June 14, 1997 Great Falls, MT

Did you know that the sun rises at approximately 5:15am in Denver, CO? Well, it does. This makes it very difficult to "sleep in" especially when a large Weimaraner named Dusty jumps in the bed with tail and tongue a'flyin. I guess we should be greatful since we had to cover 560 miles to Jackson, WY today. I knew it was best to get an early start but the body doth protest. Among the many surprises that we've experienced so far, I'm amazed at how physically demanding this has been. I'm sore from head to toe and ibuprofen is my friend.

We head north out of Denver on I-25 through Ft. Collins, then jump on Rt.14 to Poudre(Pooder) Canyon. Approaching the area I think about a 35 year old man named Mark who died here yesterday on his motorcycle. Evidently Mark went to pass a vehicle and hit a car driven by a german couple head on. He was thrown from his motorcycle into the river and pronounced dead on the scene. I dedicate my ride today in his memory.

Poudre Canyon in simply one of the finest rides that I've ever taken. The elevation of the rode doesn't vary much, but it winds and winds and winds. The turns of the road parallel the river and both sit deep within towering walls of rock. It's close quarters in there and at one point the road actually passes through a solid rock that has a hole cut through it. Midway through the canyon we pass a sign that says "Cattle Drive Ahead". No way!! WAY!! We had no idea how far up the rode they were but established our ETA by the freshness of the manure that lay in the rode. Sure enough, as we rounded the bend, there they were! At least a hundred strong being MOOOOOved along by cowboys and cowgirls. This is a narrow two lane road folks with maybe 6 feet before the canyon walls start!!! We were forced to proceed at 3 mph in the oncoming lane and I was laughing my ass off!! Dave and I spoke incredulously about the situation over the chatterboxes and then I SAW IT!! The brand on the rump of the cattle read J.I.M!! Written vertically, but still, it was there!! YES!! Remember "A Man Named Jim" in KC? No one will believe this!! Amazing!! Needless to say, we rode the remaining miles of Poudre Canyon with smiles on our faces. One other point of interest along this pass was Sleeping Elephant Mountain(Elevation 9,426). It REALLY looks like a elephant sleeping on it's stomach; trunk and all.

A note to the community of Riverside, WY. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! The speed limit goes from 65mph to 30mph immediately to accomodate a town that last for 1/2 mile with no visible residential units. As Dave and I followed a local logging truck into town I keyed the chatterbox and said "This smells like a speed trap." We geared down to 30mph and put a little distance between us and the logger. Boom!! A local cop in a Chevy Blazer comes from behind a row of bushes and jumps between us and the logger!! Busted!! Not us, the logger! Incredible! He wasn't doing more than 35! Can you say REVENUE GENERATION? I knew you could and obviously so can Barney Fife in Riverside! How can these people sleep? I guess it's not hard when your pillows are stuffed with $20 bills!

The rest of Wyoming was.......well.....Wyoming. Flat along the prairie with mountains on both sides 20 miles out. The rode never reaches the mountains until you approach Grand Teton National Park. You simply ride along the prairie for 400 miles. In one stretch we rode non-stop for 235 of those miles. A range the GTS1000 wasn't supposed to have! Of course the Exxon Valdez ST1100 was asking for more. And so the day ended as we pulled into the Flat Creek Motel in Jackson, WY. We rode into town with the mighty Tetons towering overhead. A tantalizing glimpse of what lies before us. Now where's that ibuprofen?

Saturday morning greets us with better weather than expected. We usually don't care much about it, but with the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone on today's schedule, a clear day would be nice. The Tetons were indeed majestic as we approached the south entrance to the park. Fifteen dollars will get you by the ranger and it allows clear passage all the way through Yellowstone. We pull over to inspect the park map and strategize on how to best navigate the many sights that are offered. First of all let me say that I am not a tourist. I don't like lines and I don't like crowds. I'd rather ride a quiet mountain road than see most tourist attractions. I just thought I'd qualify my opinion before I state that Yellowstone STINKS!! I mean this place is a huge disappointment! I abhor extreme commercialization of mother nature and this place is just that! Even Old Faithful herself seemed a little tired of it all. The roads are pathetic turning to dirt for miles in places. RV's, campers and minivans block clear passage in all directions. The saddest part is that the forest is bare. It seems that the National Forest Service adopted a "Let it burn" policy a few years ago relating to fires started by lightning strikes. It's an act of god and nature will recover. Well....it's ugly. Period. We could not leave soon enough and Montana was a welcome sight. MONTANA!! Home of "Reasonable and Prudent!" Montana-bahn!! I don't know about you but when I hear this I'm thinking a buck and a quarter. 125....100 at least! I didn't say that we rode at these speeds!!....I was just thinking it. Our actual average speed was around 80 and it felt very natural. Montana was exactly like I expected. BEAUTIFUL! Rolling hills and huge mountains with big sweeping curves. Between White Sulphur Springs and Great Falls via Rt. 89 it was almost a dream. Dave expected Rambo to appear at any moment. We'd ride for miles without seeing a soul in either directions. We'll send for the wives tomorrow. This state has restored the flame that Yellowstone extinquished. We are now ready for Glacier National Park. It is a couple hours drive from our nights stay here at Great Falls. The bikes are running well and our spirits are high as we've traveled 3200 miles. Our journey is one third over and while we miss our wives and family, we're are ready for the remaining two weeks.