Getting an Early Start - Page 2

usranger74 · 07-04-2012, 03:40 PM

Some big fires in WY and MT. Smoke may be obstructing view and in come cases closing roads.

petenomad · 07-04-2012, 07:19 PM

Just for quick reference - here are a few links for travel conditions:

Montana Road conditions
No closures as of now.

Wyoming Road conditions
Shows some falling rock warnings on Chief Joseph Hwy and far western end of Beartooth pass.

There is a road closure just SW of Laramie, near the CO border.

rickyboy · 07-05-2012, 02:56 AM

It all sounds great. I hope everyone rides safe coming and going from the rally !! Take care everyone and we'll all see each other at the rally.

**Eagle Eye** · 07-05-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chili

Any chance to avoid the riff raff of the Rider nation is a good choice

I'm not too fond of banjo music either. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

**micmicdu** · 07-06-2012, 08:42 PM

All right, here I go, tomorrow, Saturday I'm off on my road adventure. I'm looking forward to riding in and around Yellowstone, Montana & Wyoming before heading back to p/u my better half at the airport and then heading towards Colville and making the way north to the Rally in Canmore. Can't wait to meet you all. See you soon.

Chili · 07-06-2012, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micmicdu

All right, here I go, tomorrow, Saturday I'm off on my road adventure. I'm looking forward to riding in and around Yellowstone, Montana & Wyoming before heading back to p/u my better half at the airport and then heading towards Colville and making the way north to the Rally in Canmore. Can't wait to meet you all. See you soon.

Ride safe, maybe we'll cross paths before the rally but if not we'll see you there!

**canuckrider** · 07-06-2012, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chili

Any chance to avoid the riff raff of the Rider nation is a good choice

You can't get away from them. Half of 'em have moved to Alberta! When the 'Riders play against the Stamps here in Calgary you'd swear it was a Saskatchewan home game.

Safe travels and look forward to meeting you in Canmore.

Chili · 07-06-2012, 10:53 PM

So we are a few days into our journey and I've been updating my facebook but thought I'd do the same here for anyone interested.

We left Winnipeg on Tuesday and spent a couple of days visiting my folks, they live on a small lake off of Lake of the Woods called Blindfold Lake in Northwestern Ontario.

This is the view from my parents dock.

And this is the view back up from the lake.

Thursday morning the Nomad is loaded and ready to hit Ontario Highway 71, a nice twisty road with some beautiful scenery and an excruciating 80 KM/H speed limit. Thankfully the Ontario Provincial Police weren't real active Thursday morning.

Taking our first rest stop of the day at the Junction for Rainy River and Emo Ontario.

We crossed over the the USA shortly after our break at the Fort Frances/International Falls Border.

We had planned on getting a hotel near St. Paul, MN but a friend from a dirt Bike site that I helped moderate years ago was adamant it was time for us to meet in person instead of being just facebook friends and wanted to host Char and I. We stayed at Natalie's and I lit the inaugural fire in her brand new fire pit.

.
Natalie even hung onto her fireworks an extra day to share them with a couple of canucks.

Chili · 07-06-2012, 10:54 PM

This the view of Lake Minnetonka from Natalie's driveway as we departed Friday morning, such a nice location so close to the big city. It was about 88 degrees and humid already at 8am.

Not long after hitting the road we were starting our Journey on the Great River Road as recommended by glwilson. Here's Char at the Great River Road Visitor Center in Prescott, WI.

And here's the signage for the Scenic Byway.

Char and I at a scenic overlook at Lake Pepin.

Here's the Nomad and I at the marina in Pepin, WI.

After we crossed back over the Mississippi we hit Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa, this is the view from one of the observation decks.

We are now settled for the night in Dubuque, IA.

**crazygene49** · 07-07-2012, 12:54 AM

Nice! Please keep the pics coming. Ride safe.

**schoeney** · 07-07-2012, 01:26 AM

Nice pics and they sounded like nice people. Ride safe. See you in 10 days!

Chili · 07-08-2012, 12:58 AM

Not a lot on the scenery front today, if this was the cruise industry it might be referred to as a re-positioning cruise. We left Dubuque, IA early and shortly down the road we made our first stop at the mail order mecca J&P Cycles.

The next exit up the road led us to the National Motorcycle Museum, if you're ever in the area I highly recommend the stop.

The amount of exhibits was a lot larger than I expected.

Something that had a huge impact on my early motorcycle years, Steve McQueen's Husky from the movie On Any Sunday

A few more exhibits from the museum;

A replica of Peter Fonda's ride from Easy Rider.

It's become apparent I'll need to put my watch in my pocket and ride without gloves for a few days, or try to find a new career in the circus.

We are in Omaha, Nebraska tonight and tomorrow's plans are up in the air at the moment. We generally ride 3 or 4 days and take a day off and with some weather due to roll through the area tomorrow we are taking a wait and see attitude.

Chili · 07-12-2012, 12:55 AM

So we are a few days overdue for an update but we've had some very cool experiences the last few days and seen some unreal scenery and sights so here's the scoop.

When we last updated we were settled in for the night in Mullen, Nebraska. Cool fact, the trains run at least hourly all night long, not so cool fact the tracks were 150 yards from our bed.We hit the road a bit sleep deprived on Tuesday morning and the ride through the Nebraska Sandhills actually got almost a bit scenic at times. Our first stop was a small town (Ellsworth, NE) Population 14. We went into the Old Spade Ranch Store to pick up a drink and a bottle of water and then get back on the road, instead we ended up chatting with a few locals in the store for 45+ mins. Really nice people and a really cool old store, here's a few pics of the store.

Finally saddled back up and hit the road but later in the day we were overdue for a break and I chose to pull off at another small town based on the sign stating they had a store and a bar, that town was Lost Springs, Wyoming. It turns out Lost Springs is the smallest incorporated town in the USA with a population of 3. We had a long chat with the local storekeper who mentioned him and his brother run the store and then Leta runs the bar which she only opens for special occasions and hunting season. We left the store which was pretty rough inside and noticed the town had a beautiful park right next to the store with public restrooms so we decided to use them before hitting the highway. This is where the story gets a bit strange, posted in the restrooms was the storekeepers brothers Sex offender registry notice. We left town at that point before it started to remind me of an episode of Criminal Minds. Here's a shot outside the store.

Our day ended at the Sunburst Lodge bed & Breakfast on Casper Mountain, it was our first experience at a B&B and all I can say is wow! It was an unreal place with incredible scenery.

Our room

Today we left Casper and headed for Red Lodge Montana. Around Meeteetse, WY the sky started to turn ugly. We had to decide whether to park and wait or run for it and try to cover our last 100 miles. Like the Priest in Caddyshack I decided the "really" bad stuff wasn't coming for a while and we made a run for it. That lead to us getting blasted with rain pretty much the entire way from Cody to Red Lodge.

Tomorrow we see a bunch of Yellowstone and head our way back South to Jackson, WY.

**schoeney** · 07-12-2012, 01:04 AM

Jackson Hole is cool. Ride safe.

Chili · 07-14-2012, 06:32 PM

Been a bit slack with the updates but hey I'm on vacation! We really enjoyed our travels through and around Yellowstone, and Jackson was a pretty cool town to see. For me the Tetons were pretty similar to the Canadian Rockies so I was not as blown away as I expected to be from all the pre-trip hype.

The reverse course back through Yellowstone to Bozeman was another really enjoyable day but we did ride through some late afternoon weather. We are currently taking a day off in Bozeman before making our final run to Canmore.

Here's a few photo's from the last few days:

Wasn't far up the Beartooth before we stopped for more layers.

Don't know if it will show in the photo real well but as a motorcyclist you've got to like that view.

East Gate

Trying to ignore 800 tourists

Moose Falls

07-04-2012, 03:40 PM	#16
usranger74 Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: La Vista, NE Posts: 4,060	Some big fires in WY and MT. Smoke may be obstructing view and in come cases closing roads. __________________ Bill (usranger74) Blake 2016 Goldwing VBA # 1505 Login or Register to Remove Ads
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07-04-2012, 07:19 PM	#17
petenomad Sr. Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 1,135	Just for quick reference - here are a few links for travel conditions: Montana Road conditions No closures as of now. Wyoming Road conditions Shows some falling rock warnings on Chief Joseph Hwy and far western end of Beartooth pass. There is a road closure just SW of Laramie, near the CO border. __________________ Glenn petenomad Peterman 2016 BMW R1200RT 2012 Candy Arabian Red Concours - Traded at 23000 miles 2008 Red/Black Nomad - Traded at 29500 miles Last edited by petenomad; 07-04-2012 at 07:41 PM.
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07-05-2012, 02:56 AM	#18
rickyboy Top Contributor Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: 108 Mile Ranch B.C. Canada Posts: 5,472	It all sounds great. I hope everyone rides safe coming and going from the rally !! Take care everyone and we'll all see each other at the rally. __________________ Nomad'a What ! "rickyboy" Richard Cole Canada West Region 108 Mile Ranch, British Columbia Canada Vulcan Bagger Assoc. #00722 Black 2006 Nomad https://cdn2.iconfinder.com/data/ico...Book_32x32.png
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07-06-2012, 08:42 PM	#20
micmicdu Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Lynnwood, Wa Posts: 26	All right, here I go, tomorrow, Saturday I'm off on my road adventure. I'm looking forward to riding in and around Yellowstone, Montana & Wyoming before heading back to p/u my better half at the airport and then heading towards Colville and making the way north to the Rally in Canmore. Can't wait to meet you all. See you soon. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

07-06-2012, 10:53 PM	#23
Chili Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 409	So we are a few days into our journey and I've been updating my facebook but thought I'd do the same here for anyone interested. We left Winnipeg on Tuesday and spent a couple of days visiting my folks, they live on a small lake off of Lake of the Woods called Blindfold Lake in Northwestern Ontario. This is the view from my parents dock. And this is the view back up from the lake. Thursday morning the Nomad is loaded and ready to hit Ontario Highway 71, a nice twisty road with some beautiful scenery and an excruciating 80 KM/H speed limit. Thankfully the Ontario Provincial Police weren't real active Thursday morning. Taking our first rest stop of the day at the Junction for Rainy River and Emo Ontario. We crossed over the the USA shortly after our break at the Fort Frances/International Falls Border. We had planned on getting a hotel near St. Paul, MN but a friend from a dirt Bike site that I helped moderate years ago was adamant it was time for us to meet in person instead of being just facebook friends and wanted to host Char and I. We stayed at Natalie's and I lit the inaugural fire in her brand new fire pit. . Natalie even hung onto her fireworks an extra day to share them with a couple of canucks. __________________ Doug Engstrom 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour 2001 Vulcan Nomad 1500FI, (Sold at 83,000 km)
	0

07-06-2012, 10:54 PM	#24
Chili Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 409	This the view of Lake Minnetonka from Natalie's driveway as we departed Friday morning, such a nice location so close to the big city. It was about 88 degrees and humid already at 8am. Not long after hitting the road we were starting our Journey on the Great River Road as recommended by glwilson. Here's Char at the Great River Road Visitor Center in Prescott, WI. And here's the signage for the Scenic Byway. Char and I at a scenic overlook at Lake Pepin. Here's the Nomad and I at the marina in Pepin, WI. After we crossed back over the Mississippi we hit Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa, this is the view from one of the observation decks. We are now settled for the night in Dubuque, IA. __________________ Doug Engstrom 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour 2001 Vulcan Nomad 1500FI, (Sold at 83,000 km)
	0

07-07-2012, 12:54 AM	#25
crazygene49 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Dover, DE Posts: 1,856	Nice! Please keep the pics coming. Ride safe. __________________ Gene Chestnut Dover, DE USAF 1968-1995 VBA#01761 2007 Nomad 1600 Black and Titanium
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07-07-2012, 01:26 AM	#26
schoeney Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NW Region Posts: 5,222	Nice pics and they sounded like nice people. Ride safe. See you in 10 days! __________________ VBA #659 2003 Nomad 1500 (Gone but never forgotten) 2005 Honda ST1300 - Sweet and still kickin 2006 Honda Goldwing - Best Boat in the Marina
	0

07-08-2012, 12:58 AM	#27
Chili Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 409	Not a lot on the scenery front today, if this was the cruise industry it might be referred to as a re-positioning cruise. We left Dubuque, IA early and shortly down the road we made our first stop at the mail order mecca J&P Cycles. The next exit up the road led us to the National Motorcycle Museum, if you're ever in the area I highly recommend the stop. The amount of exhibits was a lot larger than I expected. Something that had a huge impact on my early motorcycle years, Steve McQueen's Husky from the movie On Any Sunday A few more exhibits from the museum; A replica of Peter Fonda's ride from Easy Rider. It's become apparent I'll need to put my watch in my pocket and ride without gloves for a few days, or try to find a new career in the circus. We are in Omaha, Nebraska tonight and tomorrow's plans are up in the air at the moment. We generally ride 3 or 4 days and take a day off and with some weather due to roll through the area tomorrow we are taking a wait and see attitude. __________________ Doug Engstrom 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour 2001 Vulcan Nomad 1500FI, (Sold at 83,000 km)
	0

07-12-2012, 12:55 AM	#28
Chili Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 409	So we are a few days overdue for an update but we've had some very cool experiences the last few days and seen some unreal scenery and sights so here's the scoop. When we last updated we were settled in for the night in Mullen, Nebraska. Cool fact, the trains run at least hourly all night long, not so cool fact the tracks were 150 yards from our bed.We hit the road a bit sleep deprived on Tuesday morning and the ride through the Nebraska Sandhills actually got almost a bit scenic at times. Our first stop was a small town (Ellsworth, NE) Population 14. We went into the Old Spade Ranch Store to pick up a drink and a bottle of water and then get back on the road, instead we ended up chatting with a few locals in the store for 45+ mins. Really nice people and a really cool old store, here's a few pics of the store. Finally saddled back up and hit the road but later in the day we were overdue for a break and I chose to pull off at another small town based on the sign stating they had a store and a bar, that town was Lost Springs, Wyoming. It turns out Lost Springs is the smallest incorporated town in the USA with a population of 3. We had a long chat with the local storekeper who mentioned him and his brother run the store and then Leta runs the bar which she only opens for special occasions and hunting season. We left the store which was pretty rough inside and noticed the town had a beautiful park right next to the store with public restrooms so we decided to use them before hitting the highway. This is where the story gets a bit strange, posted in the restrooms was the storekeepers brothers Sex offender registry notice. We left town at that point before it started to remind me of an episode of Criminal Minds. Here's a shot outside the store. Our day ended at the Sunburst Lodge bed & Breakfast on Casper Mountain, it was our first experience at a B&B and all I can say is wow! It was an unreal place with incredible scenery. Our room Today we left Casper and headed for Red Lodge Montana. Around Meeteetse, WY the sky started to turn ugly. We had to decide whether to park and wait or run for it and try to cover our last 100 miles. Like the Priest in Caddyshack I decided the "really" bad stuff wasn't coming for a while and we made a run for it. That lead to us getting blasted with rain pretty much the entire way from Cody to Red Lodge. Tomorrow we see a bunch of Yellowstone and head our way back South to Jackson, WY. __________________ Doug Engstrom 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour 2001 Vulcan Nomad 1500FI, (Sold at 83,000 km)
	0

07-12-2012, 01:04 AM	#29
schoeney Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NW Region Posts: 5,222	Jackson Hole is cool. Ride safe. __________________ VBA #659 2003 Nomad 1500 (Gone but never forgotten) 2005 Honda ST1300 - Sweet and still kickin 2006 Honda Goldwing - Best Boat in the Marina
	0

07-14-2012, 06:32 PM	#30
Chili Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 409	Been a bit slack with the updates but hey I'm on vacation! We really enjoyed our travels through and around Yellowstone, and Jackson was a pretty cool town to see. For me the Tetons were pretty similar to the Canadian Rockies so I was not as blown away as I expected to be from all the pre-trip hype. The reverse course back through Yellowstone to Bozeman was another really enjoyable day but we did ride through some late afternoon weather. We are currently taking a day off in Bozeman before making our final run to Canmore. Here's a few photo's from the last few days: Wasn't far up the Beartooth before we stopped for more layers. Don't know if it will show in the photo real well but as a motorcyclist you've got to like that view. East Gate Trying to ignore 800 tourists Moose Falls __________________ Doug Engstrom 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour 2001 Vulcan Nomad 1500FI, (Sold at 83,000 km)
	0