Day 13. Grand Terrace CA to Home

Here is the ride from Utah to Montana.

Total miles = 2,402

Day 12 Cedar City Utah to Grand Terrace CA

CAR= 879 miles

MOTORCYCLES= 2,112 miles

Home safely (well to Rick and Laura’s house). An uneventful ride if not long. 😂

Tomorrow I go home and see my kitties and sleep in my own bed.

What a great trip. I cannot believe all of the amazing sites and especially the animals. By the time I return home I should have 2,402 miles total.

Day 11 Wendover Utah through a lot of Nevada and then to Cedar City Utah

320 miles on a plugged tire.

The tire did very well so Ricks hard work on the flat paid off. I was very concerned but after 150 miles my concerns dissipated. We will see what the PSI is in the morning now that the bikes are back on the trailer

Our first stretch of nothingness was along the Pony Express line. It is actually a fascinating story.

Check out the hand bill ad for a rider too funny

While we criss crossed between Utah and Nevada it was a long, hard, slog of a ride. So much. Boredom. Until the rain and wind joined in to jazz up the party.

The bikes are ready for their 600 mile journey to Rick and Laura’s house. Then I ride home and thus ends our adventure and what an adventure it was.

Day 10 Bellevue Idaho to Nevada and then to Wendover Utah

282 miles on a brand new tire AND I got a flat…yup…a flat. But more on that later

SR 75> 93> I-80

We started out on a very straight ride to the last vestige of Evel Knievel’s Snake River jump near the Perrine Bridge.

Just off to the upper left is a mound of dirt this was the point that he jumped across a mile long chasm and his parachute deployed prematurely and he did not make the jump. At the Visitor Center where we stopped a volunteer was a Deputy Sheriff and there on September 8, 1974 (45 years ago in 2 days) and said if that hadn’t happened he would have made it easily.

Some more pictures from Snake River. It is breathtaking

And the Twins which reminded me of my gypsies

Next stop was Shoshone Falls. So beautiful and humid

Here we are riding out and on to Utah

However we were riding into the eye of the storm which just got worse and worse. Here Rick picked up some tumbleweed

Then…the rain and the cross winds began. And it was some pelting rain and unbelievably strong winds

Until…Finally blue skies

Rick couldn’t wait to get to Bonneville Salt Flats where he was immediately accosted by a tourist who literally jumped onto the back of his bike as he was taking a picture. Too funny 😂

Then he and Makayla took a ride on the salt flat

After that adventure commenced I went to put gas into my bike and noticed my tire seemed flat. Rick found a nail in my brand new tire! Ugh. Look at that thing

ACTUAL SIZE

So we pumped it up and went back to the hotel to plug it (and by we I mean Rick while I watched) and I was also lucky enough to capture a rare Rick smile!

We shall see how the plug holds. What an irritant…

Last day of the trip is tomorrow so hopefully it will hold until I can get home.

Day 9 staying put in Bellevue Idaho

No riding today

Also no potatoes. How can there be NO potatoes in Idaho?

This was as close as I got

I think this is literally the only piece of candy that I refused to eat. It just didn’t sound good

As we drove around Hailey (after dropping off my bike and it is all rearing to go now) and Ketchum we saw elk.

Female

and male.

Rick likened these next shots to a Bigfoot sighting. LOL

As we walked around the kids found the only chair where they can sit side by side and not yell “Stop touching me!!”

Dinner…because with kids it’s all about the food (well ordering not really eating it)

Tomorrow Evel Kneival!!

Day 8. Jackson Hole Montana to Bellevue Idaho

375 miles of almost complete boredom.

Wyoming 22 (which was lovely)> 31 Idaho (which was a tad boring) > SR 26 (ugh)> SR 93 (serious Ugh) > SR 75 (so wonderful on the backside)

Once off the twisties and switchbacks of the 22 in Wyoming we met up with the snake river which is an apt name as it literally snakes around Idaho.

This began a rousing discussion of my fascination with Evel Knievel (really? He jumped stuff, crashed way too much, wore a cape and carried a cane AND when he jumped the Snake River he only broke his nose. Ha ha. He was a 70’s icon that changed the game for idiocy). Then I told Rick we were stopping at Twin Falls visitor center to see where he jumped. Then Rick told me to just watch the Evel Knievel movie with George Hamilton.

After this we plugged along the 3rd most boring road in America

It was long and hot. Once we stopped Rick nearly crawled into the ice machine

We ate a snack for lunch and met Tom AKA Hillbilly. He was a serious rider with a million pins on his vest. Everyone made fun of my measly 25 pins. After speaking with Hillbilly he said he rode the Bonneville Flats; which I knew would make him very popular with Rick since he put that as a stop on the way home

Hillbilly had an entire other side to his vest which you cannot see- he is the real deal

Back on the road a breadth of fresh air –some rock walls

And just as we were about to give up –the other side of our ride had us on a Scenic Byway and riding along the Salmon River.

Very pretty and cool. A long day on the road.

Tomorrow a rest day while my new tire gets mounted

Day 7 after much bouncing between Montana and Wyoming— Red Lodge Montana back to Jackson Montana

239 miles mainly on the 212 through Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton NP

The day started with me calling for a tire in Idaho. I cannot believe they have my exact tire so on Thursday there will be no riding (which Rick is happy about) after I drop off my bike.

The morning started out with us going back toward Bear Tooth Pass and there was no wind so it was a perfect ride

Here is Rick taking one of the curves

As we rounded Yellowstone for the 3rd time in 3 days we rode near Cody and saw this beautiful lake–I think it’s Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

The first of 2 waterfalls at Towers in the Air. This is a baby waterfall compared to the last one we saw

And here was the most spectacular waterfall ever in Lower Falls YNP

The day was also marked by numerous Bison sightings. Like right next to us sightings. But first a word of warning that Laura did not heed 😳😄

As we rode back through Cooke City the self proclaimed “Coolest little town” Makayla noticed this Bison hanging out on the side of the rode about 10 feet from us.

Yup. And Laura wasted no time in getting as close as possible for this video by Jordan (AKA meatball)

Then as we were riding out of the park they reappeared once again just to my left as we rode past.

I really wish I had that picture of the moose that was even closer. I wasn’t going to miss this one

And last but not least the most ferocious Buffalooooo named Buffy photo bombed my pic

Those pesky Buffalooooo

Tomorrow off to Bellevue Idaho where we will stay put for 2 days. What an adventure

Day 6. West Yellowstone Montana to Red Lodge Montana

And back to Idaho briefly.

170 miles on the 212 and iconic Bear Tooth Pass for 68 of them.

Started the day packing my bike and Rick (the safety officer) shamed me into lubing my chain. I didn’t use his air force grade lube but my own. Rick has been telling me that my rear tire is balding in the center (making it susceptible to flats) for awhile now. I kept dismissing him but then remembered my poor decision making about riding in 3 feet deep gravel so I relented and we are calling in the morning to order a tire for when we land near Hailey Idaho and will get a new one then.

Safety officer =1

Stubborn Lisa = 0

Riding back into Yellowstone we saw so many terrain changes– from wide expanses

To solid stone walls

To lakes and trees

Bison grazing

Waterfalls in Alta Wyoming

To a herd of tourists ( Makayla, Jordan, and Rick) taking pictures of a herd of Bison

Bears

(Okay that one isn’t real)

To my regretful missed picture of a moose

Okay that’s a re-enactment 😄

Then off to what is called the “most beautiful drive in America” Beartooth Highway- 68 miles of switchbacks, hairpins, steep climbs, sheer drops ( we know how I love that) with pebbles for a guard rail (honestly they can’t put up real guard rails) and wind gusts which throw you off your line and take your breath away!

12,000 feet. Here is a picture at the top of the pass that never seemed to end.

Tomorrow. We get to do it…all…again as we go back to Jackson Hole Wyoming.

Ugh! Well not really. Except for the wind. And the sheer cliffs. Can’t wait 😂

Day 5 Thayne Wyoming to West Yellowstone Montana

190 miles via the 89 which seems to be our preferred road

We started out following the Snake River which Evel Knivel attempted to jump. What lunacy that is (this is not a picture of the Snake River- it is of Lewis Falls in Yellowstone)

We then went to Grand Teton National Park and toward Jenny Lake.

Here we are (Rick and I) in front of the Teton Mountains

Off to Old Faithful we rode and it was spectacular

Along the way we saw Buffalo lounging by the side of the road and a moose that was so darned large I don’t even know what to say about that.

I wish I had a picture to show (Makayla claims she has a good one) but it was literally within hands reach. A state trooper was directing traffic and as he flagged me by he immediately stopped me–which was super confusing to say the least. And then there was the Biggest moose right beside me. I asked rick what to do and he said go. Well easy for him to say. So I went and so did Rick and the moose went to our left– luckily.

Off to Bear Tooth Pass and more adventures

I think I’m calling this the wild animal tour!