Had to run up to Grand Junction on Saturday to the Harley dealer and get a few things. I pulled up and parked next to another bike and as my wife Kathy got off of the back of our bike I looked over at the neighboring motorcycle and the guy who was rummaging through some stuff in a pack on the back of his bike. I climbed off my Harley and couldn’t help but notice that this other fella and his bike looked like they had come a long ways.

You can always tell the “long riders”. They have a certain “well worn” look to them that those out for the short ride lack. He was about my age, maybe a little younger. I asked him where he had ridden from. He looked up from his tour pack and with a broad grin said he had started in South Carolina where a friend from Florida had met him. Together they had ridden up to Maine where the other guy had to turn around and go back. This gent I was chatting with said he decided to continue on and rode into Canada and up into New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. It was there that he got a call from a friend of his here in Colorado whose riding partner wasn’t able to join him on a ride and asked my new found friend if he’d care to come out West. He said sure and was telling me about their plans when I recommended a good campground up on the Flaming Gorge and another place or two on their route up to Yellowstone. So it goes, passing tips to fellow riders in a parking lot.

We took care of our business and on the ride home I got to thinking about this guy and where all he’d been and was going this summer and I thought to myself, “you know, I could do that”. What a great way to spend the summer, riding around on your motorcycle, stopping here and there to maybe do a little watercolor sketch, meeting some folks, visiting new places…yea, I could do that.

I know, you’re probably saying “you already do that” and yes you’re right…I do but I have time restrictions and limitations that…well, are getting bothersome. Besides…New Brunswick? Newfoundland and Labrador? I’ve never been there. Wow! That’d sure be cool.

Next summer I’ll start my own great adventure. We have a ride to Alaska planned. In fact this time next year, I’ll be sending you these columns from somewhere up North as I poke along, seeing some new country, meeting some new folks and doing some watercolors along the way as I get the chance. Yea, I’ll be doing that.

Here’s a pic of our camp in Stanley, Idaho when we rode up there over the 4th of July week this year.

The overhead canopy you see was furnished and already in place. We didn’t bring it but it was nice to have. Stanley is in the Sawtooth Recreation Area so it had some altitude which was welcome because of the cooler temps. We were also lucky enough to get a few showers out of the deal…those that come out of the sky as well as those that were in the lodge.

This is a picture of an old dog who was a resident of the place. He knew he wasn’t allowed in the restaurant so that’s as far as he’d go. Pretty mellow.

That’s the back door of the place. He actually belongs to some neighbors down the road but he prefers to live here…so here he is.

The Sawtooth Mountains are absolutely beautiful as this photo will attest to.

This view was around the corner from where we were staying. Here’s more on that ride. This is an article I wrote for the local newspaper, which I do on a weekly basis.

In the past, we’ve always set an agenda knowing where we’ll spend each night for the duration of the trip. You know, call ahead and make reservations, start each day knowing we had to be at a certain place that night. This time we decided to do it a little different. Part of the problem with having a schedule all planned out is that there are unexpected things along the way that we would encounter but had to keep moving on because we needed to be somewhere that night. Not this trip.

We left Saturday morning with a general direction and intended route but decide that we would look for a place to camp when the end of the day came, wherever that was. I write this on Monday evening and so far so good. I will admit however that last evening was a bit of a challenge in locating a place to camp but it turned out fine. Along about late afternoon we were in Ashton, Idaho and it was quite hot. The first place we found didn’t look real promising. The fella came out and asked if he could help us and I asked him if he had a place where we could pitch a couple of tents in the shade and if there was a shower available. His reply was “Shade?” We decided to move on. Eventually, after checking a couple of other options we found a place 30 miles or so farther down the road. Turned out, it was fine.

Tonight finds us in Stanley, Idaho and a quick search on Google turned up the Elk Mountain resort and here we are. We got lucky again. Nice grassy spot right near the fire ring, and next to a canopied area with picnic tables. I think we’ll stay here for at least a couple of days and use this as a base camp while we tour the Sawtooth Mountains and it’s attractions. We were a bit concerned being this is the 4th of July Holiday week but the fella said for $17 a night we could stay as long as we liked. Said he’d send his wife around this evening or in the morning to collect the rent. Sounded good to us.

Here is a follow up column the next week when I got back.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll recall last week I left you in Stanley, Idaho in the middle of the Sawtooth Recreation area. What a place. Stunning! I was in the middle of a “no reservations” road trip on the Harley.

We took one day and rode from Stanley down to Boise for some sightseeing and a little Basque food. I had no idea it got so hot in Boise. The high for the previous day had been 113. The day we were there it was hitting 99 degrees in the late morning with 90% humidity. The ambient air temperature gauge on the Harley down there on pavement, in traffic, waiting for lights to change, was pegged at 120 degrees. It was all we could take. We got out of there with just a visit to the Harley dealer and headed back to the mountains. Along the way we stopped along the Payette River and literally got soaked. That sure felt good.

The next day we left Stanley and decided to follow the Salmon River north a ways. We climbed the Chief Joseph pass and turned off into Montana and across the Big Hole Valley, headed toward Dillon. I have to say that the Big Hole was a complete surprise. I had heard about it, but I wasn’t prepared for the reality. A big sky valley that was an ocean of grass as far as you could see. I couldn’t believe it. Fantastic!

It was getting late in the day when we arrived in Dillon so we hunted up the KAO and they had room for a couple of tents on a large shaded grassy area near the entrance. Nice couple who own it. Bob asked us to watch for the “Rainbow People” who were in the area and to let him know if they showed up. They weren’t welcome. Sure enough, one slipped into the place and he ran him off. The next day we continued our ride south, headed home.

We spent the 4th of July evening in Alpine, Wyoming where we scored a campsite right next to where they were going to set off the fireworks later. The last night we camped in the pines, high above Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Spent the evening around the camp fire (no restrictions there yet) with a good cigar and a fine whiskey reminiscing over our trip. A fitting end to a great ride.

All in all, our “no reservations” agenda worked out just fine. I got lots of photos and video to paint from this winter. Every time we needed something, it turned up. I think our relaxed schedule made for one of the best rides I’ve ever taken. We’ll do that again.

I’ve got some video of the trip and as soon as I get it edited I’ll post it up.

 Thanks for stopping by.