AVA/Sierracade Rally – Cody Wyoming

August 10-18, 2003

By J. Wayne Bright

Sunday, August 10, 2003:

 

I met with Ray, & Tom & Della Wright at the Perko’s on Bullard Ave. next to SR41 in Fresno at 7:00 a.m...  We departed Perko’s at 7:12 a.m. and took SR41 north to SR145 and then west thru Madera to SR99. We turned north on SR99 and made our first stop at the Turlock rest area, around 8:45a.m., for a quick break and then on to Stockton, Ca to pickup SR88 east. Just as we were exiting off of SR99, Tom’s Honda Trike quit. He thought he had run out of gas because he had indicated empty for some miles back. He managed to coast almost to the Chevron, and with a little extra help we got him to the pumps. After adding gas to his bike, we tried to start it but it still would not start. Tom had packed a new battery in Ray’s trailer; however, it had not been filled and charged. I had also packed a new battery and it was fully charged and ready to go. We pushed Tom’s bike over to the side of the station and changed batteries. There was still no power to the system until we jiggled the key in the ignition. We discovered that the problem was a faulty ignition switch, so we put his old battery back in and repacked mine in the trailer. We managed to get started and left the Chevron station at 10:15a.m... We were only less than a mile from the station when Tom’s bike quit again. After some discussion, Tom & Della decided to go back to Fresno, get their car, and meet us in Fallon, NV later that night. (We learned later that it quit again about 1mile south of Stockton and they had to have it towed to Fresno, 110 miles at $5.00 a mile. Ouch!)Ray and I continued on with stops at Lockeford, CA and Ione, CA for pictures to satisfy the Grand Tour requirements. We stopped at Cooks Station in the mountains on SR88 somewhere around noon.  After each of us consumed a chili cheese dog and drink we continued on toward Fallon, NV.  As we entered Nevada we stopped for photos at the border and then on to Carson City, NV for another Grand Tour photo. In Carson City we stopped for fuel and we were back on the road at 3:45p.m. We arrived in Fallon, NV and the Motel 6 just before 5:00p.m.  We left the motel for dinner at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy elegant dining of a sandwich, fries and a soda at the local Dairy Queen. Roger Allen joined us in Fallon after dinner and Tom & Della came in around 11:00p.m.  This was the group that would travel on to Cody together. In addition, Jim Kramlich drove over from Sacramento, CA to visit with us for the evening. He did not go to Cody, but I got the idea he sure wished he could. Lights out was late and we set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. the next morning.

 

Monday, August 11, 2003:

 

What a day this turned out to be!  We had originally planned to leave Fallon at 7:00 a.m. but we didn’t get away until 7:30 a.m.  We waited to have breakfast in Lovelock, NV which was approximately an hour north of Fallon. We discovered a small place called The Depot next to the railroad tracks in Lovelock. It was actually a delicatessen with a breakfast menu that included a deli omelet which was an omelet on a soft deli bun. As it turned out, it was great and only cost $2.82 plus tax. That plus a $.60 coffee with free refills made a nice breakfast at very little expense.  We left Lovelock around 9:30 a.m. after filling our tanks at the local Chevron off of I80. We had not fueled in Fallon so we were all starting to get low. About an hour later it was time for another stop for water and to stretch our legs. It’s very important when traveling in hot weather, to make sure you consume a lot of water. We didn’t want anyone getting dehydrated. We pulled into Winnemucca at the local truck stop and McDonalds. The restrooms were closed at McD’s so we went next door to the Conaco Flying J Travel Plaza. That was the wrong thing to do because they had so many items to look at that we took longer than we had planned. After window shopping, having our drinks and taking our restroom breaks we finally departed Winnemucca and pulled back onto I80 for Jackpot, NV. As we neared Battle Mountain, NV, Roger pulled up beside me and indicated he was low on fuel. It seems his Valkyrie does not have the excellent range of our Voyagers. We arrived in Battle Mountain about 11:45 a.m., fueled, and on our way again at 12:10 p.m.  That’s when my rotten day began.  We headed up the on ramp to I80 and as I reached the speed of 70 mph I noticed something black fly off my motorcycle. As I started to slow down, a second item flew off. I then realized I had forgotten to put my gloves back on and had laid them on the passenger seat.  I was going to walk back to get them but Tom was in his car and backed down the shoulder and retrieved them.  That’s one I owe Tom. We reached Elko, NV around 1:15 p.m. and everyone was getting hungry. We stopped at the Dairy Queen but after removing most of our gear, we realized that the walkup window was the only service there was inside facilities. It was starting to get hot outside so we all voted to continue on thru town and find a place we could go inside to get out of the heat and cool off. About 2 miles further we found a place called Bullwinkles & Co. The food was great, the atmosphere good and the temperature cool. Three of us had chef salads which were quite large and for the money they were a terrific bargain. At 2:25 p.m. we left for Wells, NV where we planned to fuel prior to the turning north on US93 and drive the remaining 70 miles to Jackpot, NV. The caravan arrived in Wells, NV at 3:15 p.m., fueled and headed toward Jackpot. We managed to go one block before we ran into a flagman holding up traffic for construction work. As we were sitting waiting for the flagman to release us I realized I had done it again. However, this time it was not my gloves but my new prescription sunglasses. Again I had put things on the passenger seat and again they fell off. A quick “U-turn” and a search back towards the service station proved successful and I found them in the street about a half block back.  One lens had popped out but to my surprise, there were no scratches and nothing broken. Lesson learned, never put anything on the back seat or anywhere where it may be out of sight! I picked up the sunglasses and returned to where the rest of the group was waiting for the flagman just as he let the traffic proceed. The rest of the trip to Jackpot was uneventful, and we arrived at the Horseshu Hotel in Jackpot around 5:00 p.m. We checked in, showered and then went to dinner. The sum total of my gambling was $1.00 in a quarter slot at the bar and won enough to pay for two beers. As you can see, I’m quite a heavy gambler.  The Horseshu Hotel had great accommodations, good food, ample parking, gambling and very nice room and all for a very inexpensive price. After approximately 700 miles in two days my fanny was starting to feel it and I went to bed early to recuperate.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

 

Today was a pretty uneventful day except for the early A.M. wakeup.  I was about half asleep when I heard “Holy sh__ it’s 7:00 o’clock!”  Seems with the time change, which was really at the border, after we left Jackpot, we had overslept.  One hour and 5 min. later we were dressed, packed, checked out and on our way to West Yellowstone, MT.  We stopped in Twin Falls, ID at 8:50 a.m. for fuel and then went to Addison Restaurant West for breakfast. The restaurant was about a block away from the service station.  Again, great food, reasonable prices and an excellent waitress. We departed the restaurant at 10:00 a.m. and didn’t stop again until 11:20 a.m. at the Coldwater Hill Rest Area on I86, about 4 miles west of American Falls, ID.  We had intended to wait until Idaho Falls, ID but Tom zipped around us in the car and pulled off at the rest stop.  Seems he and Della couldn’t go any further without a stop.  The stop turned out to be a good idea because the weather was warming up and I could feel that I was starting to get dehydrated. The rest stop had a beautiful view of the Snake River and the landscape for miles around. It would have been nice to have a little more time to relax and take in the sights but after 15 min. of rest and drinks, we were on our way again. We arrived at the southern end of Idaho Falls about 12:45 p.m. but got turned around a bit. After finding a service station and fueling, we finally managed to find US20 and get out of town about 1:25 p.m.  The next stop was Ashton, ID to take pictures with our bikes at the city limit sign so we could get an “A” for the Grand Tour.  A few more miles up the road and we realized we could pick up  an “I” at Island Park, ID, so we did a u-turn and went back to take a picture.  We couldn’t find the post office so we took pictures of the Island Park City Office.  ( A couple of miles further and a little later, we found the post office) We took pictures, drank more water, stretched and then left for West Yellowstone, MT about 3:30 p.m. A little over 40 min. later we arrived at the One Horse Motel in West Yellowstone, MT. If you are looking for a nice little place with a great host this is the place to stay. Becky, our host, brought over a hand full of old towels (now rags) for us to use on our bikes since they were really dirty and muddy from the road construction.  We rested awhile and about 6:00 p.m. we went next door toe the Travel Lodge for dinner in Kimmi’s Alaskan Grill.  We ordered a real variety of dishes which included Salmon, Prime Rib, Lasagna and Chef Salads.  The price range was as varied as the dishes and went from $8.50 to $16.50. After dinner we returned to the hotel and visited with our neighbors. About 7:30 p.m. a beautiful, vivid, double rainbow appeared and brought out the camera buffs for pictures. It was indeed a beautiful sight. At 11:00 p.m. it was lights out for another nights sleep and well deserved rest!

 

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

 

Today started out to be a slow day.  We didn’t leave the hotel until 8:30 a.m. and went straight to the service station to fuel.  After feeding our ponies, we went around the corner to the Café Old Town for breakfast. If you like biscuits and gravy or an old fashion western breakfast, you will love this place.  Eggs, toast, hash browns and coffee set me back a whopping $6.50 plus tip. We left the café and got to the West Gate of Yellowstone National Park at 10:00 a.m.  I could finally buy my Golden Eagle Pass, which gets me into all National Parks for the rest of my life for $10.00.  It’s amazing that there is still a bargain in something the federal government controls.  When we entered the gate we were advised that the East Gate was closed due to fires near the road and we would have to take a longer (90-100 miles) and rougher road thru the Northeast Gate. Ray had made arrangements to meet riders from other chapters at West Thumb Junction in Yellowstone so we headed south toward the junction. This would add even more mileage to our trip because we would be going south for quite a few miles before turning back east and north to the gate instead of going directly east and then north.  We made a short stop at the upper geyser field and took some photos before continuing to “Old Faithful.”  Ray was afraid we would be late getting to the junction so he passed on Old Faithful and continued on to the junction. Tom, Della, Roger and I stopped at the Old Faithful Lodge. After photos, restroom, etc. at the lodge and watching Old Faithful erupt, we headed for the junction to catch up with Ray. We were only at the lodge for approximately 30min so we weren’t too far behind Ray. We got to West Thumb and looked all over for Ray but were unable to locate him or raise him on the CB. Since he wasn’t there we decided that he must have gone on to Grant Village which is only a couple of miles from the junction. We got to the village and looked everywhere, including the store, visitor center and service station. I was about to give up and go back to the junction when I saw him turn into the village area.  We agreed to meet at the service station and I went on down to the end of the village area to find the others.  After all were informed we met at the station and topped off our tanks.  It seems that when Ray couldn’t find anyone at the junction, he decided to come back and find us at the lodge. When he pulled out of the West Thumb Junction area he turned the wrong way and went 25 miles toward the East Gate before he realized he was going the wrong way. He made a U-turn and just got back to the village as we were about to give up finding him.  Needless to say, he was the one who really needed the fuel.  While we were filling our tanks we started talking to some people who had just come into the park from the east entrance and said it was open now and the closed signs were taken down.  We decided to try and if it was closed we would take the north east route at the intersection where it had been closed.  When we arrived at the decision point the road had been opened and we proceeded out the East Gate. We weren’t sure why the road was opened, because the flames were pretty close to the road when we went by the fire but the smoke was going up and away from the road. We were very happy though that it was open and discovered later that shortly after we went thru, the road was closed again and stayed that way for almost a week after we all left Cody.  The trip from Grant Village to Cody, WY took us about 2 hrs 30 min. and we arrived in Cody about 3:30 p.m.  We checked into the Bear Tooth Inn (formally the Kelley Inn) and unloaded our gear, freshened up a little and head to the Ponderosa Camp Ground for the AVA Bar-B-Q at 5:00 p.m.  The Bar-B-Q was a lot of fun and five out of the seven Nor Cal Voyagers Club member present won items in the raffle. One of the really exciting things at the camp ground was to see so many 1200 and 1300 Voyagers assembled in one place. I got to see what accessories and equipment other Voyager owners added to their bikes. After the Bar-B-Q we all headed to the DQ (this group really goes for Dairy Queen) for dessert. It was 9:00 p.m. by the time we arrived back at our hotel and it was time to call it a day. It was after 11:00 p.m. before everyone left our room and we could get to bed. Guess we like to talk too much. Breakfast was planned for 7:30 a.m. the next day. This is a vacation??

 

Thursday, August 14, 2003

 

Today could be considered a crash and burn day. We went to breakfast about 8:00 a.m. and then on to the Quad at Cody. It is called the Quad because there are 4 separate complexes within one large complex. The Sierracade was setup in the Victor J. Riley Arena which was a community events center. We signed into the Sierracade/AVA Rally around 9:00 a.m. and then started looking over all the vendors’ booths. We wandered around the exhibits and visited with dozens of people until about 12:45 p.m. Another nourishing lunch consisted of a hotdog and diet coke bought at the lunch counter in the center. After lunch, Ray and I went back to the hotel to rest. Ray lay down on his bed and was out within 15 min.  I tried to read but after 30 min. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open and wound up going out too. Around 3:00 p.m. we finally woke up and started getting enough energy to think about doing something. We left the hotel and stopped at the Cody city limit sign to get our “C” for the Grand Tour. We arrived at the Quad about 4:45 p.m., in time to meet others, and leave at 5:00 p.m. to drive to Meeteetse, WY for the Sierracade Chuck Wagon Bar-B-Q dinner.  Meeteetse is approximately 30+ miles south of Cody. After some miscommunication and grumbling, our group (mostly AVA members) left the Community Center at 5:30 p.m. and arrived at the camp ground in Meeteetse a little after 6:00 p.m.  We all had dinner (not worth what we paid for it but okay), listened to some entertainment and drove back to Cody, arriving about 8:15 p.m. at the hotel. Roger came over to our room to visit and we didn’t get to bed until after midnight.

 

Friday, August 15, 2003

 

Today was a beautiful, long, exhausting day, all rolled into one.  Ray and I decided to take on Beartooth Pass ourselves and not ride with the group because we wanted to stop and take pictures when we chose to take them. We had breakfast at Granny’s again and then started out trip.  The route was to leave Cody on SR120 for 16 mile to the junction of SR296, turn left and follow SR296 for 30 miles to the junction of US212, turn right on US212 and over the pass towards Red Lodge, MT, 51 miles from the junction. At Red Lodge turn right on SR308 to Befry, MT and SR72 junction. Turn right (south) and continue across the state line were SR72 becomes SR120 back to Cody. The total trip is approximately 175 miles and takes 4 to 5 hours.  We left town at 8:45 a.m. and when we saw a junction for Chief Joseph Scenic Hwy we continued on SR120. We reached the junction of SR294 to Powell and realized we goofed somewhere so we pulled over and dug out the maps. After reviewing the map, we discovered that the scenic hwy was also SR296 but we decided we had come too far to turn back so we made the decision to do the entire route backwards. By this time it was 9:30 a.m.  We continued on and 8 minutes later we were at the Wyoming/Montana border and stopped to take pictures. We also made stops at Belfry, MT at 9:55 a.m. and Bearcreek, MT at 10:08 a.m. to get “B’s” for the tour. At 10:20 a.m. we stopped on the hill above Red Lodge, MT to take in the pretty view.  Red Lodge is a small town nestled into the mountains of southern Montana at an elevation of 5,548 ft and a population of about 2,000 people. After a couple of shots of the city, we continued through a construction zone and turned onto US212 towards Beartooth Pass.  Since we would be doing the same trip on Saturday for the poker run, we decided to find the area that would be setup for lunch and card drawing the next day.  We found Beartooth Lodge (Rock Creek Resort) about 11:00 a.m. and found out that it was the place that would be used and we saw the area were we were to park and eat. A couple of pictures and 20min later we were on our way over the pass.  We stopped a few times for pictures as we climbed higher and finally pulled off at Rock Creek Vista Point just before noon. Rock Creek Vista Point is at 9,190 ft and juts out in such a way that you have about a 270 degree panorama view of the mountains and valleys.  We left the vista point and climbed higher and found a beautiful shot to take pictures of each other with our bikes. From that area, we felt like we were on top of the world. I had just returned from the Canadian Rockies at Banff and Jasper in July and this was just a beautiful. We passed a ski lift area and numerous Alpine lakes. At 12:40 p.m. we reached Shoshone National Forest West Summit at 10,947 ft elevation. What a view! From here, all the way back to Cody it was mostly downhill but there were areas where we would descend and then climb again. Our next major stop was at Dead Indian Hill Summit at 8,000 ft elevation. There are plaques all around to tell the history of the area and how it got its name. The comical scene here was a bicycle rider who was taking a rest and munching on a bag of chips.  There was a couple of chipmunks who wanted the chips and they were really harassing him. He tried to chase them off but instead they left and then returned with reinforcements. It became 4 against 1 but unfortunately for them, this guy was a jerk and wouldn’t share. A T-shirt in Red Lodge (which I wish I had bought) said that the run was 11 gut wrenching turns, a 1 mile ascent and descent and huge temperature change from top to bottom. It was all of that and then some! We got back into Cody a little after 4 o’clock and headed to Wal Mart to pickup some items and price Diet Cherry Coke which my wife loves but we can’t buy in California. Across the street from the Wal Mart was a place called Bubba’s Bar-B-Que Restaurant. With a name like that how could we pass it up? That’s where we ate dinner and rested a little. The food was good and the prices right but when eating there you really need to bring a BIG appetite with you. A parade of motorcycles was to start from our motel next to the veterans memorial just outside of town at 6:00 p.m. We arrived at the motel at 5:45 p.m. but I was not feeling well and Ray said his bike was to dirty to show, so we decided not to enter the parade. I took some pictures of all of them lined up and then went back to my room.  I have a feeling I was a little dehydrated and hadn’t drunk enough water even though I thought I had. The parade was to go down thru town and then proceed to the city park where they would have an ice cream social. It sounded pretty good but I just wasn’t up for it. As it was, about 10 min after the riders left our area there was a big cloud burst and it pored for over 20 minutes. I don’t know if it pored as hard or at all on the parade but if it did there were some real wet individuals. After such a day, we decided to turn in earlier tonight because the tomorrow was going to be another grueling day.

 

Saturday, August 16, 2003

 

We were slow to get started this morning but we had to be at the Holiday Inn by 8:00 a.m. for the AVA Awards breakfast. We had a great buffet breakfast along with a lot of recognition of various members of the staff that helped put the rally together. There were more drawings to give away the remainder of the prizes donated by Kawasaki. Ray was complaining that he never wins anything when they called his number for the 50/50 drawing.  He won $286.00 and didn’t offer to buy a round, or something similar. Oh Well!! We left the Holiday Inn  around 9:45 a.m. and went to the Quad to draw our first two cards and start the Poker Run. We drew our cards and were on our way to repeat Friday’s run only in reverse, this time. We stopped for water and a quick stretch at a small lake approximately 2 hours later. It was a little after noon but we had about another hour before we would arrive at the Beartooth Lodge for lunch. Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and then Beartooth Pass is riding the hardest part of the run first. Once we arrived at the lodge, the remainder of the trip to Red Lodge, MT and back to Cody, WY was straighter and more level. At Beartooth Lodge we stopped and drew our next card and proceeded to the bar-b-que area for lunch. One large  hamburger, chips and a coke later, we again set out to finish the poker run at 1:45 p.m.. Red Lodge is a scenic, old time western town and interesting to see.  We pulled into town to look and for Ray to locate an ATM. At 3:00 p.m., we headed for Cody but had to make a stop at a little café in Bearcreek, MT that advertised “The best banana cream pie in the world”. Ray couldn’t resist the urge to check it out and see if they could stand behind there boasting. The pie was very good but Ray and I both agreed, not as good as our mother’s. It was after 4:30 p.m. before we arrived in Cody, WY and the Quad to draw our final 2 cards. Neither of us came close to a winning hand, so we had sandwiches and drink there and then went back to our motel exhausted for the second day in a row. That evening we packed so that I could return to Fresno with Ray’s cargo trailer while he went to Trout Creek, MT to pickup a new tent trailer. He packed what he thought he would need for his trip and all excess baggage, tools, etc. where packed into the trailer with my stuff. We had gone back to Wal Mart and purchased 14 each 12 packs of the Diet Cherry Coke to take home with me. With the coke loaded and all of Ray’s stuff in the trailer, my suitcase had to be tied down on the top of the trailer. Sunday would be our day to leave Cody and pulling the trailer this loaded was going to be a real task.

 

 

Sunday, August 17, 2003

 

 

  Tom and Della had left on Thursday for Fresno because they didn’t have their bike and felt a little out of it for various motorcycle events. Saturday, Roger had left to go up into Montana and see the “Little Bighorn Site” and today was time for Ray and me to leave. We were up fairly early this morning and finished packing the trailer and our bikes. Rather than go out to breakfast, we had the continental breakfast in the motel. (Fruit, Muffins, Toast, Fruit, Coffee & Juices) We were on our way before 7:00 a.m. and by 8:05 a.m. I was in Thermopolis, WY at the junction of SR120 & US20. Thermopolis is approximately 80 miles south of Cody and is noted for it hot springs located at Hot Springs State Park. Thermopolis is also the home of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. South of Thermopolis on US20 is Wind River Canyon where the highway follows the river thru a beautiful canyon with high walls on each side. Along the highway are signs pointing out the various rock layers and the approximately age of their formation. As you leave the canyon the terrain opens up into rolling hills and dry land again. The next stop I made was in Shoshoni, WY at the junction of US20 and US26 to take more pictures. Shoshoni has a population of only 635 and is at an altitude of 4,820 ft. When I left Cody I was at 5,016 ft and dropped a couple of hundred feet but at Shoshoni I started to climb again. By the time I arrived in Evanston, WY near the Utah/Wyoming border I had climbed to 6,700 feet plus. Riverton, WY was another 22 miles SW of Shoshoni on US26 and I had to stop for fuel. I also walked into the Burger King at the service station and purchased a sausage biscuit about 9:40 a.m. I left Riverton on SR789 and headed toward Hudson, WY (pop 407 elev 5,094) and Lander, WY where I picked up US287 and road construction. Since it was Sunday there was no activity on the road but it was so torn up and washboarded I thought I was going to shake apart. There was almost 10 miles of dirt road before I hit pavement again. Boy did I enjoy the feel of concrete and asphalt again! When you leave Lander, you start a long climb over South Pass and the Continental Divide. However, before you reach the pass there is a pullout to view Red Canyon.  The sight is spectacular with orange and red sandstone formations created from the concentrations of ferrous oxide, or iron in the soil and stone. The area is also the winter range for 100’s of elk. The route was a western trail from South Pass City to Lander and Fort Washakie, WY during the western movement days. It is now SR28 from Lander to Farson, WY.  I arrived in Farson, WY a little before noon and fueled at the local truck stop and store, which is almost the whole town of Farson. The population was a big 325 and the elevation was 6,580 and sits in an area that could be considered high desert. Farson is also at the junction of SR28 and US191. A few miles south on US191 is the thriving metropolis of Eden, WY with a huge population of 220 people. From Eden, it was a straight shot south on US191 to Rock Springs, WY where US191 junctions with Interstate 80 which would take me all the way to Sacramento, CA before I had to take a different highway. Rock Springs is a pretty good size city and has a population of 18,708. Although the highways from Cody to Rock Springs where mostly 2 lanes, they were well maintained.(except for the construction area) Once I was on I80, it was 75 mph and at least 4 lanes of divided highway. The views along the way were spectacular and the weather was warm but with a slight overcast that kept the summer heat down a little. I passed thru Rock Springs around 1:00 p.m. and headed west toward Salt Lake City, Utah. I detoured a little at Lyman, WY for photos and fuel and stopped at Urie, WY to pickup a “U” for the Grand Tour. By the time I got to Evanston, WY it was 4:00 p.m. and I was starting to get a little hungry and needed a restroom break so I pulled into the first McD I saw. After a quick bite, I found the city hall so I could get an “E” photo. Proceeding on to Salt Lake City, UT was just a matter of following signs but the traffic continued to get heavier as I entered the Salt Lake City area. I went on thru the city and thought about going to Wendover, NV before stopping but I needed fuel so I pulled into a station near the Salt Lake City airport. Checking with the clerk at the station, and looking at my maps I decided that since it was already 6:00 p.m., it would be after dark before I could make it to the border. Another deciding factor was the Best Western at the Airport next door to the station, which reinforced my decision to hang it up for the day. I parked Trigger and checked into the motel for the night. After traveling close to 450 miles and spending 12 hours plus in the saddle, I had no trouble sleeping that night.

 

August 18, 2003

 

One advantage to going to bed early is that you tend to wake up early the next day. I was on the road at 6:45 a.m. after eating breakfast and reloading my things in the trailer. My first stop was Wendover, UT at 8:30 a.m. It was a little strange to be standing in Utah and looking next door at a casino in Wendover, NV. The station I stopped at was right on the border of Nevada and Utah. Paralleling the Great Salt Lake in Utah and then out onto the desert of west Utah was very interesting but after awhile it is nice to see a change of scenery and Wendover fulfilled that need. Upon leaving Wendover, it was back to the high desert and sagebrush for miles. I still needed more cities to complete the Grand Tour so I pulled off at Oasis, NV for an “O”.  Oasis is a wide spot off of I80 about 32 miles east of Wendover. It offers a gas pump, a small café and a bunch of broken down buildings. At one time I’m sure it was a major fuel stop for traffic across the desert but it’s just another dying business now. The sign for Oasis is on top of the building facing I80 and I was unable to get back on the ramp to get a picture so I had to settle for an arrow and road sign pointing to Oasis at the bottom of the off ramp. An hour and half later I was pulling into Elko, NV for fuel again. Since I was pulling a heavy trailer, I was only covering between 130 and 170 miles before I stopped for fuel. Since cities and service stations are few and far between on I80 across Nevada, it requires some advance planning for stops. I left Elko around 10:40 a.m. and made 2 stops between Winnamucca and Elko. The first stop was Valmy, NV for a “V” and again at Golconda, NV for a “G” and finally stopped at Winnamucca, NV a little after 1:00 p.m. for a quick snack and fuel before proceeding on to Lovelock, NV for my next fuel stop at 2:35 p.m. When I went thru Reno, NV and arrived at Boomtown, NV I thought about stopping for the night. However, it was only 4:15 p.m. by the time I fueled and was ready to leave. I felt good, and decided that I might as well go over the mountains to Sacramento, CA and see how I felt at that time.  I lived in Sacramento for a number of years and knew how the roads were and what type of traffic I would encounter. The late afternoon ride over Donner Pass was absolutely beautiful and the traffic was light. The drive over the Sierra Nevada Mountains is great no matter which pass you take including everything from narrow 2 lanes to divided 4 & 6 lanes. I80 is a divided freeway the entire way but still offers beautiful views. My big surprise was trying to get more letters for the Grand Tour. I needed two “A’s” and found Applegate, CA and Auburn, CA on the map right on I80. I’ve spent a lot of time in Auburn but in all the years I wandered around the mountain communities I never remembered Applegate. It is a quiet little community just south of I80 and about 10 miles east of Auburn. I’m sure I must have gone thru it at one time or another because it is near Colfax, CA where I spent a great deal of time but it was a surprise to find it at this time. I made two more quick stops for photos at Auburn, CA and Newcastle, CA and then on into Sacramento. I stopped in the area north of Sacramento called Foothill Farms where my parents used to live and had another gourmet dinner at McDonalds near Auburn Blvd. and Madison Ave. It was 6:30 when I stopped and about 7:15 p.m. when I left MacD’s and started for Fresno. I was still feeling pretty good even after 12 hours of riding and decided to stop south of Sacramento for fuel and then decide how far to go before finding a motel. I fueled my bike at Mack Road south of Sacramento at 8:00 p.m. and felt I could continue for awhile but if I started getting tired I would pull in at the first available town. As it was, I felt fine and after 840 miles and 16 ½ hours on the road, I arrived home in Clovis at 11:15 p.m. It was a terrific ride and I loved every minute of it and given the chance I would do it again. The Grand Tour required us to spell out “Northern California Voyagers Club” using different cities. This requires taking pictures of your bike with a city limit, fire station, post office, etc. in the background to verify you were there. On the trip to Cody and back, I managed to get 26 of the 30 letters required and was only short an “N”, 2 “O’s” and an “R” which I picked up locally. The full name for the tour was Norcal Voyagers Club Grand Tour 2003 and is the first annual NCVC Grand Tour sponsored by our club. It is open to all motorcyclists who dare to try this venture and started on January 1, 2003 and ended on October 31, 2003. For those completing the Tour and submitting their folders of all 30 verified photos will receive a special patch and their tour books as proof of their accomplishment. For those that missed the Cody trip or did not participate in NorCal Voyager’s Grand Tour, you missed a couple of fantastic events.