Jackson Hole Wyoming by Harley
This is my eighth year of taking off on the Harley for a week or two and touring our beautiful country. Over the eight years, its has always been about 8 bikes with a mix of new and returning riders from the last years ride. This year is all returning riders from last year with one new guy on (hard to believe I'm admitting this) a BMW. Jim's his name and somehow he got lost on the way to the Harley store and ended up with the pride and joy of Bavaria. So seven Harleys and one BMW, all of us looking forward to the ride which will take us to Jackson Hole Wyoming in a very indirect route over a course of 8 days.
Friday, August 12, 2005 Petaluma CA - Bass Lake CA 240 miles
I start my part of the ride a day early so I can spend the night with a friend, Norm Kidd, and his family. They had rented a house on the lake and because it was just 70 miles south of Yosemite it would be easy to meet up with the rest of the group on Saturday on the way into Yosemite which was the planned route. I leave at 9:30 to clear weather and left the driveway three times after going back for last minute items like wallet, bike keys and maps. No real traffic as I head south on 680 to Interstate 5 but the weather heats up to 100 degrees in the valley. Once I get off highway 99 it's a series of long winding roads to Bass Lake, good motorcycle riding! Norm has a full house of relatives who have been there most of the week. He looks great, having just got over some radiation therapy for a mouth cancer he had discovered a few months earlier. I did my first photo of the trip with Norm and I on the patio overlooking the lake. Bass Lake is narrow but five miles long so it's a great lake for skiing and motor sports and there are plenty of jet skis, ski boats on the lake. Surrounded by lakeside resort homes and rolling hills it's a great place to get away and relax. Norm and Susan BBQ'd hot dogs and Hamburgers for dinner which when enjoyed with wine and conversation, made for a perfect dinner. Because of the crowd, I was delegated to the hammock which was outside the house, under the porch and it was a surprisingly comfortable to sleep that night under the stars.
Saturday, August 13, 2005 Bass Lake to Lee Vining CA 120 miles
I was up at 6:00 and walked downtown to get a newspaper and when I got back, Norm had a pot of coffee brewed which made for the perfect start of a day. I packed up and was ready to leave about 8:00 and while backing the bike down the sandy driveway, managed to drop the bike which does more damage to my ego than the bike. With help from Norm's son in law, Brian, we managed to get the bike upright (no small task when it weighs 850 pounds) and I stopped on the way out of town to eat at the Lyons club pancake breakfast downtown.
On the way to Crane Flat, where I was to join up with the group from Auburn, I rode through Yosemite Valley and was awed by the beauty of Big Dome and Bridal Veil Falls. We all hooked up at Crane Flat and drove on through Tioga Pass which goes through huge hills of solid rock. In route, we stopped at a mountain meadow and watched a couple of Elk graze about 100 yards off the road. Jack was regretting not bringing his rifle on the ride.
Arrived at Lee Vining about 3:00 and checked into the hotel which was the most expensive hotel on the trip and not much to speak of. Dinner at a BBQ restaurant in town (the only restaurant in town)where I ordered the 'world famous ribs' which were just OK, then back to the hotel and early to bed.
Sunday, August 14, 2005 Lee Vining to Las Vegas NV 306 miles
Up at 5:00 for a 6:00 departure trying to beat the heat of Death Valley. As we got on the road, I realized I was not dressed warm enough for the 30 something temperature. We did stop shortly after the start and a few of us added another layer of clothes to help keep out the chill. Further down the road you can see Mount Whitney off in the distance, beautiful! Breakfast at the Lone Pine dinner and on to Death Valley. On the way out of Lone Pine, we passed a man on a mobile cart which had a small cockpit built of plywood and was at least 5 feet tall, not a pretty vehicle but fascinating to see. Outside of Line Pine we passed Mount Whitney who's elevation is 14,494 feet and within a few hours we were riding into Death Valley which goes down to 282 feet below sea level at a location appropriately called Badwater. Hard to believe but Death Valley and Mount Whitney are 100 miles apart and are the lowest and highest elevations in the Contiguous US. Add to that the mid day temp of 106, and remember we started at mid thirties when we left, making the ride that day one of contrasts. Death Valley is properly named as it is a desolate stretch of flat, barren land framed by mountains on both sides. The one living thing we did see was a coyote on the side of the road, and he looked very much in need of a meal. I went through three bottles of water in three hours trying to quench my thirst as we drove 80 MPH through the 100+ heat. Arrived in Las Vegas at 2:00, checked into the Golden Nugget hotel which was a welcome air conditioned mecca considering the ride we just finished. After a shower and nap, the group met up at 5:00 and we had dinner at the hotel steak house which was OK but expensive. We are paying for meals with a pool of money collected by the banker, Ed, which we all chip in $100 to fund. After dinner, a walk through Old Town Vegas and at 8:00 we watched the 'Freemont Experience' which is a high tech light show in an arched canopy which spans 4 city blocks. 'Positioned 90 feet above Fremont Street, the attraction stretches 1,400 feet and consists of 12.5 million synchronized LED modules, including 180 strobes and eight robotic mirrors per block.' What results is a fast moving video overhead that is incredible to watch as series of images fly down the canopy from one end to the other. After the show, the group breaks up and a few of us make a short visit to one of the local clubs and it's off to bed.
Monday August 15, 2005 Las Vegas to Byrce Canyon 250 miles
This is a late start day, with a planed departure of 8:00 so I had room service deliver a pot of coffee and a newspaper at 6:00 which is my idea of a great way to start the day. It gave me two hours to catch up on my journal and read the newspaper. At 8:00 we left the parking garage and at 8:05, it was apparent that Gary's bike needed to get to a Harley dealer for service. His generator went out so we found a dealer in the Harley directory and used Gary's Las Vegas map to find our way there. We were hoping the dealer could work on the bike in the morning and after we got there, it worked out perfectly. The service manager agreed to get the bike in the shop right away and we explored the dealership which was the biggest I've every seen. It was in a large building that had previously been a supermarket. They had tons of bikes for sale and about 50 bikes set up for rentals. Add to that a Subway sandwich shop, espresso stand, and a rental counter staffed by three people and you get the idea, BIG! It took about three hours to get the bike back in operation and we were on the road. I wish all our breakdowns were this easy.
Although Bryce was our destination, the route there took us through Zion National Park which is only a few hours out of Vegas. Zion has an amazing sweep of canyons and cliffs sculptured buy thousands of years of wind, rain and Mother Nature. Zion was at sea level 240 million years ago and over time, sand, gravel, and mud accumulated to form layers. Eventually, huge blocks of the earths crust lifted and created the cliffs which are the natural attraction at Zion. The cliffs show the different colors in layers of time and you can see the unique layers from cliff to cliff as we drive along them. From sandy white to rusted red, thin layers and thicker layers, time has left an imprint.
As you leave Zion, you drive through a tunnel that has been carved through a stone mountain back in the 1930's and is 1.1 miles long. Of course, rumbling through a stone tunnel was just the right place for a few of us to rev up the engines and make a lot of noise which would reverberate throughout the tunnel. A very mature thing to do.
About 40 miles South of Bryce, we run through a brief shower but in the distance we can see a much more serious storm going in the same direction as us. We managed to get to our destination for the day, Ruby Inn, before the storm. Ruby's Inn is only a few miles outside of Bryce and a very popular resort in the area. While we unpack it is decided that dinner at the Inn is the right thing to do for the evening, as the storm begins to rain down on us. However, the line waiting to get seated for dinner is very long so we opt for take-out pizza at the local pizza place (also owned by Ruby's Inn.) At this point, the storm we had been watching starts to throw around some serious thunder and lightening which makes the choice for who to get the pizza's an easy one, Jarrod and Ed, the two youngest are best suited to brave the nasty weather we are watching comfortably from our rooms with a cocktail in hand. They managed to ride Gary's bike over for the pizza and with Jarrod driving, they returned with Ed carrying 4 large pizza's and dinner was served. All of us were hungry at this point so the pizza's were consumed and soon bedtime arrived.
Tuesday August 16, 2005 Bryce Canyon to Green River UT 225 miles
I found myself up at 6:00 again for an early departure and we had breakfast at the resort restaurant before leaving. First stop was Bryce, only a few miles down the road but a good time to get there before the crowds of tourists backed up the entrance. At Bryce Canyon National Park, 'erosion has shaped colorful Claron limestones, sandstones, and mudstones into thousands of spires, fins, pinnacles, and mazes. Collectively called "hoodoos," these colorful and whimsical formations stand in horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Southern Utah.'
We hike along the canyon rim and see the formations at different angles and lighting from the rising sun. The Indians believed the Hoodoos were formed by 'Legand People' who were bad and turned to rocks by the coyote. If you look at the rocks with that in mind, you can see the men standing and sitting in the canyon floor. A park worker who had been working at Bryce for over 20 years, explained how the trails that went into the canyon were cut carefully to make sure they did not interfere with the natural erosion of the canyon. Back on the road and an easy ride through more beautiful country. The dramatic cliffs slowly give way to a series of canyons and then valley floor as we drive through Capitol Reef National Park to Green River. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Green River and the lady at the front desk says the best place in town for dinner is Ray's Tavern, so after we are cleaned and refreshed from the ride, we head over to Ray's looking for a good steak. We had left Jack back at the hotel because he was not answering the phone when we called and it was assumed he was just not in the mood for dinner. Well, shortly after we arrived at Ray's, Jack came walking in and joined us for dinner. Turns out, we had used the wrong room number when trying to call himÃ-.Ray's was your typical small town steak house, inside there was a long bar, a few tables and two pool tables. Pretty much everything you needed for a fun night out. I had a Rib Eye and it was a good steak, everyone but Jarrod (steak overdone) was happy with their meal. We had agreed to a 6:00 departure the next day because it was a long drive so another early to bed night for most of us.
Wednesday August 17, 2005 Green River UT to Jackson Hole WYO 450 miles
Gary woke up feeling pretty bad so he left at 6:00 with Jim hoping make better time with two bikes. The rest of us left at 6:30 with Steve in the lead. We rode up hwy 191 which took us through more beautiful rock cliff walls and a river canyon where we missed a turn and ended up taking hwy 6 to Provo and then East through Provo Canyon and Deer Creak Reservoir. Another beautiful ride, not the intended route but by the time we realized we had missed our turn, it was best to reroute and move on. We reach hwy 80 and down the road get off on hwy 189 which would put us in Jackson Hole, 150 miles later. All during the day, we threaded our way through storm clouds and with the exception of one or two short showers, we managed to make it a dry ride. The only tricky part of the ride was a piece of dirt road construction on 189 that lasted for a few miles with the worst part in the middle, a mile stretch of loose dirt making any quick maneuvers not a good idea.
After arriving in Jackson and finding Gary and Jim at the designated Best Western, it was discovered our reservations were non existent and they were booked up. The people at the front desk were apologetic and called other hotels in town until they found enough rooms at the Motel 6 down the street. (Interesting that a Motel 6 in Jackson Hole has a rate of $85.) We have a beer and wash up before going downtown for dinner at the Cadillac Bar and Grill. Steve and Jim decide to forgo the wait and stop at Albertsons for a sandwich while the rest of us ate at the Cadillac. I had an Elk T-bone steak which was lean and tasty thanks to a great sauce which accompanied the steak. While eating dinner, we could see outside that the storm had arrived downtown but when we finished dinner and headed back to the hotel, the rain gods gave us a reprieve and we rode with no rain on wet streets. Later that night, Jarrod and Ed decided to call random rooms of other hotel guests and have a little fun with the hotel guests. Jarrod did manage to convince a man who had just checked in to go back and move his car which was parked in the 'preferred' parking slot. This was a theme that repeated itself the following evening and provide immense amounts of fun for late night entertainment.
Thursday August 18, 2005 Jackson Hole Wyoming (no travel) Up at 5:00 again for an anticipated 6:30 departure but the weather is not looking good. By 6:00 its raining hard and the forecast is thunderstorms all day. Jack is the eternal optimist and did not bring wet weather gear so he bundled up, the best he could, in the latest of Glad Bag chic in preparation for the rain. After hearing the roads to Yellowstone have some dirt road construction the day before, it is decided we can afford to take a day off and forgo the Yellowstone ride which had been scheduled for today. Up the street from the hotel is a great little coffee/breakfast place where we eat while readjusting to the days plans.
Later we take a cab downtown and check out the local shops and get some gifts for our wives and girlfriends. Then it's lunch at Billy's burgers which was an experience. Billy's gets a big lunch crowd and has limited bar seating so the cook had developed a batch process where he would cook up 20 burgers at a time and serve everyone in waves. So if you missed a wave, you were stuck waiting 25 minutes for the next round. We were one of the unfortunate ones who missed a wave so it was a 25 minute wait, but the burger was good and the guys who worked there provided free entertainment.
After lunch and having seen most of the shops, I headed back to the hotel, did a little reading and took a nap taking advantage of the down day for us. The weather all day was a series of showers and thunderstorms which was perfect weather for kicking back. For dinner we went to the Gun Barrel Steak House which turned out the best meal of the trip. The Gun Barrel is a large restaurant with lots of stuffed animals on the walls and behind display cases. I had a spinach salad and a Buffalo Prime Rib which was just great food. Everyone seemed pleased with this place.
Friday August 19, 2005 Jackson Hole to Elko NV 425 miles
7:00 AM and 40 degrees with fog, a good time to put on extra layers of clothes as we prepare to head over the pass on our way our of Wyoming. Having encountered similar weather during this trip, we finally realize its easier to layer up at the start as opposed to freezing until the first stop. We take hwy 26 out of Jackson which was a scenic and relatively straight road through the mountain pass. We drove along Palisades Reservoir which is a mountain lake spanning the Wyoming Idaho boarder. After getting through the mountains, we cruised the valley out of Idaho Falls and for the first time in days, we are on flat and level ground without the cliffs and canyons which have been our backdrop since leaving Vegas.
In Twin Falls, we stopped at the Depot Grill which was recommended by the lady at the gas station. We did manage to loose a few of the guys on the way to lunch but thanks to cell phones, everyone got back together to eat. The Depot Grill was an old Art Deco restaurant which managed to put out a better than average chili burger. At the gas stop, Gary spotted a few drops of oil under my bike which was the result of a very loose oil drain plug. Had Gary not spotted it, I'm sure the plug would have worked itself out somewhere on the highway at 80 MPH which would have made for a very interesting breakdown. We tighten the plug and back on the road again. The rest of the ride to Elko is hot and not very scenic. One of my least favorite parts of any ride east of Sacramento is the flat, hot, boring and almost depressing roads through Nevada and western Utah. Miles and miles of nothing but desolate land along the highway.
Another Holiday Inn Express in Elko which is just up the street from the Red Lion, our destination for dinner. Before going to dinner, I took off to find a country western store so I could get a scarf to protect my face from the sun while riding. Yah, I know, kind of late in the ride to worry about covering my face but I did get some major sun by then, even with the SPF45 sun block I was using. Also, needed to stop at the Bank of American for cash, just in case we hit the craps tables later that night.
We walked over to the Red Lion and were planning on eating at their steak house, until being told it was a two hour wait. So, we found a few counter stools at the seafood buffet and ate there. After dinner, it was time to do some gambling and the craps table was our target. I went over some of the basic bets with a few of the guys but the table was not very giving so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Not before the BIG BET. At this point in the trip, Jarrod had become banker and after our last dinner together, we still had $190. in the pot. So, we did what any rational adult would do, we bet the entire pot on one hand of Black Jack. Jarrod was the delegated bettor and sat down, put all our cash on the table and won. Great way to end a day.
Saturday August 20, 2005 Elko NV to Auburn/Petaluma 300/425 miles
Up early again and ready to do the last remaining miles back home. This part of the trip is always anticlimactic. We've had another great adventure, saw new sights, experience new things and as always, had a good time as a group. The ride today will be fast because everyone is now anxious to get home. Its apparent as we ride along and our speed slowly increases that the last day of the trip is not one for adventure and exploration, but simply a bunch of miles that need to be traveled to finish the ride. Gary does have a minor break in an oil hose which Jack and he repaired in Nyack and then the Good Byes are said and we all find our way home.
I'm sure there will be another ride next year, destination unknown at this point. Looking forward to it!
Subscribe to TravelBlogs
Posted by Pat Webster on August 20th, 2005 in Articles.
