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OUR TRIP TO YELLOWSTONE
A view from the other half


We started out about 2:30 p..m from home. We were a bit late in starting because I was running behind on getting packed for both of us, getting all the household chores done, washing and waxing the motorcycle and getting the 11 yo. Packed and out the door to his friends house to spend the 4 day weekend. So, having accomplished that, we were ready to set off on our 1,250ish mile round trip. The weather was beautiful, sunny, 90 degrees and had been for weeks so we figured we'd have a good trip weather wise and should make good time traveling. Off we went.

The first thing we had to do was stop in at the wally World in Airway Heights to get some garbage bags to cover the camping gear if it should start to rain and get a few last minute things like batteries for the movie camera and the regular camera. We got our things and figured we don't have to stop again until dinner time and then we would find a fast food place along the way, get a burger, eat fast and move on, wanting to make as many miles as possible the first night. We had planned on going to an out door concert that had a bunch of big name bands from the 90's, listen to them then go on to Yellowstone. One of the bands that was playing was Collective Soul, one of my favorites, and I was looking forward to seeing them live. We left on Thursday afternoon and the concert was to be fairly close to Yellowstone on Saturday night so we were going to cruise over, listen, cruise back to our camp site and hit the road again Sunday morning. Pretty good plan huh? But you know the old saying “...The best laid plans of mice and men...”

So there we were on the road and cruising right along between 70 and 80 mph, making good time and enjoying all the sights along the way. When we got to Idaho we started to run into some road construction, one lane closed type of stuff, but was not too bad just a bit slow through there. They all had slow to 45 mph signs so traffic was a bit backed up. Near an exit into Idaho Falls there was a long line of traffic on the freeway and we had to stop and wait for over half an hour before traffic resumed. That put a bit of a crimp in our travel time but we still were ahead of schedule so no problem. We stopped for a burger along the way somewhere in Idaho and then got back on the road. By then it was 7:00ish and we stopped about 8:30 pm at a rest area with camping facilities. Roger asked if I was ready to set up camp for the evening and I said I was good for a few more miles so we went on. As it started to get dark we hit a terrific monsoon. No, not a rainstorm, a monsoon. We were in the howling wind, huge, fat raindrops were striking our faces, hard, stinging and slapping against our cheeks, foreheads and noses. Stung like a son-of -a-gun and soaked our leathers, shoes and skin. We were soggy, chilled to the bone, shivering and miserable and we couldn't find anyplace to camp. Finally Roger pulled over to the side of the road near total darkness to check our load and we saw a huge deer standing by a gravel pit. I said “it can't be real can it? It's just standing there looking at us, must be a statue.” Then a few minutes the beautiful statue moved it's head and bounced off into the woods. The rain had slowed to a drizzle by then and feeling refreshed from our pit stop we traveled on in search of a camp site.

About 20 miles down the road we were in total darkness so black we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the bike and Roger said we'd have to stop at the next store and buy him some yellow glasses so he could see to drive. His goggles are dark and mirrored which are not so good for night riding. We found a store, kind of a truck stop style place at a hole in the wall town called French Town. After buying Roger some yellow glasses, some WAY too expensive glasses, we hit the road and continued to ride. We spotted a campground sign and turned into the road. After what seemed like 10 miles of riding we finally found the camp ground but it was closed for the night because it was around 10:00 pm by then. We rode on and around 11:30 Roger spotted a truck pullout on the side of the freeway, one of those stops where there are no amenities except a small bit of grass and an outhouse. We decided since it was late, we were cold, wet, numb and shivering we would set up camp there. We saw no signs forbidding camping and Roger found a nice dry cement platform that looked like it used to be a gazebo to pitch our tent so we did. We took turns blowing up the air mattress because we didn't have an inflation pump. Roger did most of the blowing and after a lot of huffing and puffing (the big bad wolf would have been proud) finally we got the mattress blown up. It was so cold we could see our breath so we snuggled down on the nice, comfy air mattress with our sleeping bag over us and went instantly to sleep. Ahhh. But, of course it was too good to last.

Sometime in the night the air mattress leaked out all the air and we found ourselves on the nice, soft cement slab with the cold seeping up from the ground into our bones and freezing us all over again. We were still damp from the monsoon and now right back to shivering. Roger got up and re-blew the mattress sometime just before dawn, after we both tossed and turned all night, so we got some much needed sleep. I'm guessing altogether about 3 hours of decent sleep and woke up feeling like we just got run over by a semi. After breaking camp I threw away the useless air mattress and as we were re-packing the bike a nice lady trucker asked if I would like a cup of coffee. I said “desperately!” so she brought me a fresh brewed cup of wonderfully flavorful coffee which I sucked down like it was the last one on earth and we were on our way. When we were almost to the top of the Great Divide we saw a horrible wreck where a motorcycle had gone into a high speed wobble and crashed into the guard rail. All we saw left of the bike was a twisted, mangled hunk of metal. The ambulance was not moving and the police were talking to some other riders so we figured the rider did not survive. Later we found out it was a Bandito who had died in the crash. We stopped a few miles down the road at a rest area and the Banditos there were visiting with Roger as I used the ladies room and told Roger it was one of their brothers. That was sad and I said a little prayer for him. We traveled on down the road and came to a really awe-inspiring lake.

On the right side of the road we saw a lake that had a bunch of trees sticking up out of the water like ghosts. They had been there for a long time according to appearance and looked like a spooky forest forgotten in time and slowly decaying in the water. I thought of a dam let go to flood a town and forest but the name of the lake was earthquake lake so I told Roger “There must have been an earthquake that made the river dam up and flood this forest.” Well as it turned out that is exactly what happened. We read a roadside plaque that said in 1959, August 18, a huge earthquake shook the whole area and resulted in a large landslide that plugged up the river creating a lake by flooding the forest and several campgrounds and destroying roads and homes alongside the lake and river. It was such a huge happening that there is a visitors center and a history line in photographs overlooking the new lake. Such a tragedy! Very sad and heart wrenching to read about all the loss of lives and homes.

Roger took me to the old Montana Territorial Prison along the way. It looks like a big castle with guard towers on the corners and a tall stone wall around the complex. There were buildings over 100 years old and filled with history and tragedy. We saw the last remaining gallows in the state that was actually used to hang prisoners and there was a hole blown in one wall from a bazooka used against rioting prisoners. The buildings were fascinating and we were told that the Ghost Hunters had found them haunted and had done a show there. Roger and I dimly remembered seeing that show so it was cool to see where it was filmed. We went to the old car museum in the next door building and saw old cars that ranged from the 1800's to the 1970's. They were all so interesting and unusual. That was well worth seeing.

We arrived in West Yellowstone in the afternoon the next day, Thursday, and got a weekend pass to the park and it was good for two other parks also, Glacier park and another park I forget the name of. We found out that there were no camp sites left for tent camping so we decided to go 1 ½ miles from town and camp at the Bakers Hole Campground. We went in to register and secure a campsite and were told there were no sites left. Our sad faces must have made the campground hosts feel sorry for us because they offered us a spot that was reserved for their co-hosts. They said they do not use the hookups but we could camp there and use the water. We were delighted to have a campsite so close to Yellowstone park so we took it. We told the hosts that we needed only a small part of the campsite and would share with some other bikers tenting it if they have someone ask. The first night we had two old, grizzly bikers show up and we shared our campsite with them. One old guy was 70 years old and his partner was in his mid 60's. They were brothers in law riding back to Colville, Washington from Sturgis, South Dakota. The 70 yo. thought it might be his last time to ride the round trip because he thought he might be getting too old to ride that far. I felt like a punk because I had sore knees and a sore butt and those old guys had ridden much further than we had. We visited with the guys, shared our hotdogs roasted over the campfire and shared our wine. The old guys had some really good stories from their long riding life and we enjoyed their company very much. We had bought two cheap ($1.99) air mattresses in town and planned to sleep on them for the next two nights. Mine went flat and I woke up on the cold, hard ground in the night shivering. I tried to cuddle as close to Roger as I could get and absorb some of his warm and struggled through the rest of the night. Now I had 2 nights of next to no sleep under my belt and my body felt like I had been run over with a steam roller. The old guys left early Friday Morning and we got ready to roll to Yellowstone Park battered and bruised but willing to have more adventure.

Our trip through the park was starting, how exciting! Roger asked me what I wanted to see and I said “buffalo,grizzlies, Old Faithful and whatever wildlife we see.” So we set out. About 5 miles into the park we came to a long line of cars that was backed up as far ahead as we could see. Seemed like miles of cars ahead and we were in the middle of it and could see nothing ahead or behind but cars. Of course we thought there must have been an accident ahead. We sat there waiting for about an hour, seemed like all day, and finally the line started to move. When we got up the road a bit there was a buffalo standing by the roadside, rubbing his enormous head against a tree trunk, totally oblivious to the commotion he had caused. He was so cute I just wanted to pet his head and cuddle his shaggy neck. A little further down the road we saw another buffalo standing by the roadside eating some yummy grass and weeds, again unaware of all the people with their cameras and gawking faces. Roger took a picture of him and we continued. We saw pools of hot water in many pretty colors, spurts of steam coming out of the ground, boiling mud looking like pudding in a pot, geysers and then finally the big one, Old Faithful. We had a cup of coffee in the old lodge and I was thrilled with the building. It is huge inside and there are four floors of balconies overlooking the gargantuan, polished wood floors. An enormous four story fireplace made of native stone stands in the middle of the main hall and is burning on two sides spreading a soft glow over the gigantic hand hewn logs making up the building. Old fashioned nails and chinking hold it all together. The lodge is like stepping into the past and so soothing to the soul I could have spent all day there. As we went up to the second floor and sat in the antique, leather chairs to enjoy the view of the lobby, fireplace, and other floors a chamber orchestra began playing beautiful, soul lifting music. They played some classical, baroque, and a modern piece patterned after classical, the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean. I closed my eyes, rested my head against the chair back and pictured ladies in long, flowing gowns and gentlemen in bow-ties and long tails gliding effortlessly across the polished floor of the lobby. It was wonderful, even spiritual.

We headed out to see a lake called Fire Pot Lake and enjoy the view from there and the incredible majesty of the scenery along the way. About 15 minutes from the lodge we started to see a few raindrops. Since all there were in the sky were large, low lying, very dark clouds we decided to make a run for our camp before the storm broke and hole up in our tent the rest of the afternoon. Well, we didn't quite make it. The cloudburst hit us with a vengeance. Within a few minutes we were soaked to the bone, freezing cold, rain smacking us in the face stinging like hailstones and no end in sight. When you get so wet and cold you can't feel your face and can't tell if there are rivulets of rain or streams of snot flowing down your face. The goggles steam up and you can barely see a few feet ahead of you but you have to keep going because you desperately want to get to a place that's dry. We trooped on until we reached our camp site. That little tent looked like a mansion to me! We went in, napped for awhile, ate baloney and cheese sandwiches for dinner and by then the rain had eased up so we got firewood from the camp ground hosts and built a fire. The fire had a hard time starting because the paper was damp and the wood was wet and the ground was wet in the fire pit but through being stubborn Roger coaxed a decent fire out of it and we drank the rest of the wine we shared with the old guys the night before. Our leathers were soggy and heavy from the soaking we got and there was no room in our pup tent to lay them out to dry so we spread them out the best we could and went to bed. Oh boy! For me the third night of sleeping on the cold, hard ground, wet and shivering. Gotta love it.

Ah, yes, morning at last. By now I had been wet and cold for days, very little sleep, not nearly enough coffee and no shower since Wednesday and it was Saturday. I told Roger I was not going anyplace til I got a shower. He took me into town to the laundry mat where there were showers but after finding out they were 18 quarters per shot I told the attendant I was too cheap to pay that much and we went back to camp, packed up and headed out for home planning to stop along the way for some sight seeing. As we were packing up camp Roger said “Your mattress really was flat!” I had told him the first night we used them but I guess he didn't believe me. Sigh. Oh well, happy to be on the road again we stopped at a little town called Virginia City Montana. It's an old ghost town turned tourist trap but the ancient, rickety buildings and all the antiques are intriguing and it was nice to see how people lived and did things in everyday life over a century ago. There's an old fashioned train running to the next little tourist trap town and back that Roger wanted us to ride but the schedule was wrong for our time line so we skipped it. Just outside of town a few miles there were rows and rows of gravel and dirt piled in heaps with valleys between them. This spectacle went on for miles and we wondered what the heck it was. After awhile we saw a sign that read “Garnet Mining” and then we figured it out. They were mining for garnets. Kinda cool seeing that. We saw an upside down car engulfed in flames burning alongside the freeway. We saw no emergency vehicles yet and I wondered if anyone lived.

We stopped several times along the way home for stretch breaks and talked to some nice people. The more miles we got behind us the more we wanted to go. We had planned to stop and camp along the way but since we hadn't run into any rain that day we just wanted to run for home. At one of the stops I realized I could not stand on my right knee. It had blown out from the ride and I fell down trying to get off the motorcycle Friday afternoon but I didn't realize how badly I had injured it. As soon as I could we traveled on. The next stop my knee was even worse and the pain from trying to stand was so intense I nearly vomited and could not stop shaking for about 5 minutes. Roger had to carry me to a bench to sit. Very embarrassing. We kept on riding, determined to make it home all the way from Yellowstone in one day. Over 600 miles. At last about 10:30 we pulled into the driveway. I tried to get off the bike, needed help from Roger, could not walk, so dragging my bad leg, half crawling, half walking I made it up the steps into the house where I sat, useless for a long time.

Wow! Warm shower. Warm meal. Soft, warm bed. I never slept so well in my life! Peace and quiet because there were no boys at home. Sleeping in as late as we want. Ahhhh...life is good. Yes, I loved the trip and would do it again. After knee surgery and with a good supply of warm winter clothes.

After asking everyone and getting just as many opinions, I bought a 2005 Harley trike. Has a Roadsmith kit, 5 speed and engine guards. Probably paid too much but felt good when I was riding it.
No reverse or electronics but not near as much as one fully decked out. Been looking for a while and really wanted a Harley even though a Goldwing seemed to be a better bike. Good day for a new, old, biker.

Well I thought I would give this blog thing a try. Maybe update you on what's happening around here,and with me.

Why the nickmane " Ducky" well quite a few years ago I once had a helmet on wrong with the visor sticking up like a duck's bill. Someone said you look like a frigging duck.The name just stuck.

Yellowstone Adventure August 2010

We found ourselves with an unexpected 4 days off in a row. Because of inventory at work Roger ended up with a Thursday/Friday off from one week followed with a Saturday/Sunday off in the next week. So with Thursday through Sunday off we decided to have an adventure. The weather forecast showed 90+ weather coming up with no chance of rain so it was on.

Roger had too much overtime so “had” to get off work at noon on Wednesday. Headed home and ready to head out early and get a little bit of a head start on our travels. Sharon wasn't quite expecting that so we had a few preparations that still needed done. Of course Roger didn't help with any of the packing or getting ready because he was being lazy and putting things off until the last minute. So Sharon finished washing the bike and packing the last minute things. Roger got a little rope and tied all our garbage to the back of the bike.




It looked pretty much like this.. except since it was 90+ degrees out we didn't bother to put a garbage bag over out stuff on the back. We arranged for Lee to stay with friends and headed out for our adventure. Our first stop.. Wal-Mart. We bought the black bag for the front of the bike to hold a few extras and some cinch sack garbage bags to cover our goodies.. just in case it happened to rain along the way. No worries about rain because the forecast showed no rain in the forecast and no clouds.. so it should be smooth sailing!

We left home some time after 2.. hit wally world and picked up the bag and the garbage bags.. just in case. Loaded them up and hit the road. Beautiful ride through Idaho and into Montana. Sharon had never been to Montana before so got to add a new state to her life history when we hit the top of the pass. It was warm sunny and dry.. the ride was perfect! We crossed the continental divide and were heading down the Eastern side when we noticed that water runs out of the freeway cracks.. that creates a slick surface to beware of around corners and even in the straight sections so we took it easy. Near the bottom of the pass we came upon an accident where a motorcycle had run off the left side of the road and struck the end of a guard rail. The ambulance was sitting on scene and police were just standing around. Not a good sign because the patient was not being transported and the accident was a major wreck. We stopped at a rest area about a hundred miles into Montana and chatted a little bit with some other bikers that were there. Apparently one of the Banditos motorcycle club had gone into a high speed wobble and struck the end of the guard rail. The other members of the club had been back to the site of the accident and it did not sound good. We took the time to stop here and put the garbage bags over our gear on the back because we had a few moments without rain.. and the top of the payload, consisting of the sleeping bag, tent, and air mattress has slipped off towards the back of our main bag. By this point in the trip Sharon was beginning to think Montana only had one river.. the Clark Fork. Because every bridge we came to crossed it.

We took a rest and headed down the road. There happened to be a state campground at the rest stop so checked with Sharon to see if she wanted to stay for the night at the campground. It was still daylight and no rain at the moment. She felt like she could push on and it was ok with me so we went for it. On the next exit we had to pull off and retie our load because all our stuff was falling off the top again. We got to see a deer wander across a gravel pit as dawn fell upon us. We got our load tied right and hit the road to find a campground. By now it was darkish and the rain had caught up to us but we pushed on. Somewhere about 120 miles into Montana we spotted a sign that there was an RV park. So we decided to call it a night and find it. We rode along a side road, confused and looking for the elusive RV park. After a couple of loops and U-turns we found it... Closed and full for the evening. So we hit the freeway in search of a place to stay. That last state campground was looking pretty good by now! We pulled of at one exit because there was a state park.. picked up some over priced yellow glasses for Roger because his dark sunglasses suck in the dark and rain. No camping available at that park so we headed back to the freeway.

We came upon a tuck parking area along the freeway and pulled over... a couple passes through it in the dark revealed the lack of any no camping signs so it was on! There was a pit toilet and a flat space to throw a tent up so we did. Stumbling through the dark we discovered there were sidewalks and flat concrete surfaces in the flat spots! So we set up the luv shack mini tent on one of the concrete flat spots. No worries because we have a great big air mattress for comfort. Set up the tent in the dark and took turns blowing up the air mattress... ahhh.. life is good because it was only sprinkling lightly and we found a FREE space for the nite!! We packed light and have the air mattress below us and one thin sleeping bag to cover us. We snuggled in for a good nite sleep and life was good. Until the air mattress leaked air. Not long after snuggling in we hit the ground and were laying on concrete. We tried to pretend it was not happening and attempted to sleep. It did not work very well. Probably around 3 or 4 in the morning Roger decided that sleep was futile reinflation was necessary. So he blew the air mattress back up to get the butts off the ground. It worked.. we got a couple hours sleep before waking up for the morning!!



It was damp but not raining in the morning when we decided to get up and hit the road. The air mattress went into the garbage can we loaded up for the next leg of the trip. A lady heading to the pit toilet offered up some coffee and Sharon could not have been happier! That is what last picture shows... life is good!!! We are a few hundred miles ahead of schedule and still ready to take on this adventure!

We hit the road, with coffee in the system and no rain on our backs. The next leg was warm and dry. Folks on the freeway were traveling fast and it was the first time we had cruised with the speedometer in triple digits.. no pictures so you nor law enforcement can not prove it. One thing we can attest to is that the bike will still get 40mpg at 100mph. We cruised to the next exit that had a mcdonalds and stopped for breakfast. Oh yea, and about 5 miles past the truck parking area was a state park we could have stayed at.. but what the heck.. we camped for free!

We got to Deer Lodge where the Mt. State prison is and an automotive museum so we hit the exit to become tourists. The State prison was on Ghost Hunters and they decided it was haunted. The tour of the prison and auto museum was only 9 dollars each for a three day pass so we headed into the prison.













So we got some fuel and hit the road again... somewhere along the line we figured we would find an air mattress and a place to stay. Pretty uneventful across MT. We were going to visit Virginia City along the way but missed the exit and exits in MT are quite a ways apart. Next exit was the exit that headed to Yellowstone. We pulled off there and got some fuel.. Rested a bit and shared a power aide. Chatted with a couple guys that were coming back from Sturgis. They said there is a free place to stay about 7 miles past the buffalo chip that is called the drag pipes.. or something like that. They were headed back and were nice folks. We drank our power aid and headed for yellowstone.

Along the route we passed by where they were setting up for a concert series Rocking the river. It appeared to be a field full of RV's with a metal bridge there for no good reason. $60 a nite for the concert but something in the back of the mind because collective soul was scheduled for Saturday night. We went about 128 miles from I-90 till we hit West Yellowstone. Cruised on into town and made the left turn towards the park. Paid the $20 bucks for a motorcycle permit. That gave us 3 days access to the park. The only camping spaces that were available in the park were over 60 miles into the park and no guarantees there would be spaces available when we arrived. So we decided to hit a state park we passed just before coming to West Yellowstone. We flipped a u-turn in the park and headed back. When we got to the campground they told us that it was full.. but.. since we required no hookups and took up a very small space they would let us stay in one of the camp hosts spots that happened to be empty. Space 74 for $16 a nite was ours.





We gladly got the spot along with a bundle of firewood for another $6 from the campground hosts. We set up the luv shack and headed into town. In search of cheap air mattresses. The folks at the grocery store, where we bought a box of wine, some hot dogs and a three pronged skewer stick said we could try the local hardware store a few blocks to the NW and score a cheap air mattress. We gathered our booty and headed for the hardware store. We found a couple of cheap air mattresses and scored them. We also found a shot glass for Sharons token memento and had our bounty for the evening.

Headed back to our base camp to get ready for the evening. As we were figuring out how to inflate the air mattresses a couple of bikes pulled into the campground and were looking for a spot. The spot they had in mind was not really a spot but we told them it was cool with us if they wanted to set up in our space and the campground hosts let them. A couple of guys coming back from Sturgis.. One was 70 and probably on his last trip to sturgis and the other had just retired and it was his first visit. The older one had been to 13 in a row and probably would never make another one again. His friend was along and it was his first visit. The older guy rode a red and black valkrye and the younger one an older honda interstate. We cooked up our hot dogs and shared them along with our box of wine. Swapped riding stories and had an enjoyable time with these folks.

Crashed for the evening and found out that two air mattresses tend to spread apart during the night. Note to self.. if using two air mattresses.. duct tape them together. Our guests left before we staggered out of bed. One thing from the night before that stuck in the memory banks was that the old coot was running a car tire on his back wheel and he saw no performance differences but got a lot more miles per tire.... will have to look into that.

So we headed for jellystone park!! There were a few clouds but it wasn't raining so we were looking forward to a nice cruise in the park.



We had a nice cruise in the park for about 6 or 7 miles.. until we hit the traffic jam. We sat there.. looking at a rock hillside with an occasional marmot running around in it.. nice little river off to our right. Traffic going nowhere. After a nice long rest break traffic started moving. By that time a lot of folks had gotten out of their cars and passengers had walked forward in the lineup. So there were a few stops while people hopped in their cars. Once we got a ways ahead we found the source of the problem. A single buffalo. But at least Sharon got to see her first buffalo. We cruised on towards Old Faithful and stopped along the way at the paint pots. Went for a little walk around the walkway and got some nice pictures of mud and water.




We came upon another buffalo and stopped to watch it and get a picture just before we got to the paint pots.



Next stop Old Faithful. We made it there and made a quite necessary pit stop.. and some coffee for Sharon. Wandered over to the geyser and it had just finished its performance. So we had about an hour and a half till the next one. Wandered over to yellowstone lodge and what a beautiful building inside. Craftsmanship was beautiful and we were treated to a performance by a high school age group chamber orchestra. They played beautifully and the acoustics were perfect for it.



We wandered out back to old faithful and staked out a bench seat. One of the rangers was answering questions and had a coyote skin.. of course Sharon had to pet it. The weather was still good.. not too hot.. not too cold and it was quite relaxing. In the distance an occasional geyser would put on a little show for us to see. Sharon was able to reach down and touch the water coming from Old Faithful and was surprised that it was only luke warm.



The geyser started slowly and built up to give us a very nice show. As we were sitting there we people chatting in many different languages. French, Russian, Spanish, German, and a few asian languages. People from all around the world were there to take in the sights of the park.



We loaded up and headed for the waterfalls on the North East side of the park and that sounded like a really nice ride... for about 10 miles until the rain started. We quickly decided to detour back to camp because it was obviously monsoon season. We got back to camp soaked to the bone. Then it dawned on us that with our little bitty pup tent.. there is no place to put our gear to dry. So we shoved it down to the foot of our bed and decided it must be nap time. We napped quite a while and finally it was drying up outside. Of course by then it was dark too. So we snuck over to the firewood pile and obtained a bundle of firewood. Although the wood was quite dry... almost nothing would burn because it was so wet. We finally got it lit up and it burned with a low heat flame. It was nice to relax and stare into the flames before bed.

The next morning we awoke to mixed clouds and blue sky. We packed up camp and Sharon was desperate for a nice warm shower so we headed into the West Yellowstone laundrymat/shower. After finding out it costs 18 quarters for a shower Sharon promptly walked out because there was no way she was going to pay that much for a shower. That is my girl.

So we left yellowstone for our trek back home.



Our destination was now Virginia City. Not too far from yellowstone and barely out of the way we were thinking we might stay there the night and make it the rest of the way home on Sunday. We rolled into Virginia City and proceeded to wander up and down the wood sidewalks taking in all the sights and antiques. After peeking in all the windows we headed down to the train depot to see about riding the train over to Nevada City. Tickets were only $8 each but when we were told the next train was full and wouldn't be able to get on till 3:30. We decided to just drive the few miles to Nevada City and head out from there. Along the way we stopped at boot hill to visit the graves of the road agents who had been hung back in the 1800's.



The view from boot hill was beautiful even though you can't tell from this angle. But we could look down on all the old buildings and the train as it moved along the narrow gauge tracks. We loaded up again and headed for Nevada City. A brief tour there of an old style saloon and the other end of the railroad. Sharon got to go through the swinging doors of a tavern.



We headed down the road and thought we would probably ride to somewhere Missoula and hit a state campground there for the night. The weather was barely co-operating and we had one section where we were hit by a few light sprinkles. We decided to push on and stay the night at Cruisers in Stateline Idaho. Free camping and only another 90 miles till we are home on Sunday. We pushed on and when we gassed up at the 50,000 silver dollar bar we decided we were going to push on all the way to home because a shower and soft bed sounded pretty good even if we had to pull a late night getting home.

We rolled into home about 10:30 or so and our adventure had ended. We put on about 1150 miles, were sunburned and soggy but we had an adventure together.

And last but not least.. my favorite picture.. after a long days ride to yellowstone and a little too much sun.