Montana/Yellowstone 2018
When we were coming back from a trip in 2017, we met up with a fellow rider on the ferry heading back to Vancouver Island. We shared trip experiences we had all been on and our favorites. He said we absolutely must go to Montana to ride the Going to the Sun Road……so Montana became one of our 2018 destinations. And since we were almost there, we decided to loop down to Yellowstone National Park as well. In early August, we were off……
Our first night on the road we spent at our favorite campsite in Winthrop, WA, Pine Near RV Park. And sticking to tradition, we had dinner at Old Schoolhouse Brewery. The next morning we headed east to Idaho, which I had never been to before. I did a second take when I saw a motorcyclist riding without a helmet, never mind the rest of the gear. We always ride geared up so I was shocked……..it just looked so wrong…..yikes!! After spending one night at a quaint little campground near Sandpoint, we were off to Montana. Another state I had not yet been to.
Next was Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road we heard so much about. We stayed at a very remote, quiet, peaceful mountain bike park a short ride away from the Park. Full of anticipation, we rode off to explore and see what the 80 km Going to the Sun Road was all about. And it did not disappoint!! There was some smoke in the area from the wildfires, but the views were still beyond spectacular.
At times the mountains towered above us, seemingly to touch the blue sky. The highest point crossing the Continental Divide is at Logan Pass at 6,646 feet……it seemed like we were on top of the world.
Other than a few deer, we did not see much for wildlife on our ride through. But we enjoyed the beautiful valleys, alpine meadows, cascading waterfalls, and majestic mountains.
Next we were headed to Yellowstone National Park. We tented at the West Gate KOA, which acted as our home base to ride to and from each day. FYI…..their onsite restaurant had the best bison burgers in the area.
We took two days to ride the Upper and Lower Loops, exploring one each day. The highlight of the Lower Loop is, of course, Old Faithful. The famous geyser erupts every 90 minutes, give or take 10 minutes either way. There is a schedule posted in the visitor centre to give an estimate of when the next eruption will take place. There were additional areas for us to walk and explore other beautiful geysers and pools while we waited for the next Old Faithful eruption. It was well worth the wait, very spectacular and powerful lasting, around two to three minutes.
Yellowstone did not disappoint with wildlife sightings. There were sporadic sightings of deer, with a few sightings of elk….one bull elk carrying massive antlers.
The most memorable sighting was the bison herd in Hayden Valley. The bison were scattered over the valley as far as you could see. It was slightly intimidating to be on a motorcycle driving through the middle of a bison herd……and they were not afraid of any vehicles or people. The bulls were in rut and fighting for the cow’s attention with crashing, clashing, snorting and dust flying. We felt vulnerable not having the protection of being inside of a vehicle. As we slowly moved along with the traffic, one bison was laying on the road’s shoulder within 10 feet of our bikes.
Sadly our time at Yellowstone was done, it was time to start heading home. We headed to Leavenworth, WA, a Bavarian modeled town. It would the first time there for both of us. We stayed at a campsite on the edge of town allowing us to leave the bikes parked and walk into the downtown area.
Being a Bavarian town, we were on the search for the best Bratwurst. During our search, we came across the most mouth watering soft salted pretzels at the Icicle Brewery. Served slathered in melted butter and a side of warm Beecher’s cheese sauce what an amazing treat while exploring the downtown sector. Pair the pretzel with one of their own crafted beer, and you have the perfect match. We definitely plan to make Leavenworth one of our destinations again.
Our trusty Steeds await… 
Sunset at Sandpoint 
Rest stop Going to the Sun 
Going to the Sun tunnel 
Going to the Sun 
Peaceful nights at the campsites 
Downtown Leavenworth 
Quiet rest stop
