Road Trip: Day 19

After waking-up early the past few days, and staying-up late last night working on photos/blogs, I really wanted to sleep late today. I found myself awake at 6am, but forced myself back to sleep until 8am. After breakfast at the hotel I headed out on my way back towards Yellowstone.

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So why would I drive all the way back to where I was yesterday? Why would I suffer through two hours of straight/flat farm roads? Why would I return to Wyoming with their 65mph speed limits?

Switchbacks!

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The road leading up into Yellowstone, US-212, is designed for tourists pulling large trailers… and as a result has nice sweeping corners. In areas where the climb gets steep extra distance is generated by making the road switchback on itself. Add-in smooth pavement and the 70mph Montana speed limit and you have the makings for a “perfect storm” of a road!

As a main route into Yellowstone US-212 could very easily be full of slow tourists. Being a Sunday morning after Labor Day I hoped traffic was going to be light. As I approached the climb I found myself stuck 4 cars back from a truck towing a large camper. Just when I thought my drive was going to be a bust a passing zone opened-up. None of the other cars pulled-out to pass the camper so I made my move and drove past them all!

At this point the stars aligned for what I can only describe as one of the best (off-track) driving experience of my life! For the next 9 miles I found myself on an empty road (thanks to the rolling-roadblock) that climbed 2125 feet at up to an 8% grade. I dropped into 3rd gear and powered up the mountain… even at one-and-a-half miles above sea level the G8 had more than enough torque to have the dash flashing traction control alerts!

Did I mention the switchbacks?

At the top of the pass I had to stop to catch my breath. I’m sure the altitude had something to do with it, but this drive was just euphoric! I’m sure I had a stupid looking perma-grin on my face! After recovering for a few moments I jumped back into the G8 and slowly made my way into Wyoming.

The descent through the next set of switchbacks was slowed by quite a few cars, so I stopped to take some photos (including the ones above… there was no way I’d have stopped to take photos with the open road I had).

The rest of the way down and away from Yellowstone I just couldn’t help but think how great that section of road really was.

After a short drive I pulled into a rest area to use the restroom and came across a group of motorcyclists. It turns out they were from Australia and came to the states for a road trip.

The four riders flew to New York and ventured across the country and up into Canada. Similar to me, they had come to this area for the roads. Two of the riders (see their blog) had a world map outlining their planned route of the Pan American Highway… wow!

I spent some time talking with the riders about what it’s like to be on a road trip via a motorcycle. Each of the riders had various types of riding gear (hot, cold, etc.) and different pieces for the group (tents, bedding, etc.). I’m spoiled to have a trunk to keep my stuff… they have to strap it all to their bikes!

When I made my way back onto the road I again found myself on an empty stretch full of switchbacks… for the second time today I was giddy! The 2000 foot climb was a little less technical than the previous one (the cliffs weren’t as close). This time I felt more comfortable running up to the 65mph speed limit (damn you Wyoming!) between the turns… then really working the brakes into the curves. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy the descent due to a pick-up truck hauling logs, but like before it didn’t spoil anything.

At this point I had a bunch of ground to cover to get to my hotel. Like yesterday I stopped for lunch in Cody and then headed into the farmland. I spotted a couple pronghorn (closer to the road than they were in Yellowstone) and went through a town with a population of 10. There was also a cool looking airplane graveyard full of old firefighting aircraft.

Just when I thought all the fun was done for the day I headed into the Bighorn National Forest and up into the mountains. Once I made my way past the “tourists” I could really enjoy the roads; which I was still driving 10mph under the speed limit. The area is an open cattle range, and there were quite a few cows on the road, so I needed to be careful. One of the cool features of the area is the red pavement… I have no idea why it’s that way, but it’s fun!

Last night I had changed my hotel from one in Gillette (1hr 48min away) to one in Sheridan. I was really glad my drive had been shortened as I was starting to get tired when I pulled into town. Before checking into my hotel I spotted a self car wash and knocked the dirt and bugs off the G8.

For the most part tomorrow will be spent on the interstate, but I’ll be making a detour to have a close encounter of my own.