Riding the BMW through 4 Western States in one day: Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Colorado

 We started today a bit earlier to try and beat the mid-90 degree temperatures forecast for today, which meant the temperature dipped down into the high 40's at the beginning of our ride, then quickly got warmer when we rode into sunny areas.

We spent the night in Afton, Wyoming that boasts the largest arch made of elk horns in the US.

We rode US 89 South over the Salt River Pass at 7630' on the Continental Divide between the Gannett Hills and the Salt River Range, enjoying the mountain views.

US 89 jogs a bit into Idaho, and then re-entered Wyoming and turned south on WY 61 through a wide ranching valley as we joined US 30/WY 89. There was almost no traffic and we enjoyed zooming along the 2-lane highway by ourselves.

We turned south on US 189 for a short distance before continuing on WY 412 East, passing ranches, large mining operations, and lots of snow fences to remind us that winter can be fierce in this area.

WY 412 became WY 414 in Mountain View, and then the same road became UT 43 after we crossed the state line, riding by buttes that reminded us of Arizona landscapes, and then distant mountains.

In Manila we turned southeast onto UT 44 which climbs, twists, sweeps and then descends through Flaming Gorge, named by John Wesley Powell in 1869 for the red sandstone cliffs and today home to a  91-mile long reservoir on the Green River. The reservoir is at about 70% of it's full capacity which is quite full by today's dry standards. It's such a fun motorcycle ride that we enjoyed riding today from north to south; last week on our way to Montana we rode in the opposite direction on the more eastern side of the Gorge on US 191.

 

We continued south on US 191, another sweeping, curving road that is perfect for the BMW. We rode past another, smaller reservoir - the Steinaker Reservoir that stores runoff water from Ashley Creek to irrigate the agriculture in the valley.

We stopped for lunch in Vernal, Utah and turned onto US 40 south/east. This is part of the 512 mile Dinosaur Diamond scenic byway route in Utah and northwest Colorado that provides access to many significant dinosaur fossils and museums. The landscape is breathtaking and well worth venturing to this remote part of the West.

We rode into Colorado, the last of four states for today and then turned onto CO 64 East in the town of Dinosaur, still part of the Dinosaur Diamond scenic byway. The town was first known as Baxter Springs, then Artesia (to promote water in the area) and finally in 1966 changed it's name again to Dinosaur.

We are stopping for the day in Rangely, CO just 13 miles from the Utah border.

We rode 300 miles today, ending with temperatures right at 90 degrees - perfect to enjoy ice cream before we checked into the air conditioned motel. Tomorrow is the last day of this trip, winding our way southeast through Colorado on some of our favorite mountain roads in the state.

Rivers, mountains and wide valleys riding from Idaho to Wyoming

 We started today in Salmon, ID  and started riding south on US 93 along the Salmon River. This part of US 93 is the Salmon River Scenic Byway as it curves and twists following the Salmon River past large rolling hills and rocky mountains.

Once we passed Challis, ID US 93 now is part of the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway. The ride so far today is one of the most beautiful and fun motorcycle roads we've been on this trip.

We rode through part of the Lost River Valley until in Arco we turned east on US 26. Arco ID which in 1955 was the first town in the world to be lit by electricity generated by atomic power for 1 hour. Today the Idaho National Laboratory continues work with nuclear energy.

US 26, and then US 20 are mostly flat and straight with long range views of ranch land until we worked our way through Idaho Falls and turned once again onto US 26 east.

We rode along the Snake River that starts in Yellowstone National park, flows through Grand Tetons National park, and eventually meets the Columbia River in Washington. 

The Snake River is dammed to create the Palisades Reservoir to provide hydroelectricity, but like so many of the lakes, rivers and reservoirs in the West the water level is extremely low - about 21% full.

We crossed into Wyoming and then rode a short stretch of US 89 south from Alpine to Afton where we've stopped for the night. It was a wonderful day on the BMW, twisting along rivers and mountains, riding straight stretches bordered by ranch land, and enjoying just about perfect weather conditions for late August. We'll be ready to ride into northwestern Colorado tomorrow, looking forward to more mountains.

Riding south on US 93 in Montana into Idaho

Three days at Flathead Lake, Montana with family was awesome - lots of swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, hanging out with the dogs, and cooking meals together. 

Today we said good-bye to everyone and rode 212 miles south on US 93 to Salmon, Idaho. We followed our son Nate on his bike to Missoula, then continued on our own.

US 93 at Flathead Lake is bordered by the Mission Mountain Range and then south of Missoula we rode by the 165 mile long Bitterroot Mountain Range.

These mountain ranges are part of the Rocky Mountains that stretch from New Mexico to northern British Columbia in Canada.

Much of US 93 was arrow-straight until we started heading up toward Lost Trail Ski area on the Montana/Idaho border. This was one of the rare times when we actually saw wildlife posted on the roadside signage - this time a small group of Bighorn sheep.

We had been riding at about 3500' elevation and the twisting climb, complete with hairpin turns, took us to about 6500' before we started winding our way down the mountain, passing trucks loaded with carnival rides.

The ride into Salmon, Idaho is absolutely gorgeous with tall and craggy mountains all around the curving, sweeping 2-lane US 93 and criss-crossing the 425 mile long Salmon River.

The temperature climbed into the mid-90's so we stopped for ice cream at Salmon Scoops before back-tracking less than a mile to our hotel right by the Salmon River. 

Tomorrow we continue southeast through Idaho, planning to stop for the night just over the state line into Wyoming. It will be another hot day, so we're hoping for ice cream in the afternoon.

Riding in Montana to Flathead Lake

 Our son Nate met us this morning in Three Forks, Montana to ride with us to Flathead Lake where we're meeting up with Nate's wife, and other son Duncan and his wife, and both of their dogs to spend a long weekend on the water.

We stayed last night in the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks and really enjoyed the early 1900's era hotel with a wide covered porch and comfy chairs plus elegant interior.

We rode north on US 287 toward Helena, passing by ranch land rolling hills. There was always a railroad along one side of the highway, and we saw a couple of trains during our ride.

After getting through traffice on the outskirts of Helena, we turned west onto Montana route 12 which wound and twisted over 6312' MacDonald Pass on the Continental Divide. We're at the lowest elevation of our trip, starting off at 7800' at our home in southwestern Colorado, climbing to over 10,000' on mountain passes in Colorado, and now at <5000' in Montana.

Once over the Pass we continued on winding and curving Montana route 12 through ranchland.

After stopping for lunch at the Avon Family Cafe with really friendly people, hearty food and delicious homemade pie, we continued northwest on Montana 141 and then Montana 200, enjoying riding along and crossing the Blackfoot River.

It was getting much warmer with temperatures in the low 90's under clear skies when we reached the outskirts of Missoula, so we put on our neck coolers before a quick 13 mile ride on I-90. We then rode north on US 93 through the Flathead Reservation, home of the confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

The Mission Mountain Range runs for 45 miles and features several mountains over 9000' elevation with several glaciers in these high mountains.

In Polson we turned east on Montana 35 for about 8 miles before we reached the VRBO on Flathead Lake which is our home for the next 3 days. Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi and we're thrilled to enjoy time on the lake with our family.

We start the trip back home on Sunday so look for more tales of the roads in a few days.

Through the Rockies in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana

We started today in Pinedale, Wyoming and headed north on US 191 toward Jackson, riding on gorgeous sweeping mountain roads.

The Hogback River criss-crossed the highway and then we rode through the narrow canyon and steep cliffs carved out by the river.

We then turned onto WY 22 which twists and winds over Teton Pass that tops out at 8431'. There were a lot of vehicles traveling both directions on the highway which meant riding more slowly and giving us more time to look at the scenery.

We then rode straight throgh Teton Valley on ID 32, marveling at the bright gold fields of grain as far as we could see.

We've had clear skies since we left Colorado three days ago but today the effects from the numerous wildfires in Oregon made everything a bit hazy, especially the usually clear long views to the mountains.

The landscape changed agaiin as we rode through Island Park on US 20N, passing fields of pine trees, dirt roads that snaked off the highway toward camping areas, and distant views of mountains.

We then turned onto US 287 North, riding along the Madison River and then stopped for a few minutes to walk around downtown Ennis MT and sit at a shady picnic table before riding the last few miles to Three Forks.

Merriweather Lewis named the Madison in 1805 after then US Secretary of State Madison, who succeeded Thomas Jefferson as President.

We're staying at the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks. Built in 1910 and recently refurbished, it's a grand old 3-story hotel with a large, inviting covered front porch. After riding 290 miles today, we're ready for an easy evening before meeting up with our kids tomorrow at Flathead Lake.

Riding from northwest Colorado through Utah and into Wyoming

 Today is the second day of our ride to Flathead Lake, Montana and we rode 326 miles from Craig, CO to Pinedale, WY.

We started off west on US 40 through rolling hills covered with sagebrush with almost no other vehicles on the road and nothing to see as far we looked around us.

Mike kept noting that we were riding through 'the big empty' - it's amazing how far you can see to the horizon and how little manmade objects there are.

We rode past signs for Dinosaur National Monument and remembered when we visited here 18 years ago. The Colorado welcome center just over the line into Utah was a great bathroom stop, and then we continued on US 40 past Blue Mountain that displays different levels of sandstone, rock and fossils first deposited 290 million years ago when a shallow sea covered this part of the western United States and has been eroded by wind and water ever since.

This is a prime hang gliding and paragliding spot with some people able to fly 100-150 miles on the thermals. We didn't see anyone today, but it's amazing to imagine. It's a perfect spot for a photo of Mike on the BMW:

Every town we rode through in this area plays up the dinosaur theme, and after we passed the huge pink dinosaur in Vernal, UT we turned north on US 191.

US 191 goes through the Flaming Gorge and the reservoir formed by the dam on the Green River. Signs along the highway point out the wide variety of geological deposits as the road twists and curves through stupendous rock formations.

Most of the time we've been riding at over 7000' elevation and today we dipped down below 6000' before ascending once again to over 8000'. Once again we couldn't see anything manmade except for fences and sometimes electric lines as we rode from Utah into Wyoming.

We're in Pinedale Wyoming and tomorrow continue north into Montana, looking forward to riding through more of the Rocky Mountain peaks.

First day riding to Flathead Lake, Montana

 It's been a busy year and this is our first longer motorcycle trip in the US. We're headed to Flathead Lake, Montana for a long weekend with our kids and today rode 361 miles from our home in southwestern Colorado to Craig, CO.

We rode over three high mountain passes today:  Wolf Creek, Poncha, and Tennessee and loved winding our way through the Rocky Mountains.

US 24 from Buena Vista to Leadville CO

downtown Leadville

Leadville was part of the 1860's gold rush and the population reached it's peak of 30,000 people in 1877 with the combination of gold and silver mining. Currently about 2600 people live in Leadville at 10,119' which is the highest incorporated town in the US.

We continued north on US 24, twisting through the hairpin turns and curves through the Rockies.

As we descended Battle Mountain on US 24 we passed by the abandoned mining town in Gilman. The EPA closed down the mine and the community in 1984 because of mining related toxins in the ground water.

US 24 ended and we crossed the Eagle River on CO 131 continuing north past the high peaks around Vail.

Continuing north we rode through a wide valley around Yampa, named by the Ute tribe for an edible plant along the river. The Flat Top mountain range rises in the west.

We ended the day in Craig in northwestern Colorado, midway between Denver and Salt Lake City in an area of rolling hills covered with sage brush.

Tomorrow we continue northwest to Pinedale, WY looking forward to more Rocky Mountain riding.