31st July 2016 - Sacramento CA - Kms to date 8,643

Kms today 488

We went into town before breakfast to check out the Hot Rod show.  It was pretty minimal as most of the Hot Rods in the USA were heading for Hot August Night in Reno and poor old Winnemucca got the dregs. There were some interesting cars though and the first that caught our attention was a Morris Minor pick-up truck. It was very cute.

Proud owner of a 1956 Morrie Minor Ute.

Next to it was a Valiant pick-truck from Australia and still RH drive!

1974 Valliant Ute RH Drive from Australia.

There were also a few army  jeeps with machine guns on the back and a Mustang like the one we were hiring. We headed off to one of the Casinos for brekkie and shared the dining room with a dozen members of the Hells Angels.
The drive down I-80 was uneventful but hot and we were glad we were in an aircon car not  on bikes. We were passed by a couple of heavily loaded bikes and the rear one was struggling in the wind. They had to stop up the road.
We swapped drivers in Reno and started the descent into the Sacramento Valley. We came down 5,000 ft and the Hwy wound through a mountain pass. We arrived at Joe and Thelma's place, off loaded our baggage and had a nice cup of tea. We didn't want to get to the airport too soon or we would pay for an extra day when we dropped the Mustang off.
We took the back road to the airport courtesy of Mabel, Alan's GPS. When we dropped off Sherman we told the girl that it was to be charged to Jon Dagget via the Kalispell office. Then over to Dollar Rental to pick up the Mustang. After the paperwork, the first car we tried to drive away was the wrong one! It was the same colour, white, but wrong place. We found it OK with the rear bumper a bit loose. We got that on the record and then drove back to Thelma and Joe's place.

This is our set of wheels for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

It was a big car but the boot was compromised by the compartment for the folding roof. Plenty of leg room and just enough head room for Alan. We had dinner and then packed our bags but there's no way our suitcases and the bike panniers will all fit in, so we will have to make a run to Jon Daggett's office tomorrow morning to drop them off.

30th July 2016 - Winnemucca NV - Kms to date: 8155

Kms today: 475

Because it was so hot in Twin Falls yesterday we went to see the actual falls early this morning before breakfast. The guy at the gate said that we should have come a few weeks ago when the falls were really "honking". Nevertheless we still drove down to the  car park and walked to the lookout. The falls were still pretty spectacular. They are part of the Snake river and the water from the river irrigates a vast area around Twin Falls. I guess it is similar to the Murray Darling basin.

The Twin Falls.

The Snake river.

A selfie from the lookout.

After copious photos we headed to Guppies in Twin Falls for breakfast. It was a cafe set up like a hot rod diner. It was hard to find anywhere to eat in Twin Falls at 9am on Saturday morning?? After breakfast we headed down an empty highway to Wells, Nevada.

The empty highway.

This is where we are staying for three nights when we go to Speed Week at Bonneville Salt Flats some 70kms away from the 13th August. It is on the I-80 freeway which we will be taking all the way back to Sacramento. Not a very impressive town. We had a snack in a diner along with the local Sheriff and his posse!!
It was lucky we weren't on our motorcycles as it was hot and windy on the freeway all the way to Winnemucca. As soon as we booked into our Motel 6 we understood why people looked at us strangely when we said we were staying in Winnemucca. All it consisted of was gas stations and casinos. Luckily the motel  was cheaper than anticipated so that was a bonus. By googling whats on in Winnemucca we found out that there was a Basque restaurant in town. Colin jumped in the truck and drove down the road to check it out? We both like Basque food so this might be the place for dinner. It didn't open until 4pm so we called then and made a booking. When we arrived we were told that they seat everyone at trestle tables and that you share the same  soup and salad dishes before the main course you order. We were sitting with a couple from Alabama, and a couple from Wisconsin. They were very nice but obviously republican in their politics so we did not discuss the upcoming election.

The Basque restaurant.

Our table!!

After a while a couple of geologists joined the table and they were a lot more fun. One was a local farmer and the other was english. They had discovered a gold lode in the area and were trying to find investors to buy it off them. They were a real hoot and we had a good laugh with them. They had been to Australia. The food came and went but it was not very Basque and pretty ordinary. Basque sheep farmers came to the area some 100 years ago and there used to be a thriving community but it is shrinking now.

Photos on the wall of Basque restaurant.

29th July 2013 - Twin Falls ID - Kms to date 7,685

Kms today 435

We left the mighty metropolis of Island Park and headed to Ashton for brekkie. It was another ghost town but we eventually found a café that served expresso, but little else.  We had some zucchini bread instead and it was very nice. We then drove south to Idaho Falls and found a Hertz office to register Alan as a driver.
Then it was straight west to the Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is in a region which split open and exuded lava only 2000 years ago so the landscape was very young. We did a drive through the park and climbed a big Fumarole to get the best view of the park. It was a steep climb up the side crunching over sintered rock to find one tree growing on top.

Alan struggling up the hill for the view over Craters of the Moon.

The ground around was covered in very rough lava that looked like it had just spewed out of the volcano.

This is a sample of the pumice that covered the ground.

A ranger showed us the types of rock found in the park but we couldn't explore the lava tubes because we wore the same shoes at Tulelake and could carry the fungus that affects bats in the caves.

The top of one tree hill.

This is the edge of one of the lava flows.

We drove on south through the semi desert with some irrigated fields of corn to Carey for lunch. We found a diner that served “Aussie burgers”! The ladies were very nice and we had a good feed. Then on through more and more irrigated farms to Twin Falls. By the time we got there it was over 40C. I drove to the library to use their computers to pay a couple of bills and send an email to Morag. It was a huge library for a relatively small town.
We had dinner next door and discovered they had draught Guinness!!! We decided it was too hot to visit the Twin Falls tonight and would go tomorrow morning.

28th July 2016 - Yellowstone - Island Park ID - Kms to date: 7,250

Kms today: 85


We had an 8am start from Grant Village. It was our last night in Yellowstone and we would be leaving for Island Park ID just outside the park after today's activities.
We headed to a trail head near Canyon Village where we started a five mile hike through grasslands looking for wildlife etc. We found an old bull Bison which we gave wide berth to and carried on to a string of sulphur pools emanating from the fissures in the rocks.

At one pool called Clear Lake we tested the Ph and found it very acidic. Unsurprisingly there were no plants growing on/in it. There were however half a dozen ducks paddling about in the middle of the lake. They were either mutations of real ducks or their feet had dissolved in the acid and they couldn’t swim.

Peering into the acid lake.

This Bison is not to be messed with.

At the end of the trail we arrived at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was a truly amazing sight with the Yellowstone river roaring along at the bottom of this deep gorge. We walked along the rim of the canyon admiring the views taking many photos. We came upon the lower falls with a drop of 100m and many good vantage points from which to take photos. At the end of this trail there was a public car park and a viewing platform over the lower falls. The place was chockers with buses disgorging lots of tourists trying to get a selfie with the falls!!! We soon left this chaos and headed along another trail towards the upper falls.

Our intrepid hikers taking a well earned rest.

There were spectacular views of these falls on the way.

The lower falls.

At the end of the trail we crossed a bridge and were able to view these falls from a platform just above them.

The upper falls.

This was the last act of our Yellowstone Trails tour so we headed back to Canyon Village to pick up our car and head for Island Park where we were staying that night. We said our good byes to the rest of the tour group some of which were heading back to Mammoth Springs for the night. They were a good group from all over the USA. A family of four from Colombus Missouri (mum, dad and two teenage sons), a couple from Philadelphia, a couple from Charleston North Carolina and a couple from Houston Texas.


Our hiking party.

We headed for the west entrance of Yellowstone and managed to get caught up in a Bison queue (people pulling up to view Bison along the road). Luckily the park rangers were on hand to move them on and get us moving. We arrived at Island Park around 6pm. This town is not really a town but a series of communities that got together and formed a “city”. The main street was about 20 miles long and consisted mostly of farm land!! We had to call the accommodation a number of times to try and determine where exactly they were located. Eventually we found the place behind a derelict building. There was no one on site so we were directed to our cabin by phone. The place was open and the key was meant to be inside but we couldn’t find.

Our luxurious accommodation in Island Park ID.

We left everything locked in the car and went over the road to the “Trout Hunter” for dinner. This establishment was located by the river and seemed to be catering for the fishing aficionado with boats and fishing gear for hire. After dinner we went back to our cabin and tried the TV which didn’t work so we played our never ending game of Gin Rummy and found the door key camouflaged by the bedspread.

27th July 2016 - Grant Village, Yellowstone NP, WY - Kms to date 7,165

Kms today 0

We had brekkie at the fancy Lake House restaurant, and found it not so fancy. It did have a nice view of the lake. Then it was on to the bus and off to Old Faithful. I had decided to miss today's hike because of the mild altitude sickness I had suffered the day before, but Alan was going (just to make me feel like a wimp - unsuccessfully!). Bob and Lisa and Stephanie were joining me on the wimps list. Chelsea had told us this was the hardest hike of the trip so it was a good excuse.
We walked altogether along the lower geyser trail to a pool called Morning Glory. This pool had been a good example of the multi-coloured pools found in Yellowstone due to different coloured bacteria growing at different water temperatures. But unthinking tourists had thrown coins and rubbish into the pool, blocking up the hot water vent and spoiling the show somewhat.  The rangers climb into the pool every year with a big suction hose to try and clear out the rubbish.

Morning Glory pool.

The hikers then left us and we planned our walk back through the geyser field to see as many eruptions as we could fit in. The rangers know when particular geysers are going to blow +/- 1/2 an hour. Old Faithful goes off every 90 minutes like clockwork, hence the name. We stopped first at Daisy Geyser. It came on strong on schedule and shot over 20m into the air for about 10 minutes.  Then we walked through the rest of the thermal features towards Old Faithful. There were geysers, boiling mud, steam vents etc. One geyser called the Grand was the biggest, but hadn't erupted since 2015. The geysers are caused by hot rocks superheating groundwater deep below the earth's surface.  The hot water doesn't boil because of the pressure and it gathers in a chamber just below the surface that has a narrow vent to the air. Once the pressure builds up enough, the constriction is overcome and the water erupts explosively as it is depressurised in the open air.

View over the Geyser Area.

We got to see Old Faithful erupt, with 1000's of other tourists, and send a jet 30m into the air for about 5 minutes. I then lost contact with my colleagues and went into the visitor centre to check out the displays and watch a few videos on Yellowstone. I planned to visit Castle Geyser which Chelsea had recommended. I was disappointed to see it going off before I got there but then found its eruption lasted more than 20 minutes. During that time the jet twisted and turned in all directions giving the onlookers at shower.

Castle Geyser after eruption.

Yellowstone is the result of a super volcano caused by a very large hot spot in the earth's crust. Unlike Crater Lake in Oregon, it formed the Caldera depression in one giant volcanic explosion. It has erupted 3 times over the last 2 million years and is due for another one. I wouldn't like to be around when it next blows as the destruction makes an atomic bomb look like a fire cracker.
Chelsea and the rest if the group arrived looking fairly tired. The climb had been strenuous and the trail 8 miles long. They all claimed it had been worth it for the view (when have you ever heard a hiker say the walk was not worth it), but Alan told me that our hike to the Grinnell Glacier had been more spectacular and a harder walk.

Crystal Pool on the hike.

We made ourselves ready for the big dinner in the evening which was  part of the tour fee. This was held in the dining room of the Old Faithful Inn. This was a grand edifice in the "rustic gothic" style invented by Charles Reamer and built in 1902-3. It had a massive internal space held up by a four sided rock faced fireplace and tree trunks with branches for bracing, almost like Gaudi's Sagrida Familia in Barcelona. Reamer had designed many other buildings in US National Parks in the same style.

Interior of the Old Faithful Inn.

The dinner was great fun as by then we had all got to know each other. Then as a complete surprise my dessert came out with a candle burning in it and the dining room staff and the group all sang Happy Birthday. Mark was quick enough to get it on video on his phone which I hope to get from him. I'm sure Chelsea organised it.

Celebrating the birthday of yours truly.

26th July 2016 - Grant Village Yellowstone NP, WY - Kms to date: 7165

Kms today: 0

Happy birthday Colin, 65 today!!!!

Early start 6am!!!
We moved to the southern part of Yellowstone and a new hotel in Grant Village. This meant we had to move the cars to Canyon Village via Tower Junction. We left the cars at Tower Junction and  rode the bus along the Lamar valley to Slough Creek to look for wolves that had a den on the opposite side of the valley. We hung around for about half an hour but the wolves would not come out to play. After this we drove along Lamar valley looking at Bison as it was the rutting season and the bull Bison were getting a bit frisky. We took mucho photos of big hairy Bison. There was quite a big herd spread all across the valley with the bulls prancing around the cows and fighting among themselves.

Herd of Bison "Rutting"???

After this we went back to our cars at Tower Junction and drove them to Canyon Village where we left them for the rest of the tour. After we dropped the cars off we went to Hayden valley and hiked along a ridge which had views over a lot of sulphur pools with steam emanating from them along the Yellowstone river in a deep gorge.

The mighty Yellowstone river.

Brothers Grimm posing with a view over the Yellowstone river gorge.

We were hoping to see some Big Horned sheep but they didn’t grace us with their presence. It was pretty hot, around 35C so we hunted for cover to have our lunch. After lunch we headed for Fishing Bridge on the way to Grant Village where we were staying. We did a short hike on the Indian Pond loop on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake but didn’t see any wildlife apart from the chipmunks and a large Marmot lazing around the rocks.

A cute little Chipmunk.

There were plenty of signs of Bison and Bears on the walk but we didn’t encounter any which is a good thing as I don’t think I could have outrun the rest of the people in our group. We carried pepper spray to ward off Bears and Bison and I was nominated to carry one of the cans. I’m not sure how I managed to get lumbered but I strapped it to my belt like a six gun with the safety catch (velcro) on.
We were all pretty knackered after a hard days hiking so we ate early at Grant Village. Colin ordered ravioli and when it came there were only about six pieces so he complained to the waitress and she organised another plateful, gratis.

25th July 2016 - Mammoth Springs Yellowstone NP, WY - Kms to date 7058

 
Kms today 0 (except a few with Chelsea)

I tried to have a telecon with Morag but the line kept dropping out. We assembled in front of the Mammoth Hotel at 6:30am to meet up with Chelsea and head off for our first hike.  We drove to a place called Swan Lake to observe the water birds including Swans. I told them that all Swans in Australia were black which they found hard to believe.


Swan Lake early in the morning.

A ground squirrel checking out the lie of the land.

Then we started a 3.5 mile hike along the ridge above the road we had just come along through the forest. 
Before we started Chelsea gave us the drum on bear safety and I volunteered to be tail end charlie, mainly so I could have a can of bear spray. This is a spray laced with pepper that affects bear’s sensitive noses and hopefully makes them retreat. Chelsea told us of her encounter with a female bear with cubs and how she handled it. Later I told her of the bear encounter Morag and I had where we were within 50m of a Grizzly Bear at Many Glacier.
The hike was easy and mostly downhill back to the hotel. Chelsea showed us bear claw marks in an Aspen grove just to prove they were around. We met up by chance with a group of university researchers and high school students (all NSITS). Bruce Fouke, the leader told us what they were doing and it was related to the fact they had discovered that the crystal terraces grew their carbonate deposits in the same way as coral reefs and that they were trying to figure out how this could be used to save the Great Barrier Reef (among others) from the effects of climate change. They were also helping the oil industry in recovering oil from the ocean floor - the reason we have climate change in the first place! This contradiction didn’t seem to dawn on them.

The crystal terraces near Mammoth Springs.

We had a look at the crystal terraces on the way back to the hotel. They form from the precipitation of carbonate from hot springs that had passed through an ancient reef under Yellowstone, picking up the minerals on the way. The deposits form shallow basins in the shape of a clam shell as the water flows down the dome of the terrace. This is what the Pink and White Terraces at Rotarua must have looked like before they were buried in the explosive eruption of Tarrawerra.

The Frenchman's cap ????

These are the buildings of the military camp for the soldiers that controlled Yellowstone.

When we got back at 3:00 Alan and I crashed on our beds for a couple of hours. We eventually surfaced and went for a couple of beers and some food. We had managed our first day of hiking though it was pretty easy, so felt game to attempt the following days which would be more demanding.

24th July 2016 - Mammoth Springs Yellowstone NP, WY - Kms to date: 7057

Kms today: 657

We got up at 6.30am so Colin could catch the taxi we ordered to the airport in Kalispell to pickup the car Jon Daggett had organised for us. He came back to the motel with a Nissan Armada aka an Urban Assault Vehicle. It had a 5.5 litre V8 engine!!!!

One very large vehicle!!!

We left Kalispell just before 9am and headed south for Yellowstone. We had to do 650kms by 5pm so we took the fastest route via the Interstate Highway system. Colin was the named driver so he had to do all the driving. After we leave Yellowstone we will make me an additional driver at $13/day. We stopped every two hours on the way to Yellowstone so Colin didn’t fall asleep at the wheel. One of our stops was in Missoula where we went to Freddy’s Custard and Steakburger joint. It was done out in 1960s diner decor and was playing old sixties hits. They didn’t sell coffee which annoyed Colin so we had lemonade and a burger and chips!!

Colin "enjoying" his Freddy's chicken and chips.

Further down the highway we stopped at a place called Whitehall and couldn’t find the CBD so we went back to the highway and had Kentucky Fried ...... big mistake.

Entrance to Yellowstone NP.

We arrived at Yellowstone at 4.30pm in time to book in to our “cabin” and go to an orientation session on our four day hiking tour. Chelsea, our tour leader ran the session. She is a tree hugger extraordinaire. Everything was “cool” and “very fun” and chummy. The rest of the tour group were from all over the USA and we were the only foreigners. One couple didn’t show up. There were twelve of us including the missing couple. They gave everybody a water bottle and I managed to lose mine between the meeting room and our cabin, about 150 metres!!!  There were Elk does all over the lawns of the hotel but the rule was you couldn't get closer than 25m.

An Elk doe enjoying the lawn at Mammoth Springs Hotel.

After this Colin and I went for a couple of beers and finished the rest of our Kentucky fried chicken!!!! We hit the sack early as we had a 6.30am start. At about 2.45am there was a huge crashing and banging on our door. It was the couple who had missed the orientation just arriving from Philadelphia. Their cabin was beside ours and they tried to open our door but eventually worked out which one was theirs. There had been an electric storm in Chicago and all flights were grounded for some considerable time, hence their late arrival.


23rd July 2016 - Kalispell, MT - Kms to date 6,400

Kms today 6

After brekkie at the motel we rode back to the motorcycle shop to pick up my dirty washing. My bike was sitting outside and I discovered that despite the promises yesterday, they didn't have the mechanics to do any work on it and I would have to check the bike over and fit the new rectifier myself. We went to the laundromat and washed a load of clothes and while there I got the message that the rectifier had arrived. So we went back and after borrowing a few tools I had the fairing off the side of the bike and took the old rectifier out and replaced it with the new one. The battery had been charged so I could start the bike and check the charging with a multi-meter. Unfortunately, no charging voltage was evident. So I checked the alternator and found it was short circuited with no resistance. The stator was stuffed and it would not be possible to get one let alone fit it until next week; so that was that.  We called Jon Daggett with the news and decided to leave both bikes and take up his offer of a hire car.  He booked one through Hertz and then made arrangements to recover the bikes back to Sacramento.  The Honda Dealer had an unusual bike in the showroom built for winter!

Unusual Suzuki built for the snow!

Not the end of the trip we would have wanted and we missed the Beartooth Hwy, a highly regarded bikers road leading into the north end of Yellowstone.
We will pick up the car tomorrow and drive the 650 kms to Yellowstone.  We need to get there by 5 pm, so will need to leave early.

22nd July 2016 - Kalispell MT - Kms to date: 6400

Kms today: 140

Kalispell???? that wasn't on our itinerary.

Because of the problems with Colin's bike we had ordered a rectifier through a Honda dealer in Kalispell which was 140kms away. The part was being shipped by express delivery on Saturday morning. Colin hoped that the problem with the bike was the rectifier as a lot of VFR 800s have had the same problem. We bump started Colin's bike as we left East Glacier Village to save the battery. He set off for Kalispell and I followed him waiting for his battery to die. The ride was mostly down hill which would allow Colin to freewheel as far as possible when his battery gave up. We thought we were going to make it all the way when 16kms out the bike died. We had done 120kms with the lights off and ABS disconnected to minimise power consumption. We stopped outside an RV Park and called a tow company. It was going to take the tow truck between 60 and 90 minutes to get to us so Colin walked across the road to a fruit stall and bought some apples, peaches plus cheese and that was lunch ... delicious!!

Alan enjoying his lunch under a tree in the RV park.

The tow truck turned up as promised but he thought we had a trike. He had never loaded a motorcycle on his flatbed truck so he called his boss who said he would come out and show him how to do it.

The bikes outside the RV park. Colin's is the red one.

Fifteen minutes later the man arrived and we were on our way to Leland's Honda in Kalispell. When we arrived  we were told they would look at Colin's bike the next day, Saturday. We booked into a Super 8 Motel just down the road for two nights. Not cheap at $180 a night but Jon Daggett who hired the bikes to us said he would pick up the $100 difference between that and our accommodation we planned to stay in in Great Falls. If the bike gets fixed on Saturday we intend to ride straight to Yellowstone about 650kms away and bypass Billings. This means we will not get the opportunity to ride the Beartooth highway between Billings and Yellowstone. Apart from that our trip will be back on track.

21st July 2016 - East Glacier Village MT - Kms to date 6,253

Kms to day 186

With our problems with the VFR yesterday behind us, we set off in high spirits to Many Glacier at the north end of the park. We were going to attempt the trail to Grinnell Glacier which was the benchmark 8 miles and 1500ft that the Yellowstone people had set for our trail walking there. We took the windy way just for fun. US drivers always pull over to let bikes past on twisty double lined roads, a trait that I find endearing. The road into Many was the worst so far on our trip with unmarked gravel sections and potholes everywhere. We parked behind the Many Glacier hotel; one of those classic high ceilinged timber beamed US park lodges. It was being extensively refurbished to bring it back to its former glory.
True to form we had arrived at the wrong car park for our trail head, but there seemed to be a connecting track so we tried that. The trail was through the forest and there were warning signs about Grizzly Bears!

Bear warnings -we only had a phone playing music

.

We met a couple coming back and they said there was a bear on the trail to Grinnell Lake. Many walkers were carrying bear spray to ward off an attack. I decided to play music on my phone to warn bears of our approach.  Morag and I came upon a Grizzly in 2007 in the same location.  We didn't see any bears and crossed a river to start heading up to the glacier. 

Grinnell River flowing into Josephine Lake.

It was a long steep climb and after an hour we stopped for a snack at a waterfall that poured down on the track. A group coming back down told us that the finish of the climb was very steep and difficult, so as we reckoned we had walked up at least 1,200 ft and 4 miles that was good enough and we turned round and headed for home.

The girl in the pink shirt was screaming blue murder until her mother came and dragged her across.

We had lunch at the Many Glacier Hotel in the Ptarmigan Dining room, very posh and we felt we had proved ourselves.

Many Glacier Hotel.

We left to ride back to East Glacier but at a place called St Marys my bike packed up as the charging system had failed. A local called Don offered to help and we took the battery out to charge it and then try and get back to our hotel 31 miles away. Don was a psychologist who grew up in St Marys and managed the Cafe over summer as a break from his normal job.

Don and the stricken VFR.

With a refreshed battery, but no charging system, I rode as fast as I dared back to East Glacier dodging cows on the way. I just made it to the motel when the battery was empty.
Judy at the reception rang around and found a chap called Charlie who had a battery charger and I also used his multi-meter to check the charging system but it was dead. I suspected the rectifier had broken down as Honda V4's are notorious for this fault and I  have it on my own bikes. We would have to find one nearby and go and fit it. We had a few beers but the feeling was subdued as this could mean the end of our motorcycle trip.

20th July 2016 - Glacier National Park MT - Kms to date: 6067

Kms today: 254

After breakfast at the Whistle Stop cafe across the road from our luxurious accommodation we rode to West Glacier village where we walked to Avalanche Lake which was about 10kms and relatively flat. We were tuning up for our Yellowstone hiking tour starting 25th July!!! The weather was outstanding, a complete contrast to the past few days in Canada. The sky was clear and temps around 22C. The scenery around Avalanche Lake was spectacular as the lake is in a valley between high mountain ridges. There were many waterfalls cascading all the way down to the lake.

Colin on the beach at the beginning of Avalanche Lake.

A view of the lake from the eastern end.

Alan displaying the extra weight he has gathered on the trip!

Waterfalls cascading into Avalanche Lake.

After completing our walk/hike we headed for the "Going into the sun road" which wends its way along the edge of mountain ridges to Logan Pass where we intended to take another short hike up to the pass.

A view from the Going to the Sun road.

This road should be on every motorcyclists bucket list. It is awe inspiring with its beauty. The traffic moved quite slowly as there were many turnouts in which to stop and admire the view. We planned to have lunch at the visitor centre at Logan Pass arriving about 3pm with tummies rumbling. Colin managed to clip a bollard getting into the motorcycle parking and fell off his bike. A bunch of Harley riders looked on in amusement and asked if they could help??? After picking his bike up we headed to the visitor centre to find that they didn't serve any food not even a chocolate bar!!! We were told the nearest food was in Rising Sun about 16kms away so back to the bikes we went. Unfortunately Colin's bike wouldn't start. When he dropped the bike the engine was still running so the tilt switch turned the motor off. Unfortunately it hadn't reset itself so it wouldn't start. We didn't have the manual with us and there was no phone reception at Logan Pass so I had to dink Colin on the back of my bike to Rising Sun were there was food and hopefully internet access. When we got there we immediately had lunch/dinner and were trying to access the hotel's Wifi but it was only for guests. Luckily our waitress took pity on us and gave us the staff password for the Wifi. It must have been Colin flashing those baby greys!!!! Over the food we were frantically googling Honda motorcycle rider forums to see if anyone had any ideas on how to get the 'tilt' switch to reset. There were a number of ideas found so armed with them we headed back to Logan Pass to try them out. The first couple didn't work so Colin found the tilt switch behind the headlight and gave it a good shake and I hit the starter button and the old girl fired up much to Colin's delight as he didn't fancy staying on a park bench at Logan Pass all night (I was heading back to my warm bed). With both engines purring away contentedly we headed back East Glacier Village for a couple of beers and a game of cards. All was right with the world.