Forgotten River Towns Tour
Send this Article to a FriendInspiration for a great motorcycle trip isn't hard to find in our home. Multiple books, with titles containing phrases such as "The Most Scenic Highways and By-Ways of America," litter our bookshelves. So, when the itch to take a motorcycle trip comes along, those books are the first place we turn looking for inspiration.
Luckily, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a motorcycle vacation this year. After some discussion and a little "inspiration hunting" through our book shelves, we settled on flying into Salt Lake City, Utah where we would rent a couple of Harleys from Eagle Rider.
The plan was to spend five action packed days riding through Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. We planned our travels to accommodate time for me to shoot photos as we passed up through Yellowstone National Park, over Bear Tooth Pass, and back into Utah through the Flaming Gorge.
I am always excited to explore any new area, but I had no idea what was in store for me on this particular journey.
THE RIDE, DAY ONE: SALT LAKE CITY TO WEST YELLOWSTONE
(day one map)
Determined not to let a speed bump called "lost luggage" slow us down, the sunrise saw us hitting the road early our first morning in Salt Lake City. We rode north to Brigham City and jumped onto US 91/89, wiggling through Utah into Idaho along sweeping curves and rolling hills and into Logan and US 89. I think we both began to really wake up once we hit the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the natural charm the road held for us as it twisted its way up and around the mountain.
But, what really gave us a jolt better than a Double Shot at Starbucks was the view of Garden City as we crested that last peak. The blue in Bear Lake was SO vividly radiant, it caused us both to pull to the side of the road simultaneously with mouths hanging open. The word "Wow" was muttered too often, but in some cases, words just do not come. We sat and stared at the breathtaking view below us trying to soak it in, just knowing that no amount of film or digital media could possibly capture its true essence.
OK, I am a photographer by trade, and would feel incomplete passing such a scene by and not even trying to snap off a few frames. But, trust me when I say- you just have to see many of the places in this article with your own eyes, smell the air with your own nose, and feel the grandeur of the ride and views with your own soul.
No words I can type here will express what simply needs to be experienced in person- but until you have the chance to ride out yourself- the least I can do is try! So peek at the photos, scroll down, and read on, my friend....
I'll continue our story with passing through the charming little town of Garden City, where we stopped for breakfast with the locals. I was feeling especially thankful that morning for the leather jacket and chaps loaned to us by Eagle Rider, (after our riding gear was misplaced by the airline) because this Florida Girl was just freezing beneath all that leather PLUS my own leather pants and other layers piled on- IN AUGUST!
Alpine Junction was a highlighted area of mountainous scenery in this area, aptly named for the terrain. Once on US 26, we also made a quick stop at Palisades Reservoir to admire the view. In Swann Valley, we took Idaho 31 Scenic Highway across the Snake River Range to Victor and Idaho 33. Traveling north on the west side of the Teton Mountains and whipping around the twists, turns and roller coaster roads of that area. It felt like we were crossing from Idaho into Wyoming and back in Idaho several times. I lost count along the way, but we made sure to do our silly raised arms dance at each state line as we crossed to signal "WooHoo State Line Crossing!"
We then followed US 20 into Harrison State Park and Henry's Lake State Park, where we were ready to settle in for the night at West Yellowstone after a bit of touristy wandering in the town of shops and restaurants. There was even a Shakespeare in the Park presentation if you were willing to brave the chilly air while watching. This wimpy Florida Girl had experienced her share of cold weather for the day, and passed on Shakespeare for an extra hour of sleep before heading into the Yellowstone National Park for the first time the next morning.
