USA Tour Day 16

Day 16. Saturday 31^st July.

Billings to Deadwood, South Dakota 363 miles (584 km)

An early start at 7.15 am to beat the heat. And the bloody RVs Tourists

What an exciting and moving day today, it is a must to be kept on the tour schedule.

We rode approximately 50 miles to the Little Big Horn National Park which is now a National Cemetery where the graves of soldiers that fought the combined Plains Indians in what is known as General Custer’s Last Stand. There are also soldiers and immediate family of those who fought in other wars (such as the Spanish American War, Korean War and World War 1) buried there. It is hallowed ground to Americans and an important part of their history.

The area consists of low hills and the Last Stand was on the highest hill that overlooks the Little Big Horn River on the 25^th July 1876, there are markers placed on the hill where every soldier was killed and originally buried.  The remains were later recovered and placed in a mass grave at the top of the hill which now has a memorial cenotaph over the grave with the names of everyone killed that day.

There is also an area set aside on the hill to recognise the Indian Tribes that were involved in this battle. 

It was very interesting for us, and obviously very moving for the many Americans visiting the site.

From here we rode through the High Plains again and passed through several Indian reservations on the way to see the Devil’s Tower. This was the major location and theme throughout the movie called Close Encounter of the Third Kind. It is a sacred site of the Indians and legend has it the markings on the side of the Tower are made by a bear (large- very large) trying to get to the Indian maidens on the top. (Photo attached).  Had a great (large) Cherry ice cream here.

From here we rode from Montana into Wyoming and the Black Hills of Dakota.  We are now at Deadwood, South Dakota. This is close to Sturgis and there are an enormous number of Harley Davidson motorbikes around going to the annual event which starts soon. Needless to say a BMW motorcycle stands out like a sore thumb, especially one with the riders in full riding gear which is rare. All the HD riders are wearing safety bandannas, T-shirts, jeans or safety shorts, thongs (feet) or sometimes boots. Also Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried

Going into the town centre tonight on the complimentary trolley which runs every 20 minutes from the motel, last one is returns 2.30 am tomorrow morning. 

USA Tour Day 15

Day 15

July 30^th 2010

Kalispell to Billings (464 Miles, 750 Km)

Clutch out at 7.04am to miss the tourists, even then there were already some on the road. We wound are way into the Glacier Park on the Going-to the-Sun Road past beautiful Lake MacDonald  with the temperature at about 10 degrees centigrade. The road was brand new hot mix with a 40 mph limit which was very frustrating as the Park Rangers over here are armed and have the power to arrest.

 When we asked Alan yesterday on what to expect on today’s ride, he found it hard to put into words. We can now understand why, the park is astoundingly beautiful. As we climbed up to the pass there were road works and several one lane traffic sections where the roads are being upgraded, which whilst it slowed us down, allowed time to absorb the wonders of the area. We have attached a couple of photos which endeavour to show this.

Once over the top of the pass we didn’t stop but decided to go on and find somewhere to eat. Good decision as most of the traffic turned off and allowed us to enjoy about 30 mile of sweeping corners which took us to a roadhouse at St Mary where we had an enormous brunch at about 10.30 am.Did I mention Vic had a pancake (see the picture....Diet soon)

Soon after this the road straightened out as we came onto the High Plains, we both thought of the TV programme of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ as we passed houses off in the distance.

The roads became straight and the speeds rose, we were cruising at 80 mph for hours on end. We passed several Indian reservations and villages of the Blackfeet and Kiowa tribes which are indigenous to the area.

The temperature climbed to about 95 Fahrenheit when we stopped at a roadhouse which was also a Western shop catering for cowboys and gals, never seen so many cowboy boots.

We arrived in Billing at 5.00pm which was pretty good allowing us time to have a shower and dress for dinner – people eat early here. Because Vic had mentioned he hadn’t seen a T-Bone steak on any menu Alan took us to a Texan Steakhouse. Made Vic order an 18oz steak, this was after starters which were a meal in themselves.Remember the Sonora dinner well it was something like that food food  food well and truly stuffed.

A bit of trivia is that Billings is the Hill Climb capital of the World (?).

We are seeing more and more motorcycles and Harley Davidsons heading for Sturgis, the Harley riders are normally in uniform of no helmets, T-shirts and vest, some with safety bandannas on and required abrasion resistant tattoos.

Tomorrow Deadwood.           

Belgrade to Kalispel

Day 14 Belgrade to Kalispell 308 miles 496km. In Montana.

After a sleep in and toast and honey for breakfast we leave Belgrade at 7-15am and ride mostly highways all day, even these are interesting with a continuous moving panorama and with freshly mown wheat fields and the smelling of new mown hay and the numerous cattle ranches.

It is fast riding day and we keep on the speed limit of 75 mph (120 km).  The mountains in the distance are clear as we are riding west and the sun is on our backs. When we are refuelling Alan points out a guy that has been taking Meth.... he looked dreadful, aging well before his time without any hope....  it is a problem with teenagers and young adults in America. There are large billboards on the highway telling of its dangers.

Stopping at a small town called Deer Lodge we visited a car museum with cars dating from the early 1900s up until about the 1970s, all in fantastic condition. Alan got misty eyed over several of them which reminded him of his misspent youth. The museum was attached to the local penitentiary (no longer used) which also made Alan misty eyed for some reason.

Now heading North we leave the interstate highway and turn towards St Ignatius and Flathead Lake, cherry farms are everywhere along the road and stalls selling cherries are in abundance.  The temptation is too great so we stop and get a pound, they are just delicious, large and juicy picked straight from the tree. We then ride around Flathead Lake (named after the Flathead Indian tribe) and stop at an Italian fish restaurant and Vic and I have fish chowder in a bread bowl...it’s the best yet.

We turn into our motel in Kalispell at 3pm time to have a little shut eye and a shower before we hit the town at 4-30 pm. We all load into Alan’s car and we do a tour of the town, parking in the main street I noticed a hair dresser so I duck in and have a haircut, now there are no more remarks about my helmet head, it is all good!! Did some shopping in a proper western shop where Alan bought a couple of cowboy hats, Vic and I splurged out on some hunting socks (??).

Leaving the shop we turned a corner and came on a small festival with an orchestra and street stalls, the locals were having a great time.

We walked across the 4 line highway from the motel to an excellent restaurant and have a local Moose Drool beer and a wonderful dinner.

We are sitting on the verandah having a whiskey and looking at the mountains that are pink in the setting sun and contemplating on tomorrows ride into Glacier Park which straddles the Canadian American border, the Canadian side is known as the Waterton Lakes National Park. We will be within a short distance of the border.As we sit on the verandah  we watch a flock of ducks fly by over the Rocky Mountain..Drinking  whiskey .............. life is good..

Day 13

Wednesday 28 July

Jackson Hole to Belgrade 297Miles 478 klm

Saying goodbye to Kristy at 6-40am we are on the road the sky is clear and the day is crisp. We ride into Moose and fill the bike and head thru the Grand Teton National Park and keep a look out for early morning animals that may be roaming around.

We have the very early start to beat the crowds in Yellowstone National Park. The Park is some 2.2 million acres that has many natural geysers and a multitude of animal species. Our first tourist stop is to see “Old Faithful” the famous Geyser. We pull up in the parking lot and wander over to the Yellowstone Visitors Centre which is the largest log structure in the world and admire the wonderful wood work, and find that Old Faithfull does not blow until 10-20am so we make our way to the souvenir shop and have a coffee.

We fluked finding the best seats on a verandah that overlooked the park and the geyser. Alan tells us that this structure was threatened in the 1988 forest fires which nearly wiped out the whole of Yellowstone Park.

Old Faithfull blows on time  and it only takes a short time before we are again on the road. We travel a short distance and we are held up by road works for at least 20 minutes which puts us behind time as we have so much to see so little time.

Our next stop is the Upper Water fall and it is just magnificent sight with a huge volume of water that tumbles of huge boulders through a narrow chasm. Next we go to the Lower Falls which is even more magnificent. Then to the place which gives the park its name Yellowstone Canyon at that takes your breath away it is very beautiful, the crowds are getting bigger and it became hard to find parking spaces, so we head off to the limestone cliffs and then stop at an overlook and have our chicken lunch that Kristy lovingly packed for us, and afterwards head out of the park, again we get caught up with the road works.

Now we head for Montana the weather has warmed up considerably and we have unzipped our jackets to let the air in as we ride through valleys and follow a river.

We see a storm is brewing in the mountains and with a cool change came the rain, it was a wonderful relief from the heat, arrived at our Super 8 motel at 6pm and went to a truckies restaurant for dinner.

I am sure it can’t get better than this.

USA Rest day

Tuesday 27^th July 2010

Chill out day in Jackson... on the bikes to do the tour of Jackson Hole.

Alan is having withdrawals by not being on a bike, so he brings out his Ural (Russian motorcycle) with Kristy in the side car - it reminded me of the film The Great Escape as they ride down the road.

We head for the mountains on a road that goes through an Elk refuge centre where there are anything up to 10,000 Elks in the winter season, we ride up a twisty gravel road and the scenery again is just beautiful, clear skies and a postcard view. We stop at a monument for 9 people that were killed when an Air Force 1 Transport Support aircraft hit the top of the mountain on the 17^th August 1996, Alan having just been involved with the security for President Bill Clinton was called upon to organise the search and rescue operation. From there we ride to Kelly a quaint little town on the outskirts of Jackson where Alan & Kristy’s daughter Alex went to school. We then head out to Gros Ventre where the largest earth slide recorded occurred in 1925. where half of the mountain slid into the river and caused a dam. We then proceed further into the valley where we come across a muffler in the middle of the road........oh no, not again...Alan & Kristy do a u-turn to come back to retrieve it. Bugger me the bolt had sheared through, so the two popular machanics try to fix it on the side of the road. They had to find another bolt, fortunately Vic found one on the BMW back rest which fitted. Alan also burnt his arm trying to fit the bloody thing on. Now all things are nice and tight we are off again. The red hills and snow capped peaks are again too hard to describe sufficiently in words.

We set off to a village called Moose where we had lunch in a chuck wagon and some huckleberry ice cream - just to die for.

On this trip we saw a coyote, chislers, bison and a moose with two calves, not to mention the deer that comes into the backyard of the house at dinner time each night.

Went a bike shop where Vic bought some cool (blue and white) gloves then dropped Kristy off in town to bring the Mustang home ready for tomorrows ride. I jumped into the sidecar of the Ural and set off up more twisties to a resort above town... It was a blast and of course Vic had a great time without me on the back.....Now dinner is ready more red wine - yes life is very, very good. Vic is just finishing some beaut apple pie and Ice cream 

Off to Yellowstone tomorrow .

Day 8 Jackpot to Jackson  (324 miles) 521 klms  Sunday 25 July
Leaving Jackpot at 6-45am having a energy bar to start the day, we are off across the Idaho desert we are riding through Idaho, and watching for anything that can go wrong..So far so good. The cool morning makes it pleasant to ride as we ride through the little settlements where the Sheriffs   is waiting for any speedsters as we enter any town. We stop at a little place as Vic is getting cool and he puts on a jumper, as the Sherriff goes slowly by just checking that all is well. As we ride through the Idaho country side the scenery changes from vast desert to green hills quite a change to what we have seen over the past few days. The roads are just as good as what we have been travelling on  We ride through the Craters of the Moon National Park, which resembles the craters of the moon, it looks like somebody has ploughed the field and left it , It is very different to what we have ever seen, the rocks are hard and black and the park goes on forever, also there is bicycle rally and many bikes are making riding interesting.
We pass the sign INL which our guide(Alan) tells us is the Atomic nuclear research city in the desert..
We see the sign for Idaho falls and many RVs are taking this road which makes it easier for us overtake the slower drivers. We are now in spud country (Idaho Potatoes) the farms go onto the horizon and spuds are everywhere .They store the spuds in  quonset huts (sheds with grass growing over the roof)The Scenery is just beautiful green ,green ,green, We ride over the Tetons mountains into the Valley.The weather  is just ideal for riding, the bum is sore but ok.
We arrive at Alan’s’ and Kristy’s Home in the National Park it is very beautiful,Kirsty has lunch waiting for us, and Alan takes us for a tour of their Ranch were Black Bears come to the front door. It feels as if you are in the wilderness as we have already seen a deer, and a chipmunk.Kirtsy is now cooking a baked dinner after two bottles of red.. life is good.

USA Tour Day 7

Day 7 from Lake Tahoe to Jackson

This is our longest day on the bike 764klms (475 miles)

Our days ride starts at 6-25 am. We bought some energy bars yesterday so that was our starter for the day

We ride past Lake Tahoe which glistens in the morning sun and head up over the mountains and ride thru Carson City which is the capital of Nevada, it still has old world charm from the 1800 with some of the old buildings still standing. We then went back in time to Virginia City what a magnificent town, all the older buildings are still standing and I really thought that “Calamity Jane” would ride her horse by; we really are in the cowboy towns which we see on the TV. We only stopped a short while but it was wonderful. The road after Virginia City to Reno was just magical, smooth hot mix bitumen with continuous sweepers that descended down the mountain and because we left early we beat all the RVs and tourists.

We had a different taste sensation at a McDonalds at Winnemucca; all things are not as we know it - but it served us until our destination. As we set out through the great desert of Nevada the four lane highway are well maintained and straight for miles and miles, I even got excited when there was a curve and it is noticeable how polite the drivers around us are. The mountains still have a little snow on the peaks, the scenery of the rock formations is very spectacular as we got further into the desert the heat of the day is getting warmer, and we stop for some water and refreshments at a town called Wells.

Taking a left turn off the highway onto a secondary road we head for Jackpot a small settlement near the Idaho border.  We are booked into the Casino called Cactus Pete’s and Alan tells us that the people from Idaho come to Cactus Pete’s to gamble as it is forbidden in Idaho -  also something about rednecks and potatoes??

We arrive at 3.30pm but we have lost an hour as it now Central time. Had a smorgasbord dinner of crab, oysters, fish salad etc, etc (in the desert - yeah I know), and a couple bottles of Californian chardonnay at $7.00 a bottle which was excellent.

Tomorrow we spend a couple of hours in Idaho and then cross into Wyoming to spend time with Kristy on her birthday.

We can understand how people come back time and time again – it is a diverse and beautiful country. Or maybe it’s our guide

USA Tour days 4-5-6

Day 4-5-6- 

Not had the time or no access to the internet so you have three days combined.

Day 4 Cambria to San Francisco.

Temperature 16c.

We left Bill and Mike at the motel to meet up with us later at 11.30 am at Hearst Castle. The Castle is very opulent and must have cost tens of millions of dollars even back in the 1920s when it was built. Very interesting though to see how the other half lived back then.

Leaving the castle on time with Bill leading us North up the coast on Highway California 1, great road and scenery. We met up with friend Barry Porter at a cafe overlooking the ocean. Barry had ridden down from Santa Cruz on an early model 850 Moto Guzzi to meet up. After a nice lunch we continued on up Highway 1 to Barry's house at Santa Cruz which is on a headland overlooking the ocean. The house is magnificent!

After a coffee we took off with Barry leading to take us back onto the highway, unfortunately his bike stopped (later found out it was a vapour lock in the tank), we had to leave him and Bill took over to lead another fantastic section of coast, and then back over the mountains past Alice’s Restaurant famous motorbike rendezvous, and then to the highway to SF where we said our goodbyes.

Temperature dropped dramatically again because of the Californian mist and we then rode to our hotel, the ride into SF was not for the fainthearted.

We had dinner at Fishermen’s Wharf and it was just fantastic, crabs and scallops and seafood bisque, the pretty lights of the wharf were great, got a taxi back and were in bed by 11pm  another great day

Day 5

San Francisco to Sonora

We have planned to be up early as we were booked on a tour to Alcatraz at 11-30am and were going to try to have it changed earlier due to  the long ride ahead (420klm). Vic and I had breakfast in a diner, after brekkie the boys fetched the bike and car from a parking station and away we went. Vic had fun trying to keep out of the cable car tracks and stopping at all the traffic lights and the steep hills. We arrived at the water front and wharf 33 where the Alcatraz ferries leave from to see if we could change the times... to no avail still at 11-30. So we walked the streets until the time to depart.

On the ferry to Alcatraz the sun is trying to come through the sea mist it is a little cooler than we expect. We dock at the Alcatraz and do a tour and it was very interesting - how cruel this place was.

We leave San Francisco about 2pm, back on the bike and the little” Red Rocket” leads us out of town and over the  Golden Gate Bridge and along the California Highway 1 then do a little side trip more twisties. Absolutey breath taking roads and scenery, we then travel through the Napa Valley with grape vines covering huge areas of the valley which is very green and beautiful. We pass a wind farm that has about 60-70 wind generators, leaving this valley we ride through the central Californian Delta .

The temp is now rising and we strip off our warm clothing, and head for our hotel in Sonora. The hotel and town is real western American - I was just waiting for” Wild Bill Hickok” to come riding thru

Had dinner in a BBQ Diner just a short walk up the road. Oh did we have a lot of food (Pic included.)We were full to the brim and had to leave a lot. It was sweet potato chips, onion rings, salad, steak, beans, mushrooms, coleslaw and French fries.Got to bed about 10-30pm it was just another wonderful day

Day 6

Sonora to South Lake Tahoe 583klm-362 miles

Leaving Sonora at 7am after breakfast, we head out to Yosemite National Park - The scenery was just out of this world, huge boulders, huge mountains ,spectacular waterfalls ( makes Ayres rock looks like a pebble). There was some road works on the main road and we were held up for some time as it was a one way road and gravel, we were hoping no black bears would attack as 27 bears were killed by cars last year..They never mention how may motorcyclists were eaten.

Leaving the park we head for South Lake Tahoe, it is quite warm and the” Red Rocket” had his top down. We stop for water and refreshments after a fantastic ride down a valley with the road being hot mix and the vista is superb. Climbing up again over the mountains and it starts to sprinkle with rain, we zipped up our coats and kept on going, then with the rain comes the hail and Alan in the “RED ROCKET” keeps going in the rain,  (I think he thinks he is on a motor cycle) and only stops after the car fills with water and he puts the top up.

Arriving in Lake Tahoe the rain stops and the sun comes out again the place is sparkling; we even got to see a Variviggen which Alan identified for us. We walked up the road for dinner in a quaint little eatery, early night tonight as we have a big ride tomorrow. We head back to Nevada to a place called Jackpot.

Just a wonderful day, tired but satisfied, I think I have double calluses on my bum thank goodness for my Air Hawk.

USA Tour Day 3

Day 3

Here we are in Cambria on the Coast of the Pacific Ocean just beautiful

Our ride today is 430klm destination Cambria

Had a great start from Lindsay with the breakfast of a waffle and syrup and butter and of course coffee, we rode through the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, what a beautiful area, the roads were just magnificent, just like riding in the Alps of Italy so may twist and turns I felt that I was in a washing machine being tossed around.

The wild life had the right of way, at all time so we were on the lookout for Black bears, rattlesnakes and deer. The giant Sequoia tree is the world’s largest tree, also there is a General Sherman tree is estimated to be 2200 years old, After leaving this magnificent park we head for a little town and had KFC for lunch, it is still quite warm.

As we headed for the coast we feel the temperature dropping quickly, so have to zip up our coat vents.

Arrive at our beaut motel overlooking the ocean, and whilst we were having a nip of whiskey with Alan our friends Bill and Mike we met on our Moroccan tour knock on our door. Had a great evening, at a restaurant just up the road. Just a magical day

USA Tour day2-3

 7/19/10  Day 2-3

Wow what a great night we had at the Party. we walked down Fremont Street, all dressed up and I think people thought we were part of the entertainment the light show was just fantastic. At the party everybody dressed up in the 70s gear.

It was quite a spectacular event about 200 people we left about 11 pm as we had an early start on our first ride

We started about 7-30am as we were going to Hoover dam before all the crowds started.

We did the dam and they have now a overpass as they are wanting to stop people driving over the dam. we were very fortunate that we could still ride across, the over pass will be opened in a few months.

The weather is very hot, we then set on our ride thru a National park in the desert, the colours of the mountains was just so beautiful and the little water in the dams  just glistened in the sunlight, the roads were just great we were just riding along and Alan's Harley decided to stop  and it would not go no matter what he tried it is now 120 no shade in the desert. So Alan set off on the BMW to find some help, he was gone for nearly 3 hours so Vic and I tried to find some shade we did have water and the trusty jelly beans and a muesli bars,

 There was some road works working (on a Sunday) and the truckles gave us some more water and some Gatorade, we made some make shift lean-tos with a few branches etc (the tribe thing come in here) but the sun was moving over head so we had to keep moving No cell phone service Alan Arrives back about 12-30 saying that a tow truck will be with us in about 2 hours, bugger we are still stuck in the bloody sun, but he brought back a tarp and some ocky straps , So we strap them across the bikes so we could have some shade, I just kept looking for the buzzards to attack.

At about 2pm the truck arrives and Alan loads it on to the truck and we still have about 170klms to get back to Las Vegas, by this time i have heat exhaustion and we ride thru the Valley of Fire Gee it was bloody hot. We follow the truck to a point it is just so bloody hot I can't take it so I am in the truck just wanta die.

We get to the Harley shop(the biggest in the world in Red Rock) they do a test on Alan's Bike and they said it was fuel fuse, but that is not all, there is a big clunk so now Alan is leaving his bike in the shop and he now is going to do the tour in his Mustang

All worked out well so now we are back home in the air cons tomorrow we are  thru DEATH VALLEY..I thought we were all ready there

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Usa Tour day 1

On the road day 1 19/7/2010

Today we had an early start as we wanted to beat the heat through Death Valley; our destination today is Lindsay in California about 630kms.

Left Las Vegas about 6-30 am, Alan is in his red Mustang very impressive and we are on the BMW. The weather is quite cool at about 25c so our journey begins.

We rode through some beautiful countryside where the rock formations change colour with the light.

The surrounding mountains are very rugged and the road is in very good condition, with some very straight sections. As we ride further into the valley the heat has started to burn and it is only 9am. We can understand why it is called Death Valley there are no trees or greenery only scattered stumpy cacti.

We stopped at the Death Valley information centre where we purchased a US$80.00 annual pass for all the parks and a couple of T- shirts to prove we were there, it started to get warmer at about 40c with the forecast of 51c at at midday - we are outa there.

Stopped at a small roadhouse to have a bite to eat - a sandwich similar to a subway.

We arrive at Lindsay after a beaut ride over the mountains lots and lots of twisters Vic just loved it after all the straight bits..

We dived into the pool and now ready to have a nanny nap and then out to find a bar to replenish the body fluids - thought it would have been cooler over this side of the Mountains but it is almost as hot.

Tomorrow we head for Cambria to meet up with the boys from Morocco.

The pictures are from Death Valley

U.S.A Tour 2010 July August

Arrived in Hawaii after 91/2 hours on a Boeing 767 it must have come from the beginning of flight, no TVs or entertainment, no socks or eye patches. We were on the emergency exit and were told if one happens we had to put the door on the seats not to throw it out. If you wanted to watch a DVD the cost to hire a mini DVD player was $15. With two movies, also you could buy gourmet food $10 for a cheese burger. or just have the common meal.I slept most of the way Vic read his book.Went thru customs took our finger prints also our photos then we had to find our way to the inter Island flight to Las Vega

Found our way to the terminal with lots of confusion Boarded about 2pm the flight took 51/2 hours, the same procedure with the movies and food on this flight, the plane seemed to be a newer one

Alan and Kristy met us at Las Vegas, and it was very hot outside at midnight the temp was 27 or 109F we went and had dinner at a restaurant on the way home to their place. Little cheese burgers and chicken wings and a huge margarita we got back to their home about 1am.We have our own bedroom with a fantastic bed, Up early 17^th and we look out on some huge mountains and a golf course, the home is very beautiful, and comfortable..Lots of travel souvenirs.