Rocky Mountain High – USA July 2019 Carol Dunford

We’ve just come back from the most amazing USA trip so far for us. A must for anyone who loves those switch back roads! and don’t mind heights the highest pass was 11,000 ft. (can’t believe I did it either) 2,400 miles in total. Whoever says USA just have straight roads just hasn’t been to the right places. This is the 3rd trip I’ve done in USA and the 2nd guided. I would highly recommend the guided as you just don’t have to think of anything else accept riding your bike. We didn’t even know what day of the week it was!
The tour started in Denver most people on the trip arrived a couple of days before the tour started to get used to the altitude, not us!!! Landed two hours late 8pm and up ready to ride for 8am the following day (no jet lag allowed!!!) hit the ground running I say!!
Having had a debrief we were off to collect the bikes. Yet again was the only female riding why is it that everyone assumes as husband and wife you will be a pillion! For me it’s all about the riding. Day 1 was shorter mileage to get people used to the bikes a bit of a culture shock for some to be in traffic on the freeway getting out of Denver thorough the road works least they quickly got used to the clutch!, we were heading for Estes Park. This took us straight through the Rocky mountain park via Laramie, Medicine Bow where the film Virginian was filmed the Hotel Virginia is still there and you can stay (very creepy!) featured in the film and TV series a brilliant museum as well worth a stop. Onwards and upwards to
Fort Collins via Horsetooth Reservoir which is a large reservoir in southern Larimar County, Colorado, just west of the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. It was totally unexpected to climb up horse tooth mountain to then come across this hugh reservoir. Our final destination for the day was Casper. Next day we head out of Colorado and got into Wyoming real wild west country heading to Cody which happened to have the Cody stampede on that evening real cowboy town. The Buffalo Bill Centre is a must but allow yourself at least two hours or even two days to go around it has 5 museums in one place!. Our hotel for the night was The Irma Buffalo Bills Original hotel! The atmosphere in Cody was great as the Stampede was on so we went and saw the Pro Bull Riding !! boy do the American’s get into it; brilliant time had by all. Next day saw us heading to Billings via the Shell Canyon a remote canyon in Northern Wyoming that offers amazing views of Shell Creek and the surrounding mountains and cliffs. Roadside markers help showcase the unique geological formations in this area, with places dating back over 2 billion years. The waterfalls were amazing. Another highlight of the day was the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument where The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custer’s Last Stand, marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. The demise of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Our guide Bear was amazing as he was so good at watching the weather as it can be very variable and stormy but soon passes we arrived at our overnight stop of Billings just minutes before the storm hit! After a wet night the weather shone for our ride to the famous Yellowstone Park. We were going to be climbing a lot higher today via Red lodge then up over the Beartooth pass 10,947ft with 82 bends! My fear of heights was getting a lot less! We had to wait in Red Lodge as there was a hail storm up the top of Beartooth pass with the hail being the size of golf balls! It would knock us off our bikes. That’s where the knowledge of a good guide helped, if we had been on our own, we would have been bruised and battered! Well all I can say is it was worth the wait!!!! We had to layer up as we were told it would be cold up there and snow still on the slopes but being USA, the roads were fine. Words cannot describe the fantastic roads, and amazing scenery once we reached the top at 10,947ft and passing by 10ft snow on the side of the road the view as we hit the summit will stay with me for a very long time, I felt like I was going off the top of the world. Hairpin bends are a piece of cake
now only way to do it is on a Harley as the gears did all the work. The Beartooth highway headed to Cooke city which is known as The Gateway to Yellowstone National Park which is nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old
Faithful. It’s also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope. Once in Yellowstone we were lucky enough to see a Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Buffalo, Moose just amazing. We had an extra day in Yellowstone to explore on our own. The waterfalls where truly spectacular along with all the volcanic springs, Old Faithful geyser which is a cone geyser, it is a highly predictable geothermal feature, and has erupted every 44 to 125 minutes since 2000. Sad to say goodbye to Yellowstone could have spent a lot longer exploring. A good excuse to come back!.
Our next day took us to Jackson via the Grand Teton National Park which is truly beautiful, pictures just don’t do it justice. Without much warning, the Grand Tetons rise 7,000 feet almost straight up from the Jackson Hole Valley.
The range’s serrated granite peaks are so perfectly proportioned they seem born of a landscape artist’s imagination rather than Mother Nature. Named by French-speaking trappers who ventured through the region in the early 19th century, they are the youngest mountains in the Rockies and certainly the most stunning, their gorgeous facades mirrored in six lakes and sinuous Snake River along their eastern edge. Our stop for the night was in a very up market Jackson a little bit too touristy for my liking very expensive. We went to the famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar had a really good night with real line dancing brilliant fun! And real cowboys… Up bright an early for our next day to Moab via Bear lake which I was really looking forward to, but it was going to get a lot hotter!! Bear Lake will be a destination I want to go back to at an elevation of 9,450 feet (2,880 m), beneath the sheer flanks of Hallett Peak The lake was formed during the ice age by a glacier. It had such a lovely feel to it the water was so blue and families where either in the boats or having BBQ’s great way to spend a bank holiday being 5th July… Onwards to Moab where the heat was getting hotter and the roads flatter so the concentration was hard when it was just flat straight roads with the heat beating down against you nearly 94f. Moab is a city in eastern Utah. It’s a gateway to massive red rock formations in Arches National Park it features mesas and buttes carved by the Green and Colorado rivers, plus Native American rock art. Once we had a good night’s sleep, we were ready to explore the Arches National Park which lies north of Moab bordered by the Colorado River. It’s known as the site of more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, such as the massive, red-hued Delicate Arch in the east. Long, thin Landscape Arch stands in Devils Garden to the north. We headed for the furthest point with the group then were left to do our own exploring for the rest of the day!! We decided to explore on foot an hour walking up rocks to see the view was truly an experience I cannot describe !!! pictures just don’t do it justice, but it was worth it!! It was good to be on our own because we could stop where we wanted for photo’s! that is the only downside of a guided tour you pass things and think I would like to stop but if you did you would never get to your destination. Once out of the park we needed to get into some air conditioning to cool off!! So lunch time. Once refreshed we decided headed to Dead horse point state park! Which we thought was just up the road from Moab turned out it was 32 miles away!!! I was starting to feel really tired because of the heat so wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep going for but once at the gate to the park we realised our ticket didn’t cover the entrance. I was starting to get a bit crabby!! as women do sometimes!! But once Nick asked the lady in the ticket office was it worth it, so she showed us a picture and we definitely had to go and see!! I am sooooo glad we did it was
truly stunning (every day during this trip we have said that but really it was!!! Each day was a wow day how could it get any better and it did!!! ) you must not miss this if you come this way. Dead Horse Point State Park is one of Utah’s most spectacular state parks. The view from Dead Horse Point is one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world. Towering 2,000 feet above the Colorado River. All I can say is WOW!!!!!!.again….
Our last full day was upon us heading to Glenwood Springs (we just didn’t want it to end! but need to work to get the money for the next adventure!) We followed the Colorado river through the amazing canyons up to the Colorado National Monument well worth the twist and turns and sheer drops which I definitely was not looking at!!! eyes on the road for me. Stopping at the Grand Junction Our hotel for the night was the famous Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, which has played host to such historical figures as Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, and the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown. Glenwood Springs is known for its hot springs, surrounded by the vast White River National Forest. Glenwood Canyon is rich with wildlife and features Hanging Lake, with its striking turquoise waters. Sadly, we didn’t have time to try the hot springs.
Our final day, having left Glenwood Springs headed past the vast ski slopes of Vail and Frisco. This is a haven for cyclists the cycle lanes had better tarmac than our roads in the UK, you could cycle for miles upon miles up over lots of different mountain climbs. As we had made good time Bear our leader gave us a treat and took us up the famous Squaw Pass which has an elevation of 9,790ft (2.984m) above the sea level, located in the Arapaho National Forest, This road has innumerable twists and turns and shear drops!!! and is not recommended if you are prone to travel sickness. Well again it was worth it for the views. I must admit I did feel a little bit queasy, but I knew I had to get back on the bike and go down passing through all the twists and turns whilst going downhill!!! but I did it hooray!!! And loved it!!!! And would do it again! Final stop now Denver to drop the bikes off …………
I can not recommend this trip highly enough if you want a road trip with a Wow day Everyday then this is the trip for you Rocky Mountain High USA tour. Don’t just think about it DO IT