The plan… try and stay stateside for vacation this year. We left Seattle… Snohomish actually… on a Friday and returned 10 days later. Along the way we toured through the Palouse country in Washington on our way to Lewiston Idaho. From there we headed over to Grangeville and McCall. An attempt to travel to Yellow Pine was made, but we were turned back by snow. So off to Lowman we went, zig-zagging narrow river canyons along the way. We spent a wonderful night in Stanley, Idaho and then proceeded to go up through a couple of ghost towns (old mining towns). The plan there was to traverse the mountain over to a town called Challis. Again we got turned back by snow at 8000 feet of elevation. It was long ride over and up to Salmon, Idaho. From there we traversed south to Rexburg and then over to Jackson Wyo. We camped in the Tetons National Park. An evening ride where we reveled in sightings of Elk, Pronghorns and a mother Grizzly bear and cub. Next we passed through Yellowstone on our way to Red Lodge Montana. We crossed over the Bear Tooth Pass at 11,000 feet. ... The Bear Tooth highway is amazing ... While we were there it was snowing at the summit. But the climb up and the drop in elevation afforded great views and were well worth any hardship we endured. After a night in Red Lodge, we headed over to Cody, Wyo and then re-entered Yellowstone. It was at this point that we encountered the most adverse weather of the trip. We fought heavy winds and then while in Yellowstone it poured buckets of rain. It was all good, as the rain was not that cold. We spent the night in West Yellowstone and spent next day going to Ennis, Montana and then over to Hamilton, Montana. We rode through Lolo Pass and ended back up in Lewiston. At this point the temperatures had peaked to 100 degs. Having limited lightweight gear, we stopped in the BMW shop and purchased some mesh jackets and such to get us home. WHAT A RIDE!!
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| Ribs at West Yellowstone |
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| Lori trying to hide the fact that she was more health conscious. |
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| In the end, her animal tendencies showed though |
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| Palouse Falls in Eastern Wa. |
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| Looking south from the falls, the Palouse River carved a gorge. |
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| Canoe art sculpture in Clarkston, Idaho |
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| Thistle |
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| Camp on the Snake River |
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| The Road to Elk City, Idaho |
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| An arm of the Salmon River |
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| Somewhere near the Sawtooth Mountain Range |
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| This is Us |
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| An excited Lori |
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| The Sawtooths are getting bigger |
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| A tired Looksha Lori |
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| Leaving Stanley Idaho... GORGEOUS |
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| Ghost Town (Bonanaza?) |
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| Dredge along the way |
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| Lori eating donuts?? |
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| Those are no donuts... Large Onion Rings!! |
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| I present to you... the Grand Tetons |
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| They are Grand INDEED! |
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| Momma grizzly and her cub. No petting allowed |
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| More Tetons |
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| Lori |
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| The Grizz |
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| Lori excited as can be. Her first big road trip on her new bike. |
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| Yellowstone Falls |
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| Lori at the summit of the Beartooth Hwy... It was snowing |
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| 11,000 Feet... No Problem |
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| Jumping up and down for joy |
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| Gretchen... The highest this girl has ever been |
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| Beautiful Vistas off the Beartooth |
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| One of the windiest roads eva... |
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| More Yellowstone Canyon |
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| View from the top of Yellowstone Falls |
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| Reynolds Pass (Continental Divide) |
All in all, a wonderful trip. Lots of video was taken. We did some off road riding in the mountains of Idaho and Montana. A video production of the trip is sure to follow as soon as time allows.
Until Next Time...
