Into Montana-Red Lodge

Tonights blog has been put on hold due to stopping at a saloon or two in Red Lodge.

Today started with us heading into town  and seeing two young deer/elk feeding on a motels front garden, they were not bothered by the people walking down the footpath or the Harleys roaring by.
 We then checked out the old town trail? We spent a couple of hours there amongst the old log buildings that have been relocated to the site all in one place. There are even a number of old graves that have been relocated into one area.
From there it was a lovely trip through Chief Joseph Hwy and to Cooke City. We had lunch at a saloon there where  the barman had a cool trick with empty stubbies, then we headed back along Beartooth Hwy to red lodge.
Although Vicki saw no bears, she's was looking hard too, we did stop at a vista where there were heaps of chipmonks, there was a girl with a big bag of peanuts who was feeding them. They were everywhere! They were feeding so much that some had their cheeks to near popping point but were still taking the nuts.

One ran up Vicki' s arm and onto her shoulder.
From there it was an amazing drop down to Red Lodge, with heaps of switch-backs. After setting up camp in the motel we walked into town for a feed and a beer,  and another beer, eventually we found a place with a nice feed. Vicki pointed out a stuffed animal behind the bar and I told her it was the famous Jackalope. When asked about it the barman said his boss had shot it while hunting In Wyoming.
We found another saloon that had a jam night, the singer's were all playing original country music, but we are well used to listening to it on the radio by now. A quick stagger back to the motel so that the only one of us that was awake could do the laundry.

Sometimes it takes a day or 2 to get photos onto the page so it might pay to check back!

Through Yellowstone to Cody

Today we were on the road just after 7, it was only 48 degrees (about 9)
As we cruised through the small town of Alpine, Vicki said she had seen what she thought may have been 2 eagle nests. When we spotted a third, we stopped for a look, and yes there was an eagle looking right at us.

What a cool way to start the morning.
We rolled into Jackson's Hole (just like Queenstown) and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast, mainly because we didn't want to wake our host that early.

We spotted a heard of Buffalo with huge mountains for a background. Shortly after that we entered the Grand Teton National Park ($30 for a motorcycle) with great expectations of seeing elk, bears and or a moose. I guess I will have to settle for a beer with Mouse when I get home. Then we entered Yellowstone National Park ($30 for a motorcycle, deja vu me thinks) The roads were nice and curvy with ups and downs along streams or lakes, trees everywhere. Very nice indeed, however I think we are spoilt where we live. Some of the drop-off down to the river were very impressive and the mountains were too. We decided to do the extra 17 miles in to see if Old Faithful would do her bit. After we finally found a gap to park the bike and work out which way to go to see it happen, we arrived just I  time. She blew! I'm so glad I didn't have to wait another hour.
Vicki was keeping her eyes peeled for the wildlife we had been promised in the brochures. There was one point where there were plenty of cars parked at the side of the road and a Park Ranger keeping things in control. At last here is our wildlife, is it a bear or an elk? Maybe even a mousse? No it was an emu type bird quite a way in the distance, hard for my old eyes to make out.
After we left Yellowstone (without a refund) we spotted a very large buffalo sitting just off the road, sadly there was  no safe place to park the bike to take a photo. We also spotted 3 deer/elk on a gravel spit along the side of the lake.
The Buffalo Bill Dam was the next port of call. It was built between 1904 and 1910. When finished it was the tallest dam in the world. It was built for irrigation but later modified to create power as well.
Some of the mountains and canyons we rode through, looked like Indians on horseback would soon appear along the top, ready to attack.
We set up camp in the Sunrise Inn Motel before headi g into town for a lovely Chinese meal. We rode to town and back like the locals, no helmets or jackets.
I know, I know. ATGATT!

Through Idaho and into Wyoming

Just out of Salt Lake is the Great Salt Lake that the city is named for, we rode along the side of it for some time then headed toward Bear Lake.

The road through here reminded me a bit of NZ, there was curves in the road along the side of a river amongst mountains. It was a cooler day to ride. We spotted an elk on the side of the road that must have run in front of a vehicle and came off second best, there were quite a few beaver dams in the creeks along the side of the road, they were cool to see but only at a quick glance at 70mph.
We stopped at a town called Afton  that had the words longest Elkhorn archway and there were bears everywhere.

 Although my sister in law is a Paris at the moment we did ride through a small town called The City of Paris.

Right through here it was impressive to see all the huge churches with large car parks, all full. I almost stopped to join in (almost)
It was a bit of a surprise to come to the town of Grover (although ì had seen it on the map at some time ì had not planned to travel through here.)

We spent the night in a BnB 1 hour short of Jackson, the price was not to be passed up compared with Jackson (similar to Queenstown prices ranged from $300 per night and upward) . Our hosts have been rehabilitating 2 raccoons that were orphaned very young. They fare very mischevious critters but fun to watch.

In the winter here the snow sits 6 feet deep but they had 4 skidoo to use, it would be so much fun to come have a play.

Dinner was to be as Dad's Bar, it was open but not for meals on a Sunday. A local pointed us toward a BBQ shop that was open, nothing else was, we had a lovely feed of ribs with a 4th generation sauce.

Salt Lake City again

Not much to blog about today. (Some say yay) Our second day at Salt Lake City.
Spent most of the morning sorting out accommodation, got the next few days around Yellowstone and Wyoming sorted. Vicki went to have her hair coloured (or is that colored)
While I went and washed the salt off the bike, looked for some tools etc.
After returning to the motel and puting the bike on the side stand we noticed there was still a lot of salt just in front of the back wheel, I need to go back and have another go.
We had another swim in the pool after tea but couldn't do the washing as we did it all last night.
We took no photos today to entertain you, but did buy an adapter that allows us to charge the camera battery. Vicki will be able to take more photos on the back of the bike.
We have lots of photos on different devices and only some can make it to the blog.

Entering Utah and the Salt Flats

Today I  worked out how to use the cruise control and what a difference it made, just set it at 80mph and cruise. I expected to see a sign of some kind between Navada and Utah, but there was none. Anti climax!
We called into West Wendover for fuel and then out onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.

It was cool to be in the place that Burt set his record.

The salt flats cover an area of 44,000 acres.

 I'm sure that fans of the movie "Cars" will recognise the Dinoco symbol.

Later we stopped for fuel at a truck stop, parked in the shade and the temperature was 100 degrees F.

 We noticed the salt build up under the bike and it is as hard as rock, it will need a wash tomorrow.

Our destination for the night is Salt Lake City, we had a refreshing swim in the pool while doing the washing.

As we were heading out for dinner, Vicki got excited when I  said "After dinner I will bring her back and make her feel like a woman"

She was disappointed though we I told her to fold the washing. lol lol

Ely

We didn't have to go far from Fallon today to see why Hwy 50 is called the loneliest road in America (also called the Lincon highway, dedicated to Abe Lincon). The road opened up and no other vehicles to be seen.

We were confused about signs pointing to a naval base in the middle of the desert?
Perhaps they were boating on the heat shimmer.
We fueled up in Austin Nv that had some pretty derelict buildings and what Vicki thought looked like the Bates Motel.
We passed some trailer parks complete with junkyard front yards and red necks.
Vicki pointed out to me some small twisters that was pulling sand up, she was concerned that they would grow into full blown tornados.
We had our first shower of rain 6 miles from Ely (pronounced E Lee) they were big raindrops and cooled us down quickly. The shower finished 3 miles from town and we were dry by the time we pulled in at 1300 hrs. Had I known we would have been so early I would have booked in West Wendover (120 miles  further)
As we ate our lunch, waiting for our room to be made up, there was a thunder storm, rain that lasted 10 minutes, then hot as again.
After setting up we went for a walk down main st. There are quite a lot of murals in the town.

 The Hotel Nevada has it's own walk of fame including
Lyndon B Johnson

Stephen King
Micky Rooney
Charlie Pride
and Gary Cooper
We stopped in a bar called Racks (not Hooters) for a beer, they had lots of deer heads around the walls and some photos of some pretty big racks.
After a spell at the motel it was back to Racks for dinner, it was closer than the Chinese restaurant. Next we went to the bar next door. It was a dark bar with 10 or so guests and two pool tables. Like in the movies everyone went quiet and looked as we walked in, we sat at the bar and everyone went on with their conversations. Near the end of our second drink some of the locals started to talk with us. I was talking with a 63 year old chap who had never been on a plane and had never seen the sea. He said that from what he had seen on tv, we had a beautiful country and wondered what the f@#k we were doing here.

Enter Navada - Fallon

Outside our motel door This morning were 4 humming birds taking turns drinking from a feeder, they were so cool to watch.

The smoke from the fires had cleared and we could see the lake.
A local recommended a bakery, in Bridgeport so that was our first stop for a yummy crosiant for breakfast.
The historic gold town of Virginia City was next, with its old buildings, most with modern businesses ready to fleece the tourists. One saloon we went into still had the huge original wooden bar and shelves.

As we left Viginia City I had a sphincter clenching moment when the front wheel hit a rather large tar snake and gave the bike a good shake around. From here it was over a mountain and amongst the ski resorts and down to lake Tahoe.
I entered the address for Cabelas in Reno but can't have saved it, as we went around Reno but didn't find Cabelas sporting store.
All along the side of the highway here in Nevada there are herds of wild horses. Vicki also spotted a deer and faun by the side of the road (I'm too busy watching the road and other drivers to do the scenery thing)
We pulled into Fallon nice and early, the temperature at the time was 104 degrees (40 degrees in kiwi terms) When Vicki went into the motel reception she thought she was in a casino by mistake. No mistake though, pokies machines are everywhere including gas stations and set into the bar tops so that you can gamble while you sit at the bar and have a drink.

On the menu tonight was parrie oysters as an entree, I decided to give it a go since I'm trying different foods whist away. Once you get past the mind over matter thing, they weren't too bad. Most likely only a oncer though.

Seirra Navada

After posting the huge box and saying our thanks and goodbyes to Julia, the plan was to head south and go across route 120 through Yosemite. There have been fires in the area and we had to check the route was ok. Julia went on websites for us and sent the info to me by txt. We headed down hwy 49 to Sonora, our next stop on the GPS should have been Grovetown but I must have missed this step when setting up the GPS around midnight.

The Ashfielt is so hot the bikes stand sinks in.

This bear was showing an interest in the bike.

We found ourselves going over the Sonora Pass (at an altitude of 9625 feet) on route 108 instead. This may have been a good thing as we were told 120 had been shut at one stage. The smoke from the fires is everywhere on the east of the mountain range.

The trick with this bear is that you place a coin on the bears tongue to see if it falls into the stump. If it goes in You make a wish and rub his nose. You only have three turns though.

At our final destination, Lee Vining, we were watching humming birds drinking from a bird feeder whilst we ate our meal however I wasn't quick enough to video them or get a photo.

Old Sacramento and meeting Leland

Today I started by doing a little work on the bike to make it a bit more comfortable for Vicki and to make the top box secure. Julia and I then set up a fountain that she brought from her old house, we had to get it as level  as we could so that the water would run where it's supposed to.

We all went into Sacramento in the afternoon so that Vicki could do some more shopping (I must remember to hold her hand when she's shopping, it might cost less) whilst the shopping was going on i took my faulty GPScharger in to Wallmart to see if i could get another one. They replaced the whole unit for me, even though i didn't have a reciept. Good on you Wallmart! Then it was time for a quick tour around old Sacramento. At ground level there is a whole storey below your feet. Because of flooding they built the streets up to the floor level of the first storey.

We went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and met up with Leland,  a friend of Julia and Graeme.  He was very interesting to talk with. Back at the house it was time to pack up the shopping into a huge box for posting.
Another late bedtime.

San Francisco and meeting Julia

Sunday 22
Today we rode along part of california State highway 35. It runs along a ridgeline giving vies into the valley and out to sea. We rode past a place called Alice's Restaurant, a favourite stop for motorcyclists.  I'm disappointed I didn't stop for a photo.
If you have the time check out the 1967 song of the same name on by Arlo Guthrie on youtube. I don't think it has anything to do with this restaurant.
From there we went into San Francisco and rode on the hop on hop off bus. It took us across the Golden Gate Bridge and around the sites of San Fran central. The tour was meant to be 2 hours but took us more than 4.
 The Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz Island

A clear day to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once out of the rush hour traffic we got onto the Bay Bridge, that was a cool ride. Overall today was cooler, we didn't need our cooling cloths at all! It is impersive how quickly the weather/temperatures chang as we go along. Out towards Sacramento to Julia's, where she welcomed us like royalty an fed us an amazing salmon dinner.

San Jose

Today was a rest day. Checking out route ideas, doing the launry and a splash in the pool.
Dinner was buffalo steak that came to us rare and we cooked it on a 700 degree volcanic rock. The rock is put in an 800 degree oven for 8 hours before being put on our plate.

We then headed for home but due to a muck up I made with uber we ended up back where we had our meal last night, stopped there for a quick drink, then put the correct address in.
The area that we are in (Silicon Valley) appears to be all new. The buildings are all 10 years old or younger, the hotel we are in is new and the neighbouring building is still under construction.

Big Sur

Today before we left Cayucos and cruised up the Pacific Coast Highway, we tried to book San Francisco, Alcatraz was already booked out and all the accommodation was expensive. I left my wife to book a room as I had a shower, she booked us into the Hilton!  And not for one night but two.
Our first stop was at the Hearst Castle but we didn't have 2 hours to spare to take a tour so we just had a quick look around the  museum.
We rode through the area where the big landslide wiped out the road and a bridge. The road has been closed for over a year and only opened again on Wednesday, great timing.
Around Carmel the temperature dropped to a point where another layer was required, half an hour later the cold turned to hot and the hot air blowing up my trouser leg felt like it was burning like sunburn. I had been warned about that and told to tuck my trow into my boots, see! I do listen. However by boots aren't long enough.
Riding on the freeways and interstates can be quite intimidating, your crushing along at 80 mph and cars are passing like you are standing still.
We are camped the night and tomorrow at San Jose. Try to catch up on some sleep.

Day one of the ride.

We are finally on the road and so happy to be away from the hugevtraffic of LA. We called in at Santa Monica, it is the end of route 66.

We just have to ride some more of it. The GPS played up again today, it was on then it was't so we used the phone again. We noticed it was on later but it went off when I turned the key on. Weird!
Solvang was another spot we visited, it looked to be a German, Swiss or Dutch town with cool houses and windmills.

Further along the road we visited the former owner of the Goldwing, Ron and his good lady Sharleen. He solved my query about the wiring, the plug I wired into was for his trickle charger and it had a relay to stop the bike from starting when connected to the charger.
Grover insisted i take him to the beach, so i did.

At our stop for the night, just past Morro Bay I re-wired the plug so that it worked however although we had power to the cigaret lighter socket the Garmin still didn't go. It seems the charger is faulty or has a blown fuse in it, I will have to get another charger for it. Back to the phone tomorrow but this time mounted with power,

Disneyland

Today we took our excess luggage to the home of Mr Keith R Ball, he showed us around his house and workshop. Wow what an amazing place, it was out of this world. He is a very interesting guy with lots of cool biker art.
We went to the original Disneyland, the one we grew up with. Micky Duck was there but we didn't see Donald Mouse,

 Third sign pretty much sums up my navigating by GPS.

Vicki was driving to see Goofy

Whilst finding our way back to the road we found a Lego shop, now we have more excess luggage. The displays there are so cool.

The plan is for an early night ready to start our journey.