Today was supposed to be a rest day. We had a leisurely start to the day, made another cup of coffee and had camping chairs assembled before I started to make more calls to BMW dealers about a chain & sprockets replacement. Best I could get was next Wednesday the 18th until Zack from BMW Motorcycles of Richfield (greater Minneapolis area) called me back. It was an interesting conversation.
Continue reading 8/13/21 Lake Bemidji State Park, MN to Charles A. Lindbergh State Park, MN
The weekend is coming up and Minnesotans are heading to the parks if the availability of Friday and Saturday camping spots is any indication. Red ‘X’s for most campsites on those days but plenty of ‘green’ (available) during the week. With all the riding in the wind we have been doing we decided to reserve two nights at the Lake Bemidji State Park campground – the destination for today.
Continue reading 8/12/21 Grand Falls East, MN to Lake Bemidji State Park, MN
I know I sound like a broken record but …. damn wind! Somebody turn off that blower ;-). Go East, minimal buffeting, go North or South and plan on having lean angle on a straight away. Rinse and repeat. Fatiguing as can be. We are so over this wind. Riding is uneventful, more farming land through rolling hills then eventually flattening out.
Continue reading 8/11/21 – Fort Stevenson State Park, ND to Grand Forks East, MN
You guessed it. Another windy day in North Dakota :-|. We started the day by partially driving the scenic route in the park since it was too late and we were tired yesterday. Although we got there early (8:30) there were already quite a few cars doing the conga line with many seemingly oblivious to what’s going on behind them – i.e. stopping in the middle of the road to sight see. I saw one couple with binoculars sitting in the car, parked in the middle of the road. Not cool. Not to mention dangerous. As motorcyclists we don’t have the luxury of looking away from the road for extended periods because ‘you go where you look’, eventually veering off the road. After half an hour of riding into the park we saw the obligatory bison and prairie dogs and at that paint had had enough (couldn’t do the full loop anyways since the road was closed so we only missed four miles) and turned around. Quick pee stop at the Visitor Center on our way out before heading further east, with the wind mostly at our back.
Mostly straight farm roads today with little to no traffic and nothing but rolling hills of grasslands (lots of hay) at the outset, eventually turning to more agricultural production. What was interesting to me wast that amongst all this grassland and open space is that you find quite a few oil derricks. Not something you would expect to see, at least I didn’t. A mostly leisurely ride (as long as we were going east) but we didn’t go through any towns or pass any gas stations for almost 90 miles. Diane’s question: Where do they go for groceries?
Staying at a really nice state park with the best new and maintained showers we have yet seen. The nearest neighbor is five sites down from us. Park is close to a lake and no major roadways near by – hopefully we won’t need earplugs tonight.
After a day of rest yesterday we kept going North. Another day of riding sideways 😩. 17-20mph side wind out of the West made for a long 200 miles. Route 85 had dots next to it on the map indicating it’s a scenic route. Hmmm. Not so sure about that. Lots of treeless, brushless rolling hills of mostly grasslands and occasional agriculture. Could have been monotonous if it weren’t for the wind.
We made it to the national park by 14:30 but the Cottonwood campground was already full. We ended up staying at a campground in Medora right outside the park. Nothing to write home about but it got us off the road which was a good thing since we were both beat up from fighting the wind. Trivia. North Dakota is one of the five most windy states in the country. Figures. South Dakota is also in that group. Didn’t see a single wind turbine though. 🧐
We debated whether we wanted to make a big arc around what is the Sturgis motorcycle rally that started yesterday. While Devils Tower was a place we wanted to visit it’s not a must, with Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota being our next ‘attraction’. Devils Tower is on the route to the national park and after I noticed that the KOA next to Devils Tower still had availability for that day we decided to make a reservation and head that way, Sturgis be damned. Having the reservation makes for a more relaxed riding day (300 miles) because there’s no worrying about whether the campground will have availability.
Less than an hour into our ride we encounter a construction zone on CO 13. These are usually no big deal but seeing signs like ‘Motorcyclists use extreme caution’ and ‘Motorcycles not recommended’ will get your attention, especially Diane’s. I could literally feel her tensing up. While waiting for the pilot car we discuss our options. Heading back and going through Steamboat Springs means going through another mountain pass with tight turns and switchbacks – not very appealing to Diane. I try to encourage her noting that there is a motorcyclist in front of us and while waiting some riders were coming from the other direction. So, construction site it is – a long one too at 5 miles.
We are working our way North with Craig, CO our destination for the day. We need a shower and WiFi so we plan to stay at the KOA in Craig. It’s a shitty location (right next to US 40 going to Steamboat Springs) but shower and WiFi win out over noise. As a reward for making it down the monument, we saw same big horn sheep at the exit.
Continue reading 8/5/21 – Colorado National Monument to Craig, CO
When route planning I know I used Google maps and satellite imagery extensively to make sure there would be no gravel roads leaving Hovenweep to get back to highway 491. Obviously the satellite images where out of date because the previously paved road had deteriorated back to gravel! ;-). We hit 5 miles of groomed/packed county maintained road. Well crap. Backtracking would have been a huge detour through Cortez so Diane troopered on after a brief stop where we went over the fundamentals of riding packed dirt. We took it nice and slow, picking the lanes that had been mostly cleared of gravel by the cars. Easy peezy though Diane didn’t think so. She did good.
Continue reading 8/4/21 – Hovenweep to Colorado National Monument
We were both looking forward to our campground for the night, Hovenweep National Monument. We visited on a previous trip. It’s in the middle of nowhere, no electric hookups and thus very, very quiet and peaceful. Riding through the Hopi and Navajo reservations is both awe-inspiring and depressing. The scenery is just unbelievable, you don’t know where to look first. Depressing because you see a lot of dilapidated housing and crumbling infrastructure.
Continue reading 8/3/21 – Homolovi State Park to Hovenweep National Monument