Another Overnighter in the Bighorn Mountains - Day 2

August 5, 2026

I slept pretty well and didn't have to use the bear spray so that's a good outcome.  We all rolled out about the same time, 6:30 or so, and went about whatever routine is our custom.  I got water boiling for my breakfast of oatmeal and cocoa.

I finished off the roll of black and white film with this shot.

To develop the film, I first had to wind it back into the film canister while in the camera.  Easy. I then had get the film onto a developing reel and into the tank and this has to be done in complete darkness.  I improvised a "changing bag" by putting the canister, tank, and reel into my jacket, folding the neck over, and covering all of that with my sleeping bag.  I pulled the jacket's arms out and slipped my own arms through then, cuff end first, to where I could manipulate the film and reel.  I have loaded over 500 rolls of file in my darkroom in complete darkness so this was a familiar task.

I put the cap on the tank and then went to the picnic table and poured in the developer.  I guessed at the time and temperature and I should have added more time as it was cooler out than I thought.  I agitated the usual 5 seconds every 30 seconds.  After the developer I rinsed with water and then poured in the fixer, agitating 5 seconds every minute.  When it was done, I poured out the fixer into its bottle and then did a light rinse with water.  I pulled off the cap and examined the negative.

There are on the tin side but looked OK.  I placed the reel in the nearby stream for its final was of 20 minutes.  While it washed, I packed up.

When it had washed enough, I hung it from a nearby branch with a clothespin, squeegeed it with my fingers, and put another clothespin on the bottom to keep it from curling up.

We finished loading up the bikes and getting ready to go.  The last thing I did was to retrieved the now, mostly dry film, roll it up, and put it in my tank bag.

And that's about it.  From there we did a quick tour of the upper campground and then headed of to Billings.  The weather is great and I set my cruise control to 67 MPH and noticed that the MPG indicator on my dash said I was getting 67 MPG.  Very efficient.

We stopped in Bridger for anyone who wanted gas to get gas.  A few miles after that I pulled over to grab a photo of my odometer as it turned 58,000 miles.  Not bad for 5 years and 4 months of riding.

From there, it was straight to our homes via River Road in Laurel and  Zimmerman Trail in Billings.  I stopped at my usual Town Pump to top off before heading on the rest of the way.

It was a 125 miles day.

Another Overnighter in the Bighorn Mountains - Day 1

August 4, 2026

The heat wave has passed, at least for a few days so it looked like a good time to head for the mountains.  I talked to Keith and Bill about an overnight in the Bighorns and they were in so we set the departure day for today.  Tuesday works great for me because I don’t have any conflict after I get my 7-1/2 run in the morning, which I did.

Note, some of the images here are in black and white.  That's because I brought along my Minolta film camera and a roll of Kentmere 100 film.  The goal is to shoot the roll of film and develop it in the campsite.  I brought along 8-ounces each of X-tol developer and film fixer.  I also brought along a film developing tank and reel.

I packed up stuff yesterday afternoon and only had to load the bike today.  We set a departure time for 11am and that is exactly when we left.  We wove through the city to get to South Billings Blvd. and then out of town toward Pryor.

The weather was great, about 70 degrees and no wind.  The ride to Pryor was uneventful and when arrived we did see the accumulation of garbage that was recently mentioned in the local news.  For whatever reason it isn’t being hauled away and is stacking up at the old school.

Her's the rear view as we left Pryor.

We rode Hwy 91 the 45 miles to St. Xavier.  The road is rough in spots, especially one spot where it is loose gravel for couple hundred feet.  Hitting that at 50+ MPH was something.  

We took a break in St. Xavier.

From there we took Good Luck Road for about 20 miles to Lodge Grass Creek Road.  This is a gorgorgeous ride through some open range and, yes, we did encounter cattle on the road.

We passed through Lodge Grass and headed south on Hwy 451, which runs parallel to I-90 and goes past Wyola, Aberdeen, and Parkman before we turn off on Hwy 343 which is a shortcut to Dayton.

Dayton is a gas stop before we head into the mountains.

Now it was riding up on Hwy 14, a great road with lots of twists and turns.  Perfect road, perfect weather, and lots of fun.

When we got to Burgess Junction I pulled over so we could discuss the route.  This is where 14A splits off and goes more or less west over the mountains.  It's a shorter route to the campground but it's still early and I proposed that we that Hwy 14 as we'd be able to stop and see Shell Falls.  They agreed and and off we went.

The road was great but the temperature had dropped to upper-50s, still fine for riding.  When we arrived at Shell Falls we were disappointed that the place was closed for construction.  We continued on and pulled over a bit down the road.

We continued down through Shell Canyon and past the village of Shell.  Then it was a long ride to Greybull and a longer ride to Lovell.  It's what riding in much of Wyoming is like and made tolerable by being on a motorcycle, having cruise control, and good tunes playing in the helmet.

When we got to Lovell we stopped to top up our tanks before heading east on Hwy 14A.  It's about 25 miles to the campground, Five Springs.  About 15 miles or so out I looked in my mirror and saw a semi-truck approaching behind Bill and it was traveling with it's flashers on.  Before long it passed us, fast, and we were doing 65 MPH or so.  It had a flatbed trailer and was loaded with stuff.  A few miles later it started slowing down.  Its flashers were now off and it kept crossing the fog line onto the shoulder.  I don't know what its issue was but when I came up behind it, I took a chance and passed, keeping a careful eye on it as I dod.  Keith and Bill followed and we left it far behind.

We took the turnoff for the campground and rode the two miles of a narrow and twisty road to the lower campground.  Here's the front view on the way up.

And from the rear camera.

When we arrived, we walked up the road to check its condition which was passable and also checked out the group site.  It's pretty large and has lots of room to set up three tents.  We walked back down the hill and I filled out the registration.  Just as I finished, Keith spotted a bear on the hillside next to us.

Next, it was time to head up the hill.

We got our tents and such set up.  Bill didn't want to haul his stuff across the bridge so he brought his bike a bit closer.

We sat down and had some refreshments and then Keith and hiked up to the lower waterfall.  

Someday I'd like to get up to the upper one but I think the route is beyond my technical skills.  The lower one is small but still worth getting to.

Some views of the hike back down.

It was time for dinner so we each did our own thing.  I had Pad Thai which is one of my favorites from Backpacker's Pantry.

Afterwards, it was time for marshmallows.  I have not had one in over 40 years as they are not vegetarian, lower, the Trader Joe's brand is and I had picked some up last month on my trip to Washington and Oregon.  I found a stick, speared one, and roasted over Bill's fire.  It was just like I remembered it.

Bill tried one too.

The day wound down and it was time to crawl into ur tents.

It was a 274 mile day.

Quick Trip to Beartooth Pass

July 21, 2026

I wanted to make it a longer day but after the morning's 6-mile run, I had things to take care of with the house I want to sell so I didn't get away until 11:30am.

I did the usual route to Buffalo Trail, through Laurel, and on to Red Lodge.  Beautiful weather.  I did stop in Red Lodge and pull on a long sleeve t-shirt over my short sleeve one.  I'm wearing my mesh jacket and I am anticipating a chill up on top.  There is not much to write about as the ride up was uneventful.  I did stop at Vista Point for a drink and a snack.  A phot is required.

Now it was a ride to the top where I found it about 70 degrees and no wind.  Pretty unusual.

I chatted with a guy on a Harley who was doing an 8,000-mile trip with his teenage daughter on the back.  They were from Georgia and looked to be having a good time.

After that I rode directly back back to Billings, stopped to tank up, and got home about 4:30pm.

It was right about a 200 mile day.

Big Horn Overnighter, Day 2

June 19, 2026

6:30am

While it wasn’t that cold, the wind really picked up last night so after I got my dinner made, I retreated to my tent to consume it.  The tent rattled in that breeze but kept me out of it.  I ended up calling it an early night, pretty much my usual time, I bedded down by 9pm.  I didn’t sleep as well as I usually do after a day of riding and woke up, not unusual, but had a hard time falling back asleep.  At one point I thought that I may have put my head on the downhill slope so I turned things around.  That helped a little.  I had weird dreams when I did sleep.  Sushi?  A pasta sorting machine?  Yes, just weird.

I got up at my usual time, about 5:30am, and took care of all the morning duties and then got water boiling for my oatmeal and cocoa.  The sun is coming up as I write this so it will warm up pretty soon.  I have no plan as to when I’ll take off but plan to be back in Billings about noon and it’s about a 2-hour ride from the campground.  That will give me time for a hike and packing.

Some morning views….

….

Home in the afternoon.

I got the bike packed and headed out about 9:30 or so.  On the way out I stopped by the lower campground to take a closer look at the road that goes up to the main campsites there.  The road is as bad as I remember and, maybe a bit worse.  Riding a motorcycle up would be a careful operation.  I walked it and I think staying to the center would be the safest way.  Not too slow and not too fast.

On my way out I saw a sign tacked to the main board.  Huh?  I didn’t even stop here because I rode directly up to the upper campground and there was no notice there.

Oh, well.

I headed toward Lovell and it was pretty uneventful.  I noticed when I crossed the Big Horn River, it was really low.  There is a drought everywhere.

In Lovell I pulled over to fiddle with the navigation app even though I know my way.  I saw the price of gas and took a photo.  By the time I put the phone away, it price dropped to $3.99.

Nothing to say about the rest of the ride.  I set the cruise control on to the speed limits and just went.  I did pull over in Frankie to take a photo of something they are build, sort of a “BoatHenge.”

I arrived home a bit after noon and I did stop to get gas before I did.

It was a 120 mile day.