Last June I nervously agreed to do a large motorcycle trip with my husband's family. This trip ended up being a whole lot of fun, especially since my husband's mom tagged along in her truck. So technically I cheated on this trip, when the going (weather) got tough, I got in the truck. We started out in Utah. Shane had a work thing so we didn't get on the road til lunchtime. Destination Casper, Wyoming that first night. This was where we would rendezvous with everyone else. Here I was on my own without the truck, but I was sporting my new 3 layer motorcycle coat that I was very excited to try out. In order to get there in a timely manner we didn't plan out a long picturesque drive through Utah. we went the Evanston I80 way to get there quicker. Wyoming has lots of land. Rolling hills, grazing cattle, and wind. Lots and lots of wind. As the temperatures dropped that wind gets very piercing and cold and I needed 3 more layers to my 3 layer coat. Needless to say after many hours we made it to Casper, and I was tired of being cold and tossed and buffeted by the wind for so long. The next day we regrouped. As we were heading along we decided to add on to our journey and make a quick jump up through the Black Hills of South Dakota which was a beautiful ride. The Black Hills are full of blue lakes and lots of pines and quaint towns. It was quite inspiring. We went all the way up to Mount Rushmore and spent 15 minutes there. Yes, 15 minutes was all we had time for, but somehow it was enough to see the monument and check out the museum.
We headed back down to Red Lodge, Montana which is at the base of Beartooth pass. The beartooth highway traces a series of steep zigzags and
switchbacks, along the
Montana-
Wyoming border. The approximate elevation rise is from 5,200 ft to 8000 ft in the most beautiful landscapes. At the top there is still plenty of snow and a rock formation off in the mountain range can be seen that resembles a bear tooth jutting up out of the mountain. We followed this route down through to Cody, Wyoming where we stayed the night. Cody has a rather large museum that has loads of history about the west, indians, climate, and geography. Luckily my husband's mom was there to walk around it with me since the guys never left the wing on guns.
We headed out back towards Montana. Along the way we passed Devils Tower. In Montana about an hour away from Billings is the Little Bighorn Battlefield national monument where we visited the site of Custer"s Last Stand. We spent several hours there walking the monument and hill and learning about this time in history.
How could we be in this area and not drive through Yellowstone? Yellowstone is always fun and beautiful. I love the animals best. The buffalo and the big horned sheep. The temperature dropped in the 30s and we hit hail and snow, even in June. I was so glad for the truck. On the way towards home we stopped at Jackson Hole, WY. for lunch, then wound through Star Valley and into Idaho to complete our circuit back home.
