Passes & Canyons Blog

It took about five of us to get this big bike up that ramp and into that truck.

Leaving Chico the next morning it was a short run up the valley to Livingston. We needed gas and right next to I-90 was a gas station. A big gas station. All the pumps in front were busy but there were more around back so I headed that way. Dennis followed.

When I looked at all the pump handles in different colors I was cautious and examined the labels on the machine. I filled my tank with gas. Dennis was not as careful, he just grabbed the red handle that in metro Denver means gasoline and filled his tank. With diesel. I’ve already told that story.

To sum up, his bike ran badly (imagine!) and a while later he pulled off hoping to dilute what he took to be bad gas with good gas. Then the bike wouldn’t start. He ended up renting a U-Haul truck and we diverted from our westward objective to head south 235 miles to Idaho Falls. The dealership got it running the next day. So now we resume the story.

Our intent had been to go to Missoula, ride Lolo Pass, and end up in Cascade, Idaho. From there we would head on to Jackpot, Nevada. There were going to be new roads none of us had ever been on in this loop, but this was not to be. We never got to Missoula and we never got to Cascade.

We did get to Jackpot, a day earlier than planned. We called ahead and the hotel could accommodate us so off we went.

Pulling into Twin Falls Bill, who was leading, made a sudden right turn that I correctly surmised was a bypass. There had never been a bypass here before but it made sense. But Bill had forgotten how far west it was to where U.S. 93 turns south so after just a couple miles he pulled over and said he wasn’t sure and wondered if we had passed the left turn. I took the lead.

Then I made a bad assumption. I figured it didn’t really matter where we turned left, we would just cut through town and find 93 and go west again. Just FYI, the north and south sides of Twin Falls are separated by a deep gorge. The only streets that go through are those with bridges, and there aren’t many of those.

We ended up wandering through neighborhoods, into and out of dead ends, and finally I found the way back to the bypass. I headed west again. Pretty soon I saw a sign that proved to me that this was the right way to go. But Bill didn’t see the sign so he caught up to me and waved me over, saying that he believed we had gone too far and needed to head back the way we had come. I told him no, follow me, and we finally reached the spot where the bypass turns south. And then we were clearly on the road to Jackpot.

We’ve always enjoyed staying in Jackpot because it’s a gambling town–and boy, does the OFMC like gambling–and they have a nice golf course. So we stay there two nights and play golf. This time, however, we were staying for three nights. And in case you’re unsure, yes, three nights in a gambling town can get expensive. Unless you win, of course, which none of us did.

We were hoping that perhaps Cactus Pete’s would have a show going on but they didn’t. Once when we were there they had had Bowser from Sha Na Na performing, plus they had a hula-hoop contest. I ended up one of the three finalists in the contest but the winner was a teenage girl who just had the technique down.

So we had three nights and it was nice to get off the bikes for a bit and to play some golf. We knew the next day’s ride was going to be a long one.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you’re too cool to wave at the kids in the mom-mobile in front of you.

We’re not even in the park yet but it’s gorgeous just the same.

Not to take anything away from Yellowstone National Park–it’s an incredible place, no question–but we’ve been there before, as in more than 4 or 5 times. I myself have probably been to Yellowstone at least 15 times over the years. So as we headed out of Cody toward the park the main thought in our minds was, just how terrible was the traffic going to be?

Dennis had aptly noticed that riders coming into town from the west were warmly dressed, so we followed suit. Good plan; the morning was definitely cool.

One thing you need to understand is that the beautiful scenery you come to a park for does not begin at the entrance to the park. You’ll ride 20 miles west out of Cody before you actually enter the park but it is a stunningly beautiful ride. And on this morning, fresh and cool, with–as it turned out–very little traffic, it was heaven.

We got into the park, still expecting but not finding heavy traffic, and enjoyed the relaxed ride. The road runs up and over a line of hills and yes, we did get behind some campers at times, but they usually pulled over and let us pass so it was a good run. Then, approaching Yellowstone Lake, we hit a construction zone. Good-bye pavement.

Because I was on my V-Strom I actually welcomed the unpaved road, but Dennis hates it on his Indian and Bill does not love it on his Harley. No matter; you just have to do it. It’s not like we had any choices. And it wasn’t bad. Dennis and Bill said later they had no problems.

We hit pavement again at Fishing Bridge, where we turned north to run up to Canyon Village. Now we had traffic. This is a stretch where bison are common and yes, we did find ourselves behind a camper that stopped dead in the middle of the road to look at a bison. Really? You can’t pull off to the side at least? This is Yellowstone.

While I blasted on around this guy, Bill and Dennis did not, so I rode for miles with an unobstructed view at my own pace. And yes, there were a heck of a lot more bison further along. With most of the tourists pulled off to look at them, the road for me was largely unobstructed.

At Canyon Village we turned west, heading over to Norris Geyser and U.S. 89, which goes north and on out of the park. Traffic continued to move pretty well so we were making good time while enjoying an easy ride. There were more bison along here, including one big fellow who was lounging pretty much right on top of the white line at the edge of the pavement. So yeah, we steered a pretty safe distance away from him.

Then guess what? More construction zone and unpaved road. Here we go again, only this time it’s a little slick because the tanker truck we saw filling up from the stream apparently just wet the road down to control dust. But that makes things a bit trickier on street tires. Again, though, no issues. The bikes did get dirty.

Reaching Mammoth Hot Springs we passed through the village and found ourselves descending a steep incline down into the canyon of the Yellowstone River. This was when we realized that none of us had probably ever gone this way before. We had been at Mammoth Hot Springs before, but then had turned east to go out the northeast gate and on to the Beartooth Highway. Not this time.

And it was a beautiful ride. Again, the scenery doesn’t stop at the park boundary.

After lunch at Gardiner we continued north just a short distance to where we turned off for Chico and the old Chico Hot Springs resort. This is not a place you’re just going to see riding along, and it was probably a good thing Dennis had his GPS fired up to guide us to the off-the-main-road establishment.

Although we stayed in the old lodge, which features restrooms down the hall as so many old places did, there are more modern facilities where I assume the restrooms are in the rooms. But it’s a grand old place with hot springs pools, restaurants, horseback riding, hiking, and more. We opted to play Frisbee golf which, through the sage brush and going up and down hills, was some good exercise, especially after spending the last three days on the bikes. And then the hot pools were just what sore muscles needed.

Biker Quote for Today

Why bikes are better than women: Motorcycles always feel like going for a ride.

The OFMC (just three of us!) stopped along the road.

It was like the early days of the OFMC when Bill and Dennis and I took off for this year’s trip. Originally the group was three of us–Bill, John, and me. John no longer rides and a lot of others who used to ride with us have gone their separate ways so now we are back to three. We miss the camaraderie of the others but riding with three bikes–rather then ten–is a pleasure.

On a blazing hot day we headed west on I-70 and then north on U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass and down to Winter Park and Granby. Just west of Granby we turned onto CO 125. This road goes over Willow Creek Pass to Walden, in North Park. I don’t have Willow Creek Pass on this website but after riding it a number of times I have concluded I need to add it. We’ll see if I get it done this year or not.

We have ridden Willow Creek Pass north to south before but I’m pretty sure this was the first time we’ve ridden it south to north, so it was sort of the first of several firsts on a variety of roads on this trip. And it was terrific. A really nice road through a very nice area–albeit with about a million dead pine trees–and almost zero traffic.

We stopped for lunch in Walden and as we were getting ready to head onward three other guys on bikes–younger guys–pulled in. Of course we talked. Like us in the old days, they were out for a week and had no plans as to route or stops. And like us back then, if there were no motels available they had their camping gear. The one difference was that they were on much more capable machines and their gear was probably better than even ours is today. For us in the beginning, gear consisted of two gym bags loaded with stuff tied together and thrown over the seat behind us, plus tent and sleeping bag bungeed on.

Heading north out of Walden we entered Wyoming and made our next stop at Saratoga. All we wanted besides to stretch our legs was shade–it was still blazing hot! Then on to Rawlins for the night.

In the morning we expected more heat so we didn’t put on anything for warmth. We were going to be crossing central Wyoming on U.S. 287 and that is usually a long, hot, dry run. And we got cold. In fact, we stopped twice in the first 80 miles to put on more layers because that heat just never showed up. Meanwhile, it was above 100 in Denver that day.

So north and west on 287 as far as Sweetwater Station and then north on WY 135 to Riverton. Then U.S. 26 to Shoshoni and U.S. 20 to Thermopolis. Then finally WY 120 to Cody, our destination for the day. And just a few miles out of Cody it did finally get hot.

Cody was a bustling place. Apparently the hundreds of motorcycles roaring up and down the main street were there in connection with the Beartooth Rally, which we had not been aware of. Of course, this is why we make our motel reservations in January, and this was not the only time we were glad we had done so.

Tomorrow would be crossing Yellowstone National Park. How ugly is that traffic going to be?

Biker Quote for Today

Do you really have to ask why I would want this big vibrating machine between my legs?? – Anonymous Female Racer