469 miles
Given I was so close to Yellowstone, I figured I had to travel through it to get to Casper. Trying to plan the route with Apple Maps was most infuriating. It kept routing me out of the park by the same way I came in. It seemed to think the west east entrance was closed. Google Maps and Sygic however seemed to think it was okay so off I went.
As I wanted to see Old Faithful, entered the park from the west side in Montana. The route from Bozeman took me in through the Tetons and past Big Sky. When I left the hotel in Bozeman at 7am, the temperature was 59F. I figured it would only warm up from there and I would not need to be too warmly dressed. Oh, how wrong I was the temperature just kept dropping. Even with the heated grips and seat I was freezing, literally. I had to stop in Big Sky to put on more gear when the temperature hit 32F. By the time I hit the entrance it was a balmy 40F.
I grabbed breakfast and coffee to warm up in West Keystone before entering the park proper – the paid part. I took a long time to get through the entrance and to see wildlife. Here’s my first view of a wild bison. We see lots here in Colorado but they are being farmed and are behind fences. Having seen news reports of bison ramming cars, I decide that I’d stay away from them on the motorcycle.
Further in, I began to see the geysers in the distance with steam rising in the clear air.
I stopped at one of hot springs to see the geysers up close. I ended up following these bikers into the park who were “packing”. The guy literally and the woman offering genuine support.
Seeing hot spots and geysers around the park was pretty amazing. They all had boiling water and gusts of steam spouting up.
This pool looked very inviting although I’m sure the temperature would peel your skin pretty quickly. There were signs all around saying stay on the boardwalk as the ground could collapse letting you fall into the hot water.
I finally made it to the location for Old Faithful. Unfortunately, I was between eruptions and the next was not going to be for another 90 minutes. Given how long it had taken me to get into the park and how far I still had to go to Casper, I decide that I would make do with a quick selfie.
The rest of the ride through the park was beautiful. The road took me along the west and north shores of Yellowstone Lake and then through an amazing canyon to the eastern exit.
This is the road down out of the park to the eastern exit. I’d say it rivals some of the best alpine roads I have ridden. Leaving the park and heading east to Cody was fantastic. I rode through some great canyons and past the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and through the Wind River Reservation. Once past Cody, and a coffee and scone stop, it was just heads down. More miles of long straight roads doing mental math(s):
- How fast I could reasonably drive?
- How far to the next town
- How long is the passing lane
- When will I arrive
I finally made to Casper but found that my hotel was on the edge of town and surrounded by chain restaurants. Beer, shower, Uber, downtown.
A quick look online told me the David Street Station was the place to head to. When I arrived there was a band playing and kids and families having fun. Around the corner, I found a nice little restaurant with an inviting bar and a good college football game on TV.
After dinner, I took a bit of a walk around the town. Guess what I found, another Rialto theater as I had the night before in Bozeman. I don’t think the purple lighting is a good as the Bozeman red.
You can tell you are in the west when the biggest store in downtown is the outfitters.
This was a big day of riding and sight seeing. I need to go back with Lisa and spend more time in Yellowstone. It deserve a slower more considered pace than I gave it.
