2009 Motorcycle Fall Tour

Each fall, my Lady and I go for a bike ride to view the awesome Idaho mountain vistas while the autumn colors are in full blaze. This year we deviated from our normal route through the Sawtooth mountains and Sun Valley, and toured instead the Teton and Yellowstone Parks.

We left Pocatello Friday afternoon and rode over Piney Creek Pass and Teton Pass into Jackson, WY, where we spent the first night. Saturday morning we headed north with the grandeur of the Tetons on our left and, after passing through 8 harrowing miles of graveled muddy road construction, entered the South Entrance of Yellowstone. There were several fires near the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake that obstructed some of the views, and eventually led to road closures, but other than that the day was spectacular. We continued around the east side of the grand loop to the Upper and Lower Falls, where we hiked along both rims of the canyon for a panoramic parade of scenery featuring towering prismatic cataracts cascading into the brightly hued gorge below. One of us also climbed down the steps of Uncle Tom's Trail for even more majestic views from the base of Lower Falls. After that, we continued around the loop to Mammoth Springs, and then south to Norris. Unfortunately, the road to Madison was closed, so we had to cut back east across the loop to Canyon Village and then retrace our path around the Lake. Even more unfortunately, the road was intermittently closed due to the fires, and the smoke-filtered, blood-red sun was almost on the horizon when we made it through the affected area. By the time we reached Old Faithful on the western part of the loop it was fully dusk, and as we rode west along the Madison River the half moon was high above the canyon walls, its dancing reflection following us on the river. The temperature dropped rapidly then, and we were chilled and saddle-sore when we arrived at our hotel in West Yellowstone around 8:30.

On Sunday, we headed south back into Idaho through Island Park and then took the scenic byway (Highway 47) that passes by Mesa Falls. We stopped at the Upper Falls, and took in more scenes of magnificent waterfalls and fall foliage before continuing on to Idaho Falls for lunch, and then home. We pulled into the driveway around 4:00 with 602 miles clocked on the odometer. It was an incredible ride with perfect weather, spectacular scenery, and great company! Thanks be to God for his handiwork, and the desire and wonderment that he placed within us.