Brick by Brick - The Roads to be Traveled

The following are the individual maps for the Trip West 2011. Each image is clickable, which will open a new window that can be enlarged. I choose to break the loops into individual days because it does not take as long to load up the routes in the unit. I learned early on with my 2610, if I planned a multi day trip as one big route, by the middle of the trip, it took longer for the route to load because it was reloading the entire route and then trying to figure out where the heck I was. Planning individual day routes lets you focus on that part of the trip versus constantly looking at the forest. The trees do make a difference. My spreadsheet application deals with 24 hour periods better than multi-day periods for calculating times of arrivals, gas stops, etc.



Day 1 - 104 miles

We land in Salt Lake City around 1:30p, have to take a cab to Baileys Storage to pick up the bike and perform an inspection. Giving all of that, we won't make Golden Spike in time to spend any quality time there. Instead we held into SLC to pick up some Landmarks, such as Temple Square, Old City Hall and "This is the Place, a couple Water towns and maybe a Harley dealer for a shot glass. We have our reservations booked for the night, so maybe we will have eat at Souls and Bones BBQ for Smoke Chasing 2011.



Day 2 - 362 miles

No need for an early rise and shine, since Golden Spike doesn't open until 9am, our first stop. From there we head off to City of Rocks National Preserve and Evil Knivel jump over the Snake River marker. We will try to make it to Hagerman Fossil Beds. We may not make Beds before the VC closes, so we may just head to Arco, ID passing Craters of the Moon, which is the first place for the next day. We also have reservations in Arco for the night. We will be staying at the D K Motel. We will find out if my selection was a good or bad one, but it does have quite a few stars on the Internet. Also scheduled for the day is another HD dealer, and Twin Falls, a water town.



Day 3 - 326 miles

From Arco we back track 20 miles to Craters of the Moon and then head off to Atomic City and Breeder Reactor 1, the first world's first nuclear electric generating plant. It initially lit up 4 200 watt light bulbs. A stop in Idaho Falls for a Water grab and a BBQ joint, then head off to Grand Teton, JD Rockefeller Parkway and Yellowstone. We did these last year, but I am sure we will still have a in awe of the scenery moments. Our destination is the Branding Iron Motel in West Yellowstone, pricey but so is all the other places. We have a couple of National Landmarks, like Murie Ranch and a BBQ joint to pick up on the way. As of this writing this is the last reservation we have made for the trip. We will make a decision on where to stay and make a reservation the day before or just wing it.




Day 4 - 284 miles

Today's ride should be real easy, other than we pass Clyde Park, where we had out deer strike last year. We have no places that we have to make, no pressure and we should arrive in Great Falls way before the sun goes down. We have a couple of Landmarks to pick up in Yellowstone, White Sulphur Springs for Water, and will probably stop in the Lewis and Clark Expedition Center for a NP stamp and a visit. In Great Falls is a Smoke Chasing special BBQ joint, Big Mouth BBQ, so we will stop here as well.



Day 5 - 248 miles

This will be an early rise and shine days, since Great Falls is about 157 miles away from Glacier National Park and the Going to the Sun road. We have a bunch of National Register of Historic Places to pick up, but this will be primarily a day of taking in the vistas. Our destination for the night is Kalispell, MT.



Day 6 - 301 miles

This is another leisurely ride day, but we will ride down RT 12 to Kamiah, ID. Here we may actually arrive much earlier than planned since we pass from Mountain to Pacific time zone. This places in ear shot of Nez Perce and Witman Mission VC's for the next day. We will pick up 3 or 4 water towns, Travelers' Rest as a landmark and stop at another HD for a shot glass. I am looking forward to passing thru the Lolo Pass.



Day 6 Side Trip - 63 miles

Depending when we arrive in Kamiah, we may just go grab Weippe Prairie. This is where Lewis and Clark emerged out of the Lolo Pass on their way to the Pacific Ocean. Hopefully we will be able to find the Landmark plague.



Day 7 - 314 miles

Two parks on the agenda, Nez Perce and Whitman Mission. We will pick up oddities like the Teapot Gas station Car Part Sculptures, and a BBQ joint. Destination for the night is Yakima, WA



Day 8 - 254

We will head up WA 410, which is the Chinook Scenic Byway, on our way to the Sunrise Visitor Center at Mt Ranier. Hopefully we will not run into any weather related problems like snow. We will then travel south and head west via Steven Canyon Rd and Paradise Longmire Rd. It is my understanding the Grove of the Patriachs is a must see. I am so looking forward to view this area. Destination for the night is Kelso, WA



Day 9 - 245 Miles

Today should be an overwhelming eye candy scenic day. First we will head for the Johnson Observatory to see Mt St Helen and then off to Vancouver / Portland area. We will visit Fort Vancouver, grab a stamp and then travel the Historic Columbia River Highway ending up in Hood, OR. We will stop in at the Bonneville Dam VC.





Day 10 - 309 miles

This is another pure ride day with no places we have to be ending up in Klamath Falls. If we get there with plenty of time to spare, we will head to the Tulelake VC in California as a side trip



Day 11 Part 1 - 165 miles

An easy day in miles as we head out of Klamath Falls to Crate Lake. I have great expectations for this area, but we may have been spoiled by Ranier, Mt St Helen and the Columbia Highway. We will head back to Klamath Falls for the night.



Day 11 Part 2 (if there is enough time)- 66 miles

This is the Tule Lake Loop which can be done in any of 3 days. This park is part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific, which is primary in Hawaii. Tule Lake was a WWII internment center for the Japanese, which had the highest level of security out of all the internment centers located in the US. Also on the agenda are a couple National Wildlife Refuges.




Day 12 - 241 Miles

Finally leaving Klamath Falls, we head for Redding, CA to set us up for a quick visit to the Whiskey Town VC either today or the next day. This is another easy ride day with a few water towns to visit.



Day 13 - 254 miles
Today's major visit is Lassen Volcanic National Park and then off to Reno, NV for the night.




Day 14 - 346 miles
Out of Reno heading for Ely, NV on the Loneliest Road. This is a pure run and go day with a few stops such as the Shoe Tree that has been chopped down. We will visit Virginia City for Landmarks.




Day 15 - 408 miles

From Ely we head to Great Basin National Park and then off to the Bonneville Salt flats. Plans are to make it to Provo, UT for the night. This will put is very close to Timpanogos Cave National Monument.




Day 16 (The last riding day)

Today primary spot is Timpanogos Cave. We were here last year, but because of my knees I was unable to climb up the 1/2 mile to the caves. Maybe this year will be different. From here we deliver the bike back to Bailey's Moving and Storage and head for a motel, to be determined, for our flight by to Massachusetts on Saturday