Exploring Idaho and Montana Enroute to the Big Sky Rally.

Introduction:

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Rally was a 32 hour endurance rally organized by the famous IBR veterans Bob & Sylvie Torter (aka V-Twins) as a celebration and a thank you to the several years of motorcycling fun, friendships and camaraderie they have enjoyed with the great people in the LD rider community. No one could have said it better as the V-Twins did when they introduced the rally to friends..

Introduction to GBU Rally by the V-Twins.

I had always been hesitant to run LD rallies. Honestly, I have always doubted I had what it took to go a 1000+ miles in 24 hours (Saddle Sore 1000). I used to see what these riders did routinely and be in awe (I still am). One 1000+ mile day is just the bare minimum required to be considered one of their ranks. These guys have accomplished so much more than just the bare minimum, such as 1500+ miles in 36 hours (Bum Burner 1500 - BB1500), 1500+ miles in 24 hours (Bum Burner Gold - BBG). The toughest among them run or have run in what is called the Iron Butt Rally. An endurance armageddon of 11,000+ miles in 11 days.

Here, I relate the story of the journey to the GBU rally, and the journey home! The story of the rally itself, I will save for a separate blog post. The report is split up into two parts for the journey to Big Sky. The return home is an epilogue to the rally itself which is a separate blog post.

Part 1: The road to Stanley, Idaho.
July 20th, 2011.

I was riding with my mentor Brian R. We were going to take the scenic route to Big Sky, through some of Idaho's beautiful roads and sceneries. The plans was to get to Stanley Idaho, approx 520 miles away and the destination for the day by 4:30pm on Wednesday evening, (remember, we lose 1 hour going to Mountain Time from Pacific Time), just in time for the 15 minute Eucalyptus steam sauna and the 45 minute full body massages we had scheduled for ourselves at the Meadow Creek Inn and Spa in Stanley. We were going to rough it out enough while running the rally - so we decided to pamper ourselves a little on the way there!

This was to be the first day of running against the clock - the stops were minimal and all photography was on the move until we reached the destination. So please pardon the composition and the existence of some speed blur.

Wednesday morning brought us a sunrise start. We were supposed to be on the road as the sun rose, but here we were still in Brian's driveway as the sun first peeked out. We left 30 seconds after this shot was taken.

Slabbed it on I-80 to Winnemucca, NV. There was 400 miles of desert to cross before we would reach the fun roads in Idaho.

From Winnemucca, we took Hwy 95 towards the Oregon Border and then towards Idaho. If you looked REALLY hard, you could find some vista's on this boring stretch of desert highway.

Once past Boise, Idaho. We exited on Hwy 21 and as the scenery swept past us, it was changing from Desert to Alpine as the highway twisted in convoluted ways while following the Payette River.

Once we gained some altitude, the highway opened up and soon we were racing towards Stanley, Idaho..

.. with Alpine vista's to entertain us..

The first sight of the Sawtooth mountain range peeking at us..

They grew even more majestic as we drew closer..

..and closer..

Here we are..

Part 2: Exploring Stanley, Idaho.

July 20th & July 21st, 2011.

We arrive at Stanley, Idaho exactly at 4:30pm. Brian is a great time lord in that regard, making time back, when we had lost it due to various reasons including road construction and Sammy's tomfoolery. When we had started we had about 1 hour leeway to play with, which gets devoured in no time at all. Plus, we were going to lose an hour going into Mountain Time from Pacific Time. Brian kept on my case all day, through gas stops, food stops, rest stops - I remember him telling me at the very first stop of the morning for Breakfast at Micky Dee's when I found myself lost looking at the menu, a lesson which would help me in a couple days time - "Sammy, you need to either be ordering, eating, peeing or riding - there isn't time to do anything else!"

However, even though the day had been hectic and a battle against time, the whole reason to do so was to enjoy our time at the Meadow Creek Inn and Spa - where we had sauna time and massages scheduled. After quick showers we enjoyed soaking in a Eucalyptus sauna (which did wonders for my ailing sinus's), followed by a full body massage by the well trained masseuses at the Resort.

After our massages we spent time relaxing at the Resort's stellar backyard, sipping wine and taking in the beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains.



This was truly a magical place to relax your mind and your body as the evening enveloped us..





We headed into town for dinner sometime afterwards, Stanley is a very small town and we found this pizza place that the locals recommended - they had some very delicious Calzones! After dinner, we returned to our hotel and lounged in the yard as Brian smoked his cigar and watched the sun perform its last magical show of light and color for the day..

The sun playing hide and seek in the clouds, suffusing them with a golden glow as is starts to dip behind the hills.



The remnants of the day filling the sky with a celebration of color.



The next morning I awoke very early to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't find a good vantage point to actually capture the ball of fire rising, what I did however was explore Stanley in the soft warm glow of an infant sun.

The first rays of a re-awakening sun caressing the Sawtooth's..



Cow pastures bordering the resort property and the Sawtooth's preening themselves in their reflections in the morning glow.





Imagine yourself lounging on the hammocks, imbibing the scenery and a beverage of choice, or reading a book and listening to the rustle of the leaves the moos of the cows..



A couple closer looks at the Sawtooth's in their morning glory..





It was a cold morning as I walked around Stanley, long before anything had opened for the day, taking the time to smell the flowers and letting the warmth of the sun attempt to comfort me in the morning chill, as I reflected that I was barely going to scratch the surface of this stunningly gorgeous area..

I call this the Peacock flower..



These look like they are from an alien world, or from a fairy tale..





The serpentine tributary to the Salmon River running through Stanley.


The sound and smell of freshly ground coffee pulled me to this building..



We enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast here later..







This is where we had dinner the night before. This and the next couple shots are what consist of downtown Stanley. A quaint town indeed. I walked around here for a few minutes..









.. before returning to the hotel to gear up, head out for breakfast and continue our journey past Stanley..

Part 3: The Big Skies of Montana.
July 21st, 2011.

This day again would be lots of moving and very little stopping, so once again there is a lot of photography here which was on the move. I apologize once again for any blurring caused by speed.

It was a gorgeous ride up the Salmon River. I wish my camera could have captured the beauty of Hwy 75 running alongside the Salmon River with Ranches and farms alongside the river.



The Highway then ventures into forests and canyons while still hugging the Salmon River.



The terrain then suddenly changes to a region of rain shadow, before dropping into the thriving agricultural Valley of Salmon, Idaho.





From here we climb back into the Bitterroot Forests and started heading towards Lost Trail Pass. Some very fun and technical hairpins climbing up to Lost Trail Pass.



Why are we stopping? Ahh I guess Brian has to use the rest room. There was also another reason, we hadn't made a gas stop at Salmon and he wanted to find out at the visitor's center if there was gas in Wisdom, MT. If not, we would have headed to Hamilton, which we weren't planning to do because we had been informed there was heavy construction between Hamilton and Missoula and we didn't want to go that way..



Which way did Lewis and Clark pass? No one knows...but one can imagine their intensity and the immense sense of adventure that drove them. Initiative, drive, entrepreneurship and great resolve and bravery against overwhelming odds have long defined the American spirit - let's not waste it watching American Idol..



We still had a long way to go, but we were finally about to enter the Big Sky state, Chief Joseph Pass (not to be confused with Chief Joseph Highway in Wyoming) was going to lead us there..



It dropped us down from the mountains to the vast open plains of Montana towards Wisdom, MT. However, these plains are still at a very high elevation and gave me the first introduction to the big skies of Montana..



We found a great restaurant for lunch in Wisdom, MT. Right across from the gas station, Big Hole Crossing Restaurant, if you are ever in the area you will certainly enjoy it very much!

What does your wisdom dicate? She is selling - are you buying?



Our wisdom dictated that we weren't buying, so we returned to the big skies of Montana..





Here we are about to go over Big Hole Pass.



It's such a beautiful country with ranches both old and seemingly abandoned..



.. and those which seem to be thriving!



Did you know there are old western towns called Virginia City and Nevada City in Montana? If not, look them up, it's an interesting read. We rode through there quickly and I didn't have time to take many pictures (or none that turned out anyway).

Virginia City, Montana History.

Nevada City, Montana.

The view going down from Virginia City to Ennis, MT is one to behold!





So is the view of the gorgeous Lake Hebgen. I don' think I need to point out to you how close the clouds appear to the surface? Big Skies indeed!



Heading towards Big Sky, MT.







Here we are.. The clouds were ominous and were threatening rain and rain it did.



The next morning was clear skies, but I had stayed up the night before connecting with dear friends who I barely get to see once or twice a year, so I was too tired to venture out to catch the sunrise, instead I took a couple shots of the view of Lone Mountain from my room and went back to bed!

Lone Mountain soaking in the morning sun..

Epilogue: From Big Skies to Weird Skies to Big Fires reaching for the Skies.

July 25 & 26th, 2011.

Some of you are already familiar with the 640x480 resolution of photographs that the IBA requires for it rallies. When we started our journey home from Big Sky, I had forgotten to reset my camera from that low VGA resolution. We took some beautiful roads from Big Sky to Butte. Hwy 84, Hwy 287, Hwy 359 and Hwy 2. If you ever find yourself traveling from Butte towards Yellowstone, do yourself a favor and get off the Interstate and take these Montana back highways. Picture perfect farm country with beautiful barns and granaries, scenic lakes and a great view of the mountains. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures for you so just take my word for it. :-)

It wasn't until we were headed for Missoula that I realized my mistake and reset the camera resolution. Here is Brian heading to Missoula on I-90.



We were going to take Lolo Pass and its 99 miles of curves towards Hells Canyon. Big smiles in anticipation for the fun that was going to come!





Beautiful curves running right alongside the river..





The first introduction to Weird Skies!





Three distinct shades!



Looked like a Tsunami of clouds waiting to engulf us..



The rain did catch up to us by the time we reached Hells Canyon Recreation area. Intermittent showers, which actually felt good and cooled us off. It was great fun running through Hells Canyon..





Tempting curves as we were once again united with the Salmon River..





.. and it's beautifully carved canyons..





We stayed the night in Ontario, Oregon. We had no choice, it was getting dark and we weren't feeling like pushing through the stretch back home in the dark. The town is a dump and that's all I have to say about that..

The next morning was home stretch, we dipped down Hwy 95 through Oregon towards the Nevada border, we had left the greenery behind and were back in the desert..



Yea, Oregon is SLLOOWW.. $%@#!!



Are we in Nevada yet? I am bored and this retarded 55mph Oregon speed limit is killing me!!



Back in Nevada! Is that a Dirt Devil? Can't be ... could it be? Naah...



Heading into the fire!



This was a sizeable blaze, there was scorched earth all around, the firefighters were trying real hard to keep the fire from jumping I-80. Traffic was stopped in either direction. As we sat there for a while it seemed that the fire was going to get the upper hand, the flames were leaping for the skies..



One can surely quell the fires in the wild, but no one can pacify the fire in our belly!



Thank you for reading my friends!