Gary and Judy Stevens

Hit the road

Once in a Lifetime Trip

My husband Gary and I really had a blast on our motorcycle adventure out West August 2003.

We flew into Rapid City, South Dakota on August 3rd. We enjoyed the week long Sturgis rally of music and parties, with good friends. The riding and site seeing is tremendous in South Dakota you experience neat old western towns like, Deadwood, Lead and Hill City. We toured Crazy Horse Monument, Bear Country, Pectoral Lake and explored Thunderhead Falls and Crystal Cave during the week. We spent a lot of time relaxing at night at the cabin we rented half way between Rapid City and Sturgis in Johnson Siding. It was so peaceful there. At dusk we would relax on the deck overlooking a creek and a field where 3 deer played each evening.

The second and third week we spent on the road - exciting adventures and a different place every day. We left the cabin early on Sunday the 10th after riding through Spearfish Canyon (a piece of heaven on earth) we were in Montana before we knew it. Riding through Bozeman, Billings and Red Lodge Montana was very very hot. We stopped in a little town called Ashland (one of our many stops for gas) when we noticed the local bank sign - the temperature had reached 105 degrees. Throughout Montana we passed endless hay fields, amazing mountain ranges and abundance of wildlife. We rode Beartooth Highway (which to me) was one of the most intimidating roads I had ridden on, lots of curves and switchbacks, but gorgeous mountain views.

One of the greatest things we love about traveling is the education. There are historic sites everywhere, Bozeman Trail, Lewis & Clark Trail, Virginia City (Boot Hill), Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Museum and Chief Joseph Highway were only a highlight of things we learned about. After Montana we rode into Great Falls, Idaho, then into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We loved Jackson Hole and ended up staying 3 days instead of the 1 day originally planned. Great tourist town we really liked the shops, restaurants and the Million Dollar Cowboy bar. Believe me the owner had a million dollars in this bar with unique burl pine wood throughout the bar, animals of every size and shape, even the bar stools were real saddles. Great food and drinks - fine music doesn’t hurt either. We experienced an exciting whitewater rafting trip on the Snake River and even attended an art show with local artist.

August 16th we headed towards Yellowstone Park. We rode through the Teton National Park and stopped at Jenny Lake, than past the Continental Divide and the enormous Yellowstone Lake. We were a little disappointed within the park because of the fires presently burning and the damage to the park from previous fires, but continued our journey. We did the loop through the park, stopping at Hayden Valley where herds of Bison roam, the spectacular Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the Yellowstone River and the powerful Upper and Lower Falls.

We only stayed one night in Yellowstone Park then decided we would ride on to Cody, Wyoming (the rodeo capital). This was the day from hell. After going to see Old Faithful in the morning we started out the Northeast entrance because we could not get out the East entrance due to fires. The road was miserable and it was the only day we hit a cold rain. As we were riding higher up the mountain our bikes where hitting the bumps and pot holes on the road. I honked at Gary to bring to his attention that his cooler was falling off the back of his bike. As he tried to hold the cooler and maneuver his bike over the badly damaged road, he ended up on the other side of the road as a RV trailer was coming towards him. He could not get the bike out of the rut and the cooler ended up hitting the RV as it past by him. He was so shook up we finally stopped on the first straight away we came to. As Gary got off his bike his foot got hung up and the other foot slipped from under him and down he went. He landed on a rock and we later realized how hard he fell when we saw the bruise. As we continued up the mountain the rain got heavier. Now we could not see out of our glasses because they were fogging up. Gary ended up taking his glasses off as he rode. We finally made it out of the Park and to Cody that night. What a day!

We ended up staying an extra 2 days in Cody. We toured the Old Trail town, Buffalo Bill Cody museum, attended the rodeo and even got caught up in a mock gun fight. Irma’s Hotel is a must see in Cody, owned by Buffalo Bill Cody’s daughter, great food!

August 20th Gary and I rode through Casper, Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming then into Ft. Collins, Colorado - neat college town. We passed through lots of towns where the population was 10 or 15 people. We saw lots of open ranges, horses, cows, deer and sheep. Next day we rode through Nebraska (this is where Gary took out a bird at 70 MPH, good thing he had his helmet on!). We passed beautiful meadows of sunflowers and many corn fields.

Then riding back into Rapid City, South Dakota we joined the Northwest ride into Sioux Falls through Minnesota and finally into Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 29th. We met several bikers on this portion of the trip!! Everyone was excited and in high spirits to be getting closer to Milwaukee especially after fighting the gale winds and heat all the way across South Dakota. That was an exhausting day!

The wonderful people of Milwaukee could not have made us feel any more welcomed. Waving to us from the overpass with “Your almost home” signs and stopping us on the road to see if we needed directions or to tell us about a great place to eat or drink. It is no wonder bikers go back year after year.

We spent the last week at Jellystone campground with friends from Naples and enjoyed the Harley celebrations.  Summerfest Grounds boasted bands like Doobie Brothers, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Steppenwolf.   We loved the parade and the grand finale on Sunday included acts by Tim McGraw, Kid Rock, and Elton John and then fireworks.

As we flew home on September 3rd we thought about all the wonderful people we met, the awesome sites that are now imbedded in our minds and the great times we had, we can’t help but wonder how truly blessed we are. It really was a once in a lifetime trip.

Judy Stevens