A Bighorn overnighter

August 22, 2024

Last week my wife and I camped at Five springs Fall campground in the Bighorns of Wyoming and that got me interested in going back on the FJR but also to ride over the top.  I talked to Bill and he was in so we planned for Thursday.  

My Billings Urban Sketchers group sent out an email announcing a meet up on Thursday in Red Lodge at 10am.  This is a rare event in that we are meeting out of town and I didn’t want to miss it.  We usually sketch for a few hours so I told Bill to meet me at the Twon Pump there at 1pm.

I got the bike loaded up and in addition to what I needed for an overnight stay I took along my drawing tools, my watercolors, a stroll, and sever sketchbooks.  Here I am all packed and ready to go.

I left about 8:30am and took the usual route to the end of Grand Ave and over to Buffalo Trail.

It was beautiful out and the ride to Red Lodge was pleasant with light traffic.  When I arrived at the address, the sketchers were just deciding what view each of the would capture.  I parked right there and go my stuff out and started to work on the Rock Creek Aesthetics building and the one next door.

It started getting pretty warm so when I was about done inking my sketch I switched to the other side of the street to get in the shade while I worked on the watercolor.  Here’s what I needed up with.

A bit after noon I headed out and stopped at Las Palmita for a burrito.  I took it across to the park and it was delicious.  At ipm I rolled into the Town Pump, topped off the gas, and then parked where Bill was waiting.  I was surprised to see another FJR.  Turns out it was a guy from Texas out touring around.  I had to take a photo of his ‘16 with my ‘21.

Bill and I hit the road and road through Red Lodge to get to Hwy 308 that took us to Belfry, passing through Bearcreek, a route O’ve ridden many ties in the past.  In Belfry we turned north and rode the the intersection with Hwy 310.  That took us all the way to Lovell, Wyoming.

I had 3 throngs to do in Lovell. First was to top off the gas.  Next was to pick up a couple beers to go with tonight’s dinner.  The next was to ride around to the back of the Travelodge to check out what their web site said they had for EV charging.  OK, not really what I expected as these are just the 110 outlets that people can use for their block heaters in the winter.  Yes, they will charge an EV but pretty slowly, 3-4 miles per hour of charge.

The ride the campground took us about 25 miles east of Lovell at the based of the Bighorns.  I didn’t take photos on the way up since I’ve done so a couple time in the past.  They are here 

We took a Quick Look at part of the lower campground but my goal was to stay in the upper one, a mile up another steep road.  When we got there we saw only one car and we took the site next to it.  While we walked over to another site to check it out the owner of the car came over and told us they were picnicking and were about to leave so we took the site he was in as it was larger and more shaded.

We got settled in, had some beer and hung out relaxing.  It was getting late so we fired up our stoves and made our dinners.  Bill started a campfire and we hung out until 9:30 or so.  It was quite pleasant even though there was threat of rain.

It was a 168 mile day.

Sometime during the night there was thunder, lightning, and a bit of rain but by dawn everything was dry.  I went out for a morning hike, heading back down the road and checking out some campsites we saw on the way up.

We had our breakfast and got stuff packed and ready to load on the bikes.  Here’s my stuff:

Just about ready to go.

We headed down to Hwy 14A and took that over the mountains.  Lots of twists and curves but once up on tape it’s long straightaways and sweeping curves.  

After passing by Burgess Junction we started the long downhill to Dayton, WY.  Here’s a map of that route:

And a few more scenics:

After a gas stop in Dayton, we took the two-lane roads all the way to the Bighorn Battlefield.  From there we hopped on I-90 and roads the slab back to Billings.  It was starting to get pretty warm out, upper-80s, and we were ready to be done.

It was a great outing, covering 350 miles.

 

Chief Joseph and the Beartooth

August 7, 2024

Between traveling (by car) and having some pretty hoy weather, I haven’t had the FJR out in many weeks.    However, with a cooling trend settling in and nothing on today’s calendar I just had to get out for a ride.

The day started with a session at Joel’s pong doing some retrieving with Bart the Dog.  It was gorgeous out.

After that I got my gear together, check the tire pressures, and headed out about 10:20am.  I made a quick stop to top off the gas and then took the Slab to Laurel where I got on 212 south.  In Rockvale I turned on 310 and made my first stop in Edgar to see if the car art display had added anything new since I vivisted last.  It had.  Some signage and a donation box.

I passed through Fromberg, Bridger, and Belfry.  Not too far south of Belfry I hit my first road construction.

That wait was only a few minutes but up ahead was another one, this time with a flagged who said that it would be at least 10 minutes.

After that delay, which was more like 15 minutes, I continued on south toward Cody and then turn on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.  This turn is about 90 miles from my home.  It wasn’t long before I was stopped again for road work.  At least it’s a good opportunity for some photos.

Once I got going I rode over 5-8 miles of loose gravel as this was chip sealing project.  My speed was about 20 miles per hour.

Eventually the pilot car let us go and I rode to the top which is Dead Indian Lookout.  I’ve been here before and it provides an excellent view into Sunlight Basin but today I am in a cloud.  There were a few Harleys riding together with a chase car and truck pulling a big trailer.  Visibility was low.

It wasn’t too long before the road dropped below the cloud and I was treated to some great scenery.

I stopped at Sunlight Creek Bridge that spans the Sunlight Gorge and is the highest bridge in Wyoming.

I cruise through Sunlight Basin and enjoyed the road and the scenery.  I came to the end where it intersects with the Beartooth Highway and took a few photos.

I headed up the Beartooth Highway and made a few stops for photos.

When I was pulling out of that last stop another rider asked me about the weather on the Chief Joseph.  I told him about the fog and he said it’s the same on Beartooth Pass.  He also mentioned that there was bad accident on the other side and not to look.

I continued on and, sure enough, the clouds soon surrounded me.

When I got to the top, Beartooth Pass, it was pretty thick.  I was riding very slowly, watching out for rock, animals, and other vehicles.

Just before the Montana state line I passed the scene of that accident.  It was foggy and I didn’t want to take my eyes off the road but I saw a wrecked motorcycle pushed off the shoulder.  A bit further on the fog stated to left at the same time that it started to rain.  I stopped at Vista Point for a quick photo and then continued on to Red Lodge.  As i left that spot I got a bit of hail mixed with the rain.

I stopped gas in Red Ledge and also dried off my visor and my glasses.  

Just outside of town the rain stopped.  I set the cruise on the bike and had an uneventful ride back to Billings.

So, I had warm and cold, wet and dry, good visibility and pea soup.  All in all it was a great ride.

253.5 miles.