his trip early with a Dalh sheep collision.
He was fine tho limping...bike not rideable.
They were on the road licking salt - grey road, pouring rain, twists...and it was reallly pouring later - guy likely had no chance of stopping.....and they don't run. JUst stand there looking dumb.

•••

I figure I'm immune - what are the odds of my DayLong seat being involved in TWO deer collisions

Burgman 1 - deer 0

The 60 year old rider rode the bike home some 800 miles. Sometimes a lot of crushable tupperware is useful for more that just weather protection.
He kept the bike upright too!!!

Keep an eye out - we were shocked at rhe level of roadside wildlife we encountered last month....exactly where you are heading.....loads of black bears including one near miss we saw by an idjit RV driver. Clover is out and the younger bears are munching. We lost count at 20 along the road just one day.

Good you have another set of eyes OP

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Nasty way to end a trip.
Rider on the way to Alaska also ended his trip early with a Dalh sheep collision.
He was fine tho limping...bike not rideable.
They were on the road licking salt - grey road, pouring rain, twists...and it was reallly pouring later - guy likely had no chance of stopping.....and they don't run. JUst stand there looking dumb.

•••

I figure I'm immune - what are the odds of my DayLong seat being involved in TWO deer collisions

Burgman 1 - deer 0

The 60 year old rider rode the bike home some 800 miles. Sometimes a lot of crushable tupperware is useful for more that just weather protection.
He kept the bike upright too!!!

Keep an eye out - we were shocked at rhe level of roadside wildlife we encountered last month....exactly where you are heading.....loads of black bears including one near miss we saw by an idjit RV driver. Clover is out and the younger bears are munching. We lost count at 20 along the road just one day.

Good you have another set of eyes OP

20+?! I'd have deer fear for certain! Every time I see those plywood silhouettes of deer I roll off thinking it is real, then I shake my fist and get back on the throttle.

 

[MacDoc]

Yeah that was 20 bears ....add in a few moose that day as well browsing in the ponds.
I've seen bear run across in PA tho it's mostly deer there.
Have seen elk close to the road in PA and on the Bow Valley Parkway but I don't seem to hear of elk collisions so much.
This guy was only 10m away....even our SUV might have had some serious damage. That's one chunky animal.

 

[l84toff]

So far along the Alaska Highway alone, we're at 4 bear sightings, 3 moose, 2 elk, a herd of buffalo and 1 big horned sheep. All were either on the road or within a few feet of the road. Not to mention all the crows sitting on the road wanting to play chicken. It's a zoo out here I tell ya.

 

[MacDoc]

Geez you are rockin along some....
Welcome to the menagerie.

The crows are hilarious.
We figured they are picking of big insects like dragonflies as the cars hit the bugs.

I'll try and get ahead of you here.
If you are going to go to Kenai/Valdez....take one of the long cruises ...both if you can.
Of the two I'd rate the Valdez better AND the ride to Valdez is superb.
Lulu Belle
http://lulubelletours.com/book/

From Tok to Valdez there is a little coffee and light food cart on a major corner ( it's a very empty corner otherwise )

Be sure to stop and chat with Jeannie - she's wonderful - ask about her coffee maker....it's a cool tale.
Jude - late evening very happy to see the place...one of our highlights

 

[l84toff]

Hey MD, we're aiming for Tok today, then doing the loop, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage. We're back on a schedule as we have to meet the Haines to Prince Rupert ferry (with a 1 day layover in Juno). We were thinking of riding into Homer (and Anchor Point), so now I'm wondering if the Valdez boat is worth it if we're already doing the Haines to PR ferry? But we can't do both Homer and Valdez.

Also, our dry spell is coming to a close as the forecast along the coast (Anchorage, Valdez, Homer) is all rain for the next while. . No complaints though, we've had a total of 2 hours of rain in the last 29 days. Just unreal after our east coast swing.

*EDIT* Now that we're in TOK, we're discussing skipping Fairbanks and doing both Valdez and Homer. Of course Fairbanks is the only one out of all of those that's supposed to be dry...go figure.