2012 Trip "Out West" - Sat, Day 8 (Steamboat Springs, CO to Lusk, WY)

WOW, it was a chilly morning in Steamboat Springs. Only 47 degrees!! I really like the heated grips on the new Limited. Just the thing to take the chill off the hands on a morning like this. I find that I can still wear my fingerless gloves even this cool with the heated grips. Had lots of coffee and a muffin at the Lodge before I left town. Wasn't too hungry after a big dinner the night before.

With the cool mountain air and the rain the evening before, there was a pretty fog rising over the downtown. This was from the lodge parking lot.

About 20 miles out of Steamboat Springs I climbed to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. I thought this was a cool name for a pass. It was also only the second time that I had crossed the Continental Divide on this trip (the other was a few days ago on Wolf Creek Pass). This would also be the last time I crossed the Continental Divide on this trip.

Didn't get a picture, but I did see two moose this morning coming out of Colorado. Rounded a curve and there was a bull moose standing in the road. He took off pretty fast as he saw me so I had to brake, but not that hard as he moved off the road and headed into the brush pretty quickly. I looked on the other side of the road and there stood the cow moose. As I continued to slow down she took off at a rapid pace doing the "high step" through the creek. Didn't have time to get the camera out to get a picture of either of them as they both slipped into the brush.

Did stop for a break and a few pictures at the Wyoming border. There is no doubt, once you are in Wyoming you do really feel the ole West!

This was the second time I rode across the Snowy Range Pass. This one of my favorite rides and scenic places (Hmmm, I seem to say that about a lot of places!! That's OK as I have lots of favorite rides and places!!). I did this ride back in 2009 (you can see similiar pics from the album for the 2009 trip!). I always remember an old man on the boardwalk in Dubois, WY back in 2005 when I went out to Yellowstone. He is the one that told me about the Snowy Range Pass. He told me then, if I was heading in that direction, that it was a beautiful place to see. I thought about it in 2005 but ended up having problems with my shifter and had to get it fixed in Riverton, WY so I didn't make it in 2005. Today was a beautiful day. I spent a lot of time just staring at the mountains. Just a great place to meditate!! The next several pictures do not need any words with them as they all "speak for themselves"! These are my favorites:

Rode on down off the pass to Laramie and stopped for the first time at the Laramie HD shop. It is one of those few remaining Harley shops that isn't located right next to an Interstate exit with all the big signs and advertising. Sometimes they are the most friendly (like Dodge City HD shop was!). Always interesting the different "atmosphere" in HD shops. Normally you can just feel it as soon as you enter the door. I spent about 20-30 minutes in the shop looking at the bikes and accessories, mainly just to take a break and cool off. Not a single person said a single word to me in the shop!! No, Hi, how are you doing, where are you from, nothing, not even any eye contact!! There were only 2-3 other customers in the shop the entire time too. Anyway, used the restroom and headed out with no purchases!! I don't always do that, sometimes I will try to initiate conversation in a shop with the employees but other times I just walk around and try to get a "flavor" for the customer service attitude. I got a good assessment from the Laramie HD shop!! Don't plan to stop by there again.

Laramie, WY HD shop

Headed up SR 34 to I-25. Started to get a little tired and hot around Wheatland (had long ago turned the heated grips off and taken off all the layers of clothing except for my riding shirt) so I started to look for a motel for the night. Little did I know that it was Cheyenne Frontier Days!!!! Wow, something like 500,000 people come to Cheyenne for Frontier Days (Hmmm, must be the entire population of Wyoming!!). It is a big deal. I saw where they were having concerts by Zac Brown,  Marshall Tucker, Brad Paisley, Merle Haggard. Reba McIntire, Hank Williams, Jr., Blake Shelton and lots of rodeos! So, it looked like all the motels were booked up along I-25 for many miles north of Cheyenne (stopped at 2-3 just to verify!). 

Thought I had better call ahead to find a place for the night with a reservation before I ended up riding into the darkness, so I pulled off to make the cell phone calls.

Funny all these horses (and they were all beautiful too) and one donkey came over to the open area/driveway in the fence (there was a "cattle guard" in the ground) and just starred at me. Made an interesting picture anyway with the real horses and my iron/steel horse together!!

Resting the "horses"

Called and found a room in Lusk, WY which was well off the interstate, far enough from Cheyenne and still on my way to South Dakota. That is where I ended up for the night and was it ever a neat place and town!

After I unloaded to my room, I checked out the courtyard with "The Chuck Wagon Bar". It looked really inviting, but no one was around. I walked back to the check in front desk and ask the lady there if they did anything or offered anything at "The Chuck Wagon Bar". She told me that was where they would have custom made to order omelettes for the motel guest in the morning. She then said "would you like something from there like a cold beer for this evening". Of course I said yes and she said "head on out and I will meet you at the bar". So here she comes with a tub full of ice and four Bud beers. She sits the tub down in front of me and says these are complimentary, hope you enjoy! Now that was customer service!!!!

So, I sat there at the evening bar, drinking my Budweisers and planning my riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota for the next few days. That was really relaxing and just made the day! I would highly recommend this motel in Lusk. Just an excellent place with great people!! As a matter of fact, the entire town was like that!!

The motel recommended this Steakhouse just up the street. I knew it would be a good place when I saw they served "Breakfast-Dinner & Supper" instead of the usual "Breakfast-Lunch & Dinner"!!

I just had to have a Wyoming steak so the waitress recommended their Ribeye. WOW, did she ever provide a great recommendation! It was grilled to just perfection and was  huge. Steak and a Fat Tire beer in Lusk, WY, it don't get no better than this (I have said this before too!!)!! I believe the meal only costs something like $12 too.

This was a sign hanging in the restaurant. I thought it was neat. Again, really in the West now!!

Really a nice, peaceful town!

Downtown Lusk

Got back to the motel and sat in the courtyard for awhile smoking a cigar into the evening. I always like to leave early in the mornings and ride while it is cool and check in at a motel early in the evening. It is hot then, gives me time to unwind & find a good place to eat and plan for the next days ride. Most people do not seem to do that, even the other motorcyclists. Just after dark, people started to really roll into the motel and before long it was full and the No Vacancy light went on.

While I was in the courtyard, a couple stopped by and we started talking. They were from Australia  and had been touring the western US in a rental SUV. I told them I was on a motorcycle trip and was from Virginia. He then tells me he bought a Harley from Las Vegas Harley Davidson about a week ago. This was to be his first Harley. He had ridden and owned "dirt bikes" before. That was the first Harley stop they stopped at on their USA tour and he saw an used 2003 100th anniversary edition and fell in love with it. He said he was just so dazzled & overwhelmed with all the bikes, new and used, and the size of the Las Vegas dealership. So he bought it on the spot and paid them to ship it to Australia!! Funny thing was, he didn't know what model he bought!!! He just knew it was a 100th anniversary edition and didn't know that Harley had made that edition in all/most of their models that year. That was when he said, hey, I have a picture of it on my camera, if I show it to you can you tell me what model I bought. He did and it was a Heritage Softail Classic. He was so happy that he now knew the model that he had bought a few days ago!! He was hoping they would get it shipped to Australia at least by December which is the prime riding season for the folks down under!! He told me there are basically no used Harleys on the market in Australia and the few Harley dealers they have there don't have much new inventory and the bikes are very expensive. He was sure that if he wanted to sell this 2003 Heritage, he just bought, that he could do it in the future in Australia and make money on the sale!

That was the highlights of my day. On to the Black Hills of South Dakota tomorrow!!