Day One – Saturday, May 29th
I left this morning at 8:00 AM and decided to change my route and took I-80 heading east through Wyoming, instead of I-15 north to Bozeman, Montana. That was a good decision because I was talking to a couple who was checking into the motel tonight, and they had just come from Cody, Wyoming this morning, and said they had talked to several bikers who had come through Yellowstone indicating that they had snow there last night. (Sorry for the long, dis-jointed sentence. I just kept typing as I was talking) Makes me feel good when I make a good decision every once in awhile. And that doesn’t happen often. 🙂
When I left Salt Lake City this morning the temperature was in the mid forties, so I decided to put on my heated clothing. Between Salt Lake and Rock Springs the temperatures dipped down into the 30’s, so I stayed toasty warm.
I had a tail wind of about 50 to 60 miles per hour that pushed me most of the way, until I got to Laramie, Wyoming, then it started coming from the north. So I fought a cross wind for about 150 miles, drove through some rain for about 45 minutes, and ended up in Sidney, Nebraska for the night. Total miles for the day was 563.
Sidney, Nebraska is the corporate headquarters for Cabela’s Hunting and Fishing Retail Store. They have a huge complex here. Sidney is listed in the top 100 of America’s best rural communities, with one of the highest employment rates in the country. I guess we can thank Cabela’s for that one.
Speaking of Nebraska, did you know that it is still a law on the books here, that it is illegal to go whale fishing in Nebraska? Go figure.
Well (Whale, no pun intended), I’ll see you tomorrow.
Dad, did you know Sidney is where Adams grandma and parents lived before they moved to Roosevelt. We have spent lots of time visiting in Sidney. Glad to hear you are doing well and staying safe! Love you!
-Sarah
This is great. I was supposed to do a 6,000 mile trip last summer from Atlanta going your direction, but could not get away from work. I will be tracking this as I still want to do a cross country.
Don't worry about the pics. I live in Iowa, and like Nebraska, It is a beautiful landscape, but it's kind of like going to a museum and staring at the same picture for 6 hours at a time.
I must admit though, I have seen sunrise and sunsets all over the world, but I think the best ones are in the midwest. Enjoy.
I might hit Yellowstone on the way home.
Sorry about more pics, Jared. It was cold most of the day, and I just didn't feel like pulling out my camera. I'll do better tomorrow. As far as Nebraska goes–it's flat. 🙂
Good choice going east instead of north! It sure would have been nice though to go through Yellowstone and over the Beartooth Pass. But, being safe is better than trying to keep a bike upright in the snow regardless the scenery! Sllep tigh and I look forward to tomorrow's report!
Good luck! I look forward to future posts of you're travels. Already looking forward to August!
I'm glad day one went well for you. Avoiding snow on a motorcycle is always a good idea, so I'm glad you went east instead of north.
Enjoy Nebraska. I've never been through that state. Where are your pics?
Have a safe, enjoyable ride tomorrow!
-Jared