Well, since that last update quite a few things have come to pass. First we wound up in Swan Valley, ID Monday night. On the way from Utah we rode through rain and freezing temperatures. We were quite cold and wet as we approached Swan Valley, ID. Both of us spied an outdoor outfitter shop and made a u-turn to stop by.
We entered the store in hopes of getting some waterproof gloves and other warmer under garments (average temp we were seeing was 42 w/o the windchill). We entered South Forks Outfitters and were greeted by Chris. Chris was super helpful. He helped us with finding a route to avoid the snow and frozen mountain passes and helped us pick out the best gear for the weather to push on in the trip.
After settling up and getting warm, Chris recommended that we eat at a place down the road called "The Saddle Sore Saloon" (he was about to head there for food as well). We arrived just in time to have our burgers and tots ready to eat. Chris was already tearing into his burger and we said that for all the help we had to buy him dinner or a beer or both.
Once the we started eating, we talked with the locals in the saloon. We asked about what mountain passes to avoid and where the snow blocked the roads.Flashback for a moment...
We were originally going to go to the Rocky Mountain National Park outside of Denver. Since we went thru Durango, Silverton, and Ouray up the continental divide. We decided that we would trim that part of the route.
We originally were going to go to Yellowstone via the west entrance. After calling and booking a lodge we asked about weather conditions and road closings. We were informed that the road to the west entrance was completely impassible (6 foot of snow and ice). We were recommended to try going in via the south entrance.
Flashforward...
We are at the saloon in Swan Valley, ID. We are talking with a local helicopter piolit and a Swan's delivery driver. We mentioned where we were headed and what roads we were going to take. They quickly told us that all the passes on hwy 31 were closed and would remain closed until the rain/snow let up. That left us going way south to go around the passes and still having to cross Targhee Pass, Powder River Pass, and Wind River Pass. All of these passes are at least 9000 ft elevation and surrounded by snow.
We left Swan Valley and tried pushing to Yellowstone via US 191 north through Grand Tetons National Park. We got about half way through Grand Tetons before the rain started again. It continued until we reached the Targhee Pass and then it turned to snow. At this point we called Yellowstone and they advised us that the south entrance was quickly becoming nasty. With much regret we pulled all plans for going into/through Yellowstone on this trip.
The rest of the day consisted of off and on freezing rain and cold temperatures. The only high points were the scenery as we went through the mountains. To top off our already dampened spirits, Thomas and I both got matching speeding tickets a 100miles before we got on the interstate. Then the highway patrol persisted to follow us for the next 20miles... GRRRRRR
Night was quickly approaching , we had one more pass to cross and 60 more miles to the interstate where we could make up some time on the way to Sturgis, SD. The last pass was Powder River. I knew we were in trouble when we hit that pass because the gps showed elevation for that 60miles at 6000ft+ all the way up to 9,600ft for the duration. We couldn't turn around because that was the only way to the interstate within a 200miles of where we were.
So, we're winding up the mountain pass and other than the cold wind and fading daylight, everything was going well. We reach the summit of the pass and check out the 7-8ft of snow on either side of the road and think to ourselves "we should really get off this thing before the weather sets down..." Too little, too late.... As soon as we made our decent we were immediately hit with blinding fog (I couldn't see Thomas' bike 20ft in front of me). It was so bad that I had to slow to 15mph and lift my shield on my helment. All the while, wiping my glasses with my gloves to clear my vision. We make about 5 miles of progress and then it starts snowing. Now at this point I'm thinking "oh sh1t, we're going to get stuck on this *ucking mountain and we've got 20 more miles to go!!!" We come down about another 1000ft and the snow turned to sleet (roads began getting icy). Oh, almost forgot to mention that the temperature dropped at the summit to 30*F and then rose only to 40*F as we descended the pass. We finally made it to the bottom and into Buffalo, WY at 12:00am MST. The pass took 3 hours to go 60miles...When we stopped the sleet had turned into a wet mix of rain/sleet/snow... We stopped at a truck stop to ask what the weather was like up the I90. The general consensus was that it was going to be cold and crapy for the most part of the night...
So that bring us to now as I sit here in a warm hotel room bed typing this post. We are pushing to make it through Mt. Rushmore and hopefully to Omaha, NB by tonight. That will put us in line to make it to Chicago by Thrusday night.
More from Chicago,
Zeb and Thomas
Our our great adventure to seek the warm embrace of the south...
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