The motorways in the US were busy and fast. The road corridors were completely devoid of any trees. In fact I have come to the conclusion that Americans hate trees in any public spaces. Finding shade to shelter from the hot sun was almost impossible even in rest areas, gas station carparks and cafe's car parks. I have been reprimanded twice by officialdom for parking under shady trees because they were not designated parking areas. The US is a country were rules are important and everyone abides by the rules with no questions asked.
The route continued north then north-west through St Louis, Kansas City and on into Nebraska. The country was dominated by pastures and grain production with every second vehicle on the road being a giant gas-guzzling pick-up truck. There were no lessons to be learned from the so called most enlightened and wealthiest nation in the world. If there was a credit squeeze in the USA, locals had not heard about it!!
Finally our route turned NW through Nebraska. The roads were no longer major motorways but the traffic was still constant.
The South Dakota Badlands was our first NP in the US. It consisted of a 100km strip of highly eroded clay hills. The scenery was stunning in the late afternoon light. Deep incised valleys and ragged steep-sided crags supported tips that were precariously balancing rocks so large that they were clearly defying gravity for many years.
We were now seeing many motorcycles passing in the opposite direction. A quick chat with one rider confirmed that they were returning from Sturgis the worlds largest motorcycle rally with somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000 riders turning up during the week's festivities. Now we had to go through Sturgis on our way to Miles City (Montana) and this would be a education. This event was predominantly for Harley Davidson riders. Once a rider has been indoctrinated into the Harley 'hall of profits' the tribe mentality takes its members to new dizzy heights of an identity crisis. It may come as a surprise to the rest of the world but there are still US States that do not require riders to wear helmets. This act is bordering on stupidity and as American Harley riders all follow suit rather like lemming's the whole population choose not to wear protective clothing or helmets. We were riding in temperature bordering on the old century and we were being passed by semi-nude riders whose bikes weigh in at a staggering 900 lbs (400kgs) Their uniform became affectionately known as 'lemming wear'. It consisted of a pair of jeans, leather chaps, black tee-shirt, fingerless gloves and a colourful head band and sunglasses. The 'b****' (pillion) on the back was often seen wearing a bikini top. Just the thing to protect one from the thousands of grasshoppers wanting to commit suicide by flying into the bike... For a huge group of enthusiasts that croon for individualism and freedom, the affect was lost on me as they all looked exactly the same with exception of the paint job on the Harley. It was a shame because the people were good company and in conversation were seeking the experience as we were. Approaching Sturgis was like arriving in Mecca for Muslims. The small town was throbbing with Harley's with hardly another brand name (such as BMW's or any Jap bikes) to be seen. The main street was lined on the sides and centre with two rows of bikes for its entire length. Chrome, vivid colours and lots of biker's dressed in lemming wear. The b****es mimicked their partners. However there were a surprising number of b****es riding their own Harley's. They too looked rough, tough and unwanted. The majority of riders looked like they were on the dark side of 50 but it was hard to tell as many shaved their heads and sported goatee beards. They all looked tough but I suspect that underneath many were just there to enjoy the company of fellow bikers. Sturgis was a big commercial venture for many businesses. With crowds reputed to be in excess of 750,000 the gear and equipment markets as well as clothing and body armour was flowing out onto all the streets. I really did not relate to the souvenir industry and settled for a rather tasteful neck bandana.
If getting into town was difficult departing was like riding into a carcass full of maggots. There was simply no way of escaping without a struggle.
Because of the magnitude of the event many camped and stayed in neighboring towns or campgrounds. So for the remainder of the day the traffic mostly consisted of Harley riders either going or departing from Sturgis. We had about a 3 hour ride to Miles City where my friend and fellow boxer (BMW) compatriot Rex Mongold lived. I last saw him in Aus when he stayed with me before departing for Russia in 2009. He was a rugged stoic 60 something chap who lived the simple life on a small plot 6 miles out of town. His house was expertly designed to keep out the heat in summer and cold in the winter. Mind you he did not spend much time in Montana in the winter as he tended to drive south in his pick-up followed by his aluminium Airstream caravan and a second trailer with a couple of GS BMW's in tow. Rex Mongold was one of life's nice guys who was strongly set in his ways but had earned the respect of many of Miles City's well known social characters. His collection of BMW's ranged from 1968 to 1992. All of them were registered, so Rex invited us to take a ride with him around the back hills of Montana. I have not ridden an original R80 GS before so it was a pleasure to experience the simplicity and utility value that these iconic bikes were known for. This year was the 30th Anniversary of the GS and I felt lucky to be able to appreciated the old and new. The afternoon ride was followed by a Bar-B-Q with all of Rex' great friends. I had offered to do a presentation of my Eurasian trip through Russia and Mongolia for them. So it was a jovial night with lots chit-chart about the US habits and a lot of yarns about Australia. Dell gave a presentation on her 2 year journey around Australia in 2003-4 on a BMW R1150R the same as we were currently riding.
We were camped in an old original 'Airstream' caravan that Rex used for his winter trips south. It resembled the hull of an old DC-8 and was constructed using aircraft technology.
In the morning, I had discovered to my displeasure that the front tyre was rubbing on the guard because of the increased diameter. I had fitted a 120/90/17 which was technically a rear tyre. The original was two sizes smaller in diameter at 120/70/17. There seemed to be no easy way to increase the space and I ended up grinding away part of the tyre and putting a hole in the plastic mudguard. Unlike older bikes that had a steel frame holding the front guard on, the modern BMW's used molded plastic and self taping screws. There was no simple way of changing the position of the guard.
Yellowstone NP was now in our sites and I was excited having read much about this famous US landmark. The Steppe grasslands of Montana eventually turned into steep rugged mountains shrouded in conifers. Wildfires had caused unimaginable damage to the park during the past 20 years. Americans seemed to remain less convinced about the value of using fire as a management tool. And as a result controlled burns were much more difficult to implement by park management. When conditions turned hot and dry the forest simply had no defenses and a consequence massive areas of the NP were burnt to a crisp with a very long recovery period. The Douglas firs seemed intent on a fast germination episode. However many other species did not have the same adaptation to the hot fires that charged through Yellowstone NP. In our first day in the NP we realised the enormity and impact of the visitors. In many places the roads were simply bumper to bumper and parking anywhere off the road was impossible. The situation was not helped by the numerous RV's that insisted on lugging massive caravans behind their pickups that completely blocked the narrow roadways. Even worse were the RV motorhomes who towed 4WD's vehicles everywhere clogging up parking bays and spoiling the travel component of the many tourists who were content to just travel in a car or 4WD. If you think Australia has too many 4WD vehicles then the US will knock your socks off. Pickup trucks and 4WD vehicles dominated the roads here. So there is no chance that we should believe that America is leading the fight to conserve energy or reduce consumerism. These guys invented consumerism and they have way too many fingers in the pie to consider any reason to change their habits. The US authorities have been trying (irregularly and unsuccessfully) to get its citizens to adopt the metric system since the late 1960's. If you want change I am afraid you may have to wait for China to come of age. It won't happen in the US.
Yellowstone NP was stunning and so was Beartooth Pass in Montana soaring to just over 11,000 feet. The roads were staggeringly good considering the topography. So long as one was prepared to saunter along with the pace of the traffic and enjoy the scenery, it was a beautiful place to be. The road to Mammoth entered from the west. The area was semi-arid with scant trees and patches of scrub on the protected side of the steep and stunning, craggy mountains. This was a tourist mecca and centre of the town was crawling with American families in pickup trucks, RV's and 4WD's. Ordinary cars were uncommon. The camp ground was dry boring and exposed. In addition, it was full. The only alternative was to ride 25mls north out of the park to a forestry campsite. Yellowstone was very tightly regulated with regards to movement and camping. The campground infrastructure was tired and appeared to be 20 years old. But the most bizarre aspect was the lack of washing, water and shower facilities. The NP system apparently does think that humans need these facilities for the duration of their stay in the park. Its not that water was in short supply it was just not a priority. For travelers it was a serious inconvenience. The freezing cold lakes and creeks became the only way of remaining clean and I am sure this habit was not practiced by other tourists.
The boiling sulphur pools are spectacular throughout the park. Despite the huge crowds that are directed via boardwalks it was fascinating and amazing to experience. Bison were often seen wandering along the highways. Their view of the world was Bison rule. If they want to use the highway to get from A to B then it was their prerogative. So traffic jams were common. No-one questioned their decision and it was just one unique experience to see the these monstrous animals walk by. Their beady little eyes would look casually glance at you as they walked by. Signs everywhere indicate not to provoke or disturb Bison. They're big, woolly and not to be questioned.
We spent three days in Yellowstone and one in Grand Teton NP. Each day we would pack up and head south to get a campsite then back track and do the site seeing. It was impossible to snag a site if one waited until after lunch due to the huge number of tourists and limited number of campgrounds. Campgrounds were not managed by NP staff. Instead that responsibility was invested in contractors. Consequently it was not useful to rely on advice from campground staff. The difference was pretty obvious when compared with Aus. Consider the the visitation rates to be in excess of 5 million/annum and you get the picture. The numbers just have to be managed and I think the NP system simply gives priority to managing the natural resources. That's OK by me!
Swimming in large lakes in the park was brisk, embracing and more importantly cleansing to the soul. It was not a popular pursuit believe me! In fact we saw no-one else swimming without the protection of a wetsuit who were either skiing or wind surfing.
Heading south enjoyable as the air was clean and cool and we were on a mission to arrive in Silverton, Colorado in two days. The road took us through several beautiful smaller NP's including Flaming Gorge NP and Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. Both parks were stunning and unique. Windy conditions during the ride south made staying upright difficult at times. The contrast in landscapes from one valley to the next was inspiring. Climbing a steep pass in Conifer forests and descending through arid desert like slopes was common as the rain shadow effects were startling to say the least. Many of the mountain passes occurred at elevations up to 9,000 ft. So we are talking about some serious climbing at times.