The Yellowstone Road
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2008
1
6
90
Trip End
Ongoing
Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming,
United States
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Next up was the grand entrance into Yellowstone, by way of the Beartooth Highway, which is a VERY winding road that runs through the Beartooth Pass in the Absaroka Range at 10,947 ft
Beartooth Highway
. We had some crosswinds and some rain, but generally made it in good stead. I'd hate to be up there on a bad day. There are still a lot of Harleys on the road, as the Sturgis crows radiates outward to make the most of their excursion, and show off their new T-shirts.Once in the park, the question was: where to camp? At thispoint time I ran into a friendly guy outside the Canyon Junction store, also traveling alone. His name was Norm and he was heading back to Salinas, CA from Sturgis on his Harley V-Rod. He suggested I check out Pebble Creek in the northeast section, where he was staying, and if it was full he'd share his campsite with me. I thanked him and took him up on this, and he said he'd see me there later.
Pebble Creek is a great campground in the Lamar Valley, which is known for its natural beauty, as opposed to geysers - it's all fly fishing rivers and streams, and herds of buffalo. Ranger Ray toldme thatthey did indeed have a tent lot left, and I dropped $24 for a 2 day stay. Norm rolled in a couple of hours later, and we hung out that evening just chatting.
So Norm set me straight on Sturgis. He said there were a lot of old guys there, but young guys - and chicks - as well
Mountain Lake
. They were all out at the Buffalo Chip, outside of Sturgis.A guy at the Badlands campground had told me about the Chip. It's a huge fenced-off grasss field that is converted to a festival and campground for bikers, in the tens of thousands. I was in the bike line to get in when I decided that if I did I'd never make it back, so I headed back downtown (A little been-there-done-that, a little rational, and a little chicken. Where wermyfriends to talk me into it when I needed them?). Within that fence, all varieties of two-wheeled and variously clad mayhem ensued - for about a solid week. Norm reported crazy partying, gruesome accidents, and generallly a scene to be witnessed. Music was provided by ZZ Top and Kid Rock, among others. Thanks for setting me straight, Norm - Sturgis lives on, and changes for the better and the worse, as do most things.
