rocketbunny

Day 11
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Pinedale, WY to Durango, CO
517 miles

Leaving early this morning, I easily managed the coveted “!00 miles before breakfast”, sitting down to my coffee and yogurt at about the time I’ve been getting onto the road this trip.

US191 south of Pinedale was essentially straight and flat until just after Rock Springs.

It then got interesting, with sweeping curves along ridge tops and views hinting at the geology lessons ahead.

I stopped at the state line for some pictures. After snapping the Utah sign, I turned the bike around to get Wyoming. I entered Wyoming twice on this trip, failing to get the sign each time. From South Dakota, I was distracted and missed the sign. The sign in Yellowstone was a little brown NPS sign that wasn’t worth the trouble. I didn’t want to “cheat” on acquiring the sign, but it might be a while before I’m back, and I’ve certainly earned it.

Utah is very proud of it’s geological heritage. Besides the many state and national parks covering rock formations, there are formation identification signs pointing at the rock strata along many major roads. US191 was no exception. For example, I learned that “such and such” formation was composed of an ancient seabed during the whatchamacallit era.

I stopped at a couple of vista points to take in the view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir and dam. I vividly remembered stopping at the same vista points in 2004 and almost leaving without taking pictures. That was not even a question this time.

Utah is also very proud of the switchbacks on US191. For miles prior, I was continually getting warned about the 10 (count ‘em!) steep switchbacks ahead. I might have gotten excited if I hadn’t ridden the road back in 2004 and found out that the *switchbacks* are huge sweeping curves on a mostly 4 lane road.

Reaching US40, I got gas in Vernal, UT before entering Colorado at Dinosaur.

Riding down CO-139, it was as if I’d never left Utah… until I got up into the higher elevations of the pass. Unfortunately, at that point, I was stuck in a line of cars and motor homes on a steep mountain road with no paved turnouts that I noticed. I think I took one picture on the entire road.

I decided to have an early dinner in Grand Junction, CO before crossing the Grand Mesa to Montrose.

The mesa was HOT! I was dying in my full gear, with my only thought being the headlong dash toward US550, higher elevations, and cool air.

Cooler air was achieved as I ascended the switchbacks above Ouray, CO. I stopped to look down on the historic mining town from a turnout on the road above.

US-550 roughly follows several historic routes important for finally making it feasible to mine claims in the high Colorado mountains. It’s called the “Million Dollar Highway” for the purported cost of building the road.

The climb out of Ouray was steep, with a rock face rising high above me to the left and sheer cliffs dropping to the river to my right. I carefully focused on the road and tried not to look down as winds rocked the R1200ST. I think I prevented myself from freaking out by speculating how much my friend Rebecca would be freaking out.

The road was memorable, with great curves and ever-changing views of colorful mountains and high elevation flora.

Going over three passes, one over 11,000 feet, I think I spent at least an hour above 10,000 feet.

It was getting dark and I was very tired when I reached Durango, CO around 8:45pm. I decided it was safer to just get a room than try to continue to Cortez. It had been my longest day on the road this trip and US550 had been an incredible workout.

Day 10
Monday, June 18, 2007
Bozeman, MT to Pinedale, WY
314 miles

The big challenge today was *trying* to do justice to two national parks while getting through them in a timely manner.

Of course, this endeavor was not helped by my late start.

The first order of business was to head south on US89. Interestingly, this road (the only access road open year round) parallels several historic roads and rails into Yellowstone. In several places along the route, cuts can be seen in the hillside both above the current road and in the cliffs across the Yellowstone River.

Just before entering Gardiner, MT, I stopped at a turnout to read about the preservation of Yellowstone’s winter range, where 10,000 elk, bison, and other animals migrate each winter in search of milder climate and grazing area.

The northern entrance to the park is historically the most popular. In the early years, before good roads, it was very difficult to get to the park. Visitors increased dramatically in 1903 when a railroad line was completed to Gardiner. That same year, the “Roosevelt Arch” marking the north entrance was completed and dedicated by visiting President Theodore Roosevelt.

Of course, the NPS sign was just behind the arch. I had to wait in line for my pictures yet again.

And with a flash of my National Parks Pass, I was inside the park. It was already noon and I had a long way to go, especially with 45 mph speed limits and frequent stopping.

The time constraints weren’t worrying me hugely. I did not have any plans to do any hiking or sightseeing other than that possible from very close to the road.

I’ve been to Yellowstone several times in my life. I’m not exactly sure how many times because my memories of visiting the park go back to my youth. At some point in my visits, I’ve walked all of the major geyser basins, some many times. I remember what it was like before the fires of 1988 (in fact, I was in the park only a few weeks before the fires started). I’ve stayed in the lodges, licked ice cream cones while waiting for Old Faithful, screamed at the sight of large insects, and watched bison walk through the parking lots in the morning.

Just driving past places brings back memories. For example, passing “Artist Paint Pots” instantly brought back memories of the sights, sounds, and smells of walking through those particular hot springs with my cousins. Driving past a picnic grove brought memories of finishing a cold-cuts lunch before grabbing toy animals to play make-believe with around the creek.

So really, just being in the park was a walk down memory lane… a cascade of experiences past in only a few hours of riding through.

I started with Mammoth Hot Springs. The town looked just as I remembered. We stayed there many times. I think the colorful terraces there are my favorite springs in all of Yellowstone.

I got my only wildlife shot of the day while riding through a parking lot trying to get a better view of the terraces. This elk was on her way to graze on a lawn.

The amount of fun to be had on the slow winding roads heading south from Mammoth was amazing. Several Rvs pulled over for me, and many turns were tight enough that I wasn’t exceeding the speed limit. Much.

\

When I came through the park two years ago, one of my major disappointments was the lack of activity at Echinus Geyser. I have fond memories of spending hours sitting around the geyser watching it fill, erupt, and empty before repeating the cycle. Back in 2005 I brought a book and sat around the geyser for two hours while absolutely nothing happened.

While on a “Happy Fathers Day” call with Dad last night, he suggested that I ask a ranger about the status of Echinus. I parked at Norris Geyser Basin with that intention. The ranger sadly told me that Echinus no longer erupts regularly. Once every few weeks is more likely, with the last eruption noticed by a passing visitor a few days prior.

I walked over to the Porcelain Basin overlook to take in the view before continuing through the park, Echinus unvisited.

I saw some wildlife on the way between Norris Basin and Old Faithful. In each case, there was a lack of paved turnouts and too much traffic to stop and get my camera out. While elk were plentiful, I saw only one bison. I guess next time I should plan to drive through Hayden Valley on the eastern side of the park.

I did not stick around for an Old Faithful eruption. The interval is now around 90 minutes and I felt like I’d seen enough of them in my life to not be missing much.

The historic Inn at Old Faithful is still under construction, but I was able to walk inside while looking for stickers at the gift shop. (I’ve been stickerfying my top case with national park stickers). I love looking up to see the rough timbers that hold the dizzyingly high roof.

Heading south, I crossed the Continental Divide several times. This was not the highest elevation crossing, but it’s the only one I stopped at.

The sun was getting low in the sky as I entered Grand Teton National Park.

Riding alongside Lake Jackson, I marveled at the jagged snow-covered peaks to the west.

The Teton range was formed when two fault blocks slipped vertically. Lake Jackson sits in the pit of the lower fault block while the mountains are the remains of the higher block. Grand Teton, the highest peak in the range, is almost 14,000 feet high. Several peaks in the range top 12,000 feet.

I looked down at the GPS in horror as I left the park. It told me that I would get to my intended destination (Rock Springs, WY) after 11pm. Thinking that it was a supremely bad idea to ride in wildlife-infested Wyoming in the dark, I decided to ride to the next major town past Jackson (a freakishly overpriced tourist town). Pinedale, WY at 100 miles north of Rock Springs was the winner. I found a motel and vowed to get an early start to make up the 100 miles that had been added to my next day’s route.