Goat's East Rockies Report

[Misery Goat]

My first report so go easy..

I wanted to take a lot of pictures on this trip but it gets to the point were it is distracting for me so this is what I have. Rode from sun up to sun down on most days and loved every minute, with the exception for a few obstacles, it was a time when you’re beat and filthy and looking for a campsite in the dark. It’s a ‘leave on 8/23 back to the office by 9/2 and get as much as I can kind of trip’.

This was the "general" plan:


Day 1- Depart Chicago 8/23 9:30AM (planned 6AM but that didn’t happen)
Took 20 west out of Chicago bound for the badlands area, tried to grab a little scenery in IA, think this is on 52 along the Mississippi. Got pulled over in MN, nicest trooper I have ever met, smiled the whole time. Turned me on to 16, which led me to 90 faster and got off with a warning.


Got to Mitchell, SD late on the first day.

Day 2 –motel guy turned me on to 44, runs parallel to 90. Nothingness with a spattering of human existence AND straight as an arrow. I cruised uninterrupted at 110mph, indicated of course, almost ran out of gas.
FYYFF's

starting to see some topo


Enter Badlands, spent the day riding fire roads and climbing the sites, 105F














Rushed to do Rushmore. Run in click, click. Very solemn, I’m out.



Picked up 385 to Deadwood, SD. 30 miles of racing through twisties with a guy on a Yamaha Midnight Special. We talked for about 20 minutes in deadwood waiting for his buddy on a Harley to catch up. He recommended a very cool campsite that had a shower.

Day 3 – I set a bearing for Red Lodge so I picked up 24 to check out Devil’s Tower.




Almost ran out of gas on 212, luckily I saw the stars and stripes in the distance flying above a US Post Office in a tumbleweed rich township . I was fortunate the PO was also a general store, a taxidermist, I think a pawn shop, and apparently a farm. The woman watching the operation was very nice and in my time of need accommodated the situation.

Found this around back, filled me up for $5!


Little Big Horn was an unplanned stop and worth the time, it was late afternoon and +100F, spent about 2 hours riding around and checking out the specific battle engagements. An interesting point is there are tombstones where each soldier fell/died. First image is of some scorched prairie on the way to Big Horn




This is out of focus for some reason and supposedly the ‘last stand’ of the soldiers.


Got to Red Lodge LATE and moteled it.

Day 4 – 6AM departure for Beartooth Pass





Did approx 30 miles of fire roads above the tree line, Beautiful!! Crisp morning air 45-50F..totally exploring








Yellowstone.. Northeast entrance..a continuation of great road and scenery.. yelly river..heading for Gardiner



Met Jlundin in Livingston and rode north and grabbed 86 to Bozeman. Some pics in the turns but the zoom in the digi cam ain’t the best.



FYYFF


Relaxing in the Bozeman Hotsprings after a short riding day..Thanks again John for letting me crash and for making sure i was well fed and liquored..


Day 5 – Took 191 out of Bozeman for the NW entrance to Yellowstone and ended up having to turn around due to a fire by the road, NW entrance closed. Back to Bozeman and 89 to the Gardiner entrance.





Re-entering Yellow, going to work my way south on the west side of the park..will see the hot springs and ole faithful..can't remember which pic is OF, it wasn't blowing when i went by and i did not wait..it has been slightly raining for about an hour now.





Bison blocking the road, i basically got directly behind the herd and waited for an opening..some of them were pretty large..







Grand Tetons - Awe Inspiring



Jackson..woman at the vis center recommended Granite Creek Capground..this place rocks..11 miles off the highway just north of Bondurant, WY..your basic twisty, hilly, rocky, fireroad..included with the package is a waterfall and a bath in a hotspring after a long riding day..had to cross the creek in darkness and almost busted my arse..






Day 6 - The Elkhorn – totally threw down, coffee, eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns for $8.


Came out from eating breakfast and my rear tire is flat i take what looks like a rail road spike out of my tire. Rick Martin and his girl friend happened by on their return from the IBR. I repaired the flat while they ate breakfast and they followed me for 30 miles to make sure the patch took – Thanks again Rick! Nice to know good people are on the road with you


Green river, Flaming Gorge, Red canyon








Short on time i head to Steamboat via 40..ran hard through what seemed like a high plains desert/valley..got in late and got a motel..

Day 7 - 40 to 34 and Trail Ridge through Estes Park. Wrapped up a short riding day in Longmont, CO






Day 8 – Hiked, Barbecued and watched the CU and CSU game




Day 9 – Early departure to do a Saddle Sore from Longmont, CO to Chicago, IL (1002 miles)

Pony Express Outpost in NE.


Pretty much concludes the tour. A grinding interstate ride the entire remaining distance and a cold driving rain for the last 4 hours of the trip..I had a blast, typical ups and downs but always more ups..looking forward to the copper canyon in november.

[Misery Goat]

obviously my images are not working, my first time using the IMG method..will have to try again later..well don't know what's going on, i am hearing some can see my images.. i can't see them

[choirboy]

Good try, Goat. Looks like you had a lot of pics, but they didn't come through. Looking for to seeing them.

Did you see the Corn Palace?

[fish]

I see the images. Have you considered opening a smugmug.com account? You've got a few jaggies.


But the content...whoa. Sounds like a fantastic ride!


This one rocks:

[Misery Goat]

Originally posted by choirboy
Good try, Goat. Looks like you had a lot of pics, but they didn't come through. Looking for to seeing them.

Did you see the Corn Palace?

yeh, i don't know what the prob is..i guess i'll have to try another host..

corn palace? hmmm, why does that sound familiar? ..i might have seen signs for it..is it in SD?

[choirboy]

Said Misery Goat:
yeh, i don't know what the prob is..i guess i'll have to try another host..

corn palace? hmmm, why does that sound familiar? ..i might have seen signs for it..is it in SD?

?!?!?!
Mitchell, your first stop.

[Misery Goat]

Originally posted by choirboy
?!?!?!
Mitchell, your first stop.

yep..

i'm on smug bug now and loading high quality images..takes a long time to upload but the reduced images look like shit..

[figment]

Shoshone, where the Apache came from. Cool pics! I Always wanted to see that area around Mt Rushmore and Devils Tower. Devils Tower after I saw Close encounters:)

[choirboy]

Okay, the pics came through. What's the thing that looks like a hack license hanging from your plate? City parking permit?

The blurry pic of the hill has crosses on it that are supposed to represent where each soldiers body was found. Somber site. I always walk battlefields with the thought, "What would I have done?"

Great pics, sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for keeping your lid on while attempting flug-style pics!

[Misery Goat]

Originally posted by choirboy
Okay, the pics came through. What's the thing that looks like a hack license hanging from your plate? City parking permit?

The blurry pic of the hill has crosses on it that are supposed to represent where each soldiers body was found. Somber site. I always walk battlefields with the thought, "What would I have done?"

Great pics, sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for keeping your lid on while attempting flug-style pics!

you got it..chicago's city permit..things a pain to mount sometimes..

yeh i rode all over big horn..i checked the approaches, the indians came to fight that day.

[choirboy]

Said Misery Goat:
you got it..chicago's city permit..things a pain to mount sometimes..

yeh i rode all over big horn..i checked the approaches, the indians came to fight that day.

I know we've mentioned Chesty and Carlos in past quotes, but do you know the story of "Ripley at the bridge?"

[Misery Goat]

Originally posted by choirboy
I know we've mentioned Chesty and Carlos in past quotes, but do you know the story of "Ripley at the bridge?"

Ripley??..hmmm, name escapes me..is it this guy?? i googled

Pvt Dan Daley
Lt. Presley O'Bannon
Chesty

these are the famous marines we learned in boot.

[choirboy]

Said Misery Goat:
Ripley??..hmmm, name escapes me..is it this guy?? i googled

Pvt Dan Daley
Lt. Presley O'Bannon
Chesty

these are the famous marines we learned in boot.

I know Chesty, not the other two. You got the right pic, I think. Get "The Bridge at Dong Ha" by John Miller, published by Naval Institute Press. Here's a bit about him:

At midday on March 30, 1972, almost by complete surprise, the North Vietnamese Army launched its single biggest assault of the Vietnam War. Larger in size and scale than the very costly but politically effective 1968 Tet Offensive, the NVA this time were fighting an almost conventional battle.

Generously supplied with seemingly unlimited artillery, Soviet armor and the latest air-defense weapons, reports of the NVA strength and battlefield successes were, for the first few days, not believed by the South Vietnamese general staff and their senior American advisers way down yonder in Saigon.

The first three and a half days of what came to be known as the Easter Offensive of 1972 were a near rout. The shock value of the new conventional NVA juggernaut was wreaking havoc with friendly forces. Indiscriminate artillery barrages, as intense as any experienced by the old hands, were especially deleterious for the uncounted masses of peasants turned refugees in Quang Tri Province. The poor weather and low visibility temporarily neutered the South's advantage in air power. It was hard to believe things could turn so negative in such a short time.

It was clear early on that the town of Dong Ha was a strategic target for the NVA. Offering the only bridge over the Cam Lo-Cua Viet River capable of supporting the heavy T-54 tanks now being used with such tremendous effect, the enemy needed to take it intact. Control of that one bridge would open the South for further exploitation. At a minimum, the turnover of Dong Ha would assure the loss of the northern provinces.

The allied unit closest to the gathering storm at Dong Ha was the Vietnamese Third Marine Battalion. As fate would have it, Capt. John Ripley was the covan (the Vietnamese name "co-van" for U.S. Marine Corps advisers means "trusted friend") that day about to enter the arena.

By 1971, John Ripley had done almost everything a Marine captain could accomplish commensurate with his rank. Having already successfully served in Vietnam as an infantry company commander in 1967, during which time Ripley was decorated and wounded, he had had subsequent tours with Marine Force Recon and as an exchange officer with the British Royal Marines. (Postings with the Royal Marines are extremely competitive and go only to the most promising officers.) Happily married and the father of three very young children, Ripley did not really need to be back in Vietnam. But he was.

The ferocity of the NVA offensive caused all manner of problems with allied command and control. Due to the extreme emergency, Lt. Col. Gerry Turley, who had recently arrived to serve as the senior covan in the northern region, was ordered to also assume control of the Third ARVN Division Forward. Recognizing the need to destroy the bridge, even though higher headquarters (who were unaware of the deteriorating tactical situation) ordered him not to, Turley gave the order. He was certain he was sending Capt. Ripley to his death.

With some cover fire provided by the men of the Third Marine Battalion and aided by U.S. Army Maj. John Smock, Capt. John Ripley accomplished what was not possible: He went out and blew up the bridge.

There is no sports analogy for what Ripley did. It was not like running a three minute mile, bench pressing 700 pounds, or pulling out a come-from-behind Super Bowl upset victory. There were no adoring crowds. What Ripley did was simply impossible. Had he failed while attempting to do it, his peers would have only thought him noble and brave for trying.

The significance of the timely destruction of the bridge at Dong Ha cannot be overstated – both in terms of Ripley's personal heroism and the impact it had on the entire communist offensive. Those who ponder alternative history could easily argue that had the NVA been able to secure the bridge and the town at that time, the unfortunate end of the Republic of Vietnam on April 30, 1975, might have been markedly speeded up.

Built by U.S. Navy Seabees in 1967, the bridge was a 200-meter concrete and steel leviathan. Its destruction required deliberate planning, intellect and guts. Mostly guts. Ripley would provide all three as he needed to distribute 500 pounds of dynamite on the structure's underside.

Making a dozen-odd trips between the southern bank of the river and the belly of the bridge, each time he shuttled roughly 40 pounds of explosives as he swung, hand-over-hand, out to the various spans and stringers, all the while exposed to enemy fire from the northern side. Placement of the dynamite and requisite wiring took more than two hours.

With the rigging complete, and without fanfare, Smock and Ripley blew the bridge. (For a superbly chronicled read of the entire action, see "The Bridge at Dong Ha" by Ripley friend and fellow covan U.S. Marine Corps Col. John Miller. For the view from the senior adviser who effectively ran the entire show during this period of the war, pick up Col. Gerry Turley's compellingly honest and painstakingly fair "The Easter Offensive." Both available at the U.S. Naval Institute or the Marine Corps Association.)

Ripley's performance that day continues to fascinate. These were not the deeds of a regular man. His bravery was not some gut reaction or counterpunch to a blow struck by an enemy. His actions in that three-hour window – with the world collapsing around him – were deliberate, willful, premeditated. Every ounce of his spiritual and physical fiber was focused on mission accomplishment. Anything less and he surely would have failed. Exhausted prior to the start, when he was finished he was way past empty.

[Misery Goat]

pretty remarkable story, throughout history marines have rose to the occasion..

Pvt Dan Dailey got his name for holding off an enemy attack during the Spanish-American war..i think he would later receive 2 cmh's

Lt. O'Bannon became famous from the Barbary Pirates Wars i think in Tripoli..i'm reaching now..

Chesty Puller famous from the 'frozen' Chosen Reservoir in Korea, i think..

oh also, Smedley Butler, i think the Spanish American War also..

the names are good, i may be off on some of the events..

[Misery Goat]

alright, i'm using smugmug.com now and unedited images so the resolution is much better..i hope the images are viewable for everyone now.:):