Randy’s a heartbreaker.

Today, he’ll break our hearts by ending his ride with us.

But first, we have 277 miles ahead on some spectacular Montana and Idaho roads.

C’mon, Randy. Let’s saddle up and ride one more time.

***

Much of today’s route is familiar.

Dave, Randy and I rode it last year on our way north toward South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Our day begins by riding south on US Highway 93.

We roll through Pablo, population 2,200. The town takes its name from Michel Pablo, known for his efforts to save the American bison from extinction. Pablo, the town, is home to Salish Kootenai College, a private tribal land-grant community college that serves the Bitterroo Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreilles tribes.

Twenty miles down the road, on our right, is the 19,000-acre National Bison Range. The range was established in 1908 to provide a sanctuary for bison. Today, the herd here is less than 500 bison. The Bison Range serves as the central point for bison research in the US.

Beyond the Bison Range, there’s little civilization for 30 miles until we cross Interstate 90 on the outskirts of Missoula. With a population of about 75,000, Missoula is Montana’s second largest city – after Billings.

Missoula, which sits on the Clark Fork River, is home to the University of Montana. The name Missoula comes from the Salish name for Clark Fork River, which roughly translates to “place of frozen water.” Missoula is known for its blue-ribbon trout fishing and spectacular natural beauty.

Highway 93 skirts the western edges of Missoula, and includes two Walmart Supercenters, only a few miles apart. As we leave Missoula, we follow the Bitterroot River until we reach the town of Lolo, population about 4,000.

Lolo is home to Travelers’ Rest State Park, where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805 and 1806. The Lewis and Clark expedition party included 27 unmarried soldiers, a French-Indian interpreter, and a contracted boat crew – 45 people in all.

Lewis, Clark, and their fellow expeditioners, found the area that is now Travelers’ Rest State Park a relaxing place to hang out. For them, it was ideal to stop, rest, hunt and repair their gear before tackling the trip over Lolo Pass. Today, the park is distinguished for being the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

***

In Lolo, we head west on US Highway 12, the Lolo Pass Highway. The 132-mile roadway is known among motorcyclists (like us) as one of the top rides in the country.

We begin to climb the 32 miles up to the Lolo Pass summit. The top of the pass is at 5,233 feet in the Bitterroot Mountains, the highest point on the Lolo Trail. The pass sits on the border between Montana and Idaho.

The name of the pass is sometimes said to have been Salish version of the French name Laurence or Laurent, but was probably a French nickname. The name Lolo was not used by Lewis and Clark. Its first known mention is in the 1810 journal of David Thompson, who described three fur trappers, probably of French descent, named Michael, Lolo, and Gregoire.

Last year, due to heavy smoke from western wildfires, we saw little of Lolo Pass. This time is different.

As we slowly descend from the pass, we begin to follow the Lochsa River. Lochsa (pronounced LOCK-saw) is a Nez Perce word meaning rough water. Kayakers and whitewater rafters run the Lochsa, generally between April and June. The waters are turbulent this time of year.

It’s about 13 miles from the pass to Lochsa Lodge, believed to be the only place on the Lolo Pass Highway where you can get something to eat or drink. Their signature dish: blackberry cobbler, a la mode. The lodge was built in 1929 for hunters, well before the Lolo Pass Highway was completed in the early 1960s.

Highway 12 follows the Lochsa River for 65 twisty miles, until the Lochsa empties into the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. From here, we continue on Highway 12 along the Clearwater until, 23 miles later, we arrive in Kooskia – the end of the Lolo Pass Highway.

Kooskia, population 600, sits at the confluence of the South and Middle Forks of the Clearwater. The name Kooskia is believed to come from the Nez Perce word “koos-koos-kia,” which refers to the Clearwater River. Kooskia is within the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, whose tribal lands cover about 1,200 square miles.

***

Getting to Kooskia took about six hours on the road. We still have about 90 minutes to go before arriving in tonight’s destination, Riggins. It’ll be an unusually late arrival for us.

In Kooskia, we turn south on Idaho Highway 13, which follows the South Fork of the Clearwater River. The road takes us through Harpster, which leads to the Harpster Grade Road. Soon we’re in Grangeville, home to the Idaho County Airport, the Idaho County Seat, and Border Days, held every July 4.

Now on US Highway 95, we roll past a portion of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. This park is actually 38 sites located across the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez Perce people. The 38 sites are linked by the history of the Nez Perce people, rather than by geographic location.

Just south of White Bird, we follow the Salmon River for the rest of the day’s ride. White Bird was the site of the 1877 Battle of White Bird Canyon, which was the first fight of the Nez Perce War and a significant defeat of the US Army. Chief White Bird was a leader of the tribe, and the reason the town got its name.

The Salmon River leads to Riggins, population 400. In June, it’s a very popular place to fish. Steelhead and chinook salmon are a big draw. Drift boat salmon fishing is the way to go.

If you’re not into fishing, rafting the Salmon River can be an epic experience. Early June is generally when the river is running highest and fastest. There’s an annual event called the “Big Water Blowout,” a celebration of the river coming to life with its seasonal explosion of water. It’s held on the first Saturday in June, just about two weeks ago.

The Salmon River near Riggins provides 60 miles of easily accessed whitewater set in the bottom of a deep river gorge and filled with thrilling rapids. The Salmon River is the longest un-damned river in the lower 48 states.

About a mile before arriving in Riggins, we cross the Time Zone Bridge, a 500-foot-long steel tied arch bridge over the Salmon River.

Riggins is the northwestern most town in the Mountain Time zone; the Pacific Time begins just north of the city, across the Salmon River.

The Time Zone Bridge marks the place where we officially reset our watches, before checking into the Riverview Motel. Since nobody wears watches anymore, the bridge is actually the place where our phones automatically reset their time.

What time is it, anyway?

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: $6 (cost of Blackberry Cobbler, served a la mode, at Lochsa Lodge)

What’s your number?

***

It’s been a great six days, Canada.

Thank you for the warm welcome in Osoyoos, the beautiful scenery on the Icefields Parkway, and our final serving of poutine.

The USA is beckoning, so we head for the Rykerts-Porthill Border crossing, one of only two ports of entry along Idaho’s 45-mile border with British Columbia, Canada.

We only need one port of entry today, so this should work just fine.

Rykerts is on the Canadian side of the border. It’s named for John C. Rykert, who established a Canadian customs station immediately north of the boundary in 1883 to intercept steamboats and other river traffic sailing on the Kootenai River from Bonners Ferry to Kootenay Lake. Rykert was a customs officer, immigration inspector, gold commissioner’s agent, and registrar of shipping.

The name Rykerts stuck.

On the US side of border, Porthill is named for miner Charles Plummer Hill. Port (of entry) + Hill = Porthill.

We’re now on Idaho Highway 1, which lasts for only 12 miles, making it perhaps the shortest Highway 1 ever.

We turn south on US Highway 95, and almost immediately roll past the Mountain Mafia Off-Road Park, located on Purcell Trench Ranch. Throughout the year, the 90-acre grounds hosts multiple off-road motorsport and snow sports events. The place is featured on Apple TV.

We just missed Mountain Havoc, which ran June 10-13. Dang. Mountain Havoc was billed as “Pure family-friendly Vehicular Violence.”

If adrenaline sports aren’t for you, keep moving south on Highway 95.

A few miles north of Bonners Ferry, we turn onto US Highway 2, which follows the Kootenay River into Montana. It’s about 35 miles to the Kootenai Falls Swinging Bridge, which is listed Number 1 on TripAdvisor’s list of things to do in or near Libby, Montana.

The bridge, which sits 100 feet above the Kootenai River, was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 to improve access for firefighting. The bridge was destroyed by flooding in 1948, then rebuilt in the 1950s on concrete towers. The current 210-foot bridge was reconstructed on the existing cables and supports in 1993.

***

The swinging bridge is about 10 miles from Libby, population 2,700.

Libby was named after miner Stephen Allen’s daughter, Elizabeth – who went by Libby.

The town’s economy was largely supported in its early years by the use of natural resources, such as logging and mining. Mining and timber mills have since closed down.

In 1919, vermiculite was discovered in the mountains near town. In 1963, W. R. Grace and Company bought the local mine, by which time it was producing 80% of the vermiculite in the world.

Because the local vermiculite contains asbestos, and the mine’s byproducts were used in local buildings and landscaping, the town suffered from an extremely high rate of asbestosis. Nearly 10 percent of the population died from asbestos contamination.

In Libby, we turn away from the Kootenay River, continuing south and east on Highway 2 toward Kalispell, where we stop for a fuel and hydration break.

The name Kalispell is a Salish word meaning “flat land above the lake.” The lake it’s above is Flathead Lake, about 10 miles south.

We ride along the western shore of Flathead Lake for the next 42 miles, en route to tonight’s destination, Polson.

Flathead Lake is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi river. It has more than 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline.

Want a high-end experience on Flathead Lake? You can buy Cromwell Island, a 348-acre charmer. It’s listed at $72 million. The property is said to be the largest private island with a single owner west of the Mississippi River.

The lake is known for its fruit orchards, which are full of Flathead Lake Cherries. There are more than 120 cherry growers in the Flathead Valley – producing some of the best cherries in the USA.

Harvest season for Flathead Lake Cherries is generally from the second week of July through the second week in August. Cherries are available at roadside stands along Flathead Lake or at local Farmers Markets. We’re just a little early.

The 2022 Flathead Lake Cherry festival is set for July 30 and 31 on Main Street in Polson.

We’ll miss the festival, but we won’t miss Polson. It’s where we’re staying tonight.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 5 million (in pounds, amount of Flathead Lake Cherries produced annually)

What’s your number?

The day begins with a shout-out to Brittany, our unofficially adopted daughter. Today’s her birthday.

Sarah and I think she’s almost 40, but have never asked for ID!

Happy Birthday, Britt!

What’s your number?

***

We begin our journey south toward the US-Canada border by following the waters on the western shore of the Columbia River. We’re riding on British Columbia Highway 23.

The river, which has the greatest flow of any North American river entering the Pacific Ocean, begins its 1,243-mile journey in British Columbia before coursing through Oregon and Washington on its way to the Pacific.

South of Revelstoke, the Columbia widens and becomes the Arrow Lakes. There are two Arrow Lakes – Upper and Lower. Clever names.

Upper Arrow Lake is a popular destination in the summer for boating, swimming, camping and fishing.

Thirty miles from Revelstoke, Highway 23 crosses the lake. And so do we. On a ferry.

We arrive at Shelter Bay where we board the Upper Arrow Lake ferry, which is considered a continuation of Highway 23. 

The ferry is part of the BC ferry system, the largest passenger ferry line in North America. It operates a fleet of 36 vessels, serving 47 locations on the British Columbia Coast.

But we’re 300 miles inland.

The inland ferries operate under private contract with the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. All 14 inland ferries are free of charge to users, as they provide essential transportation links to local communities. These routes cross interior lakes and rivers throughout the province.

Altogether, the BC Ferries freshwater fleet consists of five powered cable ferries, five “reaction” ferries (attached to cables and pulled across by the river’s flow) and five free-running ferries (no cables required).

So, we roll on to the MV Columbia, which can transport 80 vehicles and 250 passengers. It was built at a shipyard in Nakusp, on the eastern shore of Upper Arrow Lake, about 30 miles south of here.

Our ride across Upper Arrow Lake takes 20 minutes.

We arrive at the Galena Bay Ferry Terminal, and continue our ride south, this time along the east shore of Upper Arrow Lake.

In Nakusp, where the MV Columbia was built by WestBridge Steel at a cost of $26.5 million, we turn southeast on Highway 6. The road soon follows the east shore of Slocan Lake. Slocan is an Okanagan word meaning “pierce or strike on the head,” referring to the salmon-fishing practice of the Okanagan.

We follow the Slocan River through the Slocan Valley until it widens and becomes the Kootenay River, which takes us to Castlegar. Castlegar, home to Selkirk College, sits at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers.

Castlegar is the most civilized place we seen since leaving Revelstoke. Seems like a good opportunity to gas up, get a drink, and prepare for the day’s final segment – 74 miles to Creston, British Columbia, tonight’s destination.

***

From Castlegar, we head east on British Columbia Highway 3, which takes us the entire 74 miles to Creston.

The place was formerly known as Fred Little’s ranch. Eventually it was named Creston, a name selected by Fred Little. He liked the name Creston, since he had worked in Creston, Iowa, for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Thanks, Fred.

Creston is about seven miles north of the US-Canada border crossing.

This is our final night in Canada, eh.

One last serving of poutine, anyone?

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 39 (Brittany’s age today)

What’s your number?

***
OK. Another late-breaking news flash: Like yesterday, we were drenched by record-setting rainfall. Again. Ugh 😢

So we got a bucket-full of lemons, and made sweet lemonade.

The above post is the work of a delusional old fart (me) wanting to describe the ride we would have taken. If only we weren’t in the middle of 100-year floods caused by rain that shut down, for example, all the entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

in the interest of safety, we called yet another audible and sheltered in place. Dave calls it “smart risk management.”

Tomorrow, with any luck at all (we may need some) we’ll finally be back in the USA. Love ya, Canada, but it’s time to come home 🙏

We begin our day on route transcanadienne, the Trans-Canada Highway. We’re retracing our steps from yesterday afternoon in Banff National Park.

Riding northwest from Canmore, we pass the famed Mount Rundle on our left.

Mount Rundle, 9,675 feet at its summit, overlooks the towns of Banff and Canmore. The mountain was named after Reverend Robert Rundle, a Methodist minister invited by the Hudson’s Bay Company to do missionary work in western Canada in the 1840s.

The wedge-shaped mountain, which extends more than seven miles lengthwise, could easily be considered a small mountain range. There are seven distinct peaks. Rundle 1 is at the far north end of the range; Rundle 7 at the south end. With enough skills and time, you can traverse from Rundle 1 to Rundle 7

Mount Rundle, whichever number you pick, is one of the most popular climbs in the Canadian Rockies. For climbers and hikers in the know, Mount Rundle is considered a “scramble.”

Scrambling is a walk up steep terrain involving the use of one’s hands. It’s a somewhat ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hiking, walking, easy mountaineering and rock climbing. It’s a middle ground between hiking and moderate rock climbing.

To fully enjoy scrambling, plan to be free of technical apparatus, like ropes. There’s a lot to learn about scrambling. Be prepared before you try it. Especially in places like Mount Rundle.

***

We pass the Trans-Canada Highway turnoff to Banff – been there, done that – and exit the highway near Silverton Falls, a two-tiered waterfall that empties into the Bow River.

We’re now on Alberta Highway 93, the Banff Windermere Highway. We soon cross the continental divide, where we find ourselves in British Columbia and the road becomes BC Highway 93.

The Continental Divide is the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta. It’s also the boundary between Banff National Park, which we’re leaving, and Kootenay National Park, which we’re entering.

The Kootenay region of British Columbia is huge, covering nearly 19 million acres. The region takes its name from the Kootenay River, which we’ll follow for the next hour or so.

Kootenay gets its name from the Kutenai First Nations people. Note the two different spellings of Kootenay/Kutenai.

In Idaho, Kootenai is the preferred spelling. That’s where you’ll find the city of Kootenai, and Kootenai County, home to the resort city of Coeur d’Alene. 

That’s three different spellings in the past two paragraphs.

But wait, there’s more. An 1814 map of North America by Aaron Arrowsmith included the Coo-too-nay River.

Yes, It’s confusing. There are at least 34 ways to spell Co Tinneh, Coutannie, Cottonahou – or whatever you call it, and however you spell it.

***

As we roll through Kootenay National Park – that’s the park’s official spelling – we eventually find ourselves in the town of Radium Hot Springs, at the crossroads of Highways 93 and 95. We’ll turn north on Highway 95.

Radium Hot Springs, population 700, is one of the main attractions in Kootenay National Park. The hot springs pool in town has water temperatures that range from 95 to 117 °F. The town is named for the odorless hot springs that heat the pool.

Development of the hot springs began when a British medical journal suggested, and a 1914 chemical analysis confirmed, the presence of radium within the water. For you geology fans out there, the top five minerals found in the Radium Hot Springs are: Sulphate, Calcium, Bicarbonate, Silica, and Magnesium.

Radium is a highly radioactive element and can be extremely dangerous. However, it was once used in many everyday products, including wristwatches and toothpaste, and thought to have curative properties until its intense radioactivity was found to cause adverse health effects. Radium has an abundance of about one part per trillion in the Earth’s crust.

With Bugaboo Provincial Park on our left, we now follow the Columbia River northwest until we reach the town of Golden, population about 4,000. It’s about 65 miles froom Radium Hot Springs to Golden, which sits at the intersection of British Columbia Highway 95 and the Trans-Canada Highway.

Much of Golden’s history is tied to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the logging industry. Today, the town’s economy still relies on those two influences, but the development of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort has made tourism a big draw.

Golden is home to the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge, the longest free-standing timber frame bridge in Canada. The bridge spans the Kicking Horse River, which runs through Golden.

In 2001, more than 100 members of the Timber Framers Guild came from the US, Europe, and all over Canada to help construct the bridge. The superstructure weighs approximately 210,000 pounds and was made of 72,000 board feet of Douglas-fir timbers. 

There are a lot of things in this area named after the Kicking Horse River: the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge, the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, and Kicking Horse Pass among them. The Kicking Horse name has an interesting background.

It began with railway expansions from the prairie provinces – Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1858, Sir James Hector, a geologist and member of the Palliser Expedition, set out in search of mountain passes that would cross the Continental Divide into a western river valley. At his camp near Wapta Falls, a packhorse bolted, and Hector gave chase. As he rounded up the horse, it kicked him, breaking his ribs and knocking him into unconsciousness.

Both the river and the pass were named Kicking Horse, for Hector’s ornery steed.

***

We follow the Trans-Canada Highway, and 50 miles past Golden arrive at Rogers Pass.  The 4,364-foot pass, in in the Selkirk Mountains, in the heart of Glacier National Park. The pass is a Canadian National Historic Site.

In 1881, as Canadian Pacific Railway looked for a route over the unexplored Selkirks, it offered Major Albert Bowman “A.B.” Rogers naming rights and a $5,000 bonus to locate a pass. Apparently, he was successful, as the pass is now named after him. Rogers refused to cash the $5,000 check, and instead framed it upon his wall until Canadian Pacific General Manager William Cornelius Van Horne offered him a gold watch as an incentive to cash it. Folklore has generated many variations of this story.

From Rogers Pass, it’s about 40 miles to tonight’s destination, Revelstoke.

As is tradition – you know I love traditions – we make a brief visit to the Revelstoke Mountain Resort on our way into town. If there’s a ski area on our route, I wanna see it. The Revelstoke Mountain Resort sits on the shoulder of 8,074-foot Mount Mackenzie, named for Scotland-born Alexander Mackenzie, Canada’s second prime minister.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort has the largest vertical rise of any ski area in North America – 5,620 feet. Snowmass, where I work in the winter, has 4,406 feet of vertical rise. Largest vertical drop in the world: 8,982 feet, at Chamonix in France.

Revelstoke’s Master Plan calls for the eventual construction of as many as 25 lifts, and an expansion to 10,000 skiable acres, making it the largest resort in North America. Today, it has 3,120 skiable acres, comparable in size with Snowmass, which has 3,362 skiable acres.

Largest ski area in the world: Les Trois Vallées in France, which has nearly 26,000 skiable acres. That would make it larger than the five biggest US ski resorts combined. Les Trois Vallées integrates three resorts in the Northern French Alps: Val Thorens, Courchevel, and Meribel. I’ve skied there twice. It’s pretty epic.

***

Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s ski season ended on April 19, same as Snowmass.

With no skiing on the horizon until the 2022-23 season begins in November, we call it a day, and settle into Revelstoke for the night.

How, again, do you spell “Cootonais?”

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 88 (atomic number of Radium)

What’s your number?

***

Late-breaking update: The trip I just described turns out to be the fantasy of a delusion man. Me.

It’s what we would have done, except the weather today was totally shitty. It rained hard, all day, everywhere we were going, from Canmore all the way to Revelstoke. Why would anyone of sound mind ride on a say like that?

So, following a posse team meeting, we erred on the side of safety and comfort, and decided to stay in Canmore one more night. We are at a great hotel, with laundry (in our rooms!!!) and underground bike wash facilities.

We plan to be back on schedule tomorrow And yes, ladies (Sarah, Gail, Terri and Jo) — we will be home on time. Plan on it 😀🙏😀

For the next 145 miles we’ll be riding the Icefields Parkway, from Jasper to Lake Louise.

Here, the journey is the destination.

***

The story of the Icefields Parkway began 50 million years ago. Fierce tectonic forces pushed the ocean floor and transformed it into the mountains that today make up the Canadian Rockies.

By the end of the 19^th century, the Canadian Pacific Railway responded to the growing interest in mountaineering in the Rockies by giving seasonal contracts to Swiss guides. They led mountaineers and tourists in explorations of the area. Meanwhile, to the north, tourism in the region was also gathering momentum with the establishment of Jasper National Park in 1907 and the Grand Trunk (not to be confused with Grand Funk) Pacific Railway reaching Jasper in 1911.

As an economic project during the Depression Era, the Government of Canada decided to transform what was then known as the “Wonder Trail” into a single-track road. In 1931, construction began for the Icefields Highway: a new road that would make the famous mountain path accessible to everyone.

It took 600 men nearly 10 years to complete the project. Workers were paid about $5 a month with a stipend for clothing and tobacco. With only one tractor per crew, most of the work was completed by hand, and with teams of horses.

At first, the 18-foot-wide road was gravel and dirt, before being paved, realigned, and modernized in 1961.

The road, the first in the world that could take people to the “toe” of a glacier (its lowest end), was completed in 1940. Described as a “wonder trail,” the highway was the brainchild of Arthur Oliver Wheeler, the principal land surveyor in charge of plotting the border between Alberta and British Columbia in the early 1900s.

***

We follow the Athabasca River from Jasper, south and east on the Icefields Parkway. The Athabasca River runs some 765 miles from the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park northeast to Lake Athabasca in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Twenty miles out of Jasper, we find Athabasca Falls, just off the parkway. From the roadside parking lot, it’s a short hike to the falls – and well worth the effort. A series of short and easy pathways take visitors along these impressive cascades and up close to the roaring falls themselves.

Athabasca Falls is about 75 feet high, not much compared to other more famous waterfalls, but it’s very powerful. Its power comes from the sheer volume of water flowing into the gorge from the Athabasca River, fed by the massive Columbia Icefield.

Only 15 miles past Athabasca Falls, we come to Sunwapta Falls. With a drop of 61 feet, Sunwapta Falls consists of an upper and lower fall with a hike that will get you close enough to feel the mist. It’s a Class 6 waterfall, meaning it’s unrunnable, and you’re likely to die if you try.

To get to Sunwapta Falls, you hike about a mile. It won’t kill you.

***

The Columbia Icefield, composed of eight glaciers and encompassing an area of about 200 miles, sits near the halfway mark on the Icefields Parkway.  This ice mass is one of the largest south of the Arctic Circle and is one of the most reachable in North America.  The Athabasca, Snowdome, and Stutfield Glaciers can be seen from the parkway.

The Athabasca Glacier is a 10,000-year-old sheet of ice, nearly four miles long, and up to 1,000 feet thick. The glacier has lost 60 percent of its volume in the last 170 years. The Athabasca Glacier is receding about 16 feet a year. Experts believe it will be completely gone within 70 years.

Commercial tours are available to irun tourists up the glacier in the summer. The three-hour round-trip costs about $90.

***

We cross the Saskatchewan River, then arrive at Bow Summit. At 6,840 feet, it’s the highest point on the drive from Banff to Jasper. The summit is the highest elevation crossed by a public road in Canada. Bow Summit, in Banff National Park, provides a stunning overlook of the Bow Valley.

From here, we’re only 20 miles from Lake Louise, world famous for its turquoise lakes, the Victoria Glacier, spectacular mountains, a world-class ski resort and a palatial hotel.

We begin our Lake Louise exploration by visiting the Lake Louise Ski Resort. If I’m anywhere near a world-class ski area on a Harley trip, I’ve pretty much got to visit it. Tradition, you know. Lake Louise epitomizes world-class.

The resort is the first stop every year on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup circuit. In November 2021, Sofia Goggia of Italy won both the women’s downhill and Super-G. Matthias Mayer of Austria won the men’s downhill; the men’s Super-G was cancelled due to heavy snowfall.

This year, the Lake Louise men’s downhill and Super-G will be held November 25-27, and the women’s events will be held December 2-4.

Lake Louise doesn’t get to have all the ski racing fun. Those of us who live in Colorado and love skiing are pretty stoked about the recent announcement that Aspen will host men’s FIS downhill and super-G races in early March, 2023.

***

You can’t say you’ve been to Lake Louise without stopping at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a historic and elegant hotel sitting square on the lake. Built in 1890 by Canadian Pacific Hotels, a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, it’s considered a grand railway hotel.

The Fairmont Chateau is not exactly falling down. Its 539 rooms were renovated in 2016. The Chateau is considered a five-star hotel. It should be; the best deal we could find for tonight gets us a basic room for $835, including taxes and fees. For another $85 a night, you can bring a pet. Valet parking is $45 a day. Let’s just round up and call it a cool $1,000 a night. Whether in Canadian or US funds, that’s still a major splurge.

Other grand railway hotels in Canada include the Banff Springs Hotel; the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City; the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa; the Place Viger in Montreal; the Algonquin Resort in New Brunswick, the Empress in Victoria, British Columbia.

You could easily do a grand railway hotel tour, perhaps on a Harley. It would last all summer, and leave you virtually penniless.

In a few minutes, we could begin our Alberta-based version of a grand railway tour, visiting the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, 39 miles down the road.

***

The Banff hotel opened in 1888, one of the earliest of Canada’s grand railway hotels. It sits at the southern boundary of Banff, a resort town within Banff National Park. The area was named Banff in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recalling his birthplace near Banff, Scotland.

Of course, the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel does not disappoint. With 757 guest rooms and suites, the hotel is the epitome of elegance. It’s a wonder they let us in the front door.

***

Both the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel are a bit more upscale than where we’re staying tonight.

We’re heading for Canmore, about 15 miles east of here on the Trans-Canada Highway. Originally a sleepy mining town, Canmore now has a population of about 15,000, The city grew like crazy after the International Olympic Committee announced that the 1988 Winter Olympics would be held in Calgary, 50 miles to the east.

The Canmore Nordic Centre was developed to host the Nordic events at the Calgary Olympics.

The alpine events for the Calgary Olympics were held in Nakiska, about 30 miles from Canmore. The ski area opened in 1986, in preparation for the 1988 Winter Games.

Nakiska is a Cree word meaning “meeting place.”

Tonight, our meeting place in Canmore is at the Blackstone Mountain Lodge.

It’s not five-star, but meets all our requirements: hot shower, clean sheets, free parking.

Vroom!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: $113 (the cost of dinner for one at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, if you have a 22-ounce Bone-In Striploin, Steak Fries, and a Beet Salad; beverages and tip are not included. A bottle of Cabernet will add $250 to your bill.)

What’s your number?

Today’s ride is less than 200 miles, the shortest on this trip. What it lacks in length, it makes up for in beauty.

We’re on our way to the Canadian Rockies – Rocheuses canadiennes, to our French-Canadian friends.

The Canadian Rockies contain some of the most famous national parks in Canada, including Banff, the oldest national park in Canada. We’ll visit Banff tomorrow.

But first, we’ve got some climbing to do from Clearwater, which sits at 1,500 feet in the Thompson River Valley.

The ride north from Clearwater to Valemount is 122 miles along the Southern Yellowhead Highway, which mostly follows the North Thompson River. The highway is named after an Iroquois fur trader and explorer named Pierre Bostonais. He had yellow streaks in his hair, and was nicknamed “Tête Jaune” (Yellowhead).

Two hours after leaving Clearwater, we roll through Valelmount, a village of about 1,000 residents in the Robson Valley, on our way to the Canadian Rockies. With a motto of “Let the Mountains Move You,” we know we’re on our way to somewhere special.

Valemount, with an annual snowfall of 550 inches, is one of British Columbia’s premier mountain sledding destinations. Snowmobiling is an integral part of Valemount’s economy.

For more than 40 years, Valemount has been celebrating Valemountain Days every June – with a parade, a pageant, and a barbecue competition. Valemount loves to have a good time. Its slogan is a good clue: “Come for the Mountains, Stay for the Party.”

Party on, Valemount!

***

In Valemount, we roll past a Tim Hortons.

In Canada, that’s not unusual. There are more than 4,300 Tim Hortons in Canada, spread over 957 Canadian cities. More than 92 percent of all Canadians, aged 18-34, have visited Tim Hortons.

What’s up with Tim Hortons? Is it more McDonald’s, Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, eh?

Tim Hortons is known as the king of Canadian donuts. Founded in 1964, the company became a multi-million-dollar company within less than half a decade. As of today, it’s Canada’s leading restaurant chain, with more than 5,100 establishments worldwide.

The restaurant was named after its founder, the legendary, fiery-tempered hockey player, Tim Horton. Horton played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for close to 20 years, scoring 115 goals with 403 assists in the regular season. He played on the NHL’s All-Star team six times and on was on four winning Stanley Cup teams. Horton was known for his spleen-squeezing bear hug, which he would wield against opponents who were trying to waylay him with erratic haymakers and uppercuts.

In the middle of his career, the hockey pro decided to open a donut shop in Hamilton, Ontario – about an eight-hour drive from where he grew up in Cochrane. Unlike hockey players today, back in the ’60s, these hard-skating athletes didn’t make nearly as much money. Horton always had an interest in the food-service business, so he decided to give it a go.

The concept was simple: delicious donuts and strong, freshly brewed coffee that was affordable, served hot every day and would keep the shift-workers at the local steel factories buzzed on caffeine all day long.

***

From Valemount, it’s just 10 miles to Tête Jaune Cache, which sits at the confluence of the North Thompson and Fraser Rivers. Tête Jaune Cache has a year-round population of about 500.

Here, we turn east onto the Yellowhead Highway, and follow the Fraser River past Rearguard Falls Provincial Park. The 113-acre park has a viewpoint for travelers to witness the end of a long journey by the Chinook, the largest of the Pacific Salmon. These fish have survived several years at sea to return to the river of their birth, the mighty Fraser.

Now that we’re in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, there are towering peaks everywhere – named and unnamed.

Two directly ahead of us are worth noting: Mount Terry Fox, and Mount Robson.

To our right is Mount Terry Fox, 8,694 feet. In 1981, the previously unnamed mountain was named in honor of Terry Fox, a Canadian athlete, humanitarian and cancer research activist who died that year at the age of 22.

In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to osteogenic sarcoma just above his right knee, Fox dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, Newfoundland, embarking on an east-to-west run across Canada, to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest in Winnipeg after 143 days and 3,339 miles, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy.

At the time, I was living 20 miles from the Canadian border, in a market dominated by Canadian events. Terry Fox was front-page news throughout his run. I was moved to tears almost daily by his “Marathon of Hope,” which brought an entire nation together.

Fox was named Canada’s Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. Considered a national hero, he has had many buildings, statues, roads, parks and mountains named in his honor.

Mount Terry Fox Provincial Park, established in 1982, is about a mile from us.

***

As we continue along the Yellowhead Highway, we pass a number of places with the Robson name: Mount Robson Rafting Company, Robson River Campground, Mount Robson Visitor Centre, Café Mount Robson, Mount Robson Provincial Park.

The Mount Robson Visitor Center, which we stop at briefly, is the farthest north we’ll be on this trip: 53.0355 degrees North latitude. Each degree of latitude is about 69 miles, so we’re about 276 miles north of the US-Canadian Border, which sits on the 49^th parallel.

Mount Robson, a few miles to the north, is the highest peak in Canadian Rockies 12,989 feet. Its south face is clearly visible from the Yellowhead Highway, and is one of Canada’s most photographed scenes. It may be to Canada what the Maroon Bells are to Colorado.

Mount Robson is believed to be named for Colin Robertson, a Scotsman who worked for both the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company at various times in the early 19^th century. 

The Fraser River empties into Moose Lake, the only lake along the course of the 854-mile-long river. The lake is filled with wild native Rainbow Trout, fattened on freshwater shrimp.

Soon, we cross Yellowhead Pass, which marks the Continental Divide, and the provincial boundary between British Columbia and Alberta. The pass, at 3,711 feet, is designated a Canadian National Historic Site.

From Yellowhead Pass, it’s only 17 miles to tonight’s destination, Jasper.

With a population of about 4,700, Jasper sits in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial center of Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, and home to the Columbia Icefield.

Jasper also marks the beginning of the Icefields Parkway, tomorrow’s journey, and the highlight of this 24-day trip.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: $850,000,000 (funds raised, to date, for cancer research by the Terry Fox Foundation)

What’s your number?

Savvy readers of this blog may have noticed two different spellings of the word “Okanogan” yesterday.

In the US, it’s spelled Okanogan. In Canada, the correct spelling is Okanagan. Get over it.

But this does make one wonder, how is Canada different? What makes Canada Canada?

Is it the legendary Canadian politeness?

Is it ice hockey, the Canadian national religion disguising as a sport?

Could it be the poutine, Canada’s unofficial national food?

Here’s one Canadian’s take on what Canada is famous for. It’s a good read.

Over the next six days, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open, trying to develop our own insights into what makes Canada Canada.

***

We head north out of Osoyoos on British Columbia Highway 97, the Okanagan Highway.

There are wineries and vineyards everywhere. Too many to name.

The Okanagan Valley has more than 200 vineyards and 120 wineries. Wine production here dates to the 1850s, with the establishment of the Okanagan Mission and the planting of grapevines to supply sacramental wines.

There are more than 60 grape varieties grown in the Okanagan including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay, Auxerrois blanc, Marechal Foch and Cabernet Franc. 

Forty miles after leaving Osoyoos, we rumble into Penticton, population about 34,000. The city is situated between two lakes – Okanagan and Shaka. There are more than 170 wineries in the Penticton area, eight craft breweries, two cideries and three distilleries.

No one’s gonna leave this place in a state of thirst.

***

Okanagan Lake is 85 miles long, and we follow its western shores for the entire length of the lake. We pass by Kelowna, whose metropolitan population is more than 222,000 – making it British Columbia’s third largest after Vancouver and Victoria. The name Kelowna comes from an Okanagan word referring to a male grizzly bear.

Most of Kelowna is on the east side of Okanagan Lake. We continue north on British Columbia Highway 97, through West Kelowna, and avoid the big city on the other side of the lake.

About 40 miles north of Kelowna, the lake ends, and we turn northwest toward Falkland, a small community known for having Canada’s largest flag. The gigantic Canadian flag is located on Gyp Mountain, and can be seen up to four miles away. The flag is 28 feet high by 56 feet wide. It’s made of 2 x 6 lumber framework, has eight 46-foot telephones, 185,000 pounds of cement blocks and metal. Clearly, the flag doesn’t flutter in the wind.

We merge onto Canada’s Highway One, the Trans-Canada Highway, and follow it west along the southern shore of the South Thompson River. The Trans-Canada Highway is the world’s longest national road. It extends west to east between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts for 4,999 miles. The highway stretches between Victoria, on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, to St. John’s, in Newfoundland and Labrador.

(For perspective, the Pan-American Highway is the longest road in the world and it is comprised of a network of roads that starts in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska and stretches all the way to Ushuaia in Argentina covering a distance of 30,000 miles. It crosses a total of 14 countries in North, Central, and South America)

The Trans-Canada is a series of provincial highways that join all 10 Canadian provinces. The journey across the highway covers six time zones, in conditions that vary from congested urban freeways (Ottawa and Montreal) to sparsely populated wilderness. Many Canadians call it la route transcanadienne, especially in Quebec, where French has been the official language since 1974.

We’re only on the Trans-Canada for 15 miles, because we’re turning north off of it in Kamloops, a city of about 100,000 that sits at the confluence of the South and North Thompson Rivers.

I’ve been to Kamloops once before, in 2015, when Randy and I drove up here from Seattle in his F-150 trash hauler. We rented a couple of Softail Heritage Classics from a Kelowna Harley dealer, and rode around Canada for five days.

For Randy and me, this part of the world seems oddly familiar. 

We follow British Columbia Highway 5 along the North Thompson River for 75 miles toward tonight’s destination of Clearwater. Fur traders in 1862 named the Clearwater for its distinct clarity, compared to the relatively muddy waters of the North Thompson.

Here, in the town of Clearwater, the Clearwater River empties into the muddy North Thompson.

Meanwhile, we empty into our hotel, and prepare for our second full day in Canada.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 11,086 (acres of wine grapes in British Columbia, 53% red 47% white)

What’s your number?

By tonight, we’ll be in Canada. We expect to hear eh more than occasionally.

It’ll be our first visit there since 2019, when a pre-Covid trip took us to Victoria, British Columbia for a one-night stand. Dave, Jim and Randy were along for the ride on that trip, too.

This time, we’ll be in Canada six nights, with the highlight coming this weekend, when we visit the Icefields Parkway, in the Canadian Rockies.

But first, we’ve got to find our way to Canada. It’s almost 260 miles from here.

Let’s get started.

***

We roll out of Oak Harbor for the last time, heading north on Washington Highway 20, which we’ll be on for the next 200 miles.

Another crossing of the Deception Pass Bridge brings us to Fidalgo Island, where we follow Highway 20 east, cross the Swinomish Channel and find ourselves back on the mainland.

The Skagit County cities of Burlington and Sedro-Woolley are ahead. Soon, civilization becomes sparse. We’re riding along the Skagit River, which brings us to the town of Concrete, once home to the Washington Portland Cement Company. Concrete was originally named Cement City.

Along Highway 20, towns seem to be spaced 15 miles apart.

Rockport is 15 miles ahead.

Another 15 miles and we arrive in Marblemount.

Fifteen more miles and we’re in Newhalem.

These small towns each have populations of less than 50 residents.

***

Newhalem sits at 515 feet of elevation. It’s at the beginning of our climb on the North Cascades Highway. In Newhalem, we find the North Cascades Visitor Center at the west end of the North Cascades National Park.

Newhalem is a company town owned by Seattle City Light. It’s populated entirely by employees of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, which extends 40 miles along the Skagit River from Newhalem to the Canadian border. Seattle City Light has generated hydroelectric power on the upper Skagit River since 1918.

The name Newhalem? It comes from a Salish Indian language and roughly means “goat snare.” This apparently relates to the traditional use of snares to capturing mountain goats on nearby slopes, for use in creating goat wool.

***

Leaving Newhalem, it’s five miles to Diablo Lake, a reservoir that’s part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. At one time, the Diablo Dam was the world’s tallest, standing 389 feet high. The dam was completed in 1930, and began generating electricity in 1936.

The Diablo Lake Vista Point provides breathtaking views of the lake. 

Two miles ahead, the Ross Lake Overlook offers similarly spectacular views of Ross Lake, a large reservoir that was once called Ruby Dam. Ross Lake is a major recreation destination within the North Cascades, attracting visitors with fishing, canoeing, kayaking and hiking.

A favorite destination for travelers is the Ross Lake Resort, consisting of 15 floating cabins and a marina on Ross Lake. Getting to the resort requires a one-mile hike from State Highway 20. There are no roads to the resort.

We’re in North Cascades National Park, and never had to stop and show our passes for entry. Because Highway 20 is a major east-west route, there’s no fee for entering, and no ranger gate. For various reasons, 14 other national parks have no entry fee, including Kenai Fjords in Alaska, Hot Springs in Arkansas, Congaree in South Carolina, and Redwood in California.

The North Cascades Highway’s path across the Cascade mountains follows one of the oldest roads in Washington, established in 1896 as a wagon route. Even before that, it was originally the corridor used by local Native American tribes as a trading route for more than 8,000 years.

At 5,477 feet, Washington Pass is the highest point on the North Cascades Highway. Winters are brutal here. The highway closes every winter due to heavy snowfall and avalanche danger. It generally takes four to six weeks to clear the road of its winter snow covering, before opening in the spring.

***

It’s been raining like crazy all day, since we left Oak Harbor. The temperature at Washington Pass is 37 degrees. We are soaked to the bone and freezing our asses off 😢

We descend from Washington Pass, and roll through the town of Mazama, at the upper end of the Methow Valley. Mazama boomed in the early 20^th century as the departure point for mining towns in the rugged Harts Pass area. Today, with a population of about 160, Mazama has a general store, adventure supply store, gas station, café and two restaurants. It’s home to one of the world’s longest cross-country skiing trails, stretching for 120 miles.

Mazama is only 15 miles from Winthrop, continuing the town-every-15-miles-on-Highway-20 concept.

Winthrop, population 350, is known for its Old West design of all the buildings in town, complete with false-fronts and boardwalk sidewalks. The town theme idea was inspired by Leavenworth, Washington – which is based on a Bavarian mountain town.

One of the western-themed buildings is Three Fingered Jack’s, where you can get a Jack’s Country Breakfast, or a Jack Attack Burger for lunch or dinner. Jack’s is the oldest legal saloon in Washington State.

Eight miles down the road (what happened to 15-mile spacing?) is Twisp, a town of about 900 that sits at the confluence of the Twisp and Methow Rivers. Twisp calls itself a “dynamic center for art, culture and adventure.”

After four hours of rain, it finally stops in Twisp. we’re drenched, but things are looking up.

From Twisp, it’s 30 miles to Okanogan, again shattering the concept of towns 15 miles apart. Okanogan, population about 2,600, means “rendezvous” or “meeting place” in a Native American language.

Ahead are three more small towns in the next 50 miles of US Highway 97 before we arrive in Canada: Omak (“Heart of the Okanogan”), Tonasket (“All Roads Lead to Tonasket”), and Oroville – which sits at the southern edge of Osoyoos Lake.

Oroville, with a population of about 2,000, is the last US civilization we’ll see for a week.

First settled in the late 1850s, it was named Oro, after the Spanish word for gold. Oro seemed like a fitting name; it was an effort to attract prospectors and merchants to nearby gold mines. But the US Post Office objected to the name “Oro” because a town in Washington was already named “Oso,” so in 1909, the name was changed to Oroville.

The Canada / US Border is just four miles north of Oroville. The Oroville / Osoyoos border crossing is open 24 hours a day, year-round.

We show the Canada Border Services agents our proof of Covid vaccination, and US passports. They let us into the country, anyway.

We’ve arrived in the Great White North!

***

Once in Canada, we suddenly show signs of advanced politeness, like all Canadians. That’s the stereotype anyway.

We’re riding like normal people as we enter the town of Osoyoos, British Columbia, two miles on the northern side of the border, and tonight’s destination. Osoyoos, nestled on the banks of Osoyoos Lake, means “narrowing of the waters” in the local Okanagan language.

Osoyoos calls itself “Canada’s Warmest Welcome,” a nod to the pleasant summer temperatures there. Its average daytime temperature, year-round, is 62 degrees, making it one of the warmest in Canada. Osoyoos Lake is said to be the warmest freshwater lake in Canada.

The weather is ideal for fruit growing. Osoyoos has commercial orchards growing cherries, apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums, pears and apples. Agriculture is a major component of the local economy, as you can tell from the abundant produce stands along the highway entering town.

We’re relieved to finally be in Canada. It’s taken me nearly two weeks to get here. The Great White North beckoned, and we’ve arrived.

Great White North?

Although it’s unknown who coined the term “Great White North” in reference to Canada, the nickname has been in use for decades. Here’s the basis of the nickname:

Great: Canada is “Great” because the only country larger than it is Russia. Canada’s total area is nearly four million square miles, but nearly 80 percent of Canada’s population lives within 90 miles of the US-Canada border. To go with its Great title, Canada also has the longest coastline in the world.

White: The real-life Great White North, also known as Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, is nearly 580,000 square miles. The population of the entire region is just 14,000 people. Quttinirpaaq National Park in Nunavut receives less than 20 visitors a year. It’s the second most northerly park on Earth, after Greenland National Park. Quttinirpaaq National Park covers 14,585 square miles, making it the second largest park in Canada. The park has extensive glaciers and ice caps, desert-like conditions, and life forms that are uniquely adapted to the extreme polar environment 

North: This is a simple explanation. Canada and the US are the two biggest countries in North America. Canada just so happens to be the furthest north, and it’s long been known as America’s “neighbor to the North.”

The term “Great White North” was made famous on the 1980s TV show, SCTV. It featured two fictional Canadian brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, who played upon Canadian stereotypes in each episode, which included saying “hoser,” finishing every sentence with “eh?,” eating back bacon, and drinking beer.

We’re in the Great White North for the next six days.

***

There’s a lot to love about Canada, including poutine, informally known as Canadian comfort food.

Poutine consists of French fries and cheese curds with light brown gravy on the top. Oof. I can feel my arteries hardening just thinking about it.

Poutine is a fast-food dish that’s usually offered in small diners, pubs, roadside chip wagons and hockey arenas. At least that’s how the poutine craze began, before it became popular everywhere in Canada, at every price point and for nearly every palate.

While poutine is now available at fine restaurants and fast-food chains alike, it was completely unknown until the mid-20th century. It first appeared in rural Quebec snack bars in the late 1950s.

The word poutine is commonly believed to have originated from the English word pudding (or its French equivalent, pouding) used to describe a mixture, typically messy, of various foods. In Québec, the term poutine is slang for mess.

While poutine is, for many, an unlikely choice for haute cuisine, the sturdy classic became a chef favorite during the comfort food revolution of the 2000s. Celebrated Montreal chef Martin Picard of Au Pied de Cochon was the first to elevate poutine. In 2002, he introduced his often-imitated foie gras poutine, combining high and low Quebec cuisine on a single plate.

Poutine is now a Canadian national staple, even the subject for fantasy foodies. Here’s a list any self-respecting poutineer would want to be part of.

Tonight in Osoyoos, there are all kinds of poutine possibilities: Gnocchi poutine at a wine bar; butterchicken poutine at a family restaurant; pizza poutine at a pizza joint. Even A&W Canada has poutine. Same for Dairy Queen, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC. It’s everywhere.

Posse poutine party, anyone?

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 1,170 (calories in a “regular” helping of poutine at New York Fries, a Canadian-based fast casual restaurant chain specializing in hand-cut fries and authentic poutine).

What’s your number?

In the early 1980s, I lived in Bellingham, Washington – about 50 miles north of Oak Harbor.

I moved there, not for professional opportunity, but to sail the San Juan Islands.

Before buying a home, I bought a sailboat named “Puffin,” and taught myself how to sail in the dead of a northwest winter.

Puffin was a C&C 27, a great little boat that took me to unspoiled inlets and islands in the waters of Washington State and British Columbia. Day sailing after work, and cruising on weekends were special times.

My memories of those voyages from 40 years ago are still vivid.

Today, I’m going to visit those waters again.

***

From Oak Harbor, it’s a half-hour Harley ride to Anacortes, where we’ll catch the 9:30 a.m. Washington State Ferry to Friday Harbor.

We roll north on Washington Highway 20, crossing over Deception Pass at the north end of Whidbey Island. Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, home to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal.

The beautiful Deception Pass Bridge, rising 180 feet above the water, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s a commonly photographed sight in the Puget Sound region, along with the Space Needle, Mount Rainier, and Pike Place Market.

The Deception Pass Bridge is actually two bridges. Pass Island sits between Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island. One bridge span connects Whidbey Island with Pass Island; the other span connects Pass Island with Fidalgo Island.

A group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbey, part of the Vancouver Expedition, found and mapped Deception Pass on June 7, 1792. George Vancouver gave it the name, “Deception,” because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula.

Deception Pass has dramatic tidal flows, with currents reaching more than eight knots (9.2 miles an hour). Four times a day (ebb and flood tides, x 2), the waters of Saratoga Passage and the Strait of Juan de Fuca surge through the narrow opening of Deception Pass. Boats can be seen waiting on either side of the pass for the current to stop or change direction before going through. Slack tide is optimal.

***

Crossing Deception Pass, we’re about halfway to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, where we’ll board the MV Suquamish for our hour-long ride to San Juan Island. The “MV” in MV Suquamish stands for Motor Vessel.

Today, almost every ship is a Motor Vessel, because the alternative, SS (Steam Ship) is rarely used anymore. The Suquamish, built in 2018, holds 144 vehicles. With any luck, four of them will be ours.

At mean high tide, the San Juan Island archipelago comprises over 400 islands and rocks, 128 of which are named. Some of the islands are just big rocks, exposed at low tide. Many of the small and medium-sized islands are privately owned.

From my days living in the northwest, I’ve visited many of the islands – not just those reachable by ferry, but smaller islands you can explore if you’re lucky enough to have a boat (I was). Clark, Matia, Sucia, Patos, Stuart, and James are just a few of the islands where I’ve dropped an anchor, or tied to a mooring buoy.

Today, we plan to visit two of the four islands served by the Washington State Ferry system. These ferries connect Orcas, Shaw, Lopez and San Juan Islands.

The Washington State Ferry system is the largest ferry operator in the US. With 21 vessels and 20 terminals, the Washington State Ferry system carries about 23 million passengers every year, including the four of us today. The largest ferry, 460 feet long, holds up to 2,500 passengers and 200 vehicles.

The ferry system is operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation, and is considered part of the state’s highway system. Originally, Washington state only intended to run ferry service until cross-sound bridges could be built as a replacement. But those bridges were thankfully never approved, leaving Washington residents and tourists with a wonderful way to be one with nature.

I’ve been coming to the San Juan Islands since moving to western Washington in 1979. My first trip on the ferry was in August 1979, when I rode my 1976 Honda CB550F onto the ferry, which took me to Orcas Island. It was an overnight trip to Rosario Resort, the former Eastsound estate of Seattle shipbuilder and mayor (1888-1890) Robert Moran.

***

Today, we will visit Orcas Island, as well as San Juan Island.

Our first stop is Friday Harbor, an idyllic port that’s the commercial center of the San Juans. The ferry ride to get there is a 19-mile journey across Rosario Strait, through Thatcher Pass, past the northern tip of Lopez Island, through Upright Channel, along the southern reaches of Shaw Island, and into Friday Harbor.

Friday Harbor is the largest town in the San Juans, with about 2,500 year-round residents, and thousands more during the summer tourist season. Friday Harbor was not named after the day of the week. The name originates from Joseph Poalie Friday, a native Hawaiian. He moved to San Juan Island in the 1860s, raising and herding sheep around the area that is today known as Friday Harbor.

Most everything worth seeing in Friday Harbor is within walking distance of the ferry landing. You’ll find a whale museum, art museum, community theater, bed and breakfasts, hotels and inns, restaurants, shops, and a refreshing absence of fast-food chains.

We’re not constrained by “walking distance of the ferry landing.” We have motorcycles, and intend to see as much of the island as possible, before catching our departing ferry at 2:20 p.m.

We roll off the ferry, and get onto Roche Harbor Road, which takes us to the Hotel De Haro, part of the Roche Harbor Resort. During my sailing days, I cruised into Roche Harbor many times.

***

From Roche Harbor, we ride along the western coastline of San Juan Island, passing through San Juan County Park and Lime Kiln Point State Park, a great place to watch orcas and gray whales. It’s considered one of the best whale-watching spots on Earth. If you’re lucky, you can see humpback and minke whales pass through the area every May through September. Peak times depend on salmon runs.

After our 33-mile ride around the island, we arrive back in Friday Harbor and get in line at the Ferry terminal for our next journey – the 2:20 p.m. inter-island eastbound ferry to Orcas Island, the largest of the islands in the San Juan archipelago.

***

We board the MV Tillicum – at 310 feet in length, one of the smallest vessels in the Washington State Ferry system – and say good-bye to Friday Harbor.

The ferry takes us through Upright Channel, along the west side of Shaw Island, through narrow Wasp Passage, and into the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. It’s a 50-minute ride that covers 8.6 miles.

We roll off the MV Tillicum around 3:15 – plenty of time to explore the island, and find dinner, before heading back to Oak Harbor.

Our first stop is the famed Mount Constitution overlook in 5,252-acre Moran State Park. Mount Constitution was named by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842. The Wilkes Expedition was chartered to explore and survey the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands. Wilkes named the Orcas Island mountain for the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides. 

Riding to Mount Constitution is about 18 miles, a 45-minute journey to the top of the 2,409-mountain. It’s the highest point in the San Juan Islands. A stone observation tower patterned after a medieval watch tower stands at the summit, offering panoramic views of the San Juans, the Cascade Mountains, and nearby Canadian and American cities.

The stone tower is a replica of Russian watchtowers constructed in the Caucasus during the 12^th century. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed this tower, and the roads and bridges that lead to the summit of Mount Constitution.

From the top of Mount Constitution, it’s about a seven-mile ride down the mountain to the Rosario Resort and Spa, where we plan to have an early dinner before catching our last ferry of the day.

The historic Moran Mansion is the centerpiece for the resort and marina, located on the shores of Cascade Bay. In my sailing days, I often cruised to the Rosario Resort, tied up to a mooring buoy, and rowed in to the resort for dinner.

Today, no rowing is needed to get here.

We rumble into the resort, find prime parking, and forage for food.

***

After dinner, we saddle up for the 14-mile ride to the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. Our reservations are for the 7:50 eastbound sailing to Anacortes aboard the MV Chelan. 

We land in Anacortes, 30 minutes late, at 9:10 pm – and arrive back in Oak Harbor with little daylight to spare. The days are long in the Northwest; sunset tonight is upon us.

What a day!

Tomorrow? Canada, eh.

***

To view today’s ferry route in Google Maps, click here.

Here’s the route we took around Orcas Island.

My number today: 9:08 p.m. (sunset in Oak Harbor)

What’s your number?

We leave Ocean Shores, heading north on Washington Highway 109. We roll through Ocean City, Copalis Beach, Seabrook, and Pacific Beach, before arriving in Moclips a half hour later.

These towns all have a history rich in tourism dating back to the early 1900s. Moclips, population 47, and other nearby beach towns were once popular vacation destinations, until they were taken off the map by the US Navy during World War II, to be used as a base for the Navy.

Today, tourism is once again popular in these coastal towns.

According to early-20^th century University of Washington history and botany professor, Edmond Meany, Moclips comes from a Quinault Indian word meaning a place where girls were sent as they were approaching puberty. William Bright, a professor of linguistics and anthropology who has written about Native American place names, says the name comes from the Quinault word meaning “large stream.”

You choose.

***

We turn northwest in the Moclips Highway, en route to Lake Quinault. The lake is at the southern edge of the Olympic National Park. The historic Lake Quinault Lodge, built in 1926, has a rustic style reminiscent of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. They’re similar because the two lodges share the same architect: Robert Reamer.

The Lake Quinault Lodge is on the National Register of Historic Places. A fireplace room with a king bed and lake view goes for $546.76 a night, including taxes and fees. 

From Moclips, northwest to the Lake Quinault Lodge, and west to Queets – it’s essentially a 53-mile detour around the Quinault Indian Reservation. There are no roads through the 208-thousand-acre reservation, which includes 23 miles of Pacific coastline.

The Quinault say they are among the small number of Americans who can still walk the same beaches, paddle the same waters, and hunt the same lands their ancestors did centuries ago. The Quinault Indian Nation consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of five other coastal tribes: Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz.

The town of Queets, population 174, sits on the northwest corner of the Quinault reservation. Its primary residents are members of the Quinault Indian Nation.

Here, we turn north and follow US Highway 101, first along the coast for 10 miles, where we pass the historic Kalaloch Lodge. The waterfront lodge is part of Olympic National Park, which may explain why rooms top out at $444 a night.

The highway takes us inland again, through the Hoh Rainforest, to Forks, population about 3,600. Like so many Pacific Northwest towns, Forks had an economy fueled by the local timber industry. As timber fell into a years-long slump, Forks re-thought its economic plan and turned to prisons. Today, Forks relies on the nearby Clallam Bay Corrections Center and Olympic Corrections Center for more than 400 jobs.

Another economic draw: tourism related to Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel series Twilight, and films of the same name – set in Forks.

***

We follow the Olympic Highway from Forks for 53 miles to Port Angeles. Along the way, we roll past the southern shore of Lake Crescent. With a maximum depth of 624 feet, it’s the second deepest lake in Washington state. Lake Crescent, known for its brilliant blue waters and exceptional clarity, is inside of Olympic National Park.

Soon, we arrive in Port Angeles, a Clallam County city of 20,000 residents that sits on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Port Angeles connects to Victoria, British Columbia – Canada! – by a one-hour ride on the MV Coho ferry. The Coho suspended service for 18 months during the Covid pandemic, and has now resumed operations. The ferry infuses an average of more than $5 million a month into the Clallam County economy.

We inject about $150 into the Port Angeles economy, stopping to gas up our four bikes.

***

Leaving Port Angeles, we roll past Sequim Bay and Discovery Bay, small inlets off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Ahead is the Victorian city of Port Townsend, where scenes from An Officer and a Gentleman were shot. The film celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year.

We’re in Port Townsend, not to catch a movie, but to board a ferry.

The Washington State Ferry, MV Kennewick, will be our 35-minute ride across the Puget Sound to Whidbey Island, fourth-longest island in the US, though that number is disputed.

The 273-foot-long vessel was built in Seattle in 2011. It has room for 64 vehicles, including our four motorcycles.

Technically, the ferry route is called Port Townsend-to-Coupeville. But we actually land at Fort Casey, a Washington State Park. Fort Casey sits next to the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. Admiralty Inlet was considered so strategic to the defense of Puget Sound in the 1890s that three forts, including Fort Casey, were built with the intention of deterring invading ships.

Fort Casey is a 467-acre marine camping park with a lighthouse and sweeping views of Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Here, we depart the MV Kennewick, and begin the final leg on today’s journey – 15 miles to Oak Harbor, population 22,000. At 41 miles in length, north to south, Whidbey is said to be the fifth longest island in the continental US, behind only Long Island (New York), Padre Island (Texas), Hatteras Island (Texas), and Isle Royale (Michigan).

Oak Harbor is home to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, where you’ll find all Navy tactical electronic attack squadrons flying the Boeing-built EA-18G Growler. The based also houses eight Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance squadrons flying the P-3 Orion, P-8 Poseidon and EP-3E Aries.

***

Whidbey Island hosts festivals and celebrations throughout the year.

In March, there’s the Penn Cove Mussel Fest.

In April, try the Whidbey Island Marathon.

In July, do it up big at the Whidbey Island Fair.

In August, you can ride the Tour de Whidbey.

On Labor Day weekend, you can check out the Oak Harbor Music Festival.

Or in June, you can roll into Oak Harbor with Dave, Jim, Randy and me – and celebrate your arrival on America’s 40^th largest island – Whidbey Island (169 square miles).

Let’s party!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 4,028 (in square miles, size of largest island in the US – Hawaii, the Big Island)

What’s your number?

Oregon’s rugged coastline causes the coastal highway to occasionally sneak inland.

Today that’s just what it does.

Leaving Lincoln City, we turn away from the coast for 25 miles, until Tillamook Bay appears on our left. Tillamook Bay is Oregon’s second largest, encompassing 597 miles of watershed.

Tillamook is a Coast Salish word meaning “Land of Many Waters,” probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay. The rivers emptying into Tillamook Bay include the Kilchis River, the Wilson River, and a bunch of unnamed creeks.

The Cape Meares Lighthouse, on the west entrance to Tillamook Bay, is Oregon’s shortest. The 38-foot-high lighthouse began operation in 1890 and was decommissioned in 1963. 

On the northern end of Tillamook Bay, the coastal highway again returns to the coast, meandering through Rockaway Beach and Nedonna Beach before skirting Nehalem Bay and the Nehalem River.

The Oregon Coast Highway continues its path northward until we reach the state’s most famous seaside town, Cannon Beach, 85 miles from where our day began. The town is named after a naval cannon that washed ashore after a shipwreck in the 1840s.

Cannon Beach is best known for its iconic Haystack Rock, one of the most famous coastline scenes in Oregon. Haystack Rock rises 235 feet out of the Pacific Ocean. National Geographic has listed it as one of the world’s 100 most beautiful places.

William Clark, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, first came to Cannon Beach in 1805. Looking out to the Pacific, he called it “… the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed, in front of a boundless Ocean.”

Every June, Cannon Beach hosts a sand castle building contest. This year, it’ll be held on June 11, next Saturday. 

Twenty miles ahead, we arrive in Astoria, as we prepare to cross the mighty Columbia River and enter the state of Washington. 

Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains, and the oldest city in the state of Oregon. The city is named for John Jacob Astor, an investor from New York City, whose American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria where the city is today.

Astoria’s economy once centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia. Bumble Bee Seafoods closed its last Astoria cannery almost 40 years ago, and today, the city’s economy is built around tourism, a growing art scene, and light manufacturing.

The Astoria-Megler bridge, completed in 1966, is the largest continual truss bridge in North America. To allow ship traffic up the Columbia, the bridge has a clearance of 196 feet at high tide.

The steel cantilever bridge is slightly more than four miles long, and was the final link in the US highway system between Mexico and Canada. From 1926 until the bridge opened, ferry service was the only way to get across the Columbia north of Astoria. 

Normally, only motor vehicles and bicycles are allowed on the bridge. But once a year, usually in October, the bridge hosts the “Great Columbia Crossing,” where participants can run or walk from the Washington side to Astoria. This year’s 10K run/walk event will be held on October 9. Be there, or be square.

The bridge has been featured in Hollywood movies, including Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, and The Goonies.

The Columbia River Bar is a major marine coastal hazard. Since 1792, about 2,000 large ships have sunk, in and around the Columbia Bar. It’s no wonder that the mouth of the Columbia River is known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

The Columbia River Bar is so challenging to navigate that ship pilots earn an average annual salary of $214,000. That may sound good, but their peers in San Francisco and the Puget Sound earn between $387,000 and $450,000 a year. Nice pay for driving a boat around.

***

We soon find Willapa Bay to our left, and ride most of the way around it. The bay is the second-largest estuary on the Pacific Coast. It’s quite shallow; more than half of its surface area lies in the intertidal zone, and half of the volume of water inside it enters and leaves with every tide.

As we ride along the bay, we cross the water in Raymond, where the Willapa River feeds into Willapa Bay. Raymond was once a booming logging and fishing town. Its business section was built on stilts five or six feet above the tidelands. Its population in the early 1900s was 6,000 – about twice what it is today.

In Raymond, we turn west on Washington Highway 105, and continue along the northern end of Willapa Bay, until we once again find ourselves along the Pacific. Just south of Westport, we again ride along the shores of a large bay – Gray’s Harbor.

Gray’s Harbor is named for fur trader Robert Gray, who in 1792 crossed the bar into a bay he called Bullfinch Harbor, which was subsequently renamed Chehalis Bay and then Gray’s Harbor. We ride along the southern shore of Gray’s Harbor, then cross the Chelais River into Aberdeen – before cruising through Hoquiam and along the northern shore of the bay.

Hoquiam’s name comes from a Native American word meaning “hungry for wood.” The name originally derived from the great amount of driftwood at the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Later, Hoquiam became a major logging and timber center. From 1880 on, Hoquiam’s growth was largely dependent on the lumber industry. The decline of lumber and logging in the northwest also doomed the Hoquiam economy.

***

From Hoquiam, it’s about 20 miles to tonight’s destination, Ocean Shores. The route is mostly along the North Bay of Gray’s Harbor. The city of Ocean Shores sits on a narrow peninsula, halfway between North Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Ocean Shores is known for its long Pacific beach and fresh seafood.

Turns out you can drive, or ride, on the beach. Make sure to keep track of the tide levels and only drive on hard-packed sand. The Ocean Shores official city website says if you become stuck, expect towing fees to be at least $100; the city strongly recommends four-wheel drive vehicles for beach cruising.

Which, of course, leaves Harleys out. It’s hard to have four-wheel drive when you only have two wheels.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 25 (speed limit, in miles per hour, on Ocean Shores beaches)

What’s your number?

***

My other number today: 4. That’s now the number of riders in the posse, as of 4:47 pm today.

Finding no need to scamper to higher ground for Tsunami survival, we depart Crescent City.

On our way toward the golf mecca of Bandon Dunes, we pass through Denmark.

Denmark, Oregon, actually. That’s notable to me because Sarah and I were married in Dragør, Denmark – just outside Copenhagen – and I speak a little Danish.

Jeg taler om lidt dansk.

Denmark, Oregon, was founded by first-generation Danes who developed a profitable dairy industry in the area. In 1915, the community had a sawmill (savværk), a cheese (ost) factory, a creamery (flødetøj), and a public school (skole).

In 1940, it had a population of nearly 100. But improvements to US Highway 101 bypassed the business district, and the community went into decline.

Today, it has nothing.

I dag, det har ikke noget.

***

Fifteen miles north of Denmark is Bandon, a town of about 3,000, mostly known for its golf. Bandon was named by George Bennet, an Irish immigrant, who settled nearby in 1873 and named it after Bandon, Ireland – his hometown.

Today, nearby Bandon Dunes is considered one of the top golf resorts in the US, if not the world. It has five seaside courses, all with incredible ocean views. An additional two non-traditional courses include “The Punchbowl,” a 100,000 square-foot putting course, and Bandon Preserve, a 13-hole par 3 course.

Twenty-five miles north on Bandon is Coos Bay, a city of about 16,000 with a history in shipbuilding and lumber products. It’s the largest city on the Oregon coast.

We pass through Newport, then the picturesque town of Depoe Bay, site of one of the more memorable scenes from 1975 Academy Award winner, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In this scene, the inmates from the insane asylum escape to go fishing in Depoe Bay. During the movie’s fishing interlude, Randall Patrick McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, offers the timeless line: “You’re not nuts; you’re fishermen!”

Depoe Bay, for some reason, claims to have the world’s smallest navigable harbor, covering about six acres, with a 50-foot-wide channel connecting it to the Pacific Ocean. It’s also known as the Whale Watching Capital of the Oregon Coast. 

From Depoe Bay, it’s only 10 miles to tonight’s destination, Lincoln City.

The city was incorporated in 1965, uniting the cities of Delake, Oceanlake and Taft, and the unincorporated communities of Cutler City and Nelscott – all adjacent communities on Highway 101. The name Lincoln City, honoring former president Abraham Lincoln, was chosen from contest entries submitted by local school children.

During the naming contest, the soon-to-be city was almost called “Surfland.” That’s what the majority of school kids in the area wanted. In 1999, a number of locals wanted to rename it “Beach City.” That didn’t stick, either. So, Lincoln City will apparently remain Lincoln City, for the foreseeable future.

A big annual event in Lincoln City is the Oregon Summer Kite Festival. This year the festival will be held on June 25 and 26. It will blow you away.

One other event in Lincoln City that could blow you away is the Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic. Nelscott Reef is named for the former community of Nelscott that’s now part of Lincoln City. The reef is about a half-mile offshore at a depth of about 18 feet. The open ocean swells can reach up to 50 feet in the winter season. Nelscott Reef is Oregon’s big wave claim to fame.

The Big Wave Classic is a one-day event between October 1 and March 31. It’s called on three days’ notice to guarantee optimal conditions. The event is for experts only, a double-black run in the water. If the waves don’t kill you, the sharks might.

So much to do in Lincoln City. So little time to do it.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 1,689.5 (displacement, in cubic centimeters, of my Harley. Vroom!)

What’s your number?

This trip is a waltz down memory lane. It’s full of traditions, revisiting places of joy and remembering what made them special.

Taking an annual Harley trip is a tradition in itself.

Riding with the guys, my posse, is a tradition.

On this journey, revisiting the Pacific Coast Highway, roaring through Big Sur, is a tradition.

Clam chowder on the Monterey pier is a tasty tradition.

This morning, we plan to renew another culinary tradition.

Queenie’s Roadhouse Café is just 18 miles up the road.

Lynn Derrick is the Queen. The last time she made breakfast for us was three years ago. Can’t wait to see what she’s cooking up today.

We stop at Queenie’s, but they aren’t yet open, so we power on toward Mendocino. Our royal tradition will have to wait til next time.

Queenie’s is in Elk, home to Greenwood State Beach, Elk Rock, and the Elk Cove Inn and Spa.

Elk is about halfway from Point Arena, where our morning began, to Mendocino, Northern California’s best known artist colony. The town’s name comes from Cape Mendocino, named by early Spanish navigators in honor of Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain. Mendoza means cold mountain.

For two weeks every summer since 1986, the Mendocino Music Festival is held here. Evening concerts feature the Festival orchestra, composed of professional musicians from the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera orchestra, the San Francisco Ballet orchestra, the Symphony of the Redwoods and other Bay Area orchestras. This year’s festival begins July 9. We’re a little early.

***

Ten miles north of Mendocino is Fort Bragg. The city was founded, before the Civil War, as a military garrison. It was named for Braxton Bragg, who later became a general in the Confederate Army. A graduate of West Point (class of 1837), Bragg earned a reputation for incompetence, for wantonly shooting his own soldiers, and for losing battles. Books have been written about Bragg, calling him the “Most Hated Man of the Confederacy.”

There’s no military presence today in Fort Bragg, California. The much better-known Fort Bragg, is in North Carolina. It’s all about the military. Also named for Braxton Bragg, North Carolina’s Fort Bragg is the largest military installation in the world, with more than 50,000 active-duty personnel.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina, may soon have a new name. A congressional naming commission in late May recommended renaming nine military bases originally named for leaders of the Confederacy, including Fort Bragg. The commission recommends changing Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty. It’s the only one of the ten bases to be named after an abstract idea, not an individual — or group of people. The recommendations must be approved by Congress and the Secretary of Defense.

***

Highway One hugs the coast for another 30 miles, then turns inland for several hours. The coastal highway becomes US Highway 101, as it winds through towering groves of redwood trees.

We turn off of Highway 101, and on to California Highway 254, which parallels Highway 101. Highway 254 is called the Avenue of the Giants.

The towering Coast Redwoods on both sides of the road are what give the Avenue of the Giants its name. The redwoods found along the Avenue of the Giants – are Coast Redwoods, also called California Redwoods. Sequoia Sempervirens is the official scientific name for the Coast Redwood. The trees grow in a narrow band near the coast of northern California and southern Oregon.

As the tallest trees in the world, Coast Redwoods can grow to be more than 360 feet tall. The big ones have names, like Hyperion – at 379 feet, the tallest known Coast Redwood. That’s higher than the Statue of Liberty, including the pedestal.

The root structure for Coast Redwoods is unusually shallow; their roots grow only 6 to 12 feet deep. But the roots spread out as much as 50 feet around the tree, forming a broad base to hold it steady in high winds, and to gather lots of moisture.

We experience the beauty of the redwoods for 31 exquisite miles, before exiting the Avenue of the Giants at its northern entrance and returning to Highway 101.

Then, we turn inland for several hours. That’s where the really, really big trees are.

We follow the Eel River, rolling through Fortuna, known as The Friendly City.

At the southern end of Arcata Bay is the port city of Eureka, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland. Eureka is California’s state motto. It means: “I have found it.” Those words were probably intended to refer to the discovery of gold in California.

The appropriately named Redwood Highway leads us north, crossing the Klamath River and pushing toward tonight’s destination, Crescent City.

***

Crescent City, the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, is named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city. Its population of about 6,600 includes inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison, a badass place to be. Forty percent of the prison’s 2,700 inmates are serving life sentences and nearly all have histories of violence at other California prisons that resulted in their transfer to Pelican Bay.

A tsunami of bad things can happen there.

Speaking of tsunamis – world’s worst segue! – Crescent City experienced a world-class tsunami in 1964. It started with a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska that sent huge waves surging toward Crescent City. In less than five hours, during the early morning hours of March 28, three smaller waves pushed into storefronts and businesses, causing little damage and a sense of calm in the people trying to clean up.

Then, a huge wave, cresting at nearly 21 feet, slammed into the downtown, killing 11 people, and devastating 29 city blocks. Nearly 300 buildings and homes were destroyed. Today, you can still see high-water marks posted on buildings that survived the tsunami.

Crescent City is still on alert. The city’s website advises residents and visitors – including us – if they feel a sizable earthquake, head north for high ground at 9^th Street. Leave your vehicle (Harley?) and walk especially briskly if you hear tsunami sirens.

Hearing none, we check into our motel, and plan a destruction-free dinner.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 64 (the age of Lynn Derrrick, the Queen at Queenie’s Roadhouse Café)

What’s your number?

Our Highway One funfest is just beginning. Strap in.

Yesterday we experienced its most famous section – the 65 miles from San Simeon to Big Sur.

Today, we cross the world’s most famous bridge – the Golden Gate – and follow the California coastline for 206 memorable miles.

***

Navigation, on these rides, can be critical, and often challenging. On the California coast, you’d have to be a moron to get lost.

Simple as this: follow the Highway One signs, and make sure the Pacific Ocean is on your left.

That’s what we do as we leave the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, heading north toward San Francisco.

There’s little development and scant civilization until we reach Half Moon Bay, named for its half-moon shape. The area’s largest employer is the Ritz Carlton hotel, a luxury resort with two beachfront golf courses designed by Arthur Hills. The LPGA held its Samsung World Championship here on the Ocean Course in 2008. The winner: American Paula Creamer, who grew up 40 miles away in Pleasanton.

This stretch of Highway One is called the Cabrillo Highway. It’s named after Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Spanish explorer known for checking out the west coast. He was the first European to navigate the coast of present-day California, and is best known for exploring the coast for two years, beginning in 1542.

Soon, we see signs of life as we approach the city of Pacifica, which sits between Half Moon Bay and San Francisco. Pacifica, which is Spanish for “peaceful,” is a surfing destination with a renowned skateboard park.

Highway One becomes Interstate 280, which takes into the heart of San Francisco. With a population of more than 870,000, San Francisco is by far the largest city we’ll see on this trip.

Named for Saint Francis, the city has some interesting history.

• During the Great Depression, not a single bank in San Francisco failed.
• The Beatles gave their last full concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
• In 1906, three quarters of the city was destroyed by an earthquake and fire.
• The US Navy originally planned to paint the Golden Gate Bridge black with yellow stripes. The famed “international orange” color was intended to be a sealant.
• The city’s cable cars are the only National Historical Monuments that can move. The cables that pull the cars run at a constant speed of 9.5 miles an hour.

As we roll through the city, the road quickly becomes Highway One again, or 19^th Avenue, as the locals call it. We see block after block of old, overpriced houses and apartments in the Sunset and Golden Gate Heights districts. In San Francisco, the average price of single-family homes is more than $1,200 dollars per square foot. The median price for condos in San Francisco is $1.25 million, and for single family homes it’s $1.75 million.

We pass through Golden Gate Park, a 1,017-acre urban park that’s San Francisco’s version of New York’s Central Park. With 13 million visitors a year, Golden Gate Park is the fifth-most visited city park in the US, after Central Park, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and two parks in San Diego.

The Presidio is just ahead. Originally El Presidio Real de San Francisco, the Presidio a park and former US military fort. It’s part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The Presidio had been a fortified location since 1776, when New Spain established the Presidio to gain a foothold in the San Francisco Bay. Today, the park has wooded areas, hills and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Golden Gate Bridge appears. One of the most famous and photographed sights in the world, the bridge spans the Golden Gate, a one-mile-wide strait connecting the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

With its 746-foot tall towers, Art Deco styling and distinctive international orange color, the bridge draws 10 million visitors annually, not counting the estimated 112,000 vehicles that cross the bridge daily, commuting to and from work in San Francisco.

In 1955, when I first crossed the bridge as a kid – OK, as a passenger in our family car – the toll was 25 cents.

Today, as northbound riders, we won’t be reaching into our pockets for quarters to pay the toll. The toll now is $8.05 for two-axle vehicles; it’s paid electronically at the San Francisco end, for southbound travelers.

There’s no discount for motorcycles. But because we’re crossing the bridge northbound, it’s free today!

The Golden Gate Bridge has been declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It’s a pretty elite list, including the tunnel under the English Channel, the Empire State Building, and the Panama Canal.

When the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, after four years of construction, it had cost more than $35 million to build. That’s chump change by today’s standards. It was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. At the time of its opening, the bridge was both the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world.

On the north side of the Golden Gate, we enter Marin County, home of San Quentin State Prison and my 81-year-old cousin, Rich.

Skirting the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Tennessee Valley, we roll through Muir Beach, named after John Muir, an influential Scottish-American naturalist who was an early advocate for the preservation of America’s wilderness.

He co-founded the Sierra Club, and devoted most of his later life to the preservation of western forests. Muir briefly studied natural sciences at the University of Wisconsin but, ultimately, chose to spend his lifetime enrolled in what he called the University of Wilderness.

We’re now on the Shoreline Highway, which Highway One is called locally. We are riding along the southern end of Mount Tamalpais State Park, whose primary feature is 2,571-foot Mount Tamalpais. The park is full of redwood and oak forests. It’s a popular hiking, picnicking and camping destination for Bay Area residents. The western slopes of Mount Tamalpais descend to the Pacific Ocean at Stinson Beach. Mountain biking is said to have been invented on the slopes of Mount Tam, as the locals call it.

Stinson Beach is a popular day trip for San Francisco residents eager to get out of the city.

It’s a great place for beachcombing, especially in the winter, when the crowds are smaller, and during morning low tides. The waters off Stinson Beach are part of the Red Triangle, an area extending from Bodega Bay to Big Sur and including the Farallon Islands. Shark attacks, especially from Great Whites, are occasional within the triangle; but still, quite rare. A surfer at Stinson Beach was attacked by a Great White in 1998; another surfer was attacked in 2002.

Stinson Beach has been the setting for a number of Hollywood movies, including Play It Again, Sam; Basic Instinct; and Shoot the Moon.

Today, Stinson Beach is a good place for lunch, and to catch up with my cousin, who I haven’t seen since Covid.

***

After our Stinson Beach lunch, Highway One turns inland. On our way north we pass through Bolinas, Olema, Point Reyes Station, and the appropriately named town of Bivalve.

Bivalve was founded by the Pacific Oyster Company, after it established 450 acres of oyster beds there in 1907. Bivalves, of course, are aquatic mollusks that have a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

We’re nearing Bodega Bay, a marine habitat used for navigation, recreation, and commercial and sport fishing including shellfish harvesting. In the US, a bodega is a small convenience store. In a Spanish-speaking country, a bodega is a wine shop or wine cellar.

Bodega Bay is most famous for its role in the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds, Hitchcock’s first horror/fantasy film. The movie centers on a small California coastal town (Bodega Bay) that is inexplicably attacked and rendered helpless by massive flocks of aggressive birds.

The majority of the birds seen in the film are real, although an estimated $200,000 was spent on the creation of mechanical birds for the film. The crow attacks were enhanced by what was then called the special effects department. The special effects shots of the attacking birds were completed at Walt Disney Studios by animator/technician, Ub Iwerks. Iwerks is better known for being the co-creator of Mickey Mouse in 1928. The other co-creator: Walt Disney.

From Bodega Bay, it’s only 62 miles to tonight’s destination, Point Arena. Because we’re on Highway One, it’ll take an hour and 40 minutes to get there. What’s the rush?

Formerly known as Punta Arena, the quaint city, population 450, has long been associated with hippie and counterculture groups. It’s one of the smallest incorporated cities in California.

It’s small, yet big enough for several restaurants, and the charming Wildflower Boutique Motel, our home for the evening.

Did someone say dinner?

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: $187,000,000 (annual revenue from the Golden Gate Bridge)

What’s your number?

Today, we’ll be on California Highway 1, the world-famous Pacific Coast Highway. All day long.

Highway One is said to be one of the world’s most scenic and iconic drives. I’ve ridden it a half-dozen times, north and south. Each time it just gets better and better. Today should be no different.

This coastal gem begins 1,300 hundred miles of riding over the next six days, as we work our way up the coast of California, Oregon and Washington.

***

US Highway 101 is our route out of Santa Maria.

“The 101,” as Californians call it, takes us past Pismo Beach, and turns inland for a few miles before arriving in the college town of San Luis Obispo, called “SLO” by those in the know. The school, formally known as California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, is most often referred to as Cal Poly.

SLO is also the International Olympic Committee code for Slovenia, the country of 2 million people located in the Balkans, in Central Europe. Slovenia, once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and today is a member of the European Union and NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

In southern California SLO, we turn north and west on Highway One. The fun is almost upon us.

Ten more miles and we hit the beach.

Just after passing through Morro Bay, we lock eyes on the Pacific Ocean, which will be our companion until the middle of next week.

The artistic haven of Cambria is 20 miles ahead. I’ve stayed in Cambria twice on previous Harley trips. It’s either the finish line marking the end of a southern trip down the coast, or the start line, denoting the beginning of our northward fun-fest.

We arrive in Cambria, take a breather, and get ready for the ride of our lives.

***

From Cambria, it’s only 10 miles to San Simeon, home of the Hearst Castle, a 90,000-square foot mansion that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Today, the Hearst Castle is a California state park, and a National Historic Landmark. It’s been closed for the past two years due to the pandemic and severe rainstorm damage that prompted a $14 million renovation. It finally re-opened to the public on May 11.

William Randolph Hearst’s timing was impeccable. He got disgustingly wealthy in the early 1900s, making a fortune in the newspaper business, developing what was at the time the largest newspaper chain in the US. Hearst dreamed big, and lived large.

Between 1919 and 1947, he built La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill), known today as the Hearst Castle. It cost $700 million to build; today, the construction bill, adjusted for inflation and current building costs, would run around five billion dollars!

At the height of Hearst’s wealth, the estate around the castle totaled more than 250,000 acres. Hearst, his castle and his lifestyle were satirized by Orson Welles in his 1941 film, Citizen Kane.

The castle has spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

So do we.

***

Riding north from San Simeon, there’s nothing but miles and miles of unparalleled visual beauty. 

Highway One is a narrow, twisty roadway with steep drop-offs over cliffs that fall precipitously to the Pacific Ocean. It’s 65 miles from San Simeon to Big Sur.

Big Sur has been called the longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower 48. It’s a popular destination for about seven million people who live within a day’s drive, and visitors from across the world.

The region receives about the same number of annual visitors as Yosemite National Park, but offers extremely limited bus service, few restrooms, and a narrow two-lane highway with few places to park alongside the road. Perfect!

About 10 miles north of Big Sur is the picturesque Bixby Creek Bridge, made famous in more than a few Hollywood movies and TV shows. The 714-foot-long bridge has been featured in Basic Instinct, Play Misty for Me and the HBO series, Big Little Lies. 

The Bixby Creek Bridge signals that we’ve almost arrived in Monterey, 10 miles north of the bridge. Monterey is home to the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

***

I love traditions. Sarah’s cheesecake at Thanksgiving. Sunday New York Times crossword puzzles. Hot cookies at Up 4 Pizza at Snowmass with my Aspen Valley Ski Club kids. Seder with family. Harley riding with my good buddies.

Traditions are important because they contribute a sense of comfort and belonging. 

Today marks a return to an important tradition on Harley rides that involve the California coast: clam chowder on Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf. For the third time, Dave and I are stopping at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto restaurant for yummy chowder, served in a carved-out loaf of French bread.

Tradition.

***

We leave Monterey with full tummies and a renewed sense of tradition.

Tonight’s destination, Santa Cruz, is only 42 miles away.

We ride along Monterey Bay, continuing our journey north on Highway One. Santa Cruz is situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay. The bay is huge. It takes us about an hour to cover the 42 miles from Monterey to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is a thriving beach town with a population approaching 65,000. It’s home to the University of California, Santa Cruz (best team name in college sports: the Banana Slugs).

Highway One actually goes through the heart of Santa Cruz, but misses the city’s major attraction: the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We exit Highway One, cross the San Lorenzo River, and head for tonight’s lodging, right on the Boardwalk.

What a day!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 177 (number of miles ridden today on Highway One)

What’s your number?

We leave Lone Pine, and head south on US Highway 395.

Immediately, we ride past Owens Lake, a mostly dry lake on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Unlike most dry lakes that have been dry for thousands of years, Owens held significant water until 1913, when much of the Owens River was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, causing the lake to dry up.

Essentially, Owens Lake dried up so that Los Angeles could have water. Water from the Owens Valley was used to fuel LA’s explosive growth. The story of that water diversion was told in the 1974 film, Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

Owens Lake is so dry that, in 2013, it was named as the largest single source of dust pollution in the US.

About 60 miles south of Owens Lake, we head west on California Highway 178. We’ll stay on this highway for nearly 100 miles, until we roll into Bakersfield, one of Dave’s favorite cities in the world. It’s right up there on his pantheon of places, along with Montrose, Colorado.

The road winds over 5,280-foot Walker Pass, through the southern Sierra Nevadas. Walker Pass is a National Historic Landmark. It was charted as a route through the Sierras in 1834 by Joseph Rutherford Walker, a member of the Bonneville Expedition. The pass is the highest point on Highway 178.

It’s all downhill from Walker Pass.

In 90 minutes, we’ll be in Bakersfield, doing whatever people in Bakersfield do. 

For us, that means gassing up our bikes, and grabbing something to drink. We calling it fueling and cooling.

We’re in California, where gas prices border on ridiculous. Um, actually, they’ve long crossed the ridiculous threshold. Gas today is closer to $7 per gallon than $6. Yes, it’s premium, and my tank only holds six gallons, but still. The possibility of a $40 fill-up on a motorcycle is crazy.

California’s gas prices have traditionally been the highest in the US. It’s partly because of taxes as well as regulatory programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Together, they add about $1.27 to the cost of a gallon of gas, according to a calculation by the Western States Petroleum Association.

***

The population of Bakersfield’s metro area is more than a half million. It’s a significant hub for both agriculture and energy production. Kern County is the most productive oil-producing county in California, and the fourth-most productive agricultural county in the US.

One of the best things to like about Bakersfield: it’s the birthplace of the country music genre known as the Bakersfield Sound. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard became two of the most successful artists of the original Bakersfield era while performing with the Buckaroos (Haggard) and the Strangers (Owens).

Bakersfield’s Harley-Davidson dealer is located on Merle Haggard Drive!

We leave Bakersfield behind, and are reminded of the region’s key resource: oil. We roll past the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the largest in California, on our way to Maricopa. Kern County produces 66 percent of the oil in California, about 10 percent of the U.S. oil supply, and approximately 1 percent of the world’s total oil production. That works out to about 560,000 barrels of oil per day.

And, $7-a-gallon gas!

***

Now on California Highway 166, nicknamed the Cuyama Highway, we roll through the towns of Cuyama and New Cuyama, two miles apart. Apparently, one is newer than the other. The name Cuyama comes from an Indian village named for the Chumash word, kuyam, meaning “clam” or “freshwater mollusk.”

After 77 miles on Highway 166, we arrive in Santa Maria, tonight’s destination.

Spanish for “St. Mary,” Santa Maria is notable for its wine industry and Santa Maria-style barbecue. This style of cooking was copyrighted by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce in 1978. A favorite is beef tri-tip, seasoned with black pepper, salt and garlic before grilling over coals of native coast live oak.

If we didn’t already have dinner on the brain, now we do. Time to park the bikes, and get serious about the rest of the day.

Turns out the hotel restaurant, Portabella Bar & Grill, has Santa Maria-style BBQ. Done!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 93255 (the ZIP Code of Onyx, California – one of today’s route waypoints)

What’s your number?

Thanks for the hospitality, Bowmans. Time to move on.

Leaving Las Vegas. That’s essentially what we’re doing.

Leaving Las Vegas was a 1995 Hollywood film, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O’Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as Ben, a suicidal alcoholic who, having lost his family and been recently fired, decides to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. Once in Las Vegas, he develops a romantic relationship with Sera, a pretty, but hardened, prostitute – played by Elisabeth Shue.

That’s pretty dark, as was the film. The movie review site “Rotten Tomatoes” gave Leaving Las Vegas 91% on the “Tomatometer.” 

Our day looks to be much sunnier. We’re headed for Death Valley.

***

We point west on Nevada Highway 160, and an hour after leaving Las Vegas, arrive in Pahrump. The city calls itself “Easy to reach and hard to forget.”

There’s much to do here, including off-road adventures, hot-air ballooning, golf, bird watching, and yes, firearms training. There’s even a Ladies Day, every Thursday, at the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute.

Pahrump, with a population of more than 37,000, is the last stop on our way to Death Valley. You can go really fast around here. On November 4, 2017, a Swedish-made supercar, the Koenigsegg Agera RS, reached a top speed of 277.9 miles an hour on Nevada Highway 160, the same road we’re on. That’s about four times the speed I’m likely to ride today. If you follow this blog, you know I ride like Grandma, which is why I’m still alive today.

About 20 miles beyond Pahrump, we cross into California on State Line Road, and approach Death Valley Junction.

At the junction, you can go north or south on California Highway 127, or west on California Highway 190.

Or, you can visit the Amargosa Opera House, where resident Marta Becket staged dance and mime shows from the late 1960s until her last show in 2012. She died in in 2017, at the age of 92. There’s little else in Death Valley Junction.

***

We head west on Highway 190, soon entering Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley is the 23rd National Park Dave and I have visited on our motorcycle journeys since 2015. Want the full list?

• Arches
• Badlands
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison
• Bryce Canyon
• Canyonlands
• Capitol Reef
• Crater Lake
• Death Valley
• Glacier
• Grand Canyon
• Grand Teton
• Joshua Tree
• Kings Canyon
• Lassen Volcanic
• Mount Rainier
• North Cascades
• Olympic
• Redwood
• Rocky Mountain
• Sequoia
• Yellowstone
• Yosemite
• Zion

In addition, I’ve been to Denali, Great Smoky Mountains, Haleakala, Kenai Fjords, and Shenandoah National Parks. Twenty-eight in all.

Pretty sure I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my National Parks Lifetime Senior Pass, acquired in 2012 for $10.

What’s your number?

***

Today, we’re exploring Death Valley, the largest National Park in the lower 48. At 3,373,063 acres, it’s larger than Rhode Island and Delaware.

According to the National Park Service, Death Valley was given its forbidding name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. Even though only one of the group died here, they all assumed that this valley would be their grave. As the party climbed out of the valley over the Panamint Mountains, one of the men turned, looked back, and said “Goodbye, death valley.”

The name, Death Valley, was coined based on a winter-time visit. Imagine if the pioneers had been here in the summer.

It gets hot here. Very, very hot.

As someone who lived in the California desert for 17 years, I’m more than a little familiar with heat. But Death Valley heat is otherworldly.

The record high is 134 F. That’s not a typo.

Rain? Not so much.

Average annual precipitation in the park is a little more than two inches, most of that coming in December, January and February.

Clearly, Death Valley is the hottest and driest National Park. It’s the lowest, too.

Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America. The salt flats there cover nearly 200 square miles, and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (NaCl – table salt), along with calcite, gypsum and borax.

We pass within about 10 miles of Badwater Basin, but save a visit there for another trip.

There’s no missing Twenty Mule Team Canyon. We ride right through it.

It’s where we find the Harmony Borax Works. After borax was found near Furnace Creek Ranch in 1881, the Harmony Borax Works employed 40 men, who produced three tons of borax daily.

Getting the finished product to market from the heart of Death Valley was a difficult task. The Harmony operation became famous through the use of large mule teams and double wagons that hauled borax on the long overland route to Mojave.

The image of the “20-mule team” persists to this day, made famous by TV westerns in the 1950s. The 20 Mule Team Borax brand originally became a household name through the sponsorship of the radio program, Death Valley Days. The program evolved into a TV show in 1952, hosted by Ronald Reagan. It was the last job he had as an actor before becoming governor of California.

Borax? It’s a powdery white substance, widely used as a household cleaner and a booster for laundry detergent. Borax is a combination of boron, sodium, and oxygen. Now you know.

Continuing our ride through the park, we pass through Furnace Creek, which holds the record for highest recorded natural ground surface temperature on Earth: 201 °F. Seriously? Yep, 201 – on July 15, 1972. The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 194 and 212 °F for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity. Oof!

July 15, 1972 – the 201 degree day in Furnace Creek – was a big date in history. Another 7/15/72 milestone: “Honky Chateau” becomes Elton John’s first Number One album in the US. The album includes “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat.”

***

Our next point of interest is Stovepipe Wells. It has a full-service hotel, general store, and an airstrip. We arrive in Stovepipe Wells around noon. It’s a good place to stop for a cold beverage.

Thirty miles from Stovepipe Wells is the Panamint Springs Resort. Calling it a resort is a bit of a stretch. The place consists of a motel, cabins, RV and tent campsites, a restaurant and gas station. It has air conditioning, too. On a hot day that could come in handy.

West of Panamint Springs, the road gets twisty and quite interesting.

We’re in Rainbow Canyon, often referred to as “Star Wars Canyon.” The nickname comes from the canyon’s mineral-rich soil and rocky walls in shades of red, gray and pink. The canyon calls to mind a landscape in a galaxy far, far away — Tatooine, the home planet of Star Wars character Luke Skywalker.

Star Wars Canyon is one of the few places in the world where photographers can see combat aircraft flying below them. Military training flights have used the canyon since World War II, zipping through the canyon at 200 to 300 miles an hour – as low as 200 feet above the canyon floor.

Unfortunately, in 2019, a jet crashed in the canyon, resulting in the death of the pilot and injury to several visitors in the area. The accident temporarily put an end to training flights through Rainbow Canyon.

The US Navy attributed the crash of the F/A-18E Super Hornet to an inexperienced pilot’s split-second lapse in judgment. The Navy pilot, a Top Gun graduate, was leading a two-fighter low-level training mission through Rainbow Canyon when his aircraft collided into the canyon wall at more than 600 miles an hour.

***

The Father Crowley Overlook offers great views into Rainbow Canyon. The overlook is named in honor of Father John J. Crowley, an early 20^th century Catholic priest in California’s large but sparsely populated Eastern Sierra. As the lone priest in this huge, desolate region, he was known as the “Desert Padre.” Father Crowley served there from 1919 until his death in 1940 at age 48.

Ten minutes after leaving Father Crowley Overlook, we roll out of Death Valley National Park, and are on our way to tonight’s destination, Lone Pine. The town is named after a solitary pine tree that once existed at the mouth of Lone Pine Canyon. The pine tree has long since vanished, destroyed in a flood.

Lone Pine calls itself the portal to Mount Whitney. At 14,505 feet, it’s the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. Lone Pine has the distinction of being within a one-hour drive of both the highest and lowest elevations in the lower 48!

One of the two residents of my home in Carbondale has hiked to the top of Mount Whitney. It was not me.

You go, Sarah!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 5,270 (area, in square miles, of Death Valley National Park)

What’s your number?

There’s no riding for me today.

Over the past three days, I spent 18 hours in the saddle, and added 800 miles to my odometer.

With beautiful desert weather and a nice pool at the Bowman house, it’s time to cool my jets.

Tomorrow, Dave and I leave the comfort of his Henderson hacienda, and begin 21 straight days of riding. Once we leave Casa Bowman, I’ll have 5,000 miles ahead of me before returning to Carbondale. Taking a day off is not a tragedy.

I plan to enjoy my day of leisure. See you in the morning.

***

My number today: 1,025 (weight, in pounds, of my fully loaded Harley — including me — when I hit the road tomorrow)

What’s your number?

I’m coming your way, Dave and Gail!

Today’s destination is Henderson, Nevada – home of my riding pal since 2015, Dave Bowman.

Leaving Kanab, I’m only 237 riding miles from Dave and Gail’s front door.

The day begins by heading south on US Highway 89A, which crosses back into Arizona and soon takes me to the town of Fredonia, known as the gateway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Fredonia, with a population of about 1,300, was laid out in the 1880s. Its name is said to mean the “land of free women.” Inexpensive, maybe. But free?

Fredonia sits just outside the eastern edge of the Kaibab Indian Reservation. With a land area of just under 189 square miles, the reservation is home to five tribal villages and less than 200 residents.

Soon after riding through the Kaibab reservation, I enter the Arizona town of Colorado City, best known for its checkered history with the Mormon church. Colorado City adjoins the town of Hilldale, Utah. Both towns, surrounded by the Vermillion Cliffs, have long been associated with polygamy.

I’m happily married – one wife at a time, thank you very much – and feel a bit out of place here.

I enter Utah, which would still be a US Territory today if the Mormon church hadn’t renounced polygamy in 1890 (the church called it “plural marriage.”). Utah became a state six years later.

Outside of the US, there are still dozens of countries where polygamy is either legal, or illegal but still practiced. A few examples: Afghanistan allows up to four wives, as does Gambia, Lebanon, Libya and Bahrain, the Philippines and Singapore. In most of those countries legal polygamy is only allowed for Muslims. Who knew?

***

A few miles northwest of Colorado City / Hilldale, I pass through Hurricane – pronounced HER-ah-kun. Hurricane, population 20,000, was first settled in 1896, and got its name after a whirlwind blew the top off a buggy in which Erastus Snow was riding. Snow was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a leading figure in the Mormon colonization of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. He had 4 wives, 23 sons and 13 daughters.

Hurricane is just a few miles from St. George, Utah, one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. St. George was founded as a Mormon cotton mission in 1861, under the direction of Erastus Snow, the 4-23-13 guy described in the previous paragraph. Early settlers cultivated cotton as a commodity crop, but they didn’t succeed in producing it at competitive market rates, so cotton farming was eventually abandoned in the area.

Today, nearly 70 percent of the population of St. George identifies as Mormon – twice as many per capita as Salt Lake City. 

In St. George, I hop on Interstate 15 South for 61 mostly boring miles. Yes, mostly boring, because it’s an Interstate highway. The section for quite a few miles through the Virgin River Gorge is an exception to the “boring” rule, as it seems like a freeway through the Grand Canyon.

Before long, I cross into Nevada, rolling past the town of Mesquite, with all its golf courses and slot machines.

Then, finally, I exit I-15 near Moapa Valley, Nevada – best known for the nearby Valley of Fire, Nevada’s first and most famous state park. Valley of Fire is a 40,000-acre geological wonderland of towering red sandstone outcroppings set among tan and gray limestone. The sandstone formations were formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago.

When I arrive in Moapa Valley, it’s a tradition to stop at the Shell station, have a cold drink, and text Dave: “I’ll be there in an hour and a half.” I like traditions. So that’s what I do.

Comin’ your way, Dave!

It’s usually quite hot in Moapa Valley. There’s a reason the Valley of Fire got its name. Whenever I visit the place, I’m generally motivated to hustle on to Henderson.

Today is no different.

For about 50 miles, I follow Nevada Highway 167, which parallels Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam. It’s the largest reservoir in the US, in terms of water capacity. The lake has remained below full capacity for nearly 40 years, due to drought and increased water demand. The water level is now 1,052 feet, down 35 feet from last year. And it’s still dropping.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are part of a system that provides water to more than 40 million people, and water levels in both lakes have dropped to historic lows as the West experiences the most severe megadrought in 1,200 years. The water’s so low it’s exposing dead bodies long since forgotten.

Leaving Lake Mead behind, I’m soon on the outskirts of Henderson, Nevada’s second-biggest city, after Las Vegas. Henderson’s population is more than 320,000.

Among its residents are Dave and Gail Bowman, my hosts for the next two days.

Looking forward to darkening your doorstep soon, Bowmans!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 40 (estimated number of wives Mormon church founder Joseph Smith had; one, Helen Mar Kimball, was 14 when she became his wife)

What’s your number?

After a delightful breakfast at the Stone Lizard Lodge – highly recommended – I head south on US Highway 191.

In 25 miles, I pass through the tiny town of Bluff, population 90. It’s nestled between sandstone bluffs and the San Juan River. Bluff sits on the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway.

The town was settled in 1880 by Mormon pioneers seeking to establish a mission in the Four Corners area (Utah / Colorado / Arizona / New Mexico). Bluff claims to have been established in 650 A.D., and incorporated as a town in 2018. 

Unlike Blanding, where I dined last night, Bluff is not a dry town. You can get a glass of wine, or tasty craft beer with your meal.

But it’s 9:30 in the morning. I’ll power on toward today’s destination: Kanab, Utah.

Twenty-five miles southwest of Bluff is Mexican Hat, named for a curiously sombrero-shaped rock outcropping on the northeast edge of town. The Mexican hat is a flattened pancake disk atop a 300-foot-high talus cone. Mexican Hat is frequently noted on lists of unusual place names.

Mexican Hat, with a population of less than 100, is more of a tiny village than a town. It has a gas station.

***

I soon cross into Arizona, and enter Oljato-Monument Valley. It’s the home to a cluster of sandstone buttes. The largest reaches 1,000 feet above the valley floor.

Monument Valley is considered a sacred area that lies within the Navajo Nation Reservation. The valley has been featured in a number of Hollywood films, including John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1967) – the first Spaghetti Western to be filmed outside Europe.

I’m squarely in the middle of the Navajo Nation, a 27,000-square mile Native American territory, mostly in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. It’s the largest land area retained by a Native American tribe in the US. By area, the Navajo Nation is larger than 10 states.

The desolate desert landscape in the Navajo Nation stretches as far as the eye can see.

***

Soon, I arrive in Kayenta, the gateway to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Kayenta Township is the only municipal-style government on the Navajo Nation.

In Kayenta, I turn southwest on US Highway160, then join Arizona Highway 98, and point toward Page, Arizona – 64 miles away.

Page sits near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, both huge tourist draws.

Page was founded in 1957 as a housing community for workers and their families during construction of the nearby Glen Canyon Dam. The city was originally called Government Camp, but was later named for John Page, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1936 to 1943.

Page is considered the gateway to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell, which together attract more than three million visitors each year.

***

Leaving Page, I cross the Colorado River on US Highway 89, just south of the Glen Canyon Dam. Seventy-six miles later, after crossing back into Utah, I arrive in Kanab, tonight’s destination. The town calls itself “Magically Unspoiled.”

Kanab is surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs and vistas of sagebrush. The town was founded in 1870 when ten Mormon families moved into the area. Kanab is named for a Paiute word meaning “place of the willows.”

Locals refer to Kanab as “Little Hollywood,” because of its history as a filming location for movies and television shows, most of them westerns. Films shot there include Stagecoach, El Dorado and Planet of the Apes. TV shows include The Lone Ranger, Death Valley Days and Gunsmoke. 

You can go to the Little Hollywood museum, and check out Kanab’s Wild West film history through old movie sets and memorabilia. It’s free, a few hundred feet from the hotel, and right next to the Rocking V Cafe, where dinner awaits.

The evening has promise.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 17,544,500 (number of acres in the Navajo Nation)

What’s your number?

If you live in Carbondale (I do), and are going on a long motorcycle ride (I am), there are only three ways out of town.

Head east through Aspen on Colorado Highway 82, then over 12,095-foot Independence Pass. It’s spectacular, but just opened yesterday after a winter of heavy snow. So, no. Not today.

Ride 15 miles north to Glenwood Springs, hop on I-70, and go from there. Interstate highway? Meh. So, no. Not today.

Go south on Colorado Highway 133, zoom over 8,755-foot McClure Pass, and see where life takes you. Yesssss!

***

I begin my day as I begin any other day in Carbondale – pulling out of my driveway onto Sopris Mesa Drive. Pretty routine and predictable.

In one mile, I’m on Highway 133 and a whole new world awaits.

It’s the beginning of a 5,800-mile, 24-day journey that takes me to 10 states, two Canadian provinces, and seven national parks – three in the US, and four in Canada. The trip is a blend of coast, mountains, desolate valleys, and everything imaginable in between.

***

Assuming you’re a follower of this blog (why else would you be reading it?), you should be familiar with the beginning of today’s route.

I’m heading south toward Hotchkiss, Colorado, about 65 miles away. To learn more about this route, you can revisit Day One of my 2021 ride. Click here to do that. Stop reading when you get to Delta.

In Delta, I turn south on US Highway 50, which takes me through Olathe, Colorado’s corn capital, and home to Olathe sweet corn. The annual Olathe Sweet Corn Festival over the years has featured big-name musical groups, including Three Dog Night, Kansas, Styx, LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt and Clint Black. This year’s corn fest, the first one since Covid, happens on August 6 in downtown Olathe. A festival highlight on August 6: The Hugh Phillips Band, belting out Colorado Country music at 4:30 pm in Olathe Sweet Corn Park.

Looking for Olathe corn? Most of it is yellow and white, and can be found across the country at Kroger grocery stores (Ralph’s in Southern California; City Market in Colorado; QFC in Washington state). Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain by revenue, frequently purchases most or all of the Olathe sweet corn stock, which can amount to about 30 million ears of corn.

The Olathe corn season kicks off in late July, and runs through September. It’s as short and sweet as the corn itself.

***

From Olathe, I continue south toward Montrose.

I’ve been to Montrose a dozen or more times, but remember little about it other than this: my riding buddy Dave hates the place. He intensely dislikes all the stoplights. He says nuts to Montrose for making him sit on his overheating Harley for what seems like forever at red lights. He detests the way Montrose ruins the rhythm of a ride that’s gone so well for the last bunch of beautiful miles, then you’re trapped in traffic for 30 minutes.

A few years ago, after an interminably long journey down Main Street, with a stop at pretty much every signal, Dave called me on our helmet-mounted intercom system. He wanted me to know he plans to have his ashes spread at one of those signals – just to spite Montrose.

I think he’s kidding.

Today, I only stopped at six Montrose signals. Dave woulda liked that.

***

Leaving Montrose, US Highway 50 becomes Highway 550, which takes us to the town of Ridgway. Ridgway began as a railroad town, serving the nearby mining towns of Telluride and Ouray. Railroads and ranching have always been part of the Ridgway story. 

The town is named for Denver and Rio Grande railroad superintendent Robert Ridgway, who established Ridgway in 1891. Today, there’s a Ridgeway Railroad Museum at the southwest corner of US Highway 550 and Colorado Highway 62. Also at that junction: the only traffic signal in Ouray County.

Ridgway went through some tough times beginning with the collapse of the silver market in 1893, the demise of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in the 1950s, and the controversial plan by the US Bureau of Reclamation to construct a large dam that would inundate the town. In this case, inundate means burying the town in water.

The town’s people persevered, and Ridgway made a comeback. The dam was built elsewhere. And, the 1960s filming of two prominent Hollywood productions, How the West was Won, and True Grit, brought recognition to the community.

In Ridgway, I turn east, and head for the town of Placerville. The road takes me over the Dallas Divide, elevation 8,970 feet. The divide serves as the geological boundary between the San Juan Mountains and the Uncompahgre Plateau.

About a half-hour past the Dallas Divide, I arrive in Norwood, which sits in the San Miguel River Canyon. It’s named for Norwood, Missouri – the native home of a first settler in what is now Norwood, Colorado.

Norwood is on a mesa at 7,000 feet, with vistas ringed by the La Sal Mountains to the west, the Uncompahgre Plateau to the north, the San Juan Mountains to the east, and Lone Cone Peak to the south. After 180 miles on the road, it’s a good place to fuel up for the remainder of today’s ride — 112 miles to Blanding, Utah.

***

Near the tiny town of Naturita, I turn south onto Colorado Highway 141, the Unaweep / Tabeguache Scenic Byway, and continue for about 60 miles, approaching the Colorado-Utah border. This byway traces the Dolores River Canyon, which reaches depths of 2,000 feet.

Eventually, I find myself on US Highway 491, and soon I’m in Utah. Fifteen miles into the Beehive State, I arrive in the city of Monticello. It’s named after Thomas Jefferson’s estate in Virginia. From here, I turn south on US Highway 191. In 20 miles, I roll into Blanding, tonight’s destination.

Blanding was first known as Grayson, named after Nellie Grayson Lyman, wife of Mormon settler Joseph Lyman. The town changed its name in 1914 when a wealthy easterner, Thomas W. Bicknell, offered a thousand-volume library to any Utah town that would adopt his name. Grayson was renamed Blanding after the maiden name of Bicknell’s wife, and newly-named Blanding was overrun with books.

When you arrive in Blanding, you should set your clocks back. About 100 years.

Things don’t get too crazy in here. Blanding has been a “dry” city – no alcohol sales – since the 1930s. Talk of repealing the prohibition has surfaced periodically, and in 2017, Blanding residents voted overwhelmingly to keep the predominantly Mormon town dry.

Blanding is one of four cities in San Juan County that ban alcohol sales, according to statistics from the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association. The towns of Aneth and Navajo Mountain, located within the Navajo Reservation, and White Mesa on the Ute Reservation, also are dry.

I will not be hungover in the morning.

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 0 (the number of places you can get a beer in Blanding).

What’s your number?

Life is a numbers game.

Here are a few to chew on.

1,111: The distance, in miles, from my home in Carbondale, Colorado, to Monterey, California. I’ll have a bowl of clam chowder there on June 2.

1,344: The distance, in miles from my home in Carbondale, to Jasper, Alberta (Canada). I’ll have a bowl of poutine there on June 11.

51,000: The number of words it took me to blog about last year’s Harley ride, an 18-day adventure that culminated in Sturgis, South Dakota.

26,391: The number of days of my existence, beginning on February 24, 1950. LTD (Life to Date).

14: The number of Harley trips I’ve taken since I began long-distance riding in 2009.

51,000: The number of miles I’ve ridden on a Harley, on these trips.

197: The number of blog posts about those trips (including this year’s journey).

100: In percent, the probability you’ll receive a blog post from me every day from now until June 20.

15: The number of hours until I hit the “start” button on my Harley. Let the vrooming begin.

Life is a numbers game.

What’s your number?

***

If you haven’t guessed by now, tomorrow morning I fire up my 2016 Harley Street Glide Special and begin a 24-day journey. The highlight of this year’s trip is the Icefields Parkway, a spectacular highway in the Canadian Rockies that connects Banff National Park, and Jasper National Park.

Conde Nast Traveler magazine considers it one of the top drives in the world.

Words cannot adequately describe the beauty of that 144-mile drive. I won’t even try.

If you love the verbal descriptions that are a staple of my daily blog posts when I’m on the road, you might be disappointed this year. I’m gonna give the words a bit of a breather, and let my pictures do most of the talking.

At least that’s the plan.

But words are my happy place. You never know what’ll happen when I sit down at a keyboard.

***

The route over the next 24 days is simple. There are basically four parts.

Part 1, “Transit” – Three days to Henderson, Nevada, where I connect with my riding pal, Dave Bowman. After a rest day (what happens in Nevada, stays in Nevada), we pass through Death Valley National Park, and the portal to the highest mountain in the lower 48, en route to the California coast.

Part 2, “Pacific Coast” – From San Simeon, home of the Hearst Castle, we head up the Pacific Coast Highway, over the Golden Gate Bridge, following the Pacific Ocean coastline through California, Oregon, and Washington – 1,300 glorious miles – until we reach the Strait of Juan de Fuca. While in the Pacific Northwest, we tour the San Juan Islands archipelago, on ferries and motorcycles.

Part 3, “Canada, eh” – We enter Canada via a tiny town named Osoyoos, British Columbia, then head north for a week of riding that takes us through the Canadian Rockies, to several world-class ski resorts, with opportunities galore for poutine.

Part 4, “Heading Home” – Our final week on the road takes us through mountainous regions of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. We’ll ride for hundreds of miles along river banks that include the Kootenay, Clearwater, Locsha, Snake, Payette, and Salmon Rivers.

That’s what I’ll be doing for the next 24 days.

Hope you’ll come along for the ride.

***

Since 2009, I’ve written nearly half a million words to describe my rides around the US, and Canada. I’ve posted several thousand photos.

Those are my numbers for the day.

What are yours?

Heading for home tomorrow.

Vroom!

Leaving the Tetons, we head north to Yellowstone National Park. When you think of Yellowstone, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Old Faithful. Geysers. Eruptions.

Ka-boom!

No idea what tomorrow will bring.

Vroom. And ka-boom!

How long can Sarah milk this birthday thing? As long as she wants.

So, we’re on Day 3 of birthday party week, and we’re spending it at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

It’s a 7.4-mile loop around the high alpine lake. Hiking the loop is today’s ”project.”

Heading for Yellowstone tomorrow.

Vroom!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, this is supposed to be a Harley travel blog. Hey, vroomin’ is vroomin’. Get over it.

Seeing the Tetons in a Porsche isnt all bad.

In case you missed it yesterday, this is Sarah’s birthday trip — she gets to travel any way she wants.

And she can point her camera any direction, however unflattering.

If you haven’t been to the Tetons, you should add them to your list of desired destinations.

On the way to Grand Teton National Park, we stopped in Jackson. There’s a town square with an antler arch on each corner.

Vroom!

It’s Sarah’s birthday!

Good time for a road trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Woo-hoo!

In the Boxster🎉🙏🎉

Heading for Flaming Gorge, Utah.

Its about a five-hour drIve from Carbondale. We’re at the Red Canyon Lodge, overlooking Flaming Gorge. In Cabin #24.

It’s just a short walk to the rim trail, overlooking Flaming Gorge.

Tomorrow, we are off to the Grand Tetons.

Vroom!

Hey everyone!

I’ve been home for almost 24 hours. Am missing the daily ride routine: fuel up, hit the road, make some turns, enjoy the scenery, take hydration break, check into motel, eat dinner, crash, and get ready to it all over again the next day.

Oh, and snap some pics along the way.

Which made me think, why not a final “Photo Postscript” blog post, sharing my favorite pics from this year’s ride.

So, here you go. Enjoy the highlight reel. Vroom!

p.s. It was a great ride, but I’m super glad to be home 🙂

***

Vroom!

(Blog note: the following post should have been posted Tuesday night. Due to a clerical error [oops, I forgot], it’s being posted on Wednesday morning instead).

***

Tonight, for the first time in 18 days, I’ll be sleeping in my own bed, in Carbondale. With Sarah.

All that is good reason to fire up the bikes and head south out of Steamboat Springs.

We’re following the Yampa River on Colorado Highway 131. We pass through the towns of Phippsburg, Oak Creek and Yampa, each with populations comfortably in the very low triple digits.

Just a few miles east of Oak Creek is Stagecoach State Park. In the winter, the park offers ice fishing, showshoeing, cross-country skiing and fat biking along seven miles of groomed trails. Fat biking does not refer to the conditioning of the rider; a fat bike has oversized tires, typically four inches or more in diameter – designed for low ground pressure to allow riding on soft, unstable terrain – like snow.

Stagecoach State Park is about 20 miles south of Steamboat Springs, and is the site of a one-time ski area named Stagecoach. The ski area operated in the early 1970s, and closed after two seasons. It was originally intended to be one of the largest ski areas in Colorado. There have been numerous attempts over the past few decades to re-open a ski area where Stagecoach once was. So far, none have succeeded.

Stagecoach Ski area was a mile south of where Stagecoach reservoir is today; the reservoir, not built until the late 1980s, didn’t exist when the ski area was in operation. The name Stagecoach comes from the mode of transportation once used to travel over Yellow Jacket Pass, now (Routt) County Road 14, on the way to Oak Creek or Steamboat Springs.

***

Forty miles after leaving Steamboat Springs, we arrive in Toponas, whose population is safely in double digits. Here, we turn onto Colorado Highway 134, which will take us over Gore Pass.

Gore Pass is named after Al Gore, winner of the 2000 presidential election. Though he never took office in the White House, the Pass seems like a reasonable consolation prize.

It’s a great road for the next 27 miles, winding its way over Gore Pass, which is at 9,527 feet. Unlike Rabbit Ears Pass, a well-traveled highway we rode yesterday into Steamboat Springs, Gore Pass has an almost total lack of people and cars. Because of that, bicyclists consider it a hidden gem.

As we ride over Gore Pass, and through Arapaho National Forest, we don’t see mountain peaks. Instead, we’re surrounded by aspen and pine trees.

We arrive at the summit and see traces of a sign that identifies an alternate naming of Gore Pass. This “other” naming says Gore Pass is named after Sir St. George Gore, an Irish baronet from Sligo, whose sole purpose was to break records and fill his trophy room.

In 1975, there was a sign on the highway that read: “Here in 1855 crossed Sir St. George Gore, an Irish baronet bent on the slaughter of game and guided by Jim Bridger. For three years he scoured Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, accompanied usually by fort men, many carts, wagons, hounds, and unexampled camp luxuries. More than 2,000 buffalo, 1,600 deer and elk, and 100 bears were massacred for sport.”

Which do you prefer? Al Gore, inventor of the Internet and savior of the planet, or Sir St. George Gore, destroyer of animal life?

***

Highway 134, named after a Gore, ends as it intersects with US Highway 40, just five miles north of Kremmling, which calls itself “the best little town you’ve never heard of.” We’ve heard of it, because we rolled through it yesterday on our way to Rabbit Ears Pass. And I read about it on my blog last night.

Kremmling, home to about 1,500 hearty souls, sits at the confluence of the Colorado River and adjoining Blue River and Muddy Creek. Elevation here is 7,313 feet.

In Kremmling, we turn south on Colorado Highway 9, which follows the Blue River until it empties into the Green Mountain Reservoir. The Green Mountain Dam, at an elevation of 7,950 feet, was built between 1938 and 1942 by the US Bureau of Reclamation.

The dam and reservoir store water to benefit Colorado’s Western Slope, which is pretty much everything in the state west of the Continental Divide. The reservoir’s lake is popular with fishermen, who catch rainbow trout, lake trout, brown trout, and kokanee.

Thirty-seven miles after leaving Kremmling, we arrive in Silverthorne, which sits at 9,035 feet. Silverthorne was named for Judge Marshall Silverthorne, who served as the judge of the miner’s court in nearby Breckenridge.

Silverthorne was a makeshift camp for workers during the construction of the Dillon Reservoir from 1961 to 1963. In Silverthorne, we’re only a few miles from the Dillon Reservoir, which provides 40 percent of Denver’s fresh water supply.

Silverthorne is a relatively reasonably priced place to stay while skiing nearby winter resorts, including Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge. Silverthorne even has a park-and-ride system that will deliver you to those high-priced Summit County ski areas.

It’s a good place to gas up, grab a soda, and get ready for the ride south toward Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the US.

***

We jump on Interstate 70 for 10 miles, and exit at the Copper Mountain ski area, which sits at the junction of I-70 and Colorado Highway 91.

Copper Mountain, with 26 lifts and more than 2,500 skiable acres, is known for its naturally divided terrain, allowing skiers and riders to enjoy the mountain at their own pace. Copper is home to the US Ski Team’s downhill training each season.

Copper Mountain is owned by Powdr Resorts, one of the smaller resort conglomerates. Powdr’s other holdings include Oregon’s Mount Bachelor, Killington in Vermont, Lee Canyon outside of Las Vegas, Snowbird in Utah, and Eldora, about 20 miles west of Boulder in Colorado. Oh, you probably knew this – Powdr is not a typo. It’s a clever marketing name.

Highway 91 takes us south toward Fremont Pass. At 11,318 feet, the pass forms the Continental Divide on the border between Lake County and Summit County. It’s named for John C. Frémont, an explorer who discovered the pass while traversing present-day Colorado during the 1840s.

The pass summit is the site of Climax Mine, a molybdenum mine. At its highest output, the Climax mine was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and for many years it supplied three-fourths of the world’s supply of molybdenum.

Molybdenum, atomic number 42, is a silvery-white metal that is ductile and highly resistant to corrosion. It has one of the highest melting points of all pure elements — only the elements tantalum and tungsten have higher melting points. And that concludes today’s science lecture.

***

From Fremont Pass, it’s about 11 miles to the historic town of Leadville, which sits at 10,152 feet. It’s a former silver mining town, whose population was nearly 30,000 at the height of the mining boom. Today, the population is closer to 2,700.

Leadville is credited with producing 240 million troy ounces of silver and nearly three million troy ounces of gold. For the curious among you: a troy ounce is a unit of measure used to denote the value of a precious metal; it’s about 10 percent heavier than the “avoirdupois” ounce, which you use for everyday purposes. So, an ounce of gold weighs 2.759537 grams more than an ounce of sugar.

Maybe today’s science lecture wasn’t quite over.

Just before rolling into Leadville, we turn north on US Highway 24, which turns and twists for the next 29 miles, taking us over Tennessee Pass and on to Minturn.

Tennessee Pass, elevation 10,424 feet, sits on the continental divide. It’s named after Tennessee, native state of a group of early mining prospectors in the area near Leadville. Tennessee is also the one-time home of Al Gore, after whom Gore Pass is named. Remember that, from earlier today?

Tennessee Pass serves as the dividing line between the San Isabel National Forest, and the White River National Forest. It’s also the location for Ski Cooper, one of the oldest ski areas in Colorado. Ski Cooper, not to be confused with Copper Mountain, has views of some of Colorado’s highest peaks in the Sawatch Range, including Mount Massive (14,429 feet) and Mount Elbert (14,439 feet), the state’s two highest fourteeners.

Ski Cooper’s origin goes back to World War II. In 1942, the US Army selected a site near the isolated railroad stop of Pando, Colorado, to train the ski troopers of the famed 10th Mountain Division. It was the only US military unit since the Civil War to be recruited by a civilian entity, the National Ski Patrol.

The training site, which became Camp Hale, was chosen for its rail access, rugged mountainous terrain, and 250 inches of average annual snowfall. All that assured a six-month-long ski training season at nearby 11,700-foot Cooper Hill.

After two years of rigorous training, the 10th Mountain Division was ordered to Italy in 1945 and played a vital role in the liberation of northern Italy. Sadly, 992 ski troopers were killed in action and 4,000 wounded, the highest casualty rate of any U.S. division in the Mediterranean.

Following the end of the war, some veterans founded Ski Cooper as a public ski area. To this day, it continues to host a Memorial Day celebration for the World War II veterans of this division. Ski Cooper is a laid-back ski area, with two chairlifts and a family atmosphere. Season passes for the 2021-2022 season went on sale July 1. Listen up, old farts: season passes for those 75 and older are free!

I’ve looked everywhere, unsuccessfully so far, for origins of the Ski Cooper name. Best I can conjure is that it was named after actor Gary Cooper, who was at the top of his game when Ski Cooper was being founded. He won the Best Actor Academy Award for his role in the 1942 film, Sergeant York. That was the same year US Army training for the 10^th Mountain Division began at what is now Ski Cooper.

***

From Tennessee Pass / Ski Cooper, we continue north on the 10^th Mountain Division Memorial Highway, also known as US Highway 24. It’s about 20 miles on this winding road to the charming mountain town of Minturn, population 1,000. It’s named for Robert Minturn, who was vice president of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that founded the town.

Minturn was originally developed as a railroad town in the late 1800s, attracting railroad workers from around the country who settled in Minturn and helped shape the town’s character.

Despite its small size, Minturn claims to have more year-round residents than its upscale resort neighbors, Vail and Beaver Creek, which are both just off of I-70.

The whole point of stopping in Minturn is lunch at Kirby Cosmo’s BBQ. Their style of BBQ comes from Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina. Carolina barbecue is usually pork, served pulled, shredded, or chopped, but sometimes sliced. It may also be rubbed with a spice mixture before smoking and mopped with a spice and vinegar liquid during smoking. Carolina is probably the oldest form of American barbecue.

After 170 miles on the road since leaving Steamboat Springs this morning, it all sounds quite tasty.

***

We depart Minturn, savoring the taste of the final lunch of our trip. Soon, we join Interstate 70, and head for home.

We’re on I-70 for the next 55 miles. Yes, it’s an interstate. No, it’s not boring. Interstate highways in Colorado break the mold. They are often spectacular, if for no other reason than Colorado is pretty damn spectacular.

We follow the Eagle River, a tributary of the Colorado River. We’ll be tracing the river’s path until Dotsero, where the Eagle dumps into the Colorado.

Soon, we roll past Beaver Creek, a ski area owned and operated by Vail Resorts. Beaver Creek is a regular host of World Cup ski events, usually in early December. The area has 25 lifts, 1,815 skiable acres, and more than 3,300 feet of vertical rise.

We slowly descend out of the mountains, passing the towns of Wolcott and Eagle, until we pass by Gypsum, home to two indispensable businesses: an American Gypsum drywall plant and mine, and the Costco where Sarah and I shop. The town is named for its nearby gypsum deposits. American Gypsum also has wallboard plants in New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

The Costco in Gypsum, unlike any I’ve ever been in, is never crowded. Never.

When we lived in La Quinta and shopped regularly at a Costco, five miles from home, it was always crowded. Always. Aisles packed full, long lines at the cash register. Cars circling the parking lot for a rare empty space, like buzzards over buzzkill.

The Coachella Valley, with a winter population estimated at 800,000, has two Costco locations.

What amazes me, is that the smart people who run Costco decided to open a store in little ol’ Gypsum, population 7,300 – seemingly in the middle of Rocky Mountain nowhere.

Generally, when Costco property strategists look for a location for a new warehouse, they want a population center of 200,000 within five miles of the store. If you have a map and do the math, Gypsum’s Costco is a far cry from that standard.

Other than Gypsum, the only town within five miles of the Costco is Eagle (population 7,000). From there, the population centers are quite a ways off in the distance, and probably add up to considerably less than half of the 200,000 threshold.

Vail (population 5,500) is 35 miles away. Glenwood Springs (population 10,000) is 29 miles away. Carbondale (population 7,000) is 43 miles away. And yet …

The huge warehouse chain, with nearly 800 locations worldwide, selected the Gypsum site to open in 2006 because of what it called the “high demographic growth” in the Eagle Valley.

With annual revenues of more than $150 billion, Costco obviously knows what it’s doing. I’m just grateful it’s only a 43-mile drive for my $1.50 hot dog and soda.

***

It’s about a 50-minute ride from the Gypsum Costco to our home in Carbondale – half of it on the Interstate, half on surface roads.

We continue west on I-70, through spectacular Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Canyon is about 12 miles long, with walls climbing as high as 1,300 feet from the Colorado River.

Glenwood Canyon is often considered one of the most scenic natural features on the US Interstate Highway System. Building the highway through Glenwood Canyon was no easy feat; to build a four-lane roadway, the Colorado Department of Transportation essentially had to construct two roadways, one nearly on top of the other. Work on the roadway began in 1980, and when completed in 1992, it was the last piece of the interstate highway system to fit into place.

The roadway, built at a cost of $490 million, includes 40 bridges and viaducts, two 4,000-foot tunnels, and four full-service rest areas that provide access to trails and the Colorado River.

The final link of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon has been hailed as an engineering marvel because of the care taken to incorporate the interstate improvements into the fragile canyon environment, while leaving as much of the flora and fauna intact as possible.

Glenwood Canyon ends in Glenwood Springs, where we exit I-70 for the remaining 15-mile ride to Carbondale.

Before you know it, we arrive in Carbondale, and another journey comes to an end.

***

Oh wait. The description of the last part of our ride can’t possibly be accurate. We had planned to take the route above, through Glenwood Canyon. It’s so beautiful.

But since late July, the interstate highway through the canyon has been closed due to mudslides. So we called an audible and took an alternate route, over Independence Pass, through Aspen and on to home. A great ride, just not what we planned.

***

Four thousand miles in 18 days. Several of the top motorcycle roads in the country. A bunch of national parks and monuments. Six states. Lots of unhealthy but very tasty food. And of course, Sturgis.

All told, it took about 51,000 words of blogging to describe the trip. That’s enough for a 170-page book, 12-point font, double-spaced with normal margins. Sadly, this year’s effort falls just short of what would be considered an average-length novel.

Still, if by some chance you learned anything over the past few weeks during your consumption of this blog, anything at all, you’re welcome!

Until next year …

Vroom.

***

Day Eighteen Summary: 244 miles. Gore Pass, Tennessee Pass, Glenwood Canyon.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to Carbondale, Colorado.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Colorado fun fact: The Grand Mesa, east of Grand Junction, is known as the largest flattop mountain in the world. Spanning around 500 square miles and standing more than 10,000 feet above sea level, the Grand Mesa is home to various wildlife, distinct geologic features, Grand Mesa National Forest, and spectacular views.

Colorado favorite food: The Food Network’s list of essential Colorado foods includes the Truffle Fries at Aspen’s Ajax Tavern. Yes, $17 for fries is a bit of a splurge, but as a spud connoisseur, I can attest to their scrumptiousness. In the four years we’ve lived in Colorado, every guest at our Cozy Carbondale Cottage has been treated to Truffle Fries in Aspen. They’re hand cut from Idaho potatoes (not frozen), drizzled with truffle oil and tossed with Parmesan and parsley. C’mon … you have the rest of your life to diet!

Colorado funky place name: Nederland, west of Boulder, got its name when a mine in the area was sold to Mining Company Nederland, from the Netherlands, in 1873. Nederland means “low land” in Dutch. The town of Nederland is located significantly lower than the Caribou Mine that was purchased by the Dutch mining company. Still, low-lying Nederland sits at an elevation of 8,228 feet.

Colorado famous folk: Mikaela Shiffrin, the most decorated female ski racer in US history, was born in Vail, and still lives there when not on the World Cup circuit. She won the first of two Olympic gold medals at the age of 18, making her the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history. The 26-year-old Shiffrin, who lives in Vail when she’s not traveling the world, is expected to shatter all World Cup and Olympic records by the time she hangs up her gear for the last time. Shiffrin may be the greatest ski racer of all time, male or female. She’s that good.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Kickin’ back, nothing to do.

Cheyenne is less than 10 miles from the Colorado state border. I can almost sniff being home.

So, we leave cowboy town, point south on Interstate 25, and begin our final two days on the road. Well, my final two days. Dave and Scott won’t be home quite so quickly.

After 27 miles, we exit the Interstate and head west, eventually arriving at Ted’s Place. Who’s Ted?

In 1922, 29-year-old Ted Herring opened a gas station and store at the intersection of US Highway 287 and Colorado Highway 14. Ted cut the ribbon on the station just in time for fishing season – on May 22, 1922, and it didn’t take long for the name, Ted’s Place, to stick.

Ted turned out to be more than just a gas jockey. In 1938, he was elected to the Colorado state legislature, where he served six terms in the House, followed by one term in the Senate.

Ted’s Place is located near the mouth of the Poudre Canyon, about five miles northwest of Fort Collins.

Ted died in 1963, and today, after a succession of different owners, his property is just another gas station owned by Shell. Whatever it’s called, it’ll always be Ted’s Place.

***

At Ted’s Place, we continue south, past Bellvue, and along the eastern shore of Horsetooth Reservoir. The reservoir, just west of Fort Collins, takes its name from nearby Horsetooth Mountain.

In 1933, the Poudre Valley had been enduring years of drought and dust storms. Local farmers began realizing the need for more water to satisfy the thirst of the crop-bearing farms around Fort Collins.

Knowing the water from the Poudre River was inconsistent, sometimes providing too much and at other times not enough, Horsetooth Reservoir was developed to solve the problem. The reservoir acquired its name from the unique rock formation that sits above the large body of water.

A few miles past the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir, we arrive in Masonville, little more than a post office, a Presbyterian Church, and Masonville Mercantile. Buckhorn Road brings us closer to civilization, delivering us to US Highway 34.

In about 20 minutes, we arrive in Estes Park, the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes, who founded the community in 1859, then moved his family there four years later.

Estes Park sits along the Big Thompson River, and adjoins Lake Estes. The river s named for English fur trapper David Thompson, employed in 1810 by the Northwest Fur Company to explore the Rockies.

The most famous landmark in Estes Park is the historic Stanley Hotel, which served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s 1977 bestselling novel, The Shining. The hotel was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame. It opened on July 4, 1909, as a resort for upper class easterners and a health retreat for sufferers of pulmonary tuberculosis. The 142-room hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We’ve been on the road a little more than two hours as we roll into Estes Park. It’s a good place to relax before we push on to Rocky Mountain National Park, home to the highest paved mountain pass in North America.

***

With about 4.5 million visitors each year, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most visited national parks, right up there with Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone. Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina is by far the most visited park, with more than nine million people enjoying its beauty every year. It was the first national park I visited on a Harley.

Rocky Mountain National Park, established in 1915, is one of four national parks that are in the Rocky Mountain Range. The other three we visited earlier on this trip: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier.

US Highway 34 takes us into the park’s eastern entrance, and soon becomes Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road runs 48 miles from Estes Park to Grand Lake, at the western entrance to the park. It took the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1929 to 1932 to build the road, because heavy snows kept them from working more than three months a year.

As you might guess, it’s closed during the winter. Trail Ridge Road usually opens in late May, and closes around Columbus Day in October, when the National Park Service gives up fighting the snow and turns the road back to Mother Nature for the winter.

The highest point on Trail Ridge Road is 12,183 feet above sea level. We arrive there about a half-hour after leaving Estes Park. Up here, it’s about 30 degrees cooler than when we entered the park.

From the park’s highest point on Trail Ridge Road, we descend about 400 feet to the Alpine Visitor Center, which is at 11,796 feet. It’s the highest visitor center in the National Park system.

It’s also a good place to rest, grab something to drink and enjoy the sights from the rear deck, before continuing with the 15-mile ride to the park’s west entrance, the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. Along the way, we roll past 10,759-foot Milner Pass.

The pass sits on the Continental Divide, with the Never Summer Mountains to the west, and Poudre Lake to the east. The lake, which is the source of the Cache La Poudre river, freezes completely in the winter. As a result, it’s a dead lake, because no fish can survive. Bummer.

***

Sixteen miles later, after a steep descent, we exit the park, and arrive at Grand Lake, the largest natural body of water in Colorado. Grand Lake sits at 8,369 feet – more than 3,800 feet below the high point on Trail Ridge Road.

Grand Lake is Colorado’s deepest natural lake, and is part of the headwaters of the Colorado River. The lake has what’s believed to be the world’s highest-altitude yacht club.

Highway 34 follows the western shoreline of Grand Lake, then takes us along the western edge of Lake Granby, and to the town of Granby, population around 2,100. The town was founded in 1904 along the route of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway, and incorporated one year later. It was named after Granby Hillyer, a Denver lawyer who later served as the US Attorney for the area that today includes Granby.

In Granby, we turn west on US Highway 40, and follow the Colorado River for 28 miles, until arriving in the town of Kremmling, population 1,500.

Like so many towns in the area, Kremmling was founded during the Colorado silver boom days. The original post office here was called Kinsey City, named after brothers Aaron and John Kinsey, who had a local ranch. The Kinsey City postmaster was Rudolph Kremmling, who ran the town’s general store. In 1895, the town was officially re-named Kremmling.

***

US Highway 40 turns sharply north in Kremmling. The road climbs gradually until 30 miles later, we reach Rabbit Ears Pass, at 9,426 feet. The pass supposedly has the shape of rabbit ears, though they’re hard to see when you’re vrooming by at 60 miles an hour. What we do see, is a sign that reminds us Rabbit Ears Pass is on the Continental Divide. On the east side, water flows toward the Atlantic watershed; on the west side, it flows toward the Pacific watershed.

From Rabbit Ears Pass, it’s about 20 miles on Highway 40 to tonight’s destination, – nicknamed “The Boat.” Steamboat Springs, population 12,000, has its own hot springs, which gave the town its name.

Upon first hearing a chugging sound, early trappers believed that a steamboat was coming down the river. When the trappers saw that there was no steamboat, and that the sound was coming from a hot spring, they decided to name the spring Steamboat Springs. Long before that, the Yampa Valley was the summer hunting grounds of the Ute Indians for hundreds of years. The Utes called them “medicine springs.”

The natural mineral springs, by whatever name, are located throughout the town.

Like so many Colorado mountain towns – Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Crested Butte, Breckenridge, and Winter Park among them – Steamboat Springs has an economy built on tourism. In the 1960s, skiing put Steamboat Springs on the map, and with good reason. The Steamboat Ski Resort, located on Mount Werner, has nearly 3,000 skiable acres, a vertical rise of more than 3,600 feet, and 26 lifts.

Steamboat Springs has great skiing, and typically awesome Colorado snow. But is it appreciably better than you’d find elsewhere in the Rockies?

A Steamboat Springs marketing campaign in the 1960s made famous the term “champagne powder.” Other Colorado ski areas began using those words, and nearly 50 years later, Steamboat filed a federal trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to claim the name, “champagne powder,” as their own. As a result, other Colorado resorts may have similar snow, but Steamboat is the only one that can claim to have champagne powder. Whatever that is.

Like other major Colorado ski towns, Steamboat eventually diversified and added a strong summer tourist business. In the summer, you can do everything here from mountain biking to horseback riding, golfing, fishing, and rafting on the Yampa River. There’s even an annual Hot Air Balloon Festival, held every July. Other than your imagination, there’s no limit to what a person can do here on an August afternoon.

Lacking imagination, we pull into our hotel, relax, eat dinner, and think about tomorrow – the final day of our 2021 ride.

***

Day Seventeen Summary: 220 miles. Who’s Ted? Rocky Mountain National Park, Rabbit Ears Pass.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Wyoming fun fact: In 1869, the Wyoming territory became first in the nation to grant women over the age of 21 the right to vote. Legislators passed the bill for several reasons, including a genuine conviction that women should have the same rights as men, and a desire to attract new settlers to the territory by making it appear more modern.

Colorado fun fact: The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is home to the tallest dunes in North America. Within the park, you can hike the Star Dune, which rises approximately 750 feet above the floor of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. The dunes at the National Park cover an area of about 30 square miles, and are estimated to contain more than 6.5 billion cubic yards of sand.

Wyoming favorite food: Wyoming doesn’t have any official state foods, though jerky of any kind is an iconic staple. Especially popular are buffalo, antelope, venison, elk, and even rattlesnake. They’re all low in fat and cholesterol, high in protein.

Colorado favorite food: More than 300 craft beers are brewed in Colorado. They’re popular enough that we’ll consider them a food for purposes of this blog. My hometown of Carbondale has its own craft beer scene, including Roaring Fork Beer Company and Carbondale Beer Works.

Wyoming funky place name: Laramie, home to the University of Wyoming, is located along the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming. The city is named for Jacques LaRamie, a French-Canadian trapper who disappeared in the nearby mountains in the 1810s and was never heard from again. More Wyoming landmarks are named for him than for any other trapper, except Jim Bridger.

Colorado funky place name: Coffeepot Pass, elevation 12,726 feet, in Pitkin County, was named by a group of prospectors in the 1870s. They found an abandoned coffeepot while traveling over this route. There’s no record that the exploration relic has ever been found.

Wyoming famous folk: Gerry Spence is a classic country lawyer, born in Laramie and a graduate of the University of Wyoming College of Law. Spence began his career as a defense attorney, then, saying he “saw the light,” became committed to representing people instead of corporations, insurance companies and banks. The semi-retired 92-year-old has a home in Jackson Hole, and is in the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame.

Colorado famous folk: Singer John Denver, born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., lived in Aspen for much of his adult life after adopting Colorado as his beloved home state. His 1972 song, “Rocky Mountain High,” was inspired by his love for the state. It’s one of Colorado’s official state songs. Denver lived in Aspen for a quarter century until dying in an airplane crash in 1997, when the Rutan Long-EZ experimental aircraft he was flying crashed into Monterey Bay, California. He was 48, flying with a suspended pilot’s license, and a lot of music still to be written and sung.

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Home at last!

We say goodbye to Rapid City, our home for the past four days, as we head west on US Highway 16 one last time.

Mount Rushmore Road takes us past Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA, through Rockerville, and on to Hill City, known as “Heart of the Hills.” The Hills, of course, are the Black Hills, which we’ll be riding through for another hour or so, as we start our long journey home.

Like so many towns and cities in the Black Hills, Hill City traces its roots to the mining rush of the late 19^th century. In 1876, it was the first settlement established in conjunction with the initial discovery of Black Hills gold in French Creek, just 13 miles south of where Hill City sits today.

Tin mining was dominant in the 1880s, but the so-called “Tin Age” was short-lived, and as that industry waned, tourism and timber became increasingly important.

Today, with a population of around 1,000, Hill City comes alive every summer with the rumble of thousands of Harleys coming to town for the Sturgis motorcycle rally. The town even has its own Harley store, Hill City Harley-Davidson, located in an old funeral parlor on — wait for it — Harley Drive.

***

As we continue south on US Highway 385, we ride by a turnoff to the Crazy Horse Memorial – a monument that’s been under construction since 1948 and is still decades from completion.

The Crazy Horse Memorial will depict Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The sculpture’s final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet wide and 563 feet high. If it’s ever completed, the Crazy Horse Memorial could become the world’s largest sculpture, dwarfing nearby Mount Rushmore. For now, the Crazy Horse Memorial is just considered the world’s largest mountain carving in progress.

The carving began more than 70 years ago, the work of Korczak Ziolkowski, a Polish-American sculptor and designer of the memorial. “By carving Crazy Horse,” he said, “if I can give back to the Indian some of his price and create a means to keep alive his culture and heritage, my life will have been worthwhile.”

Ziolowski died in 1982, at age 74. His family is carrying on the tradition. Monique Ziolkowski, the ninth child of Korczak and Ruth Ziolowski is now the CEO and Director of Mountain Carving, Construction and Maintenance. Her sister, Jadwiga, the fourth of the nine Ziolowski children, is the CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial. It’s a family business their dad would have been proud of.

Every year, more than a million people visit the memorial. It’s become a controversial and divisive symbol. Some think it’s become a tribute not to Crazy Horse, but to the Ziolkowski family. If this blog post seems short on detail, here’s a really interesting read.

***

A few miles south of the Crazy Horse Memorial, we roll through Custer, generally considered to be the oldest town established by European Americans in the Black Hills. Custer claims to have the widest Main Street in the United States. The 100-foot roadways were built in the 19^th century to accommodate a team of oxen pulling a wagon to turn completely around.

Custer is named for Major General George Custer, a cavalry commander in the Civil War and American Indian Wars. Custer was admitted to the US Military Academy (West Point), where he graduated last in his class of 1861. He died at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana, at the age of 36, fighting a coalition of Lakota and Cheyenne Indians.

The 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn has come to be popularly known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” It was the most decisive Native American victory and the worst US Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. Within five years, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne involved in that battle would be confined to reservations.

From Custer, we continue south. Next stop is the oddly named ghost town of Sanator. The US Postal Service established a post office here in 1921, and called it Sanator – after the local South Dakota Tuberculosis Sanitorium. For blog readers too young to remember, a sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis. The Sanator post office has been closed since 1962.

***

The town of Pringle, population 112, is seven miles ahead.

Pringle is named after the stackable potato chips that have been a snack staple since 1967. Originally developed by Procter & Gamble in 1967, and marketed as “Pringle’s Newfangled Potato Chips,” the name was changed for introduction to the national market. Procter & Gamble chose the Pringles name from a Cincinnati telephone book, selecting Pringle Avenue in Finneytown, Ohio, for its pleasing sound.

The brand was sold to Kellogg’s in 2012. Pringles are now sold in more than 140 countries, and are said to be the fourth most popular snack brand after Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos.

There’s a lot of internet debate over whether Pringles are actually potato chips. Turns out they are made of about 42% potatoes. Among the other ingredients are wheat starch and flowers, vegetable oils, an emulsifier, salt, and seasoning. This mix is then made into a mushy paste, which is extruded out of a machine in precise quantities – meaning every Pringle is exactly the same size, shape and consistency.

The consistent saddle shape is mathematically known as a hyperbolic paraboloid. This allows them to stack perfectly in the can. Technically, they contain something that was once part of a potato, but it’s probably reasonable to make a distinction between them and ordinary potato chips.

Pringles come in an avalanche of flavors, from basic potato chips, to Mac ‘N Cheese, Honey Mustard, BBQ, Buffalo Ranch, Jalapeno and more. In 2019, the website Delish taste-tested 21 Pringles flavors. Their favorite: the Original.

The website Thrillist did a similar taste test of 35 Pringles flavors. Their testers came to a slightly different conclusion, opting for Cheddar Cheese as the Number One choice. Said one of the tasters: “The flavor of the Original – that potato taste coupled with glorious salt – meshes beautifully with a generous dusting of bright-orange Cheddar dust that melts in your mouth.” Mmmmmmmmmm, good.

Oops. I must have taken my eye off the ball while writing today’s blog post.

Pringle, a semi-ghost town in Custer County, got its start as a stage stop on the Sidney-Custer Trail. Operated by cattleman Henry Pringle, the town was actually named after Anna Carr Pringle, who provided hospitality to the railroad crews when they came through town in the 1890s.

So Pringle really has no connection to Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, or any other 20^th century food-processing giant. Still, you now know much more about Pringles chips than you did a few minutes ago.

My error. You’re welcome.

***

In Pringle, we turn off of US Highway 385 and make our way toward the South Dakota / Wyoming border. The last South Dakota town we pass through on our journey is Edgemont, population a little under 800.

Edgemont is a crew change point for Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight trains. Railroads have always been a part of Edgemont’s history. The town was established with the arrival of the railroad, three days before South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889.

Since then, its fortunes have been dependent on a industries ranging from a World War II ammunition depot that employed 5,000 people, to uranium mining in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Today, Edgemont is about trains. And Harleys.

We cross into Wyoming, nicknamed the “Equality State” because of its historical role in establishing equal voting rights for women. “Equal Rights” is the state motto.

Wyoming was the first territory to grant “female suffrage” and became the first state in the nation to allow women to vote, serve on juries and hold public office. Pretty progressive place. Sort of. A solidly Republican state, Wyoming has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since it went for Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

To those who live here, Wyoming is more about cowboys than politics. Known as the Cowboy State, the official state symbol is a cowboy on a bucking horse. The cowboy culture is everywhere you look. Except maybe here in Edgemont, railroad town.

***

There’s little culture in this sparsely populated corner of the state – cowboy or otherwise.

We begin riding south on US Highway 18, part of the CanAm Highway, unaware of horses or anything considered western. The CanAm Highway stretches 1,479 miles from El Paso, Texas, all the way up into Canada. Along the way, it cuts through South Dakota on US Highways 18 and 85. The highway passes through six states: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

The landscape here in the high plains is barren, to put it mildly. This is eastern Wyoming.

In 45 miles, we arrive in Lusk, population 1,600. Lusk is known for being the county seat of the least populated county in the least populated state of the US. That’s quite a claim to fame.

Lusk was founded in 1886 by Frank Lusk, a renowned Wyoming rancher and partner in the Western Live Stock Company. Apparently, little has changed; the primary industry in Lusk is still cattle ranching.

Lusk’s motto: “Little Town with Big Possibilities.”

For us, it’s a good place to fill up with gas, rest, and prepare for our push south toward Cheyenne, 140 miles away.

***

As we continue south on the CanAm Highway, there’s little to see in the 47 miles between Lusk and Lingle. Well, we do pass through Jay Em, a deserted town that has a post office, and little else.

Jay Em was established in the 1860s around a watering hole claimed by Jim Moore, who had the second-largest cattle ranch in the Wyoming Territory. He used the brand “J Rolling M,” from which the community and “Jay Em Creek” would later take their names.

Jay Em is almost exactly half way between Lusk and Lingle. If you blink, you’ll miss Lingle. We don’t blink, and 10 miles later, arrive in Torrington, population 6,500. Torrington is the last city of any consequence we’ll see on our way to Cheyenne, tonight’s destination.

Torrington was founded in 1900 by W.G. Curtis, and named by him for his hometown of Torrington, Connecticut (which is named after Torrington, in Devon, England). Torrington is situated on the historic Mormon Trail and near the Oregon and California Trails along the banks of the North Platte River. Here, we’re only about five miles west of the Nebraska border.

The Torrington Livestock Commission holds weekly livestock auctions here. They’re among the largest auctions in Wyoming, and in the US. Yearling and calf sales are held every Wednesday, August through March. The auctions draw cattle from a nine-state region. Buyers come from all over the US.

***

From Torrington, it’s a little more than 80 miles to Cheyenne, the Wyoming state capital. In all my Harley rides, this is the only the second state capital I’ve stayed in (I spent a night in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2014.) What are the odds of that happening? Over the years, I’ve ridden through 21 states. Apparently, I take the roads less traveled.

With a population of around 60,000, Cheyenne is Wyoming’s most populous city – and the 589^th-largest in the US.  It was named for the Native American Cheyenne nation. Cheyenne is a term meaning “people of different speech” or “red talkers.”

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad brought hopes of prosperity to the region when it reached Cheyenne on November 13, 1867. The population at the time numbered over 4,000, and grew rapidly. This rapid growth earned the city the nickname “Magic City of the Plains.”

Cheyenne claims to be home of the world’s largest outdoor rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days. It’s a 10-day event held every year the last full week of July. Frontier Days includes Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo, concerts, Professional Bull Riders, US Air Force F-16 Thunderbird fly-bys, parades, pancake breakfasts, and a carnival.

The cowboy fest begins annually with a cattle drive, as cowpokes drive 550 head of steer more than four miles from their pasture north of Cheyenne to their stalls at Frontier Park.

There’s even a world-class concert lineup, which often includes the top names in country music. This year’s entertainment included Eric Church, Garth Brooks, Rhett Akins and Blake Shelton.

2021 Frontier Days ended on August 1. We just missed it, by a week. So close!

So, we mosey on down to our hotel, and call it a day. Tomorrow, we return to Colorado.

 ***

Day Sixteen Summary: 295 miles. A memorial in progress, Pringles confusion, a little late for Frontier Days.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

South Dakota fun fact: The tradition of spreading sawdust on the floors of bars and saloons started in Deadwood, South Dakota, due to the amount of gold dust that would fall on the floor. The sawdust was used to hide the fallen gold dust and was swept up at the end of the night.

Wyoming fun fact: The “Bucking Horse and Rider” is a registered trademark of Wyoming. This logo consists of a silhouette of a cowboy riding on a bucking horse. In 1936, Wyoming made it a trademark for its license plates. It has been used as the state’s popular insignia since 1918. Wyoming is the Cowboy State, after all.

South Dakota favorite food: Kuchen is South Dakota’s official state dessert. This pie-like pastry features rich custard poured over your choice of fruit. Made with sweet dough and a filling of custard, fruit or nuts – was first introduced to the area in the 19th century and has been a favorite among locals ever since. The Cedar Pass Restaurant in Badlands National Park offers a daily selection of kuchen.

Wyoming favorite food: Bison burgers are quite a thing in Wyoming. Recently, the National Bison Association and the Food Channel collaborated to identify the state’s best bison burgers. The result: go to the Senator’s Steakhouse in Cheyenne, which gets its meat locally from the Terry Bison Ranch. At the Senator’s Steakhouse, any burger on the menu can be upgraded to a bison burger – including mushroom Swiss burger, jalapeno burger or peppercorn bleu cheese burger.

South Dakota funky place name: Akaska. You read that right. Akaska, not Alaska. While this looks like a typo of Alaska (which would be very easy to make considering the keyboard layout), the true meaning is “uncertain” in the Sioux language. Only 42 people live there and railway service stopped going to Akaska in 1940.

Wyoming funky place name: Medicine Bow is named after the Medicine Bow River. Native Americans made their bows using material from the river. Anything good was considered medicine to them. Seems reasonable.

South Dakota famous folk: New England Patriots and Baltimore Colts placekicker Adam Vinatieri grew up in Rapid City, and played football at South Dakota State (go Jackrabbits!). He holds more than 25 NFL records, including most consecutive field goals in history: 44! Today, at age 48, Vinatieri is recently retired as the oldest active player in the NFL.

Wyoming famous folk: Like many wealthy Hollywood celebrities, actor Harrison Ford has a home in Jackson Hole. The 79-year-old onetime heartthrob gained worldwide fame for his starring role as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy. The box office grosses of his films total more than $5.1 billion.

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Rocky Mountain splendor.

The world-famous Sturgis motorcycle rally, attracts more than a half-million bikers for a week of craziness every year in early August. This year, the rally is expected to draw as many as 700,000.

The route is easy, even scenic. Ride through Nemo, avoid the mess of clownfish all over the highway, then through beautiful Vanocker Canyon on Forest Service Road 26.

From Rapid City, it’s 42 miles to Sturgis. We take the road less traveled to get there, mostly through the Black Hills.

Many of our Harley colleagues, impatient to arrive at the rally, hop on I-90 for a shorter and far less interesting ride to Sturgis. Their journey takes half as long, and is about 10 percent as fun.

Sturgis has a population of 6,267 – until the first full week of August each year – when it swells to a half million or more. The city is named after Brigadier General Samuel Sturgis, who served as a Union general in the Civil War. A sculpture of him mounted on horseback sits at the town’s eastern entrance, on South Dakota Highways 34 and 79, not far from the Full Throttle Saloon.

The 80^th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is why we’re here.

It began in 1938, originally held for stunts and races – and has since evolved into a meeting for motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world. It’s mostly about Harleys, but other bikes are welcome.

The city of Sturgis estimates the Rally brings more than $800 million to South Dakota every year.

We’re spending the entire day in Sturgis, so today’s blog post is intentionally light on words and heavy on photos. If, by chance, you stumble across any non-family-friendly photos, send the kids out of the room, and remind yourself that what happens in Sturgis stays in Sturgis.

***

***

Day Fifteen Summary: 74 miles. Sturgis. Nuff said.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Rapid City, South Dakota, to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, and back to Rapid City.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

South Dakota fun fact: The Black Hills hold two national caves: Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave is presently the fourth-largest cave in the world, with more than 182 miles of surveyed and mapped passages. (Largest cave in the world is central Vietnam’s Son Doong, said to be 1.4 billion cubic feet.)

South Dakota favorite food: Here’s a tasty combo – chili and cinnamon rolls. This unlikely pair is a South Dakota favorite. You can’t go wrong with a delicious warm cinnamon roll dipped in a bowl of chili. Together, they’re a school lunch staple, dating back to the early 1960s. You can eat them in the same bowl, but the most common approach is to enjoy a cinnamon roll for desert after polishing off a hearty serving of chili.

South Dakota funky place name: During the Black Hills gold rush of the 1870s, a miner found gold in a narrow canyon that became known as Deadwood Gulch, about 40 miles northwest of Rapid City. The name Deadwood came from the many dead trees that lined the canyon walls at the time. One hundred forty-five years later, the town of Deadwood remains a popular tourist haven that even has its own Harley store, Deadwood Harley-Davidson.

South Dakota famous folk: Game show host Bob Barker spent most of his youth growing up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. Now 97 years old, Barker hosted CBS’ The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American TV history.

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Heading home.

***

Today, we’re eastward bound.

As we leave our Rapid City base of operations, we’ll head as far east as this 2021 trip will take us.

If we get on Interstate 90, by the end of the day, we’ll be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s most populous city with more than 180,000 residents. Sioux Falls is about 350 miles from here.

Even closer on I-90, about 10 miles east of here, is Ellsworth Air Force Base, a major employer in the Rapid City area. Ellsworth is home of the US Air Force’s 28^th Bomb Wing and the California-built B-1B bomber. Ellsworth is one of only two hosts to the B-1B; the other is Dyess AFB in Texas.

Ellsworth was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base. It was later named in honor of Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, who was killed when his RB-36 bomber crashed during a 1953 training flight in Newfoundland, Canada.

Over the years, Ellsworth has hosted various missile systems (Nike, Titan, Minuteman) and the B-52 Bomber. Today, the base’s population of 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

We could go to Ellsworth, and probably get turned away at the front gate. Big bad dudes on Harleys? Probably outlaws.

A much better destination east of Rapid City is Badlands National Park. It involves no Interstate highway travel, and it’s a National Park! We should be there in an hour and a half.

***

So, we leave Rapid City and head southeast on South Dakota Highway 44, quickly rolling past Rapid Valley, Green Valley, and the Rapid City Regional Airport. Seventy-three miles later, we arrive in the tiny town of Interior, population 94.

Interior is less than a mile from the entrance to Badlands National Park. We turn northeast on South Dakota Highway 377 and quickly enter the park.

First thing we see is the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, named for a Lakota Sioux man, born in a log cabin on South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation, to a Brule Sioux mother and a German-American father. Life on the reservation wasn’t easy. Ben Reifel’s parents told him he couldn’t go to high school, so he ran away from home, traveled 250 miles to enroll in school, and eventually graduated from South Dakota State University with degrees in chemistry and dairy science.

Reifel, also known as Lone Feather, achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army during World War II, earned a PhD from Harvard, and became the first Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He served five terms as a US Congressman, the first Lakota to be elected to the House of Representatives.

While in office, and during his time at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Reifel pushed for better education on reservations and recommended that reservation and county schools be merged so Native Americans and non-Natives could be educated together. His lasting legacy is Ben Reifel Middle School, set to open this fall in Sioux Falls.

***

Native Americans have been here a long time, long before Badlands became a national park.

Bordering the south side of Badlands National Park is the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to about 60,000 Native Americans who are part of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation. These people have called the area home for more than 11,000 years.

Badlands National Monument acquired 133,000 acres of Lakota land in 1976, two years before the monument was established as a national park. That’s nearly half of the park’s size.

Oglala Lakota County, which is entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It is the poorest county in the US, with a per capita annual income of $8,768. And, it has the lowest life expectancy in the US. Life on the Pine Ridge Reservation is not easy.

Much of what we’ll see today in Badlands National Park was once Native American lands.

***

We step out of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, saddle up, and head west on South Dakota Highway 240, part of the Badlands National Park Scenic Byway. The road will take us past spectacular buttes, cliffs and multi-colored spires.

The 38-mile byway has numerous passes, 15 overlooks, hiking trails, and untold beauty. The landscape is harsh, rugged, and very photogenic.

As we begin to roll through the park, we wonder about the name, Badlands.

The Lakota people were the first to call the area mako sica, or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. In the early 1900s, French Canadian fur trappers called it les mauvais terres pour traverse, or “bad lands to travel through.”

It’s not so bad to travel through today. We continue on the scenic byway, heading northwest through a labyrinth of sand buttes and spires that appear to come from another planet.

It is a truly desolate place. The land has been ruthlessly ravaged over millions of years by wind and water, giving it a look seldom seen on this planet. You can scour the land for miles and see no sign of civilization.

But the cool thing is, you can see for miles and miles.

***

The largest feature in the park is known as “The Wall.” It’s a 60-mile stretch of tiered cliffs, a huge natural barrier ridging the landscape, sculpted into pinnacles and gullies by the forces of water. National Geographic compares the Wall to an enormous stage set – colorful, dramatic, and not quite real. Water has been carving away at the cliffs for ages, and even today, it continues to erode the cliffs an inch or more every year.

The Wall is the heart of the Badlands landscape, the heavily eroded escarpment that defines the namesake topography. The Wall stretches roughly from the towns of Scenic in the west to Kadoka in the east. These colorful cliffs are a half-million years old.

About 25 miles after entering the park, the scenic byway turns north, toward the town of Wall – named for the wall of rock formations that’s within Badlands National Park.

You know, The Wall.

***

We soon arrive in Wall, the town.

Wall is most famous for Wall Drug Store, which opened as a small pharmacy in 1931 and eventually developed into a large roadside tourist attraction.

Anyone who’s ever driven through South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming or other neighboring states, is familiar with the ubiquitous signs and billboards that remind you, “785 Miles to Wall Drug. Free Ice Water.” Most of the hand-painted billboards are on a 650-mile stretch of Interstate 90 from Minnesota to Billings, Montana. At its peak in the 1960s, Wall Drug had more than 3,000 highway signs!

Wall Drug struggled for years until the owner’s wife thought of advertising – and offering – free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles to the west. To this day, tourists like us still drink the free ice water, though it’s no longer the main attraction.

At Wall Drug, there’s also a cowboy-themed shopping mall, western art museum, a chapel and an 80-foot Apatosaurus – a dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period.

More than two million visitors cruise through Wall Drug each year. Less than one million visit Badlands National Park.

Many of those who come to Wall, particularly during Sturgis Rally Week, also visit Badlands Harley-Davidson. This Harley store has no bikes for sale – not that we need any – just a lot of t-shirts, chachkas, and over-priced Harley-branded items. Who needs a $45 t-shirt commemorating their visit to Wall? Scott does.

***

Also in Wall, is the National Grasslands Visitor Center. It’s where you can learn about the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which includes nearly 600,000 acres – many surrounding Badlands National Park.

The grasslands start at the park’s northern border. They’re the second-largest protected national grassland, dotted with endless miles of prairie, open skies, rolling plains, and chalk-colored geological formations similar to those found in Badlands National Park.

The Buffalo Gap National Grassland is managed by the US Forest Service. It has two tracts: one at the north end of Badlands National Park, and one along South Dakota’s southwest border with Wyoming.

The US has 20 national grasslands, totaling nearly four million acres. The grasslands are similar to other lands managed by the forest service, except the lands consist of prairie vegetation, not trees.

***

We had a nice break in Wall, but there’s more to see in Badlands National Park.

To return to the park, we could head east on Interstate 90 for 20 miles, and exit by the Minuteman Missile Visitors Center, a historic site designed to give you a first-hand look at a relic of the Cold War. Here, you can see how the end of the world might have begun.

The site was established in 1999 to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and missile development.

It’s believed to be the world’s first national park dedicated to commemorating the events of the Cold War. Two 1960s-era Intercontinental Ballistic Missile sites have been preserved for public viewing. Delta-09, an underground missile silo on the edge of Badlands National Park, still holds a Minuteman II missile that, when active, could have sent a nuclear weapon to the Soviet Union in 30 minutes.

Those were the days!

As a postscript, 450 of the newer Minuteman III missiles are still on active duty at Malmstrom Air Force Base near Great Falls, Montana, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Minuteman IIIs, made by Boeing, have a range of more than 8,000 miles, a speed of more than 15,000 miles an hour, and the ability to carry up to three independently targeted nuclear warheads. That would be more than enough to obliterate the world many times over.

Ka-boom!

***

Just south of the missile site, is a return to South Dakota Highway 240 where riders re-enter Badlands National Park at the Northeast Entrance Station.

Immediately, riders arrive at the Big Badlands Overlook, the first grand view upon entering the park from the east. From there, it’s about mile to several trailheads that take you to a boardwalk with spectacular views of the Badlands Wall.

After a welcome hike, you can get back on your bikes and complete the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway. It takes you past the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, and dumps us out of the park at the southern entrance, in Interior.

This is where we began our day in the park, and now it’s time to head back to Rapid City. Seventy-three miles later, we arrive in Rapid City, and prepare for tomorrow – a day in Sturgis!

***

Day Fourteen Summary:  213 miles. Badlands, Wall Drug, missile town.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Rapid City to Badlands National Park and back.

We’re on our way to Sturgis!

***

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

South Dakota fun fact: A South Dakota tradition is the annual Potato Days in the town of Clark, known as the Potato capital of South Dakota. One of the highlights of Potato Days since it began in 1997, is the mashed potato wrestling contest, held in a large pit filled with, of course, mashed spuds. Wouldn’t you think this is more appropriately done in Idaho?

South Dakota favorite food: The state’s official state bird is the ring-necked pheasant, and its official state fish is walleye – a terrific meal combination. Pheasant is typically prepared with herbs and vegetables, while walleye can be grilled, fried, broiled or baked. Few places serve it better than the appropriately named Pheasant Restaurant in Brookings, whose specialty is the Pheasant Salad Sandwich, served on grilled marble rye.

South Dakota funky place name: Gayville, a small town in Yankton County in southeastern South Dakota, was originally settled by Scandinavian farmers. The town got its name in 1873 from Elkanah Gay, an early postmaster. Gayville is the self-proclaimed “Hay Capital of the World.”

South Dakota famous folk: Mary Hart, born Mary Johanna Harum, was a long-time host of the syndicated TV show, Entertainment Tonight. She was born in Madison, South Dakota, and lived in Sioux Falls as a child. As Mary Harum, she was crowned Miss South Dakota 1970. Mary Hart is not a made-for-TV name; she became Mary Hart when she married Terry Hart in 1972. Now 70, Hart splits her time between the ritzy Yellowstone Club in Montana, and a mega-home at the exclusive Bighorn Country Club in Palm Desert, California.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Sturgis!

Half a million riders from all over the country are gathering for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which officially begins tomorrow. Dave, Scott and I are among them.

Two biker babes, Sarah Murr and Gail Bowman, were supposed to be joining the posse for our four days in the Black Hills. You may know them as Mrs. Gary Lesser (which she doesn’t call herself) and Mrs. Dave Bowman. Sadly, Sarah couldn’t make her flight out of Eagle, Colorado, because of the I-70 closure through Glenwood Canyon. Damn!

But Gail successfully flew into Rapid City yesterday from Southern Nevada to ride and party with the Harley glitterati. Welcome, Mrs. Bowman! Glad to have you aboard.

Many Harley enthusiasts come here every August. They couldn’t imagine a year without a trip to the Black Hills. So, of course, they’re particularly restless this year. Some missed the 2020 event, which was wisely cancelled due to Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands showed up, anyway.

We missed the 2020 Sturgis rally, too. Our posse had been planning a 2020 Sturgis trip, ever since we finished the three-week 2019 journey to Canada and back, nearly two years ago.

Having the Sturgis rally last year, as though we were living in normal times, would have been one of the stupidest ideas. Ever. And yet it went on as usual – 460,000 knuckleheads gathering in the Black Hills, despite South Dakota being, like the rest of the world, in the midst of a pandemic.

Because of its freedom-thinking, personal responsibility-loving population, and a governor who largely ignored Covid, South Dakota was harder hit by the pandemic than other states that took it more seriously. Masks? Social distancing? Not here.

Downtown Sturgis during unofficial rally week last year was one gigantic Petri dish – thousands upon thousands of riders, many with underlying health conditions, disdain for public health restrictions, generally dismissive of science, bringing their germs and viruses from every corner of this country.

What could possibly go wrong?

Now back to a semblance of normal, riders at this year’s rally are scattered all over the Black Hills, from Rapid City to Deadwood, from Belle Fourche to Spearfish. More than likely, there will be more than a half-million of us converging on this tiny town.

We’re all here for pretty much the same reasons: Great riding on fabulous roads, biker camaraderie, a chance to show off our beautiful bikes and Harley mamas — and of course, Sturgis.

***

Tourism is big in South Dakota, accounting for more than 55,000 jobs, and bringing in about $4 billion annually. The state estimates as many as 15 million visitors a year come to South Dakota, generating more than $300 million in tax revenue. Tourism spending supports almost nine percent of all jobs in South Dakota.

Big numbers, for sure. But the really big drivers of the state economy are agriculture, manufacturing and mining.

Agriculture, including livestock and crops, has about a $21 billion impact annually on the state’s economy. The state has an estimated five beef cattle per resident of South Dakota. That’s a lot of T-bones!

Manufacturing accounts for about 10 percent of the state’s workforce. Food processing is a big part of that, including gigantic operations like Smithfield Foods. The Sioux Falls pork producing facility, home to a large-scale Covid outbreak, is one of the largest food processing sites in the US. Its 3,700 employees supply nearly 130 million servings of food per week.

And there’s mining. Even though the gold mine in Lead closed down in 2001, other types of mining continue – including construction sand, gravel and stone. Minerals like gypsum, silver and copper are found in abundance. One of my favorite places of higher learning is South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Best college nickname ever. Go Hardrockers!

This week, more than any other, tourism is king. Hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders are descending on the Black Hills. They’ll spend an estimated $800 million on beer, burgers, hotel rooms and souvenirs, proving they made it to Sturgis. Each August, the rally accounts for about 95 percent of Sturgis’ annual revenue.

***

We begin our journey through the Black Hills by heading south out of Rapid City on US Highway 16, also called Mount Rushmore Road. It’s an easy, well-marked, 30-minute ride to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota’s biggest lure for all those millions of tourist dollars.

The Mount Rushmore Memorial, of course, is a sculpture carved into the granite face of the mountain, featuring 60-foot-high depictions of four US Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Mount Rushmore is by far the state’s top tourist attraction. Nearly two and a half million visitors come here each year. The only national monuments or memorials seen by more tourists are in Washington DC or New York City, which have a somewhat larger population base to draw from than the greater metropolitan Rapid City area.

Sturgis rally week is a particularly crazy time at the Mount Rushmore Memorial.

Work on the mountain, carving the presidential faces, took place between 1927 and 1941. It was a Depression-era feel-good project. Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, led a team of more than 400 workers on the gigantic rock carving effort.

More than 90 percent of the memorial was sculpted using dynamite; the blasts removed about 450,000 tons of rock. Details were finished with jackhammers and hand chisels. The initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941, with faces only.

***

We leave Mount Rushmore, continuing west on South Dakota Highway 244. The highway takes us around 7,242-foot Black Elk Peak, the highest point in the US east of the Rockies. Atop Black Elk Peak is a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The tower has a panoramic view of the Black Hills.

We continue circling Black Elk Peak, turning south on South Dakota Highway 87, part of the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway.

When he was a US Senator in the 1920s and ‘30s, Norbeck proposed most of the roads that now make up the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, a route that was proclaimed one of America’s top 10 scenic drives by the Society of American Travel Writers.

The roads were built with hundreds of curves, switchbacks and other architectural features, designed to limit the speed of travelers to 35 miles an hour, so they could best enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills.

Norbeck personally explored Iron Mountain at age 63, looking for views that best showed off the Black Hills landscapes and the emerging faces being carved at Mount Rushmore. He also served two terms as South Dakota’s Governor, and is often remembered as “Mount Rushmore’s great political patron,” for promoting construction of the sculpture and securing federal funding for it.

At the highest point on the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, on the summit of Iron Mountain, there is a small memorial recognizing his legacy, and describing him as: “Well driller, Statesman, first native Governor of South Dakota, US Senator, founder of Custer State Park, sponsor of Mount Rushmore Memorial, road builder, art lover, poet of nature, patriot, gentleman.”

Nice way to be remembered. We should all be so well thought of.

***

Highway 87 next takes us to Sylvan Lake, and Sylvan Lake Lodge, known as the crown jewel of Custer State Park, which we’re now in. Custer is South Dakota’s largest state park, with more than 71,000 acres of hilly terrain. It’s home to many wild animals – which we expect to see later today.

Sylvan Lake is probably the most recognizable of the five Custer State Park lakes. It’s a favorite for photographers and artists, and a popular spot for weddings and other popular occasions, including an occasional bar mitzvah.

Very occasional.

There are less than 400 Jews in all of South Dakota, the fewest of any state in the country. That’s less than a tenth of one percent of South Dakota’s population. The state has only one permanent rabbi, 31-year-old Mendel Alperowitz, who moved his family from Brooklyn, New York, in 2016 to lead the congregation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Rabbi Alperowitz is the first Rabbi to live in the state since the late 1970s. He says he misses the kosher sushi available in New York, but feels a calling to serve the tiny Jewish community in South Dakota.

In Rapid City, at the Synagogue of the Hills, a lay leader orchestrates bar mitzvah ceremonies, performs ritual circumcisions and conducts funeral services. The tiny Jewish community worries that too few children are coming along to sustain it.

***

From Sylvan Lake, we continue east on Highway 87, where the road is now known as the Needles Highway.

The Needles Highway name comes from the needle-like granite formations that seem to pierce the horizon along the highway. The Needles are eroded granite pillars, towers and spires, popular with rock climbers, tourists, and dudes on Harleys.

A portion of the Needles Highway is designated a National Natural Landmark, recognizing and encouraging the conservation of the natural history in the US. The National Natural Landmarks program recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private lands.

The Cathedral Spires and Limber Pine Natural Area, on the Needles Highway, has been such a National Natural Landmark since 1976. The Cathedral Spires are a unique geological formation that provides untold rock-climbing opportunities.

The Cathedral Spires are one of 13 National Natural Landmarks in South Dakota, and were the original site proposed for the Mount Rushmore carvings. But sculptor Gutzon Borglum rejected the location because of the poor quality of the granite and the fact that the Needles were too thin to support the presidential sculptures.

A series of narrow rock tunnels are a highlight of the Needles Highway. The tunnels can fit only one car or motorcycle at a time.

The 14-mile-long Needles Highway attracts about 300,000 people every year, many during Sturgis Rally Week. Seems like 295,000 of them are here today.

Because of snow, the Needles Highway is closed during the winter, and re-opens for driving and riding (if you’re on a motorcycle, it’s called riding) every year in early April. It would be difficult to imagine a trip to the Black Hills that didn’t include this roadway.

***

We continue south on Highway 87, and eventually turn east on Wildlife Loop Road, one of the highlights of Custer State Park. Wildlife Loop Road travels through 18 miles of open grasslands and pine-speckled hills that much of the park’s wildlife calls home.

On Wildlife Loop Road, you might see bison, pronghorn, whitetail and mule deer, elk, coyotes, burros, prairie dogs, eagles, hawks, and a variety of other birds.

Traffic is congested and the pace is slow, rarely over 20 miles an hour.

The free-roaming buffalo herd in the park numbers about 1,300. Most safety guidelines suggest you stay in your vehicle when buffalo are approaching. We’ll see how that works on a Harley.

We slowly follow Wildlife Loop Road through the park until it meets up with US Highway 16A near the State Game Lodge at Custer State Park Resort. The lodge, built in 1920 from native stone and timber, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It served as the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927, and was visited by President Eisenhower in 1953.

The Wildlife Loop Road is open year-round, subject of course, to the predictably unpredictable weather in the Black Hills. When the snow falls, it’ll be plowed off the road, just as soon as the buffalo get out of the way.

***

We join Highway 16A and head northwest. The highway is more familiarly known as Iron Mountain Road. It’s a 17-mile stretch of paved paradise featuring 314 curves and 14 switchbacks. Your speed seldom exceeds 20 miles an hour on Iron Mountain, all the better to make the leisurely ride utterly enjoyable.

One of Iron Mountain Road’s unique features is the three “pigtail” bridges which spiral the rider back over the road they just went on in one massive sweeping turn. The result is a corkscrew shape. Most of these so-called pigtail bridges in the US were made of wood, and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The 17-mile-long Iron Mountain Road also has one-lane rock tunnels that offer spectacular views of Mount Rushmore as you exit the tunnels. The tunnels were blasted through sheer granite walls when they were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The first tunnel we come to is Scovel Johnson Tunnel, named for the man who led the construction of the Needles Highway. Johnson also did survey work on Iron Mountain Road, and contributed to the layout of Sylvan Lake. This tunnel with his name on it is 8’9” wide by 9’8” high, making it the narrowest tunnel in South Dakota.

The second tunnel on Iron Mountain Road is the CC Gideon tunnel, named for Cecil C. Gideon, who designed and built many local structures in the Black Hills, Among Gideon’s legacies are the Custer State Park Game Lodge and the famous pigtail bridges on Iron Mountain Road. The CC Gideon Tunnel is a little roomier, giving riders 11’ 6” of width and 10’ 9” of height to work with.

The third tunnel is the Doane Robinson Tunnel. It perfectly frames the faces on Mount Rushmore, as you ride through the tunnel. Robinson was the state historian of South Dakota in the 1920s, and is best known for dreaming up the idea for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The Doane Robinson Tunnel is the roomiest of the three. It’s 12 feet wide, and 11’ 4” high.

If you want to enjoy the pigtails and tunnels over and over again, you can do that year-round. The Iron Mountain Road is open throughout the year, barring a big dump of snow in the Black Hills. After the snowfall, the road will be plowed, and you’re free to continue your joyride.

***

From the time we exit the Iron Mountain Road’s final pigtail, it’s only about a mile until we arrive in the historic town of Keystone – considered the home of Mount Rushmore, only two miles away.

In Keystone, there are two distinct parts to the town – the “New” Keystone, a mile-long retail district along US Highway 16A, and the “Old” Keystone, the original gold mining settlement along east-flowing Battle Creek.

Keystone, which got its name from a local mine, was once a boomtown after the discovery of placer gold two miles east of the town’s current location. Placer gold is still thought to exist here in abundance, but the great depth of the deposits makes it difficult and impractical to reach.

With a population of a little more than 300, Keystone comes to life each summer during tourist season, never more so than during Sturgis Rally week. For such a small town, Keystone has a thriving food scene, with nearly two dozen restaurants.

Leaving Keystone, it’s a 20-mile ride back to Rapid City, where we park the bikes and relax after a day of exploration in the Black Hills.

***

Day Thirteen Summary: 125 miles. Mount Rushmore, pigtails, wildlife.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Mount Rushmore, through the Black Hills and back to Rapid City.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

South Dakota fun fact: Belle Fourche, about 55 miles northwest of Rapid City, is the geographical center of the United States of America. In 2008, a large granite compass rose was installed in Belle Fourche, and called the “Center of the Nation” monument. The actual geographic center is 20 miles north of Belle Fourche on private farmland, but Belle Fourche is the closest town and a good place for the monument and visitor center.

South Dakota favorite food: Kolache, which originated in Central Europe, is a delicious pastry topped off with candied fruit or cream cheese. Kolaches are similar to tiny pies. One of the best places to get your hands on kolaches is in Tabor – the unofficial Czech capital of South Dakota. Great place for kolache: Czeckers restaurant in Yankton.

South Dakota funky place name: The town of Volin looks like “violin” but clearly isn’t. With a population of 161, it’s one of the smallest towns that has an Interstate exit. It’s 20 miles west of I-29, it was the only town directly off the Interstate near Union Grove State Park, so it got an exit.

South Dakota famous folk: Tom Brokaw, former NBC Nightly News anchorman, grew up in Yankton, South Dakota, and graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. During the heyday of network TV news, Brokaw competed against Peter Jennings (ABC) and Dan Rather (CBS). He’s also written a number of best-selling non-fiction books, including The Greatest Generation and The Fall of Richard Nixon. Today, at age 81, Brokaw is still actively engaged in reporting on the American experience.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Badlands and Wall Drug.

***

***
Our day begins with a hundred miles of humdrum transit. Then, we’ll visit a world-famous national monument, and end with Black Hills beauty.

Much of Wyoming is spectacular. Our morning ride east out of Buffalo is anything but.

It’s a boring 70 miles on Interstate 90 to Gillette, which calls itself the Energy Capital of the Nation. With a population of about 32,000, Gillette is Wyoming’s fourth-largest city – after Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie.

Gillette sits in the heart of the Powder River Basin, known for its coal deposits. The Powder River was so named because the sand along a portion of its banks resembles powder or dust.

The Powder River region supplies about 40 percent of coal production in the US. Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state in the United States since 1988, accounting for more than twice as much as West Virginia, and more than the entire Appalachian region. The area has been home to the eight largest US coal mines.

Nearly 14 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions come from burning Powder River Basin coal.

It’s a dirty, filthy place. There is no such thing as clean coal. And there sure as heck isn’t any “beautiful, clean coal.” That’s an energy industry myth, popularized by the coal industry and propagated by a recent occupant of the White House.

“Clean coal” refers to coal plants that capture the carbon dioxide emitted from smokestacks and bury it underground as a way of limiting global warming. It’s also known as carbon capture and storage. If you’ve ever driven by or been to a coal mine, you know how stinkin’ dirty it really is.

For us, for today, it’s clean enough here in Gillette to relax, grab a soda, and anticipate the day ahead. By mid-day, we hope to find something photo-worthy.

But first, we jump back on Interstate 90 and ride 30 miles to Moorcroft, population 1,000. Moorcroft sits on the banks of the Belle Fourche River, which we’ll follow off and on much of the rest of the day.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the Belle Fourche River was known as the North Fork of the Cheyenne River. Belle Fourche is a name derived from French meaning “beautiful fork.”

In Moorcroft, we turn north on US Highway 14, which immediately takes us past Keyhole Reservoir and State Park. The area offers a variety of fishing and water sports, in addition to camping, picnicking, hiking and bird watching. About 225 bird species can be observed in the park; during the summer, the most abundant species include the White Pelican, Osprey, Common Yellowthroat and Savannah Sparrow.

***

The mountains that surround Keyhole form the western boundary of the Black Hills, where we’ll spend the next four or five days.

The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains, whose highest point is 7,244-foot Black Elk Peak, formerly known as Harney Peak.

Black Hills? The Lakota Indians considered the hills black because of their dark appearance from a distance, as the hills were covered in trees.

Native Americans have a long history in the Black Hills. After conquering the Cheyenne tribe in 1776, the Lakota took over the territory of the Black Hills. In 1868, the US government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty, which was designed to bring peace between the whites and the Sioux, who agreed to settle within the Black Hills reservation in the Dakota Territory.

The treaty also exempted the Black Hills from all white settlement. Forever. But when an expedition led by General George Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills in 1874, thousands of miners swept into the area in a frenzied gold rush.

During the gold rush, the US Government defeated the Lakota and their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies, taking control of the region, in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Lakota never accepted the validity of the US appropriation and to this day, they continue efforts to reclaim the area in the Black Hills that was once theirs.

Today, the Black Hills may be best known for Mount Rushmore and the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally – our ultimate destination on this trip.

***

We ride along the western edge of the Black Hills for about 30 miles. Ahead of us appears this huge, quite recognizable monolith: Devils Tower National Monument.

Devils Tower is a laccolithic butte rising dramatically 1,267 feet above the tree-lined Belle Fourche River. The tower itself stands 867 feet, from base to summit. Every year, about 400,000 tourists like us visit Devils Tower. About one percent of them climb it.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the two-square mile park surrounding the tower as America’s first National Monument. The stone pillar is about 1,000 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 275 feet at the top, making it the premier rock-climbing challenge in the Black Hills.

The name Devil’s Tower originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Dodge, when his interpreter speaking to Native Americans mis-interpreted the name to mean “Bad God’s Tower,” which then became Devil’s Tower. Following standard geographic naming conventions, the apostrophe was dropped and, voila, you have Devils Tower.

The monster monolith is most famous for its role in the 1977 Steven Spielberg movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The movie’s release caused a huge increase in the number of visitors (and climbers) to the monument. Most years, it sees nearly a half-million visitors, almost as many as the Washington Monument.

***

I’m compelled to share a brief story about Devils Tower, one with a very local connection.

My across-the-street neighbor in Carbondale, Dave Durrance, lit up when I told him I was making a pilgrimage to Devils Tower. Dave is part of the famous Durrance skiing family; his dad, Dick Durrance, was the most accomplished ski racer of his time, winning 17 national championships in the 1930s and ‘40s. He was the Bode Miller of his time. Dick, who later led the Aspen Skiing Company, and the Alta ski resort in Utah, is in the US Skiing and Snowboarding Hall of Fame.

But this story isn’t about Dick.

Dick’s brother, and Dave’s uncle, Jack Durrance, made one of the first ascents of Devils Tower in 1938, pioneering what has since become known among climbers as the “Durrance Route.” The route, now the most popular way up Devils Tower for modern climbers, is recognized in the historic climbing text, Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Three years after inventing the Durrance Route, Jack Durrance made news for a daring rescue mission atop Devils Tower, volunteering to bail out a parachutist stuck on top of the monolith. It’s quite a story.

The Durrance family is a Colorado treasure. I’m fortunate enough to ski several times every season at Snowmass with Dave, a former racer, coach and member of the US National Ski Team. His technique and style are as precise as his artwork. Even at age 75, he is a blur coming down the mountain.

Whoosh!

***

Our Devils Tower experience complete, we now head for the heart of the Black Hills.

US Highway 14 brings us to Sundance, population about 1,200. Sundance is named after the Sun Dance ceremony practiced by several American Indian tribes, which often involves the community gathering together to pray for healing.

The town is perhaps best known for someone who passed through it in the late 19^thcentury. After his release from the Sundance jail in 1888, Harry Longabaugh, an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, acquired the moniker, “The Sundance Kid.”

His nickname entered the popular culture with 1969 release of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Robert Redford, who portrayed Longabaugh in the movie, later named his Sundance Ski Resort near Provo, Utah, and the Sundance Film Festival, after this character.

Another surprise in Sundance: even though it’s a small town seemingly in the middle of nowhere, it has a Harley dealer, Deluxe Harley-Davidson. As Dave and Scott will tell you, it’s not possible to have too many Harley stores; you should see their t-shirt collections!

***

In Sundance we reluctantly reboard Interstate 90. Thankfully, we’re on it for less than six miles, before exiting.

We cross Sundance Creek, and leave the Interstate on Moskee Road. Moskee had its beginning in the early 1900s as a lumber and sawmill town. Today it’s a ghost town.

Moskee Road delivers us to Buckley Canyon, which gives way to Grand Canyon Road. In less than 10 miles, we cross into South Dakota, named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes. Dakota is the Sioux word for “friends” or “allies.”

The Sioux dominated the area in the 1800s. By the late 19^thcentury, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of wars with Indian tribes, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. The Battle of Wounded Knee was a massacre of several hundred Lakota Indians, almost half of whom were women and children, by US Army soldiers.

South Dakota’s official website uses the tagline, “Great Faces. Great Places” – also the state’s official slogan. The Great Faces are a reference to the four US Presidents, whose likenesses are carved into Mount Rushmore, which we’ll visit tomorrow.

***

As we cross into South Dakota, Grand Canyon Road becomes Wagon Canyon Road, then Roughlock Falls Road. Of course, it takes us to Roughlock Falls, which got its name from pioneers who “roughlocked” their wheels when traveling down the canyon, to prevent the wagons from rolling freely.

Just past Roughlock Falls, at the ghost town of Savoy, we turn onto US Highway 14, which brings us to Cheyenne Crossing, at the south entrance to Spearfish Canyon National Scenic Byway.

Cheyenne Crossing is also home to the Stage Stop Café, known widely for having the best Indian tacos in the Black Hills. For the curious, Indian tacos, also known as Navajo tacos, are made with Indian fry bread instead of tortillas.

After Native Americans were relocated to reservations, beginning in 1851, they were rationed flour, powdered milk, salt, and lard. From these rations, Indian tacos were invented. Since then, they have become a common food in states with large Native American populations.

Hungry for Indian tacos? Here’s a good recipe.

***

In Cheyenne Crossing, we continue east on US Highway 14, rolling past the Terry Peak Ski Area, which calls itself the “best kept secret” in the Midwest. Terry Peak draws sklers from all of South Dakota and slices of Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota. Midwesterners drive up to eight hours to sample its 1,052-foot vertical feet of skiing.

The area opened in 1936 with one rope tow built by the Bald Mountain Ski Club. Terry Peak got its first chairlift in 1954, and today has four lifts, 30 runs and 450 skiable acres.

The city of Lead, population about 3,000, is just a few miles ahead on our route. Lead (pronounced “leed”) was named for its deposits of valuable ores. It’s the site of the Homestake Mine, the oldest, largest, deepest (8,240 feet) and most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, before it closed in 2002 after 125 years of operation.

The Homestake Mining Company founded the city of Lead as a company town for its employees. At its peak, the mine employed 2,200 workers and supported a vibrant community with virtually no unemployment.

The mine produced more than 40 million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime, before low gold prices, poor ore quality, and high costs caused its demise. During its heyday, Lead was the economic engine of South Dakota, led by the Homestake Mine.

***

Just east of Lead, we turn south on US Highway 385, riding past Tomahawk Lake Country Club until the road intersects with Nemo Road. Nemo was established in 1877, and of course, was named after the clownfish made famous in the 2003 Pixar movie, Finding Nemo.

For you Nemo fans, there are 28 species of clownfish. The most common clownfish, and the one that looks most like Nemo, is the percula clown fish. It’s bright orange with white stripes. Clownfish live on the ocean floor. And, of course, in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

We roll through Nemo – there’s little to see other than clownfish littering the highway – and continue on our way to Rapid City, tonight’s destination – only 23 miles away.

Nemo Road eventually becomes South Canyon Road, and takes us directly into Rapid City, South Dakota’s second-largest city, after Sioux Falls. The city is named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement began in the 1870s.

The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Black Hills Expedition, led by George Armstrong Custer, brought a mass influx of European-American miners and eventual settlers into this region of the Dakota Territory.

Rapid City, known as the “Gateway to the Black Hills,” is our home for the next four days.

Time to unpack!

***

Day Twelve Summary: 249 miles. Black Hills, Devils Tower, finding Nemo.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Buffalo, Wyoming, to Rapid City, South Dakota.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Wyoming fun fact: There is no Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming. The 2005 film was set in the mountains of Wyoming, but was actually filmed in Alberta, Canada. According to the state’s director of Tourism, the movie increased Wyoming tourism more than any other movie since Close Encounters of the Third Kind brought visitors to Devils Tower.

South Dakota fun fact: South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation. South Dakota has one of the largest Native American populations, with nine official tribes and 60,000 people.

Wyoming: When in Jackson, stop at Café Genevieve, and try their Pig Candy. Yes, Pig Candy. It’s a bacon lover’s dream come true. Thick applewood-smoked bacon is cooked fresh daily and covered in a blend of sugars and spices; it’s baked “low and slow,” which results in the ultimate coating.

South Dakota favorite food: You can’t visit South Dakota without trying Chislic. Made from lamb, beef, deer or venison, these half-inch meat cubes are grilled or deep-fried to perfection. In 2018, the South Dakota Legislature named Chislic as the state’s “Official nosh.” When in Sioux Falls, you’ve gotta go to Urban Chislic, a new restaurant where you select your meat and choose from 18 different dipping sauces or 9 dry rubs. All Chislic, all the time!

Wyoming funky place name: The Mormon Row Historic District is in Grand Teton National Park, near the town of Moose – which we visited last week. In the late 1800s, leaders of Mormon Church sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new communities and support their expanding population. The homesteading area was known as Mormon Row, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

South Dakota funky place name: The town of Running Water, population 36, sits in the southeast part of the state, near the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri rivers. That’s where Running Water got its name. The meeting of those two rivers created a current that French trappers and explorers called, L’eau Qui Court (“the waters that run”).

Wyoming famous folk: Country music singer/songwriter and rodeo champion Chris LeDoux grew up in Cheyenne, and lived much of his life in Wyoming. To help pay his expenses while traveling the country on the national rodeo circuit, he began composing and singing songs, describing his lifestyle. LeDoux recorded three dozen albums, was nominated for a Grammy, and honored with the Academy of Country Music Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. He died in 2005 at the age of 56.

South Dakota famous folk: Former US Congressman and Senator George McGovern grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota before embarking on a lifelong career in public service. McGovern was one of the first and best-known politicians to strongly oppose the Vietnam War. He may be best remembered nationally for his 1972 presidential run against Richard Nixon, losing in one of the biggest landslides in US history. McGovern died in 2012 at the age of 90.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Mount Rushmore.

***

It may not seem like it this morning, as we greet the day with our morning coffee – but there’s a wealth of history here in the Beartooth Mountains.

On September 17, 1851, the United States government signed a treaty with the Crow Nation, ceding the area that now contains Red Lodge, to the Crow Indians. An 1880 treaty between the US government and the Crow allowed the area to be settled, starting April 11, 1882.

For the Crow Indians, Red Lodge was a place of worship and hunting. They painted their council tepee with red clay. Folklore tells us this tradition gave Red Lodge its name.

In 2015, Red Lodge was named one of the top 10 ski towns in America (seven of the 10 are in Colorado!). Red Lodge is a great ski town – not because of the Beartooth Basin Summer Racing Camp, which we visited on our way into town yesterday – but because of Red Lodge Mountain, just six miles from town.

Red Lodge Mountain is well known for its friendly, small-town personality and its no-attitude approach to skiing. Said one online reviewer, about the clientele there: “Just normal folks, you probably won’t see the Kardashians there or Kanye and that suits me just fine.”

Really … the Kardashians ski?

Red Lodge Mountain officially opened in 1960 with one chairlift and three runs. It was then called Grizzly Peak. Today, it has six chairlifts and a vertical rise of about 2,000 feet to the summit of Grizzly Peak. You can get a full-day lift ticket for $69. It’s only $29 if you’re a child, between 6 and 12 years old. An all-day pass for Super Seniors (like me!) is $24.

***

We leave Red Lodge and head southwest, retracing yesterday’s path over Beartooth Pass.

It’s just as spectacular going the opposite direction, east to west. The second time is twice as nice.

Thirty-nine miles from Red Lodge, we turn off of the Beartooth Highway and on to Montana Highway 296, which soon becomes the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.

The scenic byway runs a total of 46 miles through magical Sunlight Basin, along the Clark’s Fork of Yellowstone River. The road closely follows the path taken by the Nez Perce as they fled the US Cavalry in 1877. Several historical and interpretative signs along the road provide more information about the flight of the Nez Perce.

The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway is named after the Native American chief of the Nez Perce Tribe. Following the Battle of the Big Hole in Montana in 1877, Chief Joseph fled east through Yellowstone. He and 1,000 members of his tribe ran from the US Cavalry, who were trying to force the tribe onto a reservation so that white ranchers could have their lands. The tribe was stopped only 30 miles from its destination, the Canadian border.

In his speech of surrender, Chief Joseph expressed dignity and defeat with his famous words, “Hear me, my chiefs; I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

Just past a view of 11,300-foot Sugarloaf Mountain, the road makes a series of tight switchbacks and hairpins, culminating at Dead Indian Summit.

Dead Indian Pass, at 8,071 feet, is the highest point on the Chief Joseph Highway. From here, the views of the higher peaks of the North Absaroka Mountains are spectacular. We can also see the deep canyon that the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River flows through.

***

From Dead Indian Pass, it’s 30 miles to Cody, which sits on the banks of the Shoshone River at the western edge of the Bighorn Basin. The city is named after William Frederick Cody – better known as Buffalo Bill – a scout, bison hunter and showman – and one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West.

At one time a 14-year-old rider for the Pony Express, he got the nickname “Buffalo Bill” when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. He’s purported to have killed 4,282 American bison (commonly known as buffalo) in an 18-month period in the late 1860s. Dude was lethal.

In the 1800s here in the Plains, buffalo were everywhere.

Sixty million buffalo once roamed the Great Plains. Hunting killed millions of them. By 1889, when South Dakota became a state, the buffalo was nearly extinct.

Today, an estimated 500,000 buffalo currently loll their lives away on private lands. About 30,000 more are on public lands – many of them in South Dakota.

For South Dakotans, the buffalo is a symbol of pride. For Native Americans, they’re a sign of spiritual strength.

European explorers gave the American bison the name of buffalo. Whatever you call them, they are huge animals, weighing more than a ton, standing as high as six feet, and as long as eleven feet. We expect to see a boatload of them as we ride the Black Hills over the next week.

You’ll see a lot about bison in the Buffalo Bill Museum, here in Cody. Museum visit or not, it’s a good place to gas up for the remainder of today’s journey.

***

From Cody, we head east, rolling through the small towns of Burlington and Basin, where we join the flow of the Bighorn River. The river, a tributary of the Yellowstone River, was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its banks.

Where the Bighorn River meets the Norwood River, we join Wyoming Highway 31 in the town of Manderson, population 114. Manderson was originally called Alamo, but was renamed in 1989 in honor of Charles Manderson, chief counsel for Burlington Railroad.

Now heading southeast, we’re reminded of the desolation of Wyoming, America’s least populous state, with less than 600,000 residents. Wyoming also has the second lowest population density in the country, with six residents per square mile. Only Alaska has a lower population density – a little more than one resident per square mile. For the politically savvy among you, Wyoming has two US Senators, the same as California — with a population of nearly 40 million. Go figure.

Thirty-five miles from Manderson, we roll into the town of Ten Sleep, population 260. Ten Sleep was an American Indian rest stop that got its name because it was ten days travel, or “Ten Sleeps,” from Fort Laramie, Yellowstone National Park, and the Indian Agency on the Stillwater River.

In Ten Sleep, we join US Highway 16, which will take us to tonight’s destination: Buffalo, Wyoming.

The road immediately begins climbing through the Bighorn National Forest and Big Horn Mountains. We’re now on the Cloud Peak Skyway Scenic Byway, the southern-most route across the Bighorn National Forest.

***

Perceptive blog readers will note the two different spellings of Big Horn (Bighorn?). As a former journalist and PR guy who spent his whole career complying with style guides designed to promote consistent usage, I hate inconsistencies like that.

But in alternately using Bighorn and Big Horn, I’m just following official and very confusing Wyoming state guidance. The Wyoming State Highway Map uses Big Horn (two words) Mountains, while the Wyoming State Geological Survey uses Bighorn (one word) Mountains.

Wyoming official websites, like travelwyoming.com use Big Horn (two words). Lewis and Clark used the name Bighorn (one word) in their July 26, 1806, journal entry.

The final word on this should come from the US Board on Geographic Names, which in 1962 officially named the Bighorn (one word) Mountains. The naming order specifically states not to use Big Horn Mountains, or Big Horn Range. That’s all the convincing I need.

From now on, Bighorn is one word.

***

The Cloud Peak Skyway crests at the 9,666-foot Powder River Pass, above the timberline. The skyway provides the only view of 13,167-foot Cloud Peak, the highest peak in the Bighorn (one word!) Mountains.

Less than 20 miles after leaving Ten Sleep, we pass past Meadowlark Lake, which sits at 8,199 feet. It’s very close to Meadowlark Ski Lodge, a quaint ski area with two lifts, a vertical rise of 1,000 feet, and 300 acres of terrain. In the summer – now – Meadowlark Lake is home to four wheeling, hiking, camping, and fishing. Meadowlark is a good name for the ski lodge and lake; the Western Meadowlark is Wyoming’s state bird.

Highway 16 takes us around the lake, by the ski lodge, and on toward Buffalo.

***

It’s a spectacular ride from Meadowlark Lake into Buffalo, about 45 miles away.

Buffalo’s economy revolves around energy. Methane extraction and production lead the way. Cattle and sheep ranching are also a staple of local commerce, as they always have been.

Writer Owen Wister visited Buffalo in 1891. Observations he gleaned there and in many other parts of Wyoming about cowboys and ranch life fill his book, The Virginian. The book, a story of a frontier cowboy honorably battling thieves and outlaws, and winning the heart of an attractive young school teacher, set the precedent for good-guy heroes in future Westerns.

It sold millions of copies and is considered to be the first popular western novel. The Virginian opened the genre to writers like Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. Hundreds of western movies and TV shows followed. Some of the best television ever included Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Bonanza, Maverick, and Wanted: Dead or Alive.

In Wister’s honor, for inspiring books, movies and TV shows, the Owen Wister Award is given annually by the Western Writers of America. It was originally awarded to the author of each year’s best book about the West. But beginning in 1967, the Owen Wister Award has been given for “Outstanding Contributions to the American West,” and presented to non-writers such as John Wayne, John Ford, and Clint Eastwood.

Owen Wister came to Buffalo in the late 19^thcentury, and began a new genre of writing about the American West. But he had nothing to do with naming the city. It was already called Buffalo.

If you guessed that Buffalo is named after the American bison, you’d be wrong. The city takes its name from Buffalo, New York.

Go figure.

***

***

Day Eleven Summary: 285 miles. Beartooth revisited, Dead Indian Pass, a Buffalo surprise.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Red Lodge, Montana, to Buffalo, Wyoming.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Montana fun fact: Montana is the fourth-largest state in size, at 145,556 square miles. It’s also the largest landlocked state, meaning its territorial boundaries do not touch an ocean, gulf, or bay.

Wyoming fun fact: Wyoming’s state dinosaur is the triceratops. It’s one of only eight states with an official state dinosaur. The triceratops, one of the largest horned dinosaurs, lived in Wyoming about 67 million years ago.

Montana favorite food: In May, Montana’s riverbanks and foothills become drenched in the sweet scent of chokecherry blossoms. Come August, when the berries ripen to deep red, locals rush out with buckets and coffee cans to pick a few before the birds and bears pluck bushes clean. At Lewistown’s Chokecherry Festival in September, fans sample chokecherry jam, syrup, pie and wine, along with Montana Wild Chokecherry Liqueur.

Wyoming favorite food: Fry Bread is a popular Indian taco dish. It’s a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening or lard. The platter is like a taco salad, but it features homemade fry bread instead of a taco shell. The fry bread serves as a palatable landing for cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and ground taco meat.

Montana funky place name: Geraldine, a town in Choteau County, is named for the character on the old Flip Wilson TV show in the early 1970s. Geraldine Jones was a fictional character, a sassy, recurring character who made famous the line: “When you’re hot, you’re hot; when you’re not, you’re not.” Geraldine also created the still-used phrase, “What you see is what you get.” Most of what you just read is true.

Wyoming funky place name: Crowheart, Wyoming derives its origins from conflicts between the Shoshone and Crow tribes. Chief Washakie of the Shoshone and Chief Big Robber of the Crow fought over the rights to the Wind River hunting grounds. The Shoshone won. Chief Washakie, instead of scalping his opponent, cut his heart out and placed it on the end of a lance. Thus, Crowheart. Oof.

Montana famous folk: Actor Gary Cooper grew up in the Helena area. His acting career included starring movie roles in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Sergeant York, The Pride of The Yankees, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and High Noon. The American Film Institute ranked Cooper number 11 on its list of 25 greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Cooper died in 1961, at the age of 60.

Wyoming famous folk: Remember the TV series, CHIPs? Larry Wilcox, who starred as CHP (California Highway Patrol) officer Jonathan Baker, was raised in Rawlins, Wyoming, and attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Early in his career, he made guest appearances in Room 222, The Streets of San Francisco and Lassie. In the late 1970s, Wilcox was the highest paid actor in Hollywood. Willcox, who turns 74 this week, lives in southern California.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Next stop, Black Hills.

Day 10 of our trip begins by hanging a U-turn and heading north on US Highway 191 – toward the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

We follow the Snake River for a little more than two miles, then re-enter the park. Good thing we all have unlimited National Park passes. My lifetime National Park pass, acquired for $10 at age 62, may be the best deal in the history of deals. They’re now called “America the Beautiful Senior Passes,” and when you turn 62, you can get one, too. Today, it’ll cost you $80. Age has its privileges.

Here, as we enter Yellowstone National Park, the Snake River heads eastward, but the highway follows the Lewis River, northward. The Lewis, an 18-mile-long tributary of the Snake, is entirely within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. The river, of course, is named for Meriwether Lewis, commander of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Lewis River takes us past Lewis Lake – you remember it from yesterday – and to West Thumb, an arm of Yellowstone Lake. In West Thumb, we join US Highway 20, part of the park’s Grand Loop. The Grand Loop is a 142-mile-long road that curves around in a figure-eight, taking visitors past the park’s most striking natural features.

The Grand Loop is the main way to get to the major attractions in Yellowstone, including Yellowstone Lake. Today, we take the loop and ride along the northern shoreline of Yellowstone Lake, the largest high elevation (above 7,000 feet) lake in North America.

The lake has more than 140 miles of shoreline, which we get to experience in this morning’s wake-up ride. Yellowstone Lake completely freezes over every winter in late December or early January, with ice thicknesses varying from a few inches to more than two feet. The lake usually thaws in late May or early June, but the water remains cold year-round, with an average water temperature of 41 degrees.

Yellowstone Lake has the largest population of wild cutthroat trout in North America. The cutthroat, named for an orange mark behind the lower jaw, has been the official Wyoming state fish since 1987.

It’s a species of the family Salmonidae, native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean. How a Pacific Ocean fish was trapped in a lake that drains to the Atlantic puzzled experts for years. Scientists now believe that Yellowstone Lake once drained to the Pacific Ocean via Outlet Canyon and the Snake River, and that fish swam across the Continental Divide at Two Ocean Pass.

The lake currently drains north from its only outlet, the Yellowstone River, at Fishing Bridge. The gravelly bottom of the Yellowstone River at the outlet of the lake makes it a major spawning area for the cutthroat trout.

Overfishing from this once popular fishing spot contributed to the decline of the cutthroat trout in the lake, which is home to the largest inland population of cutthroat trout in the world.

Despite its name, there is no fishing from Fishing Bridge. Not any more. Fishing has been prohibited from the bridge since 1973, but it remains a good place to watch trout.

***

At Fishing Bridge, we follow the Grand Loop north, as it traces the contours of the Yellowstone River. The loop takes us past the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. This may be obvious, but Yellowstone National Park is named after the Yellowstone River, the major river running through the park.

The Lower Falls, at 308 feet, is the tallest waterfall in the park. In terms of height alone, it’s more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. Vista points to observe the falls are among the more popular and crowded spots in the park. The Grand Canyon, one of the most photographed views in the park, runs for more than 20 miles of the Yellowstone River.

Along with Old Faithful, this area is one of the park’s two marquee destinations.

The jumping off spot for activities in the Grand Canyon area is Canyon Village, home to lodging, restaurants campgrounds and a general store.

Today, we are just passing through. We continue north on Grand Loop Road toward Tower Fall, the final waterfall we’ll see.

Tower Fall was first photographed by William Henry Jackson in 1871. When Jackson and artist Thomas Moran returned from a 40-day expedition to the Yellowstone area and shared their photos and paintings with Congress, these visuals created quite a stir.

The beauty of their images led Congress to create Yellowstone National Park.

***

About two miles north of Tower Fall, we arrive at Tower Junction, where we leave Grand Loop Road and head east on US Highway 212. This roadway, also known as Northeast Entrance Road, follows the Lamar River – a tributary of the Yellowstone River. The 40-mile long Lamar is entirely within Yellowstone National Park’s borders.

The river was named for Lucius Lamar, Secretary of the Interior during the first Grover Cleveland administration, from 1885 to 1889. (Wait. What? Grover Cleveland was elected twice?) Until that time, and for some time after, locals called the river “the East Fork of the Yellowstone River” because it was – you know – the east fork of that river.

Highway 212 turns north, eventually crossing into Montana, where we exit Yellowstone National Park at the Northeast Entrance Station, just a few feet north of the Wyoming/Montana state border.

An interesting note about the Wyoming/Montana state border: it essentially runs along the 45th Parallel of latitude. Wyoming’s State Constitution defines its northern border as the 45th Parallel.

The 45th Parallel is an imaginary line that circles the globe at the point halfway between the equator and the North Pole. The same line passes through Ottawa, Canada; Venice, Italy; and the northern tip of the Japanese islands. The 45th Parallel also forms the northern boundary of New York and Vermont, where they meet the Canadian province of Quebec. And, it splits Kazakhstan and Mongolia in half.

The 45th Parallel is a great, yet invisible, line of demarcation. Keeping this in mind, as we cross into Montana, we’re now just slightly closer to the North Pole than we are to the equator. Woo-hoo!

Just ahead is Cooke City and Silver Gate, two separate villages with a combined population of 140. This is where the world-famous Beartooth Highway begins.

From here, we dip back into Wyoming, crossing the 45th Parallel again. There’s a spectacular view of 11,699-foot Pilot Peak, a Matterhorn-like pinnacle. Its shape was defined when glaciers carved away the rest of it, leaving only a pyramidal spire. It’s the most widely photographed peak in the Beartooth Mountains.

***

The 68-mile long Beartooth Highway is closed in the winter, and generally reopens Memorial Day weekend. It is an incredibly scenic route that climbs to 10,947 feet as it winds through the Beartooth Mountains.

In August 1872, the pass was crossed by Civil War General Philip Sheridan and 120 men, as they returned from an inspection tour of Yellowstone National Park, which had been established earlier that year.

Rather than take the long detour down the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River to return to Billings, Sheridan took the advice of an old hunter named Shuki Greer, who claimed intimate knowledge of the Beartooth Mountains. When the road was opened in 1936, it essentially followed Sheridan’s route over the pass.

Beartooth Highway, which runs from Yellowstone’s northeast entrance to Red Lodge, Montana is the highest elevation paved highway in the Northern Rocky Mountains open to travelers seasonally from May to October.

Former CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt called it the “most beautiful drive in America.” Over the next few hours, we’ll see how accurate his characterization is.

Beartooth Highway takes us back and forth into Wyoming, and Montana – again and again. It’s at or near the top of just about every “Top Ten Motorcycle Rides in the US” list I’ve ever seen. Many cyclists call it a once-in-a-lifetime ride. Lucky for us – we get to ride the Beartooth today, and tomorrow!

For you thrill seekers, here are a few lists of roads that should be in your future.

Try this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

OK, one more for the road.

That should give you something to do for the foreseeable future. It’s as close to a motorcycle bucket list as you can get.

***

The name “Beartooth” comes from a Crow name, Na Piet Say, meaning “the bear’s tooth” and refers to a sharp spire that juts from the Beartooth plateau. The Beartooths are the location of Granite Peak, which at 12,807 feet, is the highest point in the state of Montana.

The Beartooth Highway passes through the Beartooth Corridor, and is surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests. It sits in a million-plus acre wilderness

Soon, we roll past Beartooth Lake, an 8,900-foot-high beauty. The lake is a popular destination for fishing, boating, camping, hiking and backpacking.

All along the Beartooth Highway, it’s not uncommon for August snowstorms to roll through. In the summer (now!), temperatures can range from the 70s on sunny days to below freezing during sudden snowstorms. We think we’re prepared. Fingers crossed.

***

Just past Beartooth Lake is the Top of the World Store, one of the few reminders of civilization along the Beartooth Highway. Here, you can get groceries, gas, and most importantly, a Wyoming fishing license (a non-resident daily license will set you back $14.00). Never know when you’re gonna have an insatiable desire to drop a line and catch a trout. Even at 9,400 feet above sea level.

Each year, the Wyoming Game and Fish department stocks the lake with nearly 6,000 trout – half rainbow and half cutthroat.

About eight miles past the Top of the World Store, after carefully negotiating a series of switchbacks and hairpin turns, we arrive at the Beartooth Pass Vista Point. At 10,947 feet, it’s a good place to stop, stretch, and snap some pics.

A few more switchbacks later, we pass by the Beartooth Basin Summer Ski Area. It’s in Wyoming, just a few miles south of the Montana border.

Beartooth Basin is the lone ski area in North America that is open only in the summer. It’s generally skiable from late May through early July – a six-week season, if road conditions cooperate. Because the Bearthooth Highway is closed in the winter, you couldn’t access this ski area in winters, even if you wanted to.

Formerly known as Red Lodge International Summer Racing Camp, Beartooth Basin is one of North America’s oldest alpine ski training areas. Historically the Basin was a summer destination for alpine racing athletes, operated as a private camp.

The summer racing camp was established in the mid-1960s by Austrian ski racing legends Pepi Gramshammer, Erich Sailer and Anderl Molterer.  For 25 summers here on the Beartooth Highway, the Austrians coached as many as eight thousand youngsters from all over the United States and around the world.

Ownership changed in 2003, when an adventurous group of locals from nearby Red Lodge invested in the race camp and opened the door to a younger generation of skiing enthusiasts.

Today, the ski area is staffed with professional ski patrol and lift attendants, like many other ski areas. Unlike most other ski areas, there is no lodge. No warming hut. No retail. You could call it backcountry skiing with a lift.

The summer-only ski area includes 600 acres of terrain that vary in pitch from 15 degrees to 50 degrees. That’s ridiculously steep! Anything over 45 degrees is considered a controlled free fall. Don’t try this at home.

The locally owned and operated Beartooth Basin Summer Ski Area is served by two platter lifts.

Its isolation is both a blessing and a curse. The location keeps things local, obscure, and offers up some incredible views. It also causes access issues and creates increased costs.

Beartooth Basin faces steep economic challenges – aging infrastructure, high equipment costs, costly insurance policies, and major engineering inspections on top of the unique challenge of its remote location. To preserve this unique western skiing experience for future generations, the ski area’s owners in 2019 launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds in an effort to keep the place alive.

Said the resort management in a Facebook post: “We enjoy being owned and operated by local ski enthusiasts, and not some big corporate entity. We would rather measure success in smiles than the bottom line.” The Kickstarter campaign sought contributions to support lift maintenance, insurance costs, fuel, snow surface maintenance, and terrain expansion.

As far as we can tell, they’re still hanging in there.

***

Two miles north of the ski area, we cross back into Montana, where we’ll spend the remainder of our day. In the middle of four exquisite hairpin turns, we arrive at the Rock Creek Vista Point. Here, we are treated to breathtaking views from an elevation of 9,199 feet. In the distance, you can see Rock Creek Canyon and Hellroaring Plateau. Great name!

There are quite a few places in Montana with the Hellroaring label. Hellroaring Creek. Hellroaring Basin. Hellroaring Lake. Hellroaring River. Hellroaring Peak. Hellroaring Mountain. Hellroaring Plateau. The name Hellroaring apparently comes from a description of the sound of the River given by a prospector in 1867.

From the Rock Creek Vista Point, we continue our 5,000-foot vertical descent toward tonight’s destination, Red Lodge. Thus ends our 68-mile thrill ride on Beartooth Highway.

Turns out Charles Kuralt was right.

***

Day Ten Summary: 175 miles. Yellowstone Lake, Beartooth Highway, summer skiing.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, to Red Lodge, Montana.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Wyoming fun fact: In the Jackson metro area, which includes Teton County, the wealthiest residents make, on average, 132 times as much as everyone else: The average annual income of the top one percent is more than $16.1 million, and the average income of the bottom 99 percent is $122,447.

Montana fun fact: In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all. If you don’t like this one, remember: never shoot the messenger. Me.

Wyoming favorite food: According to the Food Channel, a usually reliable culinary source, Wyomatoes are unlike any tomato you’ve ever tasted. Grown at 7,400 feet in Big Piney, Wyoming, they’re highly coveted by chefs all over the state. Fried Green Wyomatoes are said to be a big hit at the Spur Restaurant & Bar in Teton Village.

Montana favorite food: Foraging for morel mushrooms is a Montana rite of spring. Montana’s temperature and elevation apparently makes for optimal morel hunting. Morel cooking tips: wash first, to get the dirt and sand out. Cook with lots of butter and garlic. Saute for up to five minutes.

Wyoming funky place name: Capser is the site of the former Fort Caspar. Fort Caspar was a stop along the Oregon Trail, where travelers could send telegrams, resupply, and use a ferry to cross the North Platte River. So, why is the town spelled Casper and not Caspar? It was a typographical error, and nobody caught it until the town was registered. Yes, a typo!

Montana funky place name: The town of Pray is not named after the Sunday religious activity, but after Congressman Charles Nelson Pray, who represented Montana in the early 1900s. Pray is southeast of Bozeman, located along the Yellowstone River, with picturesque views of the Absaroka Mountain Range.

Wyoming famous folk: Pepi Stiegler was the first ski school director at Jackson Hole, a position he held for 29 years. Stiegler won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and Innsbruck, Austria – his home country. Today, at age 83, Stiegler lives in Jackson Hole, where he’s been since 1965.

Montana famous folk: Basketball player and coach Phil Jackson was born in Deer Lodge, Montana. Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning championships with the New York Knicks twice, then coaching the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to a total of 11 NBA titles, the most in league history. As a coach, he was known as the “Zen Master.” Today, the 75-year-old Jackson spends most of his time at home in Flathead Lake in Montana.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: In search of buffalo.

Savvy followers of this blog noticed there was no post on Sunday. “WTF?” a few you said.

Well, no Wi-Fi, no post.

We stayed in the middle of freakin’ nowhere, without a signal. Very old school. No TV, no phone, no nuthin’. So am now catching you up on Sunday’s happenings. Here goes (and then stand by for today’s real post; you get two on Monday, at no extra charge).

***

After Saturday’s transit day, we’re in for a treat: Yellowstone National Park.

We head south from Belgrade, following the Gallatin River. The river is one of the best whitewater runs in the Yellowstone-Teton area. In June, when the snowmelt is released from the mountains, the Gallatin has a class IV section called the “Mad Mile,” whose nickname should speak for itself.

For river neophytes, there’s an international scale of river difficulty used to rate the difficulty of navigating a stretch of water, or a whitewater rapid. Class IV includes intense, power, but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling.

The Gallatin is also a popular fly-fishing destination for rainbow trout, brown trout and mountain whitefish. Parts of the movie, A River Runs Through It, were filmed on the Gallatin.

US Highway 191, also known as Gallatin Road, takes us south through the Madison mountain range toward the Big Sky resort, at 5,850 skiable acres, the second-largest ski resort in the United States by acreage. (The largest is Park City, Utah.)

The Big Sky resort was founded by Montana native Chet Huntley, the co-anchorman of The Huntley–Brinkley Report on NBC News. Big Sky opened in December 1973, three years after Huntley retired from NBC.

Big Sky? The State of Montana is known as Big Sky Country. The nickname originated with a 1962 promotion by the Montana State Highway Department. Big Sky is a reference to the unobstructed skyline in the state that seems to overwhelm the landscape at times. “Big Sky Country” appeared on Montana license plates from 1967 to 1975. The moniker was shortened on license plates to simply “Big Sky” from 1976 to 2000.

Today, Montana’s plates simply say “Treasure State,” a reference to Montana’s rich natural reserves. The mountains of Montana have yielded fortunes in minerals, one reason the state motto is “Oro y Plata,” Spanish for gold and silver.

***

A few miles west of Big Sky is the Yellowstone Club, a 15,000-acre private playground for the rich and famous. Really rich, and really famous. To become a member, you must first own property within the grounds. That’ll cost you anywhere from $2 million to $25 million. Then, initial membership fees are $300,000. On top of that, there’s an annual fee of $37,500.

As the saying goes, if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.

That’s why Yellowstone Club members include the soon-to-be divorced Bill and Melinda Gates, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and former vice president Dan Quayle, the guy who spells potato with an “e” on the end.

The Yellowstone Club has several lifts and ski runs that tie it directly into Big Sky Resort’s lift system. The Big Sky ski area and the Yellowstone Club share a five-mile border. The ski resorts are surrounded by 250,000 acres of the Gallatin National Forest. The Yellowstone club also has its own private ski area, as well as its own golf course, designed by Tom Weiskopf. During the winter, members and other ski snobs call the area “Private Powder.”

We continue south on US Highway 191, past the community of Big Sky, toward the Montana/Wyoming border. As we approach West Yellowstone, Montana, we slip into Wyoming for a few miles, then return to Montana for the ride past Yellowstone Airport and into West Yellowstone.

Because of the harsh winter climate here, the airport is open only from June through September, with limited commercial passenger service on SkyWest Airlines.

West Yellowstone is the jumping off point for Yellowstone National Park, whose entrance is less than a mile to the east.

***

We enter the park, and within a mile we cross into Wyoming. Ninety-six percent of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming. The rest is in Montana (three percent) and Idaho (one percent).

Contrary to popular belief, Yellowstone was not named for the abundant rhyolite lavas in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone that have been chemically altered by reactions with steam and hot water to create vivid yellow and pink colors. Instead, the name was attributed as early as 1805 to Native Americans who were referring to yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, several hundred miles downstream and northeast of the park.

We cruse eastward along the banks of the Madison River. The river, which is a fly-fishing mecca, was named in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis-and-Clark fame. He named the river after then-Secretary of State James Madison, who four years later succeeded Thomas Jefferson as President.

The Madison River has great fishing for rainbow and brown trout. Within Yellowstone National Park, the river is fly fishing only. All fishing in the park is catch-and-release. Fishing is a hugely popular activity within Yellowstone. More than 50,000 park fishing permits are issued annually. Yellowstone has hundreds of miles of fishable creeks, streams, rivers and lakes.

Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, established by Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. The park is known for its wildlife and 10,000 geothermal features, especially the Old Faithful Geyser, which we will visit today.

Its establishment as the first national park would lay a foundation for 62 additional national parks to eventually follow. From Yellowstone’s beginnings came 100 nations who would subsequently protect more than 1,200 parks and preserve areas spanning the globe. It was the start of a worldwide movement – and it all began at Yellowstone.

***

Grizzly bears, wolves and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the US. More than 6,000 bison roam freely inside the park’s boundaries.

The bison’s resurgence in the park is a success story for nature lovers. After a mass slaughter of tens of millions of bison on the Great Plains in the late 1800s, conservationists brought about the nation’s first efforts to successfully recover a species teetering on the brink of extinction.

While only 23 bison were left in Yellowstone in 1916, the herd today is thriving. In May 2016, the bison became America’s official national mammal, so named because of its historic, economic, ecological, and cultural value.

Almost every country on earth has a national animal, from Afghanistan’s snow leopard to Zimbawbe’s sable antelope. Some countries share their national animal. England, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Libya, Luxembourg, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Togo all have the lion as their national animal.

The bison is so cool, we have it all to ourselves.

***

National Park Mountain is just west of Madison Junction, where we turn south and follow the Firehole River. Early trappers named it the Firehole for the steam that makes it appear to be smoking, as if on fire. The steam, of course, is a result of the river flowing through several significant geyser basins in the park.

One of those geyser basins is the Upper Geyser Basin, which contains the world-famous Old Faithful – the first geyser in the park to receive a name. It’s faithful, for sure, erupting every 44 to 125 minutes, 365 days a year. The reliability of Old Faithful can be attributed to the fact that it’s not connected to any other thermal features of the Upper Geyser Basin.

Each eruption shoots up to 8,400 gallons of boiling water to a height of up to 185 feet. The eruptions generally last from a minute and a-half to 15 minutes. It’s a great show.

Old Faithful is one of nearly 500 geysers in Yellowstone – the greatest concentration of geysers in the world. Old Faithful is one of six geysers that park rangers can predict; its eruption pattern is so reliable that early developers built special viewing areas, lodging and concessions for visitors to watch eruptions.

***

We leave Old Faithful after its most recent eruption, and continue east on Grand Loop Road, which takes us to the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake.

West Thumb is an arm of Yellowstone Lake. It’s home to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, formed by a large volcanic explosion about 150,000 years ago.

The resulting collapsed volcano, called a caldera, later filled with water, forming an extension of Yellowstone Lake. That extension is known as the West Thumb, which is about the same size as another famous volcanic caldera, Crater Lake in Oregon.

From West Thumb, we continue south, past Lewis Lake – named after Meriwether Lewis, commander of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ten miles down the road, we leave Yellowstone National Park at the park’s south entrance, and follow the Snake River.

We are again on the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Parkway, which takes us the remaining two miles to tonight’s destination: Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch. It’s actually just outside Yellowstone National Park, between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.

Tonight’s lodging is only a few miles from where we were a week ago, when we visited Jackson Lake, riding up from Afton, Wyoming – home of the elk antler arch.

We park our bikes outside the lodge, after a 160-mile ride – the shortest of our trip – and call it a day.

***

Day Nine Summary: 160 miles. Big skies, Old Faithful, a bison resurgence.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Belgrade, Montana, to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Montana fun fact: Montana holds the world record for the greatest temperature change in 24 hours. On January 14-15, 1972, the temperature went from -54°F to 49°F, a whopping 103 degree change. This happened in Loma, a tiny town (population 85) in central Montana, whose only claim to fame is this temperature variation.

Wyoming fun fact: Wyoming may be landlocked, but it’s still home to dozens of islands. There are 32 named islands within the state’s borders, most of which are located in Green River, Yellowstone Lake, and Jackson Lake.

Montana favorite food: Blackspotted cutthroat trout is the official state fish of Montana. Also called westslope cutthroat trout and Yellowstone cutthroat trout, the fish are native to Montana. The average size of these fish is 6 to 16 inches, depending on habitat, but they rarely exceed 18 inches in length. Most are catch-and-release; eat at your own risk.

Wyoming favorite food: You can seldom go wrong with an elk burger in Wyoming. Elk is best cooked medium rare. To do that, the internal temperature of the elk burger should be less than 140 degrees F. Before you serve the burger, it should immerse in its juices for 10 to 15 minutes. For a tasty elk burger, try Snake River Brewing in Jackson, or the Mangy Moose Steakhouse in Teton Village.

Montana funky place name: Coffee Creek is an unincorporated community in Fergus County, in north central Montana, about 50 miles east of Great Falls. The town was named after the creek, which got its name because its waters were a dark, coffee-brown color.

Wyoming funky place name: Bar Nunn was named for the town’s founder, Ronnie Nunn, it was built in the 1950s on the runways of Casper’s original airport, Wardwell Field, near Casper, Wyoming. The town’s streets are former runways at the abandoned airfield.

Montana famous folk: Former professional road racing cyclist Levi Leipheimer grew up in Butte. He is a two-time US national champion and a bronze medalist in the time trial at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Leipheimer, like so many other riders, was caught up in the doping scandals of the Lance Armstrong era. Today at age 47, he lives in Santa Rosa, California.

Wyoming famous folk: Former World Cup ski racer Tommy Moe lives in Jackson Hole, though he has a Montana connection as well. He was raised in Missoula, Montana and learned to race at Big Mountain, near Whitefish. Moe won gold and silver medals in the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway. He was a specialist in the speed events of downhill and super G. Now 51 years old, Moe works as a mountain ambassador at the Jackson Hole ski area. He also owns, operates and guides at a heli-ski lodge in Alaska.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Summer skiing.

Every trip has a “transit” day, essentially moving from Point A to Point B with few points of interest in between.

Today, as we begin week two of our trip, is such a day.

Two hundred seventy three miles, few of them as breathtaking as what we experienced yesterday, or as beautiful as what we will see tomorrow.

Transit days are boring, but necessary. So, let’s be on our way.

We leave East Glacier Park Village and head east, riding past the Amtrak station and on to Browning, headquarters for the 1.5-million-acre Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Some of you may think the word “Blackfeet” should have been “Blackfoot.” There’s a lot of confusion about that. The Blackfoot in the US are officially known as the Blackfeet Nation. In Canada, they are generally called Blackfoot Confederacy. Whatever you call the tribes, they’re the original residents of the northern Plains, particularly Montana, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada.

Browning, population 1,000, is the only incorporated town in Glacier County. In 1895, it was named after Daniel Browning, then the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington DC.

US Highway 89 takes us southeast from Browning. In 71 miles, we roll through Choteau, named for French fur trapper and explorer, Pierre Choteau. Like most people, you’ve probably never heard of Choteau – the explorer, or the town.

Outside of its 1,700 residents, few had heard of Choteau until 1999. That’s when comedian and late-night host David Letterman made it famous, after buying a 2,700-acre ranch in 1999, and turning it into a vacation home. The Letterman ranch is actually in Saypo, 35 miles west of Choteau.

In March 2009, Letterman married Regina Lasko, his girlfriend of 23 years, at the Teton County Courthouse in Choteau. A justice of the peace performed the ceremony. Letterman announced the marriage on his TV show, explaining to the audience that he almost missed the wedding after his truck got stuck in a mud patch two miles from the ranch in Saypo.

Today, the 74-year-old Letterman and 60-old-old Lasko live primarily in North Salem, New York. They’re raising their son, Harry, in North Salem on a 108-acre estate, about 50 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. Harry, now 17 years old, is named after David Letterman’s father, who died in 1973.

***

Choteau is just a few miles from Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. Freezout Lake is Montana’s primary snow goose staging area, a place where as many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra swans gather and rest before flying onward.

In spring, the snow geese head for Alberta and central Saskatchewan in Canada. There, they mass with hundreds of thousands of other snow geese from Texas and assorted Gulf Coast States. In a series of shorter flights, the geese then make their way to nesting grounds on the wind swept, extreme northwest Arctic coast of Canada.

The Snow Geese usually reach Freezout Lake in early March, where they rest up from their nearly 1,000-mile flight from California.

We miss the snow geese for two reasons. One, they’ve already headed for Canada, four months ago. And two, we turn south in Choteau on US Highway 287.

This highway takes us through Augusta and to Wolf Creek, where we merge onto I-15 for the 35-mile ride to Helena, Montana’s state capital. We’re not far from the Missouri River, and Helena National Forest.

With a population of less than 30,000, Helena is the fifth least populous state capital. It has a few thousand more folks than Frankfort, Kentucky, and a few thousand less than Juneau, Alaska.

Hollywood legend Gary Cooper, after whom my parents named me, grew up in Helena in the early 1900s. L. Ron Hubbard, the father of Scientology, also grew up in Helena, around the same time as Cooper. I’m glad my parents had the good sense not to name me L. Ron. Or even L. Gary.

***

In Helena, known as the “Queen City of the Rockies,” we ditch Interstate 15, and head east on US Highway 287. Off and on, we follow or cross the Missouri River, at 2,341 miles, the longest in North America. Soon, we approach the Missouri Headwaters State Park.

This park marks the official start of the Missouri River. It includes the Three Forks of the Missouri National Historic Landmark, where the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson Rivers come together to form the Missouri River.

Here at the headwaters, the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped in 1805. On July 28, 1805, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal: “Both Capt. C. and myself corrisponded in opinion with rispect to the impropriety of calling either of these three streams the Missouri and accordingly agreed to name them after the President of the United States and the Secretaries of the Treasury and State.”

Thus, the three rivers: Jefferson (President Thomas Jefferson), Gallatin (Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin), and Madison (Secretary of State James Madison).

***

Near the Missouri Headwaters, we join Interstate 90 for the 20-mile ride to tonight’s destination, Belgrade, just outside Bozeman. The city of nearly 50,000 has some great nicknames: The Bozone, and Bozangeles. Seriously, that’s what locals call their hometown.

Belgrade is named after the capital of Serbia, an expression of appreciation to the Serbian investors who helped finance a portion of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) is located in Belgrade. So is Yellowstone Harley-Davidson.

And there you have it. A transit day. Two hundred seventy-three miles, in four and a half hours.

***

Day Eight Summary: 273 miles. Transit time, Late Night With David Letterman, at home in the Bozone.

Click here to see today’s complete route from East Glacier Park Village, Montana, to Belgrade, Montana.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Montana fun fact: Montana is the only state with a triple divide allowing water to flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans. This phenomenon occurs at Triple Divide Peak, near Cut Bank, in Glacier National Park. Triple Divide Peak may be the only place in the world that has water flowing into three of the four great oceans of the world – a Continental Divide on steroids.

Montana favorite food: Hootdogs. What? Yes, Hootdogs. Not a typo. Hootdogs are skewered hot dogs, swaddled it in fry-bread dough, then dunked it in a vat of boiling oil. The Lewiston, Montana, woman who originated the Hootdog, Rita Hofer, serves her creation with a side of ketchup and mustard at the Lewistown Farmers Market on Saturdays from June through early October.

Montana funky place name: Libby is a great name for a town, but it also makes a beautiful name for a human. This town — and Libby Creek — happens to be named after early settler Stephen Allen’s daughter. Her name was Elizabeth, but everyone called her Libby. Libby is in northwest Montana, in the Kootenai National Forest.

Montana famous folk: 82-year-old Ted Turner, best known as the media mogul who founded CNN, and former owner of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, has quite a presence in Montana. At his 113,613-acre Flying D Ranch near Bozeman in southwestern Montana, Turner has a herd of more than 5,000 bison. He owns 16 ranches in the US, and three more in Argentina – spanning a total of nearly two million acres. He’s believed to be the fourth-largest private landowner in the US. Fun fact: the world’s largest non-governmental landowner is Queen Elizabeth II, with a whopping 6.6 billion acres.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Yellowstone National Park.

Today, we’re going to the sun.

To the Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, via the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

We head north out of Missoula on Montana Highway 200, through the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, which is a part of the Lolo National Forest.

Many Missoula residents treat the Rattlesnake Wilderness as their backyard playground, because of its close proximity to town. The Wilderness is believed to be the country’s only Wilderness Area with a city bus stop.

Thirty miles from Missoula, we pass through the town of Ravalli, population 120. The community was named for Antonio Ravalli, a missionary to the Indians. At one time, Charlie Allard, the country’s leading expert on breeding bison, owned America’s largest herd of buffalo, and kept it in Ravalli.

That may explain why the nearly 19,000-acre National Bison Range is just northwest of Ravalli. The range was established in 1908 to provide a sanctuary for bison. Today, the herd here is less than 500 bison. The Bison Range serves as the central point for bison research in the US.

In Ravalli, we turn onto US Highway 93 and roll toward Flathead Lake, about 30 miles away. At the southern end of Flathead Lake is Polson, which sits on the Flathead Indian Reservation and is home to the Miracle of America Museum.

The museum has more than 340,000 artifacts, and calls itself the “Smithsonian of the West.” It has more than 3,000 motorcycles, and World War II and Vietnam-era trucks and helicopters. Fittingly, the museum is located on Memory Lane in Polson.

Here, we turn north on Montana Highway 35 and ride along the eastern shore of Flathead Lake. It’s the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states. Flathead Lake has more than 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. The lake is about 370 feet deep in some spots, and is known for its amazingly clear waters.

Past Flathead Lake State Park, we roll through Bear Dance, Woods Bay and Bigfork – with the Flathead National Forest just to our right. We join US Highway 2 near Columbia Falls, and turn east to ride along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River into the town of Hungry Horse, where it’s time for a gas break.

The name Hungry Horse comes from a local legend about two horses, Tex and Jerry. They escaped from their riders and almost starved to death in deep snow along the South Fork of the Flathead River. Today, you can’t go hungry here, whether horse or human. The town of about 900 has a variety of restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and even a liquor store.

No one here wants to go hungry. Or thirsty.

***

From Hungry Horse, we follow US Highway 2 to West Glacier, which sits at the west entrance to Glacier National Park. We enter the park and head for the visitor center in Apgar, two miles away, on the southern end of Lake McDonald.

Apgar is one of the main villages in the park. In addition to the visitor center, it has a restaurant, gift shops, boat rentals, and the largest campground in Glacier National Park. Apgar also has a reservation center for Red Bus Tours.

Apgar Village is the starting point for almost all Red Bus Tours, better known as Red Jammers. The fleet of 33 buses in Glacier National Park is widely considered to be the oldest touring fleet of vehicles anywhere in the world.

When the park opened in 1910, it had just a few miles of rough wagon roads, and the primary mode of transportation was the railway, which took affluent guests to luxurious chalets. Officials convinced local businesses and Congress to support a trans-mountain road through the park.

Construction of the road, now known as the Going-to-the-Sun Road, began in the 1920s and was completed in 1933. While a modern marvel at the time, park officials quickly realized many motorists were terrified of driving on it. They contracted White Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio to produce a fleet of buses to be piloted by expert drivers.

The buses, with their roll-back convertible tops, leave Apgar and head for the Going-to-the-Sun Road, as we are about to do. The Red Jammers are the vintage White Motor Company/Bender Body Company Model 706 buses that have transported park visitors since 1936. They’re called “Reds” for their distinctive livery, painted to match the color of ripe mountain ash berries.

The bus drivers are called “jammers” because of the sound the gears made, back in the day, when the driver shifted on the park’s steep roads. The “jamming” sound came from the unsynchronized transmissions, where double clutching was required to shift gears prior to a 1989 fleet retrofit that added automatic transmissions.

For you Millenials and others too young to remember unsynchronized transmissions, double clutching involves manually matching the engine speed with the speed of the driveshaft. It’s harder than it looks and sounds, but unless you’re driving Grandpa’s vintage Model T, this is a skill you probablydon’t need these days.

Double clutching is lost art.

Nearly all transmissions today are automatic, and of those that call for shifting, nearly all have synchronized gearboxes. Amazing that Millennials look puzzlingly at that pedal to the left of the brake. Yes, the clutch.

Beginning in 2019, Legacy Classic Trucks, based in Driggs, Idaho, started restoring and updated each bus with a new Ford chassis and Ford 6.2 liter V-8 engine, including a hybrid electrical system – to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.

Vroom!

***

We leave Apgar, and begin our journey east on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

It’s a spectacular ride along the eastern shoreline of Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park. The high alpine lake is 10 miles long and nearly 500 feet deep. It was once occupied by massive glaciers that carved this area thousands of years ago.

Just as the Red Jammers take tourists through the park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a fleet of classic wooden boats is available to explore the park’s major lakes. The boats are part of the Glacier Park Boat Company.

A 57-foot boat, DeSmet, has been cruising Lake McDonald since the 1930s. The DeSmet, a carvel-planked vessel with cedar on an oak frame, can carry up to 70 passengers. The boat, named after Father Pierre DeSmet, a prominent Jesuit missionary in the area, has never left Lake McDonald since being launched here almost a century ago.

Similar boats ply the waters of the other major lakes in Glacier National Park: The Sinopah on Two Medicine Lake; Little Chief, and Joy II on Saint Mary Lake; the Morning Eagle on Lake Josephine; and Chief Two Guns on Swiftcurrent Lake.

Each fall, the boats are lifted on a cradle-and-track system, and moved into custom boathouses built specifically for each boat. The vessels are closed up, protected against the brutal Glacier Park winters, and then re-launched every spring for the summer tourist season.

The DeSmet begins its tours of Lake McDonald at historic Lake McDonald Lodge. The lodge, built in 1913, sits on the southeast shore of the lake. It’s a National Historic Landmark. Artist Charles Russell was a frequent at the hotel in the 1920s, and is believed to have etched pictographs in the dining room’s original fireplace hearth.

Six miles past the Lake McDonald Lodge is the Trail of the Cedars, a short, easy trail mostly on boardwalks and flat ground. The trail is named after the towering trees you’ll hike beneath. This cedar forest, resembling the ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest, is the only one of its kind in in the park.

All national parks are distinguished by their unique natural beauty. How do you even begin to compare Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion and Grand Teton?

Naturalist John Muir, known as the “Father of the National Parks,” summed up his view of Glacier National Park in a simple thought.

“It is the best care-killing scenery on the continent.”

Care-killing scenery. That’s a good one.

Glacier National Park encompasses more than one million acres, and it borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. The two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and were designated as the world’s first International Peace Park in 1932.

Glacier is the eighth-most visited of the national parks, with about three million visitors a year. It’s so popular, that you now need a $30 “timed-entry” ticket, an advance reservation, to ride the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Now that we’ve finally made it to Glacier, this posse (or its members) has been to all ten of the most visited national parks. Here they are, in order, starting with the most visited: Smokey Mountain (#1), Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, Olympic, Glacier, Joshua Tree, and Bryce Canyon (#10).

***

In the mid-19^thcentury, about 150 glaciers still existed in the area that is now Glacier National Park. By 1910, only 25 active glaciers remained. Scientists studying the glaciers in the park believe all the active glaciers in the park may disappear over the next ten years. Global warming is real.

The first major vista on the 51-mile long Going-to-the-Sun Road is Red Rock Point, a popular pullout on the north side of the road. Eight miles beyond Red Rock Point is The Loop, where the road makes an unbelievable hairpin turn. It’s the lone switchback on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

At first, the road’s surface was crushed gravel. It wasn’t until 1952, 20 years after opening the Going to the Sun Road, that the entire road was paved.

Building the road was a feat of engineering because the many obstacles faced by engineers and laborers during its construction road. Sheer cliffs, short construction seasons, 60-foot snowdrifts and tons of solid rock made road building across the Continental Divide a unique challenge.

The road is narrow and winding. As a result, vehicles going over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to 21 feet in length and 10 feet in height, due to overhanging rocks. For comparison purposes, 12,095-foot Independence Pass, east of Aspen, restricts vehicles to no more than 35 feet in length.

Because of the intense winters and heavy snowfall, the Going-to-the Sun-Road generally opens in late June or early July, and closes the third Monday of October. It’s a short season, but well worth the wait. The Going-to-the-Sun Road has been fittingly recognized.

It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. And, it’s a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark – joining such structures and accomplishments as the Brooklyn Bridge, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Grand Central Terminal and Captain George Vancouver’s Mapping of the West Coast of North America.

***

A few miles east of The Loop we arrive at Logan Pass. At 6,646 feet, it’s the highest point on Going-to-the-Sun Road. The pass is named after William R. Logan, the first superintendent of the park.

Logan Pass offers breathtaking scenery amid what’s called “the backbone of America,” the Continental Divide. As we work our way toward the east end of the park, we approach 9,647-foot Going-to-the-Sun Mountain. It’s just a mile or so from the Logan Pass Visitor Center.

Our descent from Logan Pass takes us toward Saint Mary Lake, the second-largest in the park, after Lake McDonald. The Going-to-the-Sun Road runs along the lake’s north shore.

The lake is nearly 10 miles long, and when we reach the eastern end of it, we also arrive at the town of Saint Mary, home to the Saint Mary Visitor Center. Saint Mary marks the end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Remember Father DeSmet, from earlier today? He was the Jesuit missionary, and the inspiration for naming the Lake McDonald boat, DeSmet. Well, he also had a hand in providing the name for Saint Mary.

Once upon a time, Father DeSmet was caught in a heavy fog coming off of Divide Mountain. When the fog cleared, the first thing he saw was the face of Saint Mary. He was able to use this as a landmark to help guide himself down to Saint Mary Lake. Divine inspiration? It’s a good story, anyway.

In the town of Saint Mary, we turn south on US Highway 89, and begin the 30-mile journey to tonight’s destination, East Glacier Park Village. At Kiowa, population 4, we turn onto Montana Highway 49 for the remaining 11 miles to our hotel. The name Kiowa comes from the Blackfeet word for bear, Kya-yo.

On the way to tonight’s destination, East Glacier Park Village, we pass Lower Two Medicine Lake. The lake straddles the line between Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

East Glacier Park Village is home to Glacier Park Lodge, which sits just outside the boundaries of the park. The lodge was built in 1913 by the Glacier Park Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway. It was the first of a series of hotels built in and near Glacier National Park by the Great Northern to house visitors brought to the park by the railroad.

Today, you can take the Amtrak Empire Builder train to East Glacier Park. If you can’t arrive by Harley, it’s the next-best way to get here. The Amtrak station is a short walk, about 300 yards, to the Glacier Park Lodge, where we’re staying.

Amtrak still markets the park as a tourist destination for its Empire Builder train, which stops in East Glacier on its way from Chicago to Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland. Many visitors to Glacier National Park arrive by train.

We don’t.

Instead, we arrive by motorcycle, park our Harleys in front of the Glacier Park Lodge, and call it a day.

***

Day Seven Summary: 240 Miles. Going to the Sun, Red Jammers, Amtrak arrival.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Missoula, Montana, to East Glacier Park Village, Montana.

Today’s fun facts, favorite foods, funky place names and famous folks:

Montana fun fact: In Montana, the word “ditch” can be used when ordering a drink. Ditch means “with water,” as in: “I’d like a Jack Daniel’s ditch, please.” That means you wans a Jack Daniel’s and water. In fact, all you really have to ask for is a “Jack ditch.” Try it out the next time you find yourself in a Montana saloon. Pretty sure Dave and Scott will give it a whirl tonight.

Montana favorite food: Few things taste more like summer for Montanans more than Flathead cherries. Named for the temperate region in which they’re grown surrounding northwestern Montana’s Flathead Lake, Flathead orchards produce naturally sweet and tangy Lapin, Rainier, Van and – most quintessentially – heart-shaped Lambert cherries.

Montana funky place name: The tiny town of Ismay, population 21, unofficially and temporarily renamed itself “Joe” after the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Montana. It was a publicity stunt in the 1993 season, done at the request of a Kansas City radio station. The town’s name of Ismay was quite a story in itself; it’s an amalgamation of Isabella and May, the daughters of Albert Earling, a railway superintendent in the area.

Montana famous folk: Robert Craig Knievel, known as “Evel,” was a motorcycle stuntman who grew up in Butte, Montana. He was most famous for jumping his motorcycle over rows of cars, even trying unsuccessfully to jump across the Snake River in Idaho, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel died in 2007 at the age of 69. His entry in the Guiness Book of World Records says he suffered 433 bone fractures; that’s 433 more than I’ve had in my riding career.

Sturgis, anyone?

Vroom.

A look ahead @ tomorrow: Transit time.