Smoke on the Water and Scenic Byways

It started off as a smoky, cool ride. Enough so that I almost changed my plan to ride south from Livingston into Yellowstone National Park. I drove north on that road in 2002 when I traveled from Atlanta to Olympia to start my job as a CDC field assignee with the Washington Immunization Program. The mountains on the east side of that valley seemed to jut straight up from the valley floor. It was a sunny morning in May and some of the most beautiful scenery I'd seen. 

It was not to be this time around. The mountains appeared spectral through the smoke. And the air quality wasn't so great either. But that's life. I was still on my motorcycle enjoying some of the best of what the world has to offer. I rode through Yellowstone on July 4, 2015. I didn't think I'd be back in the Park so soon, but what was I going to do, ride Interstate 90 to avoid it? Wasn't going to happen. 

Smoky day on the Yellowstone 

Being late summer and not a major holiday, there was far less traffic on Park roads. That didn't mean drivers weren't stopping in the middle of the road because they saw other vehicles pulled over, perhaps trying to get a view of a bison, or an an antelope, or a marmot, 500 yards away. Still, it was a lovely ride.

After exiting the Park, I made my way to Wyoming Highway 296, also known as the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. Again, some of the finest scenery and motorcycling I've experienced. 

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Wyoming 

After a late, fast food lunch stop, I continued south. By now it was in the mid-90s and I was starting to feel like a slab of carne seca (or beef jerky if you prefer).  I continued on US Highway 14 and was pleasantly surprised to find myself on the Bighorn Scenic Byway. It starts off through Shell Canyon and climbs to a 9000 foot pass. Not only was the scenery and riding wondrous, the temperature must have dropped 30 degrees. I was having too good of a time to pull over for photos. So we'll have to settle for what I've lifted from the web. 

Bighorn Scenic Byway, Wyoming 

I made it to my tiny, kinda scary motel room in Sheridan and enjoyed a couple of beers at the Black Tooth Brewery downtown. It was an almost 400 mile day and I deserved them. 

Through Idaho, into Montana

A pretty big day, miles wise. Four hundred right on the nose. Not bad for a 61 year old on an 800 cc bike. The taller windscreen and the custom built seat did their part to make it happen. 

The first couple of hundred miles, still on US 12 were spectacular. Beautiful scenery, low traffic, and sweeping curves along the Clearwater River. Comfortably cool which helped with the 90+ temps in Montana after lunch (Taqueria del Sol in Missoula, sadly not operated by an earnest Mexican family, but by white boys with a skateboarder theme. Still, better than the school cafeteria Thai I had in Lewiston). 

Lolo Pass into Montana and Priest Pass west of Helena were splendid. 

This looks a bit gloomy and West-of-the-Cascades-like. But it was a very nice sunny day, offset by the smoke that I rode through for 20 miles or so. 

Clearwater River, Idaho 

And lest you think it will be all purty pitchers, there's this from my stopping place tonight, Three Forks, MT. 

Different year, different ride

Back again.  I'm on a relatively shorter ride. I left Issaquah this morning, heading for the Black Hills. I was there last year for the Sturgis Rally. A few hours on a Monday morning was more than enough. But the region's scenery and roads were spectacular. I told myself I'd return when there weren't tens of thousands of (mostly) Harleys clogging up the roads. 

I'm on my Triumph Tiger 800. This is the second long, multi-day ride I've taken on it.  It doesn't have the creature comforts that my departed Goldwing had, but it's much more my type of bike. I rode about 340 miles today, south through Mount Rainier National Park (kicking myself for not taking photos) east through Yakima, the Tri Cities, and through the Palouse. The last is one of my favorite areas anywhere, not just in Washington State. I love riding through Eastern Washington's wide open spaces in low traffic roads.  

Though it was in the mid 50s when I left, it was in the 90s by the time I got to Richland. Tomorrow promises more of the same. I'll have to get an early start. 

Lesson learned: Just because there's a Thai restaurant within walking distance from my Lewiston, ID motel doesn't mean it's a good idea to eat there. 

The Palouse

Highway 12, Garfield County, Washington