Day 11. Arco to Grangeville

Day 11. Sunday the 14th.

We checked out of the D-K Motel, gassed up, and left Arco. We headed west on US-20. This interesting building was in downtown.

We stopped at the overlook just before the Craters of the Moon N.M. Neither John nor I felt like taking the time to drive through the park.

After passing through Picabo, we turned north on Gannett Road. Gannett Road meets up with ID-75, just south of Bellevue. That section of ID-75 is the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. The view was nice but there was a lot of traffic. The area is a huge tourist attraction. The prices for real estate in the Ketchum and Sun Valley area must me outrageous. One yard had a helicopter parked in it.

We stopped in Stanley for lunch and fuel, then left town on ID-21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. In Lowman, we got on the Wildlife Scenic Byway, also known as, NF-24, or, Banks-Lowman Road. That 33 mile section of roadway is awesome!

In Banks, we headed north on ID-55, the Pyette River Scenic Byway. Our original plan was to stop for the day in either McCall, or New Meadows. Motels in McCall looked too expensive for our budget. In New Meadows, we gassed up and decided to go all the way up to Grangeville.

We stayed at the Super 8. It was the same place we stayed last year on our trip through the area, and the place I stayed on my trip west in June. After being quoted a rate for the room, I asked the clerk if she'd give us a deal for staying with them 3 times in the last year. She knocked $11.00 off.

I was so tired from the 400 mile day, that I fell asleep in my clothes watching TV. I didn't wake up and go to bed until 0400.

Day 10. The Long Way to Arco. Saturday the 13th.

Arco is only 67 miles from Idaho Falls. So John and I decided to take the long way, 302 miles. We stayed with the theme of riding the Idaho scenic byways.
We left Idaho Falls on I-15 and got off at exit 143. We went west on ID-33 to Mud Lake. Then north on ID-28, the Sacajawea Historic Byway. The road runs up between 2 mountain ranges, and along side a couple of different rivers.
We had lunch at Subway in Salmon, and then gassed up. We followed US-93 out of Salmon. The first section follows along side the Salmon River, and is the Salmon River Scenic Byway. In Challis, US-93 becomes the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway.
We got a room at the D-K motel in Arco.

Day 9. Worland, WY to Idaho Falls, ID August 12

We left the Days Inn around 0945 after doing our laundry and eating breakfast. We headed south towards Thermopolis, home of the worlds largest hot spring.

We continued south from Thermopolis. Hwy 20 runs through the Wind River Canyon. It was kind of a weird optical illusion, but both John and I thought that the road was going down hill, and it looked like the river was running up hill as it flowed north. If it weren't for the GPS telling me that we were gaining altitude, I wouldn't have believed it.

Further up stream is the Boysen Reservoir Dam.

We passed through Shoshoni, over to Morton, and up hwy 26 to Dubois, where we stopped for lunch.

John and a cardboard cut out of Gene Autry, his hero.

We turned left at Moran Junction, and headed for the Grand Tetons.

My favorite pic so far.....

We rode through Jackson, then west on WY-22, over the Teton pass and into Idaho.

Near the Teton Pass.

We spent the night at the Motel 6 in Idaho Falls.
We were thinking of trying to make the coast, but we only have until the 20th. We have changed our plans and will most likely be spending the next few days exploring the many scenic byways in Idaho.

Days 7 and 8.

Day 7. Wednesday the 10th.

John and I went into Sturgis to do our shopping. We walked up and down the streets, shopped, and people watched. We walked over to the Post Office and mailed our purchases home. We took a short break in the Civic Center, and we met a couple of guys from New Zealand. They had shipped their bikes from home to the west coast, then they flew in and picked them up. They rode all the way to the rally, and found camping on a little old lady's front lawn, just a block from rally headquarters. They were going to tour the USA on their 5 week vacation.

At 1200 we met Lee and Gabi, Lyle, Larrie and Garth, for lunch at the Loud American Roadhouse.

Lee and Gabi

After lunch, John and I went back to the campground. We went back to Sturgis just before sundown, because I wanted to try and get a few night life pictures.

The "top" is painted to match the pants.

It was a very slow night. The temps have been a lot cooler this year compared to past years.


Day 8. Thursday the 11th.

This morning John and I packed up and headed west. We're still not sure where we're going, but it will be somewhere west.
We left Belle Fourche and headed west on SD-34. In Aladdin, WY we dropped down onto I-90 from WY-111.
We stopped for gas in Gillette. That's when John noticed that his front tire had a really bad cupping problem. He decided to go back an exit to the Harley-Davidson dealer we'd just passed. We walked into the the service area and John spoke to the service writer. The dealership wanted almost $400.00 to mount a new Dunlop D-408f on his bike. John told them he'd have to think about it. I got out my netbook and Googled his old tire, D-407f. I found out about a recall on that tire. So John called his dealer in Rice Lake, WI. Their service manager told him about a service bulletin, M1258C. John went back into the service department and the writer looked up the bulletin and they ended up replacing his tire for free. We were back on the road about 3 and a half hours later.
We got off I-90 at Buffalo, and crossed over the Big Horn Mountain on hwy 16. I had been over the Big Horns before, but on hwy 14. I think that 16 is a much more scenic highway and is perfect for a motorcycle. There are nice 50 MPH sweepers and even a few 25 MPH tight hairpin curves.
I tried to get some pictures on the west side, but I was shooting into the setting sun.

We had really good dinner at the Ten Sleep Saloon. I had the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and John had the beef roladen with mini dumplings and brown gravy. Both the food and the waitress were GREAT!

We stopped for the night in Worland, WY at the Days Inn.

Day 6.Tuesday the 9th.

Last night we had a plan... We were going to get up with the sun, shower, eat breakfast at the campground as soon as it was available, and head south. It was a good idea, in theory, but the weather wasn't cooperating. This morning the sky was overcast and we could see rain to the west and south, and it was headed our way. We sat around in camp until the weather improved.
We got on I-90 and got off in Rapid City. From there, we took 79 down to Hot Springs. None of us could remember ever going to Hot Springs during the rally. We stopped for lunch in a combination pawn shop/cafe. The food was good, the portions were large and the prices were low.

After lunch, we gassed up and started north on 385. We stopped at Whitaker Jewelers. We have stopped there every year since I started coming in '99. They used to have stores in Hill City, but last year they moved south, just out of Hot Springs. They have a small shop and live totally off-grid. Preston showed John and me his solar collector set up and his battery bank. Both John and I expressed interest in his system. Preston's advice was to read as much as possible before planning or buying anything. John bought a necklace for his niece.
We followed 385 north through Custer, and Hill City. We went east on Sheridan Lake Road. All the way up, we were either just ahead of or just behind the rain. We only had a little sprinkle all day.
We stopped at the T.G.I.Fridays in Rapid City to meet up with Terresah. She was John and Lyle's waitress way back in '97, and was still waitressing as a college student, at the Valley Cafe in Spearfish when I started coming out here in '99. We have met up with her almost every year since. She is the mother of the child I never had... (there's a G rated story behind that from 2000) We celebrated Lyle's birthday. Terresah got some of the other help to come out and sing Happy Birthday to him.

Lyle getting his birthday dessert.

Garth, me, Terresah, Lyle, Larrie, and John.

We got back to camp around 1830. I don't think the temp ever got over 70 all day.

I spotted this alongside the road. Is it a South Dakota riding lawnmower?