Bighorn Pass, Walmart, & MacDonald's

Cody, Wyoming is at about 4500 feet altitude and at 7:00 a.m. the temperature is decidedly cooler than it is in BC.  This morning it was in the low 50s when we started packing the bikes ready to ride a day closer to Sturgis.  After leaving the motel at 8:07 a.m. we rode directly to MacDonald's for breakfast.  Egg McMuffins are cheap, fast and they were almost across the highway from our motel.  Considering that we had dinner there last night, I am getting concerned that it is becoming a habit.  But more about that later.

Getting ready to leave Cody, WY

This part of the world is dominated by different colours than we are used to in coastal BC.  Instead of overpowering green and tall trees and thick vegetation everywhere we look, this part of the world is dominated by browns, yellows, oranges, and reds.  For miles the tallest vegetation is about eighteen inch tall sagebrush and brown grasses.  Any trees are cottonwoods that grow along the streams that occasionally meander through the landscape.

The high plains landscape & colours.

Shades of red near Greybull

The stark beauty of the hig plains

We took Highway 14 from Cody to Greybull, a ride of about 50 miles.  There was very little traffic and most of it was motorcycles heading for the Bighorn Pass.  We stopped a few times to get photos of the landscape.  I was able to get one of Garry blowing by at about 65 miles per hour, the speed limit on most of the secondary roads here.





Garry blowing by at 65 mph.

Just before we reached Greybull we passed the Bighorn Airport which had several Hercules aircraft as well as some from the 1950s.  I was amazed that they would still have aircraft that are almost 60 years old in storage. 



Vintage aircraft in storage at Greybull, WY

C-130 Hercules aircraft at Greybull, WY

Going through Greybull we rode into the canyon that is the entrance to the Bighorn Pass.  Sometimes you see things that make you stop and realize how insignificant we are and the immensity of geological time.  In the space of less than two miles we moved from a rock formation that was about 205 million years old to one that was almost 360 million years old.  In the distance of about three kilometres we had traversed more than 150 million years of geological time.  The cliffs on both sides of the road were hundreds of feet high and the colours were striking.  Again the colours here are striking but muted at the same time.  This country os so different from where we live but so incredibly beautiful, it is often hard to keep you eyes on the road. 

Entrance to the Bighorn Pass east of Greybull, WY.

Hard to keep eyes on the road with this scenery.

Withing about five miles of entering the canyon we had climbed about from about 4400 feet to about 6400 feet through a series of hairpin 20 mph curves.  There are many viewing areas that allow people to stop to see the views without interfering with traffic.  When we were stopped we met two couple from Australia.  My understanding was that they were Australians, but Garry says that they are transplanted New Zealanders who live in Australia. 

I talked to Leonie and Laurie Bennett who live in Bunbury (sp.?) which is south of Perth, in Western Australia.  They were on a tour to Sturgis two years ago and decided to come again this summer.  They saved for a year and a half and made a real vacation out of it.  They spent the first ten days in Seattle, then flew to las Vegas with the other couple and rented Harley-Davidsons from Las Vegas H-D for 31 days.  They have been all over the western states and were heading to Sturgis for the rally week before returning the bikes to Las Vegas and flying back to Australia.  I think it's pretty hardcore to come halfway across the world and ride Harleys for most of the vacation.  It's pretty awesome too.

Leonie & Laurie Bennett from Bunbury, Australia

We stopped at Shell Falls where the granite there is 2.5 billion, yes, billion with a 'B'. years old.  Half the age of the earth itself.  We met a guy from Greybull who was taking his Sportster to Sturgis in the back of his Ford, Harley-Davidson Edition pickup truck. He had been going to Sturgis for 55 years.  He did the Buffalo Chip Campground (where we are going to stay) once and said he would never do it again.  But we'll have to find out, won't we?

Shell Falls

View from Shell Falls

We reached Granite Summit at 9033 feet, rode across the top of the plateau and headed down the east side of the pass.  When you round a bend and see the flatland 3000 feet below and the next mountain range about 30 miles away it's quite overpowering.  And for some reason, about a third of the way down the pass the highway is paved with red asphalt.  There's something really cool about riding down the side of a mountain on a red highway.  Again, we rode past rocks that varied in age from 205 million years to 495 million years in the distance of a few miles. 

200+ million year old rock formation.

The plains from Bighorn Pass

Leaving the pass we rode throw the little town of Dayton, motto: Paradise On Earth, to rejoin I-90.  The difference in temperatures from the top of the pass where it was about 60 degrees F. to the 4400 foot elevation of Sheridan where it was about 90+ degrees F. was incredible.  Even when riding at 75 mph when you're wearing a leather jacket & chaps it is HOT!

We stopped at the DQ in Sheridan after stopping to photograph the 4-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive that is on static display near the old (1893) railway station.  I love steam locomotives and I can never pass up the opportunity to take pictures of them when I see them.

4-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive on static display, Sheridan, WY

At the DQ we met a family (mom, son, & daughter) from Minneapolis, MN.  They were returning from Glacier National Park where they had been hiking for a week.  The son had been in Tanzania for a month as a school service activity and had worked with people there.  I don't know what they were doing, but at the end of it he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  He's the first person I even met who has done that and he's only 19.  His little sister was a hoot. When we asked what he was studying in school, he said, "Philosophy, with a Music Performance minor."  His 12 or 13 year-old  sister piped up, "And what are you going to do with that?  Sing and between songs tell everybody how terrible the world is?"  She was terrific.  Kind of reminds me of my daughter, Rachel, at that age.  They were off to Rapid City for the night.  I suspect that they might be surprised at the number of Harleys they'll see at their motel.

We pulled out of Sheridan heading for Gillette.  The high plains here are again, simply stunning.  When you reach the top of a rise, you can see for miles.  This is truly big country and the people we have met are really friendly.

As we entered Gillette, we headed directly for the Harley dealership, not because we had any pressing need for more Harley stuff, but because we know that Harley dealerships are air conditioned and when we rolled into the parking lot the temperature was 96 degrees F!  We were able to cool down then found a hotel room at a reasonable rate and we were able to park our bikes about 50 feet from our door. I went to get some ice and counted five cars and ten Harleys in the parking spaces in front of the hotel.  There were four more at the entrance as well.

We are across the highway from the BNSF Railway tracks and sometimes the strangest things go by on trains.  Today at the front of the train that had just rolled in were two Boeing jet fuselages being taken probably to Seattle where they will install the wings and avionics.  But it was exceedingly strange to see jet fuselages on a train.

Boeing aircraft fuselages on a rail car in Gillette, WY

To wrap things up we rode to Walmart to pick up a few things before grabbing a meal at Long John Silver's and returning to our hotel.

A few nights ago Garry downloaded the locations of all the H-D delerships and Starbucks stores in North America into my GPS.  He asked me if I wanted him to download the locations of all the Walmarts and MacDonald's as well. I adamantly told him not to do that.  But on this trip the three constants have been H-D dealerships, MacDonald's and Walmart's.  I'm so embarrassed and feeling guilty about the last two but when you're travelling like we are, principle is often sacrificed to convenience.  Guess I'll have to reboot when I get home.

Tomorrow we'll run in to Sturgis by way Devil's Tower, set up our tents, and go and see Loverboy and Journey tomorrow night. Sturgis Bike Week begins tomorrow!