MaxMetal Custom Motorcycles

Continuing from my last post…
The rain passed over us and a rainbow appeared- but the sky was still very black in the direction of Laramie where we were heading. We made our reservation at the Historic Elk Mountain Hotel, turned around and rode back the three miles to our safe haven for the night.

This was new territory for us. G.T. had never wanted to stay at a Bed & Breakfast. “Isn’t that one of those places where you stay in someone’s home and have to share the bathroom with strangers?”
But with the storm we had just been through, and were sure to encounter again if we pressed forward, the choice seemed to be spending the night at the B&B or spending the night in the Rest Area. We were a long way from Laramie, it was getting late, and there just wasn’t much else available in the middle of Wyoming.

This ended up being a most pleasant stay! The Elk Mountain Hotel was built in 1905 on the Overland Stage Station property. Through the 30’s 40’s and 50’s it was along the route of the Lincoln Highway. It was a popular stopping place for many entertainers as they traveled across the country. The dances at the nearby Garden Spot Pavilion drew crowds from miles around to hear the bands of Lawrence Welk, Louis Armstrong, and others. There are pictures and autographs of many famous people who have spent time at the Hotel.

http://www.elkmountainhotel.com/index.html

After a comfortable night’s sleep, I was wakened by sunshine coming through the windows. I was drawn to the balcony to watch the sunrise and then drawn beyond to explore the meadow with its looming cottonwood trees.

After enjoying the breakfast part of “Bed and Breakfast”, we left that morning, refreshed, renewed, and ready for the road ahead of us. Elk Mountain had been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The next time you are traveling I-80 through Wyoming, I recommend stopping at the Historic Elk Mountain Hotel.

US Highway 30. Another road from my past. The first trans-continental road, the Lincoln Highway runs from New York City to San Francisco and directly through Grand Island, Nebraska, near where I grew up. It was the main artery across the nation before the interstate system and inspired the plan for the interstate system. Much of Highway 30 has been overtaken by I-80 but we found a stretch between McCammon, ID and Granger, WY that seemed to cut the corner and save a few miles between I-15 and I-80. It ended up being a fairly busy road with a good bit of truck traffic. Apparently others found it to be a “short-cut” also.

We took our one “on-the-road” sight seeing stop at Fossil Butte National Monument. (It was less than a mile off the road we were traveling - not too far out of the way.) That was interesting and I learned something new. In that area, which is an ancient lake bed, there are fossils layered between the rocks. When the rock layers are separated, incredible fossil portraits of plants or animals are revealed.

We watched through the day as powerful white clouds billowed up behind us. The clouds were beautiful against the colors of the Wyoming prairie/desert but we knew they threatened rain if we allowed them to catch us.

The clouds did catch up with us as we neared Elk Mountain, Wyoming and they delivered everything they had promised. The sky ahead of us darkened and we watched as lightening struck the mountain top repeatedly. We were around 8,000 feet as rain started falling. The temperature dropped and the rain came down in frozen pellets that stung through our rain gear. This rain mandated a stop. We were still some 50 miles out of Laramie where we had planned to spend the night as we pulled off at a rest area to get shelter. On the bulletin board there was a brochure for the Historic Elk Mountain Hotel, only three miles from where we were. We called the number and were assured that there was an available room in this remote Bed and Breakfast where we could spend the night - a shelter from the storm.

We had the best time in Sandpoint visiting our daughter and her husband.  August 14 was their 3rd anniversary.  And it was the day we needed to be back on the road heading home to Georgia. To start this homeward ride, we took a scenic back road, Idaho 200.  From Sandpoint to Missoula, MT we followed the Clarke Fork River (named for Wm. Clarke of Lewis and Clark).  It was an incredibly beautiful ride through the mountains of Idaho and Montana.  I understand why our kids enjoy living here.

In Missoula we picked up I-90, then turned south on I-15.  The air was thick with smoke from the forest fires - which burned through most of Summer ‘07 - creating an eery, yellowish atmosphere as we rode down a nearly abandoned Interstate. 

Mile after mile we rode- there isn’t much to interrupt the scenery.  We crossed back into the lower part of Idaho and got as far as Pocatello where we stopped for the night.

Sunday afternoon was a time to see some of the beautiful country around Northern Idaho. (The picture above is at Cabinet Gorge.)  On the sight seeing docket was “Ross Creek Cedars”, a conservation area with virgin timber.   We wandered through the giant cedars in an almost “other-worldly” atmosphere.  Grand and awe-inspiring!  http://www.libby.org/homepage/RossCreek/. 

The next stop was Kootenai Falls. http://www.libby.org/homepage/KFalls/.  This was another example of Nature’s beauty - the waterfall is spectacular. 

The other attraction at this area is the Swinging Bridge.  I get freaked out by heights - but to be a good trooper I crossed the bridge with the rest of our group.  Going over was not too bad, but once across the bridge there is no choice but to go back across it.  Going back was bad - some impatient tourists at the other end started across while I was in the middle, hanging out in space over the water swirling below.  I had a bit of a melt-down. So I need to work on overcoming that fear - like tackling the swinging bridge at Tullalah Gorge (the nearest to home) this coming summer - maybe…

We got a glimpse of another way to travel and some of the people who are crazy about it.  Our son-in-law works for Quest Aircraft,  a company that designs and builds airplanes - in particular, Short Take-Off and Landing aircraft for use in areas with less than ideal conditions. http://www.questaircraft.com/ They just received the go-ahead from the FAA on full production of the “Kodiak”.  It was an exciting time for the company and we enjoyed being there for the celebration. 


There was a “Fly-In” at the Sandpoint airport and we saw some interesting airplanes.  My favorite was this Piper Cub.

The last stretch into Sandpoint.  We turned off I-90 in Coeur d’Alene following the signs that said “Sandpoint, ID 43 mi” and “Canada 107 mi.”.  We took two lane US95 north, went through the little town of Athol (really) and on to Sandpoint.  We were now in the Pacific Time Zone and a long way from the northeast corner of Georgia. I have to admit I was ready to be off the motorcycle for a few days. 

We spent a couple of days with our daughter and son-in-law in their tiny, tiny apartment on the corner of 2nd avenue, only a few blocks away from the city park and the big lake, Pend Oreille (pronounced more like Pond Array).  Sandpoint is a pleasant city - very visitor friendly. 

Some interesting items about Sandpoint:
 (1) Pedestrians have the absolute right-of-way.  When a pedestrian approaches the curb - all traffic stops immediately and waits for the person to get completely across the street.  I have never seen this happen before and it was a bit un-nerving the first time or two to have cars waiting for me to enter and cross the street.
(2) I did not see a single franchise restaurant in Sandpoint - no McDonald’s, no Burger King, no Pizza Hut.  There were nice restaurants on nearly every corner but no KFC or Wendy’s.

(3) Idahoans must really like their fine coffee- there were coffee shops everywhere, even mobile expresso shops like the Jumping Java Bus. 
4) There must be old hippies in Sandpoint - I saw some flash-back vehicles and even saw a yellow submarine.
 

We arrived in Sandpoint after 2700 miles of riding.  That is a lot of time in the saddle and we were a little butt-sore.  In Nebraska, we had made some adjustments to our seat cushions - the gel pads we started with were not doing the job.  The result of those adjustments was that we were only a little butt-sore, not incapacitated.  (I have to note again that we were on a Honda Shadow with factory seats - What that meant for me, riding on the back, was that the seat is 9″ wide.)  We plan to offer a version of this upgraded seat for sale sometime in 2008.  Literally - it saved our rear ends!!

On through Wyoming, on to Montana, heading north to Idaho.  We were riding an open road.  I-90 goes directly from Sturgis to Cour d’Alene, Idaho.  Along the way are some are some of America’s great attractions.  We passed the signs directing travelers to Mt. Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park and a few other sites, but we were pressed for time and just had to make a mental note “Someday… I want to stop and visit these places.”  This is the area Lewis and Clarke explored nearly 200 years ago.  To imagine this country before it was settled…WOW! 

Here is an interesting thought.  If early explorers had decided that the Mississippi River originated in the Northwest part of our country at the mouth of what is  now the Missouri River instead of originating in Minnesota and being joined by the Missouri to flow on down to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico - then that elongated Missouri/Mississippi River would be the longest river in the world.

Tuesday afternoon, riding out of Sturgis, the road was wide open.  It seemed like the adventure was really beginning now.  We were covering territory where we had never been and our destination was still 1300 miles away.  We had to move right on along to get to Sandpoint, ID by Thursday. 

The scenery became more rugged, the Rocky Mountains were on the far horizon - how many miles away were they?  “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty above the fruited plain - America, America, God shed His grace on thee.”  This was what we were experiencing.  This great country is awe inspiring in it’s multitude forms of beauty.

Our family is very extended - in all directions.  On this trip, in Cairo, NE, we visited with my mother, two sisters, and an aunt and uncle.  We went on the Rapid City, SD to spend the night with another sister, then on to Idaho to visit our daughter.  We could have made a few more kinfolk stops along the way but had to ride on past since there was so little time - but maybe next year.  In every direction we can possibly travel we have relatives and I like visiting family and friends.  The food is good, the late-night “catch-up on the family” conversation is fun and the cost is within the budget.  (This goes both ways - I like having family and friends visit us, too.)

Other accomodations on this trip included a nice Best Western in Billings, Montana.  It had a mountain retreat feel with carved bears clinging to the deck railings.  Cute. 

Motel 6 did not rate very high in my opinion.    For an extra $10 somewhere else, we could have had a comfortable bed and a free continental breakfast. 

My favorite stay was at the “Historic Elk Mountain Hotel” in Elk Mountain, Wyoming.  For us, it was a shelter from the storm, literally. The hotel was built in 1905 and has 12 guest rooms.  It has a rich and interesting history.  I’ll fill in some details in a later post.  http://www.elkmountainhotel.com/