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2 Weeks
4091 km / 2557 miles
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In mid of June 2011 Jayne
and I rode our motorcycles from Portland, Oregon
east through southern Washington to Idaho.
There we rode once again over Lolo Pass into Montana.
Then we rode south along the Rocky Mountains with a
stop in the he western cities Nevada City and
Virginia City. Further on to the main goal of
the trip in Wyoming to the Yellowstone
National Park, which we visited for three days.
Three days are of course not enough to see the entire
huge park, but it is enough to see the main
attractions along the 8-shaped road, and not just by
driving by. The Geysir Old Faithful and the
surrounding area is very touristy, but it is
absolutely worth seeing. Further on we rode south
through the Grand Teton National Park and then
west again through Idaho. We visited the Craters
of the Moon National Monument before we came to
Oregon again. Since the Burning
Moto
Man (a meeting for motorcycle travelers) in
southern Oregon was coming up we stopped there for the
weekend before we then finally headed home.
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| General
Information
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The best time to travel to the
Yellowstone National Park is July through
September, but then campsites and hotels have to be
reserved well in advance. In June one still has to
expect snow (as we had it) and in October the snow is
already back. The whole Yellowstone area is on a
elevation of 2000-2500m (6500-8200 feet)!
The road surface is good and potholes are
seldom.
In terms of safety I can only say that as in
every tourist area theft from tents and vehicles
happen, and also pick pockets are not seldom. Another
important point while camping is to follow the rules
regarding bears and other wild animals. If one follows
the park rules attacks are rather unlikely.
The traffic rules here are a little
different. Buffalo/Bison have the right of way, and
they are often on the roads. One also has to expect
traffic jams, because everybody just parks on the road
if there are Buffalos nearby, or even bears.
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| In Montana we saw some 'real' Cowboys
on horses. Yes, there are still a few, but they
are seldom. Modern Cowboys usually use dirt
bikes or helicopters. |
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| The landscape in western Montana
is absolutely gorgeous, even though the roads
don't have too many turns. |
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| The western towns of Nevada
City and Virginia City are very
interesting, especially Nevada City. We will
certainly come back, then with more time to
explore the town (entrance fee charged). |
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| We love the wide open landscapes
of Montana. |
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| After 4 days we reached the Yellowstone
National
Park and after only a few minutes in the
park we saw first herd of buffalos/bison. |
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