9 day northern loop (p2)

Riding south from Kalispell we go on the west side of Flat head lake, somewhere along the way 

we stop to get some fresh picked cherries....they were delicious!

The fruit stand had a unique fence behind it.

And some  also unique decorations.

Then on our way to St. Ignatius to visit the Mission of the same name.

The Mission was established in the early 1890s. The Mission cook, Brother Joseph Carignano, painted 58 frescoes in the Mission chapel.

Bro. Carignano was an untrained artist but obviously blessed with incredible talent. His works are wonderful!

Leaving the Mission after a peaceful and relaxing visit, we ride about 14 miles to the Ewam Garden of 1000 Buddhas, located near the town of Arlee, Montana

All over the Garden people have left coins and small stones.

The Garden of 1000 Buddhas is another peaceful, relaxing place. We wandered around the grounds for an hour or so and had a nice time there.

On our way to Salmon, Idaho we're getting closer to a storm so we stop to don rain gear. A guy (in a pickup truck) followed us off the road and tells us the storm we're heading into is a 'huge, terrible storm'... "We've ridden in rain before, we'll be ok" I tell him, but he persists saying, "Its a bad storm....hail, rain, puddles...I even had a hard time and I was on a BIG Harley!" looking doubtfully at my, apparently insufficient Yamaha Super Tenere.....

We suited up and rode on wet roads, but saw no rain. Lucky for us considering the bike we were on.....

And then all to soon, we're homeward bound.
At about Idaho Falls we reluctantly got on the freeway to make better time. We had been on back roads for almost all of the trip. But you have to do what you have to do. 

One of the many fires.. North of Idaho Falls.

In the lobby of the last hotel we stayed in...

and around the corner of the lobby.

I didn't see if it actually worked...

An awesome trip...so many back roads, so much scenery, so much in our lives to be thankful for!
Nine days and 2114 miles of America the Beautiful.

Taco run

Mike, on the right, sets up a burger run...except we had tacos instead...in Boulder, Utah.

Adrian, on the left, and I rode south together and met Mike and the other Vegas guys at the taco food truck at the Boulder Museum.

The tacos were....'meh', but the short conversation was super.

I had a bird strike on the way down, which was a significant part of the convo. It flew smack onto my face shield as I was going 72 mph. I know my speed was 72 because I had the cruise control set. My head was rocked back and I coasted to a stop. Adrian pulled next to me and I then followed him to a pull off and walked around for a bit till I felt 'normal' again.

After we all ate we took a short ride up the Burr Trail...

Then a hike into this skinny place..

After the short hike in the middle of the short ride we all headed for our respective homes.

The Vegas boys on their way out of the Burr Trail.

Adrian and I hit a toad-strangler rain storm on the way north, it didn't last very long, and the rest of the ride was super!

About 560 miles for me, I had the least miles of the group.

Mesa Verde. (No moto content)

Bev and I invite three of our grandchildren, Luke & Addi, both 11 and Kimber 8 to join us for a 3 day trip to Mesa Verde National Park, an 800 mile (round trip) drive.

We have 12.5 Grand - Kids but the others are either to busy or to young to go with us. Plus, we only have room for five in the car. Of course I could ride the bike and that would open one seat in the car....two if any of the mothers would allow their child on the bike with me.....

We make a rest stop at Helper, Utah.

Helper got it's name when, in days of yore, as the coal trains would travel north from the mines near Price, they would stop at the Helper station to add another engine to Help the train up the next (steeper) hill.

Then on to Green River for a gas and rest stop....and two photo ops.
The Golden Ratio sculpture.

And a LARGE watermelon slice. 

Green River is known far and wide for the delicious melons they produce.

This particular one however had a bit of a woody texture...

We have a reservation in Cortez, Colorado,

and after a nights rest, we are off in the morning to Mesa Verde for our tour of Balcony House.

To get to Balcony House, you need to climb up this 32 foot ladder.

Two of our group conquered their fears by going up this ladder.

Well done!

At one of the 4 balconies of Balcony House.

One of the tiny holes we all needed to climb through to get out of Balcony House (see the tiny speck of light in the dark area?) Not shown is the 12 feet between tiny holes that one had to crawl through.

And the climb up the rock to get back to the road.

Yes...it's as steep as it looks!

On our way out of the park....everyone (including Kimber) enjoyed themselves!

After our arduous exploration of Balcony House, we rewarded ourselves with a shake (first) and then a sensible lunch....they are with grandparents after all.

Some cute woodworking for sale in Cortez.

(not enough room in the car for this piece)

And then back on the road making our way home. The kids were wonderful and so much fun, this grand-parenting thing is a piece of cake!

Yellowstone NP

Don, aka nvr2old and I are set to meet in Gardiner, Montana to scout out potential locations for next years Cache Rally.

We agree to meet on Saturday and have reservations in place.....but Friday morning I'm up and out the door. Not until I try to check in at the Yellowstone RV park (after a 475 mile ride) do I realize I'm a day early!

No big deal, I had a great ride and Don will show up tomorrow.

Also, the RV park had a cancellation so I had a place to pitch my tent....right next to the Yellowstone river...very nice!

Saturday, before Don arrives I take a leisurely ride through the park, and find this back road.... 

 Another view of the same road.

I think this cliff is near Roosevelt Canyon..

Pretty church in Mammoth.

The obligatory animal pix...

When Don arrives we ride to Mammoth hot springs...which are much less spectacular than they were a few years ago...maybe they'll come around again in a while.

Then we grab a Subway for dinner, and after walk outside and look across the Yellowstone river at Gardiner.

And looking the other way.

I over did it a little with three pictures of Roosevelt arch in this post, but this one makes me think of a distant portal that leads into another world...plus the bugs on my windscreen really make this picture work!

I'm hanging back a ways to see what happens to Don when he goes through the portal....

The Roosevelt Arch was built in 1903, it took about 7 months and 10 Grand to build this triumphal Arch. President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone to start the construction. 

Bully!

See you next time...

Don on the left, me on right.

1100 miles of pretty darn good riding!

(I'm still undecided as to where the rally will 

be... maybe another trip is in order..)

Stir the oil Baby!