Cody, WY to Gillette, WY

Action shot of Rick.....


Shell Falls....

Another fabulous breakfast at our B&B and then we were off. The AIS was 9 and we actually left at 8:45! We didn't say our prayer until our first stop, which was not making us feel too good.

It was so much warmer today that we're a bit concerned with the heat now. The sun was shining and we weren't layered up like the Michelin Man.

The terrain is really different today. We rode through the Shell Canyon, with a stop at the Shell Falls, with red rock walls. They used the red rock on the road so it was red too. There were plenty of green valleys and wild flowers too. But then this meant antelope running across the road. It's a nuisance in a car but can be fatal on a bike, so extreme care was taken.

There's plenty of road construction going on, so that means delays and riding on muddy gravel roads.

We have a new fast food place, Taco John's. Donna LOVES the custard desserts. And Rick met a new friend who was riding too (Rick meets no strangers, only new friends) and used the opportunity to pray for them.

We arrived safely in Gillette, WY and checked in to the Holiday Inn Express. Most of us met at the pool and planned the ride for tomorrow. This is an interesting town. It is not a tourist stop but a real working town. They have a HUGE super WalMart here...it's bigger than Costco. They have these really odd liquor laws, you can only purchase alcohol at special liquor stores. Some of these are clean and marvelous and others are dives. Today Dave purchased an $8 bottle of Chardonnay at a dive....it was the most expensive bottle available....lots of Boones Farm, ugh!

Another Day in Cody, WY

Our lunch spot in Red Lodge, MT

We seem to be having some technical difficulties, or just plain operator error. The photos do not seem to be loading, so there are only 3 today.

First of all you will notice there are no photos of Margaret. She remained in town while the rest of us went riding. She shopped, had a manicure and a massage, and met the locals. The people are so friendly here. She was chatting with a woman and they ended up going for a drive to the local nail salon together! She had plenty of stories and a few purchases. Oh, and her nails look lovely.

We had a delicious breakfast at the Robin's Nest and then met up for the ride. Can I say that the whole AIS is out of control. Not only have we not set a time, we are just meandering to the start position. We did have a prayer before we headed to the mountains.

The sky was clear and the temperature was much warmer than it has been. We rode part of the Chief Joseph and Beartooth Mountain Byways. These are must rides for any motorcycle enthusiast. There are S curves and plenty of twisties for miles. Scott had a grin on his face the entire time....as did everyone.

The pass went up to 11,000 feet and we found out it had snowed the day before. We had plenty of sunshine, but it did get a bit chilly. There was a little road construction but we managed just fine.

We ended up having lunch in Red Lodge, MT which is a really cute town with plenty of nice shops. We did end up buying stuff at the local Harley Davidson dealer. Tom continues to be a good sport about the HD things since he rides a BMW.

We returned before 4 and Margaret had cheese and crackers for us. She served this in a very Margaret way...she used a tiered tray from the B&B! Dave furnished the wine. This town had a very good selection of wines and they are at a very reasonable price. We had a good Silver Oak Cabernet for $25.

Our dinner was the best value so far, which pleased everyone. Then we took in the Dan Miller show. Everything is in walking distance. And we didn't run home in the pouring rain...like we did last night.

Robin's Nest

Margaret found us a fabulous bed in breakfast in Cody, Wyoming. The owners are Robin & Bob and the name is the Robin's Nest. We feel like we're staying at the home of a old friend. They have given us plenty of recommendations about stops on our ride, places to eat, and shows to see.

West Yellowstone, MT to Cody, WY

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway....the BEST motorcycle road

Lunch in Silver Gate at the Log Cabin Cafe


We're having so much fun that it is becoming difficult to get the time to load up photos and blog. You have yet to see any of Tom or Rick's photos, and they are really good. There just may be a series of photos from prior days....stay tuned.
A huge development....none of us had the answers to a couple of Yogi Bear trivia questions, although we were certain that we knew. What is the name of Yogi's girlfriend? What is the name of the Ranger?
We were a little lax on AIS, we ran 5 minutes late! But no worries....it all worked out.
We began with a short prayer and we were riding back in to Yellowstone. This was the coldest day so far. We were around 40 degrees and that was without the wind chill factor. It was so cold that Tom and Rick wore jackets (they sport the leather vest look) and Dave not only wore full gloves, but he had glove liners. If you know them, this is a great sacrifice.
We took the northern loop around Yellowstone to see the Tower Falls and Mammoth Springs area. As far as wildlife, we saw a bald eagle upon entering the park, tons of buffalo (including the one outside of our lunch stop munching grass), antelope, a bear, elk, and the rat that tried to run across the road but didn't make it past Dave's back tire.
We had the most spectacular lunch stop in Silver Gate at the Log Cabin Cafe. The cafe was actually a log cabin with a young waitress from Russia. The restrooms were outside around the back, and yes they did flush. The food was really good too. This is just the type of road stop you hope to find. And when we walked out to leave there was a huge buffalo munching grass across the street.
The ride after lunch was some of the most spectacular (do you notice that word is used so often? well it doesn't really describe how awesome this part of the country truly is) ride through a tiny part of the Bear Tooth mountain highway and mostly the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. This is a twisty turny road (Scott had a HUGE grin and was in heaven) with lush green valley, rivers, mountains, animals, rocks, trees and a huge wide open sky. It is a geological wonder.
We're staying at the Robin's Nest (Tom & Rick are in the bunk house around the corner because they refused to share a bed....not that there's anything wrong with that....and they made their reservations late), a cute little B & B with great hosts. We learned a lot about the area, including the history. Plus they gave us good recommendations for dinner and dessert. And if we had followed Rick and returned home after dinner, without dessert, we would be dry. And Margaret wouldn't have ruined her hair and other fluffing :)
We're actually staying in one place for two nights. Tomorrow is a shorter ride day (there may be early rain, thunder, and lightening) to Red Lodge, MT. Maybe we'll have time to load up everyone's photos and share more stories. And maybe Donna will be able to see a moose....well other than the ones mounted on the walls.

Tower Falls....
Rick and Dave waiting to get back on the bikes
Group shot at Mammoth Springs


We're experiencing technical difficulties

Jackson, WY to West Yellowstone, MT

Some of us started the day at Bubba's BBQ which oddly had a fabulous breakfast at a great price. We had 7:30 AIS and off we went to gas up. We had our prayer and then took off for our scheduled 128 mile day....which ended up over 200! For those of you keeping score, at the end of the day we were at a total of 1,167 miles....in three days.....on motorcycles. And we have now gone through 5 states.

It has been suggested that we are not a true gang since we do not have nicknames. So far we have come up with Chief Gray Beard, and The Odd Couple....can you guess?

This is Dave and Edie with the Grand Tetons in the background. They are truly Grand....the mountains, not Dave and Edie....although they are pretty good too :)

This is Tom (ladies, he's single) and we tried to get him on a "real" bike but he's sticking with his BMW.
This is Rick (he's single too). He rocks out to his iPod....he has Andre Bocelli, Randy Travis singing hymns, Alan Jackson, classic rock....he's rather eclectic. Oh, and he sings along with all of it...very loudly.
This is Edie's very handsome husband......
The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone are right next to each other.....this is Tom, we made him stand there for the photo....he's a good sport.
Our most amusing sign of the day......

This bear is our first animal photo.....And Donna took this photo and is pretty damn proud of it.
This is difficult to see, but there's an elk with a huge rack laying in the grass to the left of the tree. We saw plenty of elk, alone and in herds. The first two were as we were entering the park and they were right next to the road....Tom said he would have gotten a photo if he was alone and not with all the loud Harleys :)
Buffalo, buffalo, and even more buffalo. This was a large herd, including babies. They're everywhere. We got really excited the first time, and maybe the second and third time we saw them, but now they're just like large cows to us.

Group photo in front of Old Faithful. We met some very spunky ladies (late 70's) that had us almost singing God Bless America while we were waiting....took many photos for others, and just enjoyed the scenery.

Photos do not really capture how spectacular this is......

Then we wandered through Old Faithful Inn (awesome and clean bathrooms, always a plus) to buy sandwiches and ate on the second floor on the balcony overlooking Old Faithful.


This is the upper and lower falls.....

We're having a wonderful time, enjoying the ride, and being safe. Tomorrow is another low mileage day (yeah, right). AIS is 7:45 because the road doesn't open until 8 am (construction). We're headed to Mammoth Hot Springs and then on to Cody, WY. Keep praying....

Elko to Jackson, Pavement and Beyond

We began the day with a 6 am AIS (A** In Seat) and everyone was on time. Here's a photo of the bike with two weeks of stuff loaded up. There is actually quite a bit of room here....well except for Margaret who we all have offered to rent her space :)

We had a prayer to begin the day, and then off to Donna's Ranch for a photo op...
Here's a photo of Donna in front of the Donna's Ranch sign...the ranch is in the back ground. The nice term is "brothel".
Lunch in Idaho Falls at Sonic....

Ugly part of the ride....it made us appreciate later in the day
We narrowly escaped a thunder and lightening storm....we were just around the outer edges.

Coming down the summit in to Jackson....sorry, no photos of the Swan Valley.
Dinner in Jackson, Wy at the Million Dollar Saloon Restaurant. This is crab stuffed trout. This is buffalo london broil....a bit too tough. We failed to get photos of the desserts because they were gone in an instant.
The group under the famous antler arch
Dave, Rick, & Scott

P-Town to Elko, NV

We were all to meet at the Shell Station at 5 am.....The Arterburn's were the last ones to arrive (I know...mark it down on your calendar) and we took off at 4:50 am...not too excited, are we? We met up with Rick and Tom in Concord and it all worked exactly as planned. 4 of the 5 bikes are all connected by CB and it is really working out. Dave and Edie were skeptics, but now they're believers. In fact this works so well that Edie may have Dave wear his helmet around the house so he can hear.

The weather started out around 40 and worked its way up in to the 80's. This required peeling off layers at every stop. Plus when you're riding over 500 miles in one day, the frequent stops are very welcome.

We stopped at Starbucks in Fairfield where we discovered that Donna has a gold card, but Margaret has a gold card with her name engraved on it...that's serious Starbuck folks


Then we stopped for breakfast in Auburn at the Edelweiss House of the Super Omelette which was great and we had an awesome waitress. We refueled in Sparks and Lovelock (Jon the trainer said we should stop here but we have no idea why he would make that suggestion).

We lunched at a McDonald's in Winnemucca (which actually had decent food, but we are not going to make a habit of it...honestly Margaret, we mean it). We then refueled in Carlin and drove the remaining 20 miles to Elko. Edie did announce that she could go whiny at any moment and everyone promised to turn their CB off if she did.

We're staying at the Gold County Inn & Casino which is actually quite nice (thank you Margaret for making the sleeping arrangements). There's a huge motorcycle rally here so we are among our people...well except that we are the only ones without tattoos.

The scenery from Sacramento to Reno is gorgeous.....Reno to Elko, not so much. Hope to have more photos of the scenery tomorrow....when it should be prettier.

We leave tomorrow at 6 am.....we're off to Jackson, Wyoming!