Huggy Posted August 3, 2013 Share #26 Posted August 3, 2013 XV1100SE wrote "From there we went to Maquoketa State Park and walked thru the caves. Didn't see any bats but was nice and cool. Thermometer on the bike showed 90F." You didn't see any BATS because my mother in law wasn't there!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share #27 Posted August 4, 2013 (edited) In Ogallala Nebraska tonight. Pitched the tent, started the fire.... and a lightning storm came thru the area. Managed to do our dinner over the fire in time and pack into the tent before the rain started. The camp hosts said it was supposed to be a heavy storm. Bike is parked on gravel. I put a kick stand plate under neath it and to be safe put a couple logs of wood under where I would expect the bike to touch down if the sand gives way from rain or being soft. I don't have a swivel hitch so I disconnected the trailer from the bike and chained the trailer to the picnic table. Over the past couple of days we've seen a 1st Gen and a couple 2nd Gens... but no response when I called out on the cb on channel 29. 520km today Edited August 5, 2013 by XV1100SE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share #28 Posted August 5, 2013 In Scottsbluff Nebraska tonight. Started the day in light fog and 68F temperatures. Fog lifted by 10am and by 2pm the temperature had risen to 120F on the thermometer (weather web site said it was 98F but in the sun... was 120F). This is an interesting trip in seeing different areas of the States. Nebraska started relatively flat with miles and miles of corn and today we are seeing things like Chimney Rock, Jailhouse Rock, and canyons. Met Phoneman1981 (Mark) and his wife Lee and grandson Brenden. Want to thank them for their hospitality and meeting us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoneman1981 Posted August 5, 2013 Share #29 Posted August 5, 2013 It was our pleasure!!! So glad you spent some time in our area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share #30 Posted August 6, 2013 Rode from Scotts Bluff Nebraska to Hot Springs South Dakota today - about 263km (164 miles). Was about 90F when we started and going North from Scotts Bluff the temperature reached 110F... but amazing scenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted August 6, 2013 Share #31 Posted August 6, 2013 Been tied up a few days with family so just got caught up with your posts. Good work on keeping bike up. Keep posting and enjoying every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share #32 Posted August 7, 2013 Spent last night at a KOA right by Mount Rushmore. Yesterday we saw the Mamoth exhibit at Hot Springs (recommend it), the Wind Caves (recommend it), rode thru Black Hills, Custer Park (saw Bison), then did the twisty ride up to Mount Rushmore. Rode thru the town of Custer with bikes lining both sides of the street and down the middle of the road. I've never ridden the Dragon but I've never been on a road with so many turns and 180's. For anyone wanting a fun ride, do this road ! Today, Badlands. Not sure what else yet. And a recommendation... have spare batteries for your cameras or a way to charge them off your bike as you ride. By the time we got to Mt. Rushmore, both our cameras batteries were dead. Used our Blackberry's to take pictures of Mt. Rushmore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradT Posted August 8, 2013 Share #33 Posted August 8, 2013 Deadwood you have to go to the cemetary. What a steep hill sheesh and there is a flat spot at the top HAHA. Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are up there. Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoneman1981 Posted August 8, 2013 Share #34 Posted August 8, 2013 Glad you are making the rounds. We are still planning on leaving for the black hills in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share #35 Posted August 9, 2013 We camped at Badlands park last night. Woke up at sunrise and took pictures of the sunrise and shadows on the hills. What a way to start the day. We finished off the loop of the Badlands this morning then headed for Sturgis. If anyone hasn't been to Sturgis before, you should add it to your list. Just the sheer number of bikes and people is something to see. We arrived around 2pm and kept at a steady but slow pace (too many stop signs). As mentioned before, Sturgis was not our destination but a pass-thru point... and that is what we did. At least we can say we've "been" there (and yes, stopping and walking around would really be "being" there... but driving thru was enough for us). Tonight we are camped about 28 miles from Devils Tower. Recommend Mountain View RV Park and Campground in Sundance Wy. Friendly people, clean bathrooms, well stocked and inexpensive store... has laundry and pool table. Paid $35 for a site with power (recharge the camera batteries again) and water. Tomorrow... Devils Tower and ..... Nancy wants to see the wild horses in Cody and the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park are on our must see list. Starting to count down the days until when we have to be in Saskatchewan and still have Wyoming and Montana to see. BC might get cut from our route as we plan out route and days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share #36 Posted August 10, 2013 In Gillette Wyoming tonight. In a hotel tonight. As we came into town it started to rain heavy and rather than go another hour in the rain to a (possibly wet) camp ground we checked in around 5pm. Saw Devil's Tower today. Headed to Cody then Yellowstone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradT Posted August 10, 2013 Share #37 Posted August 10, 2013 (edited) Headed to Cody then Yellowstone. Nice, the ride is about to get real nice, enjoy.. Brad Edited August 11, 2013 by BradT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmiller Posted August 10, 2013 Share #38 Posted August 10, 2013 Great Ride! I like the updates and recommendations, keep them coming!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted August 11, 2013 Share #39 Posted August 11, 2013 Great Ride! I like the updates and recommendations' date=' keep them coming!![/quote'] ---- ditto from me. Will you be riding through Glacier National Park. We really enjoyed staying there at the Dancing Bears hotel and riding the Road to the Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share #40 Posted August 11, 2013 We stayed in Cody last night and will stay another night here today. Nancy wants to see the wild horses so we booked the tour for 5:30pm tonight. Going to "do the town" today. Suprising with so much time off how quickly it goes. From here we are going to have time to do Yellowstone, Beartooth, then straight from there to Saskatchewan. Won't have time for BC or Alberta. That will be another trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share #41 Posted August 14, 2013 Sunday we saw the wild horses outside of Cody. Was pretty neat. Walked around downtown Cody checking out the shops. Monday we rode to Yellowstone, entering the East Gate. After seeing the "Old Reliable" we went to get a camp site in the park but by 4pm all sites were full. Ended up going to West Yellowstone. Hotels were all full but found a nice camp site in town at "Rustic Wagon". Nice clean bathrooms, $37 for the night considering when some hotels wanted over $200 for a night. Today (Tuesday) we went back thru Yellowstone and saw the Mammoth field. We didn't see any bison until just before the North East exit from the park. Stopped in Silver Gate and with skies threatening, we decided to do the Bear Tooth anyway. Considering the Bear Tooth is something like 35 miles, I'd have to say it was one of the best and one of the worst rides I've ever had. Told Nancy that she wouldn't need her thermal and just chaps and rain liner in the jacket would be fine. That cost me having to get a $!65 hotel room so she could warm up. We started the Bear Tooth with 80F temps but by the time we got to 10,966' elevation... the temperature was 30F, rain/ice pellets. There is also construction on part of the road which meant riding for 1 mile in gravel/mud. More in the blog. If you do the Bear Tooth and looking for a really good restaurant, try China Garden in Red Lodge. Family run chinese food restaurant and really good food/prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share #42 Posted August 15, 2013 In Malta, Montana tonight. Will make it to Jackfish Lodge in Saskatchewan tomorrow. Rode between a couple storms. Neat to look left and right and see rain falling, clouds overhead, but clear skies ahead of you. :-) With the 461km we did today, we are over 6,000km on this trip (3,728 miles) so far. ALMOST ran out of gas today. Did the run between Roundup and Malta (265.3km - 165miles) and by the time we got to Malta I was on fumes. Ran 53.3km/33miles on the fuel counter. Had no bars showing on the gas gauge for several miles. Put in 5.2 US gallons - 32 miles/gallon. Keep in mind that this is 2 up puling a fully loaded trailer. For the last 50 miles I was being careful of which gear I was running in and not lugging the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted August 15, 2013 Share #43 Posted August 15, 2013 Sure know that "will I make it to the next gas stop" feeling. Glad for Nancy that you did. We carried a gallon gas can in our trailer on our Venture West. Thought for sure that I would have to use it a few times but never did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share #44 Posted August 17, 2013 Made it to Battlefords Provincial Park last night and have been spending time with my Cousin's. Should be back on the road on Sunday headed to Friesman's (Regina) and then to Tomephil (Winnipeg) after that. BTW... ran into Croissantwich (Marlon) at a gas station in Montana the other day. We were headed North, he was headed South. Enjoyed our conversation ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoneman1981 Posted August 17, 2013 Share #45 Posted August 17, 2013 Thanks for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted August 17, 2013 Share #46 Posted August 17, 2013 Gee I was running thru Battlefords area yesterday around 2pm really low on fuel, I got 54kms AFTER switching to reserve... but I made it into North bAttleford to fill. We could have had a coffee! Made it to Battlefords Provincial Park last night and have been spending time with my Cousin's. Should be back on the road on Sunday headed to Friesman's (Regina) and then to Tomephil (Winnipeg) after that. BTW... ran into Croissantwich (Marlon) at a gas station in Montana the other day. We were headed North, he was headed South. Enjoyed our conversation ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share #47 Posted August 21, 2013 In Thief River Falls WI last night. Going to stop in Duluth for a front tire. Down to the wear marks and with 1100 miles to go... not going to take the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomephil Posted August 21, 2013 Share #48 Posted August 21, 2013 In Thief River Falls WI last night. Going to stop in Duluth for a front tire. Down to the wear marks and with 1100 miles to go... not going to take the chance. Good call Don, Hope it goes well. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share #49 Posted August 22, 2013 I sent the Yamaha dealer in Duluth an email last night specifying the E3 tire and indicating that I'd be by early afternoon. I requested that they change the tire as soon as possible. No response from the dealer so I called them. Asked for Service dept... and after ringing several times with no answer it went to voice mail. So...checking the tire again... the rubber is still "just" above the wear marks. I'll change the tire when I get home. As long as I don't run into heavy rain it will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomephil Posted August 22, 2013 Share #50 Posted August 22, 2013 Thats too bad but like you say it is just above the wear marks. Stay dry. And have a great trip home. It was great having you guys visit. BBQ next time for sure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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