We got a late start on Thursday, August 14 because we had to wait till 9:00 to call the service folks at Big Sky Motorsports in Missoula to schedule a service appointment. We got the appointment for Tuesday at 10:00 and once all that was wrapped up, we headed out to the Beartooth Highway once again. This gave us plenty of time to go the 300 miles or so and thinking through that, we decided to stay in Yellowstone three nights. Our plan to have some really nice pictures from the highway weren’t to happen though. As you can see from those pictures attached, the clouds and rain moved in on us. We got suited up at the hotel and it was a good thing. It rained all the way there. The upside was that it stopped after we crossed the Beartooth Pass at 10,927 feet. I was sure we’d be IN the clouds up there but as we approached, we could still see the peak. That was a good sign. On our way up the road, just out of Red Lodge, MT, I saw out of the corner of my eye a black bear run from the left side of the road right at us! By the time he got to the middle of the road, we were mostly past him but then I was sure he would run into the side of the trailer! It all happened so fast that it was over before it got started! He missed me and I missed him. I am sure glad nothing happened but we are going to count another bear in our wildlife tally!
We got back to the east entrance of the Yellowstone National Park early hoping the campgrounds would not be full (the first come, first serve ones) because all the reservation ones were booked. I saw a campground in the National Forest as we approached Cooke City, MT (could be Wyoming) called Crazy Creek that looked really appealing but it was 20 miles from the entrance and we really wanted something closer. Once we got to the entrance station, I saw that Pebble Creek, just 10 miles on had availability so we headed out right away. We pulled in just as they hung the “Campground Full” sign but I stopped anyway since the camp hosts had a sign on their trailer saying they were from Loch Haven, PA. That’s where all my father’s family is from! I had a grand ‘ole chat with them about Loch Haven and they even knew my great uncle George but not my grandfather Charles. It IS a small world! The ‘revelation’ didn’t get us a site though. They sold the last one 5 minutes before we arrived! They did give us good info on some of the other campgrounds and we started out fast headed for Mammoth Hot Springs first since we were informed they don’t usually fill till about 3:00 pm. It is hard to do the speed limit when you need to be somewhere fats but I managed to stay at, or just above 45 mph. It was tough…. A word of caution- if you find yourself in Yellowstone for a visit, be CAREFUL! Yellowstone IS the definition of distracted driving! The drivers aren’t all that good in the first place then add them being in a GREAT park and throw in some wildlife and you have the potential for some pretty dicey events! The most significant one for us (other than the bear) was when we rounded a curve to see as usual, cars stopped to view animals but this time two Harley Davidson riders (and two cars) decided to park right in the travel lane…in the center of the travel lane. Traffic was backed up in the other direction too but we were fortunate in that there was just enough room to slip through. We got to Mammoth Hot Springs and found ourselves a great spot in that campground overlooking a beautiful mountain albeit close to a road. The traffic died down early so noise wasn’t a problem till early morning when the trucks, trying to make the hill loaded with dirt for the road construction, grinded away in low gear and ¾ throttle. That wasn’t that nice.
Since we had three days, we decided to ride the west side one day, stopping at all the sights we hadn’t been to last September and do the same the following day on the east side. We got out late on Friday, August 15 since we only planned to drive the 100 or so miles to Old Faithful and return. That’s not much but considering traffic and a wildlife back-up, it could take three hours. It just wasn’t the traffic and wildlife though. The east side from Mammoth to the Norris Geyser Basin has a LOT of road construction and there is a 7 mile stretch that is one lane only. Count on a 30 minute wait in each direction (at best) just to get your turn to go through. We got through that fairly easy but hit rain just before we got to Old Faithful. It was one of those occasions that you try to decide to take a chance without rain gear since its ONLY 5 miles or so or do you don the gear and ride on. We opted to take the chance and we made out okay, only slightly getting wet. Our visit to the lodge was short because we really wanted to see the geysers. Naturally, Old Faithful was first! From there we were headed back towards Mammoth and took the Firehole Lake Drive through the Lower Geyser Basin. There we stopped and waited for the Great Fountain Geyser to do its thing but unlike Old Faithful, it is unpredictable even though the sign at the lodge indicated it would erupt while we were there. We decided not to wait any longer than the 45 minutes we did and went back to heading north. We had a longer wait at the construction this time but the break was nice. Remember, we’re stooped in traffic in Yellowstone National Park! What a great place for a traffic back-up! We arrived back at the campground with plans to go up the hill to Mammoth Hot Springs proper and get some ice cream after supper. This trip has caused a serious wanting for sweets after dinner but we’re never around a place that was that easy to reach. The Huckleberry ice cream is pretty good!
On Saturday, August 16 we headed out to the east side of Yellowstone, stopping first at Tower Falls. Tower Falls is a nice waterfall and there is a canteen there and gift shop. After the brief and easy walk out to the overlook, we continued on to Canyon Village and our second visit to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. These falls are really spectacular! We hiked the North Rim Trail to take in all the overlooks and at the middle overlook, got a chance to see what appeared to be an osprey nest down in the canton (see attached picture). What a sight! Turning the other way, you get the best view of the falls and the canyon. What a visit! We definitely recommend an extended stop at these overlooks. We got back on the park road north and crossed some pretty high elevations on our way to Tower-Roosevelt. We stopped just past the falls (Tower) at the Calcite Springs overlook and we must say, the overlook up and down the Yellowstone River there is really nice too. We continued on and stopped at another water fall almost to Mammoth Hot Springs right along the road- Undine Falls. Not as spectacular as Tower or the falls on the Yellowstone, it was nonetheless a scenic spot worth a visit. By the time we got back to our campsite, it was still pretty early so we took the time to sit and admire the view and get some reading in. While we were at that, the folks camped next to us returned on their Harley Davidson from a ride through the park. We got to talking and hit it off right away. Later that evening after supper, we all got together around the campfire and had a grand chat about each other’s adventures and what lay ahead for us. Meeting them and having such a good time was such a contrast! They had a 40 foot motorhome with the Harley on a hydraulic platform that was attached to the trailer hitch (in two places). Behind that they were towing a Jeep. All told, Nick said the total length was just about 60 feet. Wow! I can’t imagine driving that around! Then here we were all of 17 feet total with our BMW and little trailer. They ride a Harley, we ride a BMW. They had a refrigerator full of food and a full bar while we had a few freeze dried meals and Vitamin Water. You never know how things will work out and we’ve met some really nice folks on the road. We’ll remember Nick and Anna a long time. They were great folks!
By Sunday August 17, Nick and Anna pulled out to head to Glacier and we pulled out to head towards Missoula. It was another fine day and we exited the park at West Yellowstone and followed US 287 north. I had big plans for that day but by the time we got out of the park, it was clear we wouldn’t do the plan since we would have been riding into the early evening. Since we had no camping reservation, we thought it better to take a shorter route. By the time we got to Ennis, MT it was clear we needed to make the ride shorter. We picked up MT 287 and continued on to Virginia City, Montana’s first capital. If you have the time, Virginia City is worth the stop. Part tourist trap and part REAL old west town, there is something for everyone. A little further on you pass through Nevada City, a little less touristy and more ghost townish. It was all about gold mining in these parts in the mid to late 1800’s. Both are pretty cool and we recommend seeing them both. After we passed through those two towns, it was hard at it straight up MT 41 to Interstate 90 where we headed west to exit MT 1 towards Anaconda. Anaconda, MT holds a special place in my heart because it is there that I spent 7 days in their hospital about 30 years ago after I missed a turn and lost control of my ’83 Honda CB900 Custom in a turn just south of town on MT 569. It brought back memories to say the least. Some of them quite nice actually. The staff at the hospital were pretty good to my wife and I. They brought us ice cream every night!
By the time we got to Georgetown Lake further along MT 1, it was time to pull in for the night. We stopped at a BLM campground called Lodgepole and found it to be almost empty. Three other campers in a campground with about 70 total sites. My kind of campground! Most of the sites were for trailers or camper rigs but we found a really nice spot for our tent. After visiting the camp host and buying a LOAD of wood for $5.00, we settled in and had a great evening sitting by the campfire that lasted past our usual bedtime! We don’t usually have a campfire but this one was a welcome event. Needless to say, it was VERY quiet that night with no one around. While it was still light, out of the corner of my eye I saw a big bird swoop into a tree about 20 yards away and up about 15 feet. With a closer look, we saw it was a grey owl! We’ve never seen one in the wild! It sat of the limb about 10 minutes looking around and then spread its wings and flew, with utmost silence to a tree 10 or so yards further and did the same thing. After about ten more minutes, it moved the same distance again. It was hunting. What a fabulous thing to see! All told, we saw him do that 4 times before he was out of sight.
We took our time getting on the road Monday, August 18 since we really only had about 100 miles to go. It was cold in the morning but after the sun poked over the trees, it warmed fast. We continued on MT 1 and hooked up with I-90 at Drummond, MT. Interstate 90 out in western Montana is really nice as far as interstate highways go. You pass through the Clark Fork River valley with long sweeping turns that beg something greater than the legal 75 mph and the road surface is perfect. We arrived in Missoula early and did some shopping at REI and Carbela’s to stock up on food and look at tents once again. Seems the one we have doesn’t function well when it rains and since REI allows returns up to one year after purchase, we decided to get a dome tent that would work better for us. There was only one catch- we had to pick it up at the Spokane, Washington store! No worries that will be in a few short days after our visit to Glacier National Park.
Our service appointment at Big Sky Motorsports wasn’t until 10:00 on August 19 and they were only 4 miles from our hotel (which by the way was the BEST Super 8 we have ever been in) so we had plenty of time to relax in the morning. We met a guy from British Columbia there with his 2013 GLT same as ours wanting a front tire and oil change. We had a great chat while we waited and since he had only 8,000 miles on his K1600, I was letting him know what we have experienced in the 42,000 we had on ours. Our bike was taking a little time so we walked the 7 blocks to the Staples to take care of some business. When we got back, it was ready. They delivered the bike to me but forgot to reset the clock. The service manager gave me a bit of a time about that, claiming I needed a major service but could not tell me what the major service at 42k miles was. Maybe he was new to BMW… Anyway, they reset the clock and after paying for the most expensive Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT EVER, we were on our way to Glacier. We took the back road, so to speak and headed east on MT 200 and then swung north on MT 83 on the eastside of Flathead Lake. This is a wonderful drive and much less traffic than if you go the US 93 route up through Kalispell. We hit a strong rain just outside Columbia Falls and got a little wet. We stayed damp all night because of it. Our site at Glacier National Park at the Fish Lake campground was really nice. Once again we met a fellow motorcyclist (he had an R1200RT) and had a grand chat with him. After a short sit out on our chairs enjoying the scenery, we packed it in.
Wednesday, August 20 started out not too good but got a lot better! It had rained over night and it was damp but the skies appeared to be breaking. We pondered whether we should just pack up since the weather report said 70% chance of showers for the day and night. We figured showers meant not too much rain so we elected to stay our second night. We put on the rain gear and off we went for the ride up the Going-To-The-Sun Road to Logan Pass at about 6,700 feet. If you haven’t driven this road, you are REALLY missing out! Completed in 1932, it is the premiere alpine road in the States. Shear drop-offs and spectacular vistas await all who travel it (when the weather’s good, that is) and we had ify weather. Even though we drove through the clouds part of the way, we were still able to see the hanging garden complete with its glacier and mountain stream run-off. Unfortunately, on Logan Pass, the clouds moved in and you couldn’t see a thing. It reminded us of Newfoundland! After a great ride up and back, we settled in for a nice afternoon at our camp writing, reading a bit and relaxing. It wasn’t until the evening did things get bad. It rained all night long. There really is nothing worse when traveling via motorcycle than to wake up camping and its raining. The rain gods shined (figuratively) on us and the rain quit long enough for us to get the rain gear on, pack and hit the road in 35 minutes. No breakfast at camp that morning!
We exited the park on US 2 heading towards Kalispell and by then, the rain had stopped. We continued on US 2 until we got a little past Libby, MT (right before Troy) and turned south on MT 56. There are GREAT roads all over the place up there in NW Montana and northern Idaho but US 2 is a must ride. We are definitely considering it for next year. After hooking up with MT 200 (another great road that runs a good distance in Montana) we headed west again into Idaho and took US 95 south to our campground at Round Lake State Park just south of Sandpoint, ID. It was nice to gain an hour going into Pacific Time because we had quite a bit of stuff to dry out! We hung the line and each article took a turn in thee shining sun (including us).
Our plan is to get our new tent (the one we have, we hate, especially after last night) in Spokane, WA on Friday and continue west through Washington, heading towards the Cascades National Park. There will be more great parks in store so stay tuned, we’ll be back soon with our next installment of our National Parks Tour! Greg & Cynthia.