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Took a little ride this summer.

16K views 57 replies 24 participants last post by  twowheeladdict 
#1 ·
over 7000 miles. 15 states. 4 weeks total. 300 Gbs of memories.

NM, CO, WY, SD, MT, ID, NV, UT, AZ, TX, OK, AR, MS, AL, TN

The versys handled the trip great!

Ready to ride!


No, they don't do nuclear powercell conversions.


Colorado fires put a damper on some of our proposed routes.


The ranger assured us that the smoke was blowing the other way so we set up our tents in Mesa Verde only to wake up with soot on our gear.


Mesa Verde was definitely worth a stop on our tour.


Then we ran down the road to 4 corners.


That was a hot ride so we had to run as fast as possible.


Leaving 4 corners we knew we needed to get up in elevation. On the road to Ouray, CO we got our first look at summer snow.


Ouray is a quaint tourist town on the million dollar highway. Nice and cool and great views. The hotel had a hot tub as well.


That's just the first two days. More to come...
 
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#3 ·
:thumb::thumb:
 
#9 · (Edited)
Day 3:

From Ouray, we headed north and up Grand Mesa. Saw a lot of sport style bikes on the roads up and down Grand Mesa. Turns out there was some gathering happening.


The road rose to over 10,000 feet in elevation. I was amazing to go from warm to cold and back to warm in a short period of time. Great view from the top.


The north side of Grand Mesa turned more desert like and we even saw a huge dirt devil cross the roadway. Would not have wanted to ride through that!




Wyoming was also plagued with fire. That is smoke in the air.


When we stopped for fuel in Casper, WY I asked a lady what people do around here to earn a living and she said oil and work that supports oil. I guess this gives you an idea how long ago they found oil.


Photobucket working like crap. More later...
 
#12 ·
Coming into Gillette, WY my buddy got pulled over by a female trooper. I think she liked what she saw. I told him I was taking a detour and would meet up with him later so I rode down this road at 65 MPH before I thought it prudent to slow down a little.


I saw this guy pulling this strange looking contraption in July when I had stopped for fuel in Gillete. Thought maybe he knew something I didn't. LOL.


Saw this guy when I was heading from Gillete to the Devils Tower. We stared at each other for a few moments trying to figure the other one out.


First sighting of the Devils Tower. Need to see if Netflix has "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".


Our campsite was awesome! We went in on a National Park Pass. $80. They allow two individuals to sign the pass and as long as you pass through the gate at the same time all is good. Definitely saved us money on this trip.


 
#14 ·
I hope your memories of Los Alamos were pleasant. If you went up state road 4 while they were chip sealing, then perhaps they were not.
 
#16 ·
We camped at Horsethief Campground while in the Blackhills. Spent our evenings sitting on the porch of the camp store charging our electronics.


Definitely had to go see Mount Rushmore.




And we did ride up to Deadwood and Sturgis. Not much to see when the rally isn't going on.





The pinacles hwy is a must ride. Be prepared for slow moving cages though. The views are worth it.


From the Blackhills we headed west across northern WY. We were going to go directly into Montana before heading west but the road was closed due to fires.
 
#17 ·
The KOA in Sheridan, WY had camping shelters with electricity so we were able to charge our electronics. They also have a pool and hot tub which was especially nice after a day of riding.


Even had some curious bunnies around the campsite.


This guy was riding a trike, pulling a camper. He had to come and check out our crotch rockets and regaled us with stories of years of motorcycling.


Sheridan is at the base of Big Horn Mountain. Hwy 14 over the mountain is an awesome ride and our first close encounter with snow.



Proof that a ZZR can handle a dirt road. Great scenery as well.




 
#21 ·
I took a very similar trip (solo) last summer on my '09 V. Overall, I was quite impressed with the bike's performance. My only complaint was getting knocked around by high winds...especially when going across SD.
 
#22 ·
Back on top of Big Horn Mountain we decided to linger in the coolness of the alpine meadows. If it weren't for the pesky insects I could have taken a nap up there.







Snow in the middle of summer certainly is not something I have ever seen before.






A pic to show the elevation we were at on Big Horn
 
#23 ·
Can you imagine coming around a curve and seeing this sight? Didn't quite know what to do.


I motioned for the Cowboy to come over and he said just ride on through because the cows were lazy. LOL!


From Sheridan, WY we headed up to Red Lodge, MT. The GPS tried to take us on a loose gravel road. A nearby farmer told us a better way to get there.

Setting up camp at the Red Lodge KOA.


Got an awesome Buffalo Burger and Raspberry Shake at the Caboose.


First view of Beartooth pass.


It is an amazing ride from Red Lodge, MT into Yellowstone via Beartooth Pass. You climb from just over 5000 feet up to almost 11,000 feet with some great scenary.










Back in Red Lodge. Nice little tourist town.


Map of Beartooth Pass.
 
#27 ·
Thanks for sharing

Enjoyed reading and the pictures too! Thanks again for sharing!:thanx:
 
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