Day 11 – July 10 (with pictures)

Yesterday afternoon I decided it was time to think about finding someone to replace the tires on the bike. I didn’t expect them to make the entire trip because they were not new but they also were to good to take off before I left. I started to call some dealers to find out who could replace my tires in a timely manner (either today or Friday). The first two I called were not able to. The third one was the charm! They are located in Sheridan so I knew it would be a little drive but there were some roads in that area that I wanted to ride anyway so I might as well combine the two items. It wasn’t until I put the info into my GPS that I realized it was going to take me a little longer than I thought because there is no good direct way there; either you take the long way or you go through Yellowstone park which means the slow way. So, I decided to get up early and take the longer way. It was still a little dark when I left my camp site and a bit chilly – temperature on the bike read 37 degrees. I knew I would have to be very careful watching for critters so early in the morning and it don’t take long to see many elk and deer out and about. I took it pretty easy getting out of the park and until daylight appeared.

The mountains around Sheridan are called the Big Horn Mountains. I took one way through on the way to the dealer and another way on the way back out. When I arrived at the dealer, they were nice enough to have someone take me to Perkins to have breakfast/lunch since I didn’t have anything to eat yet and it would be a while until the bike was completed. When I was done with my meal, I called them up and they came back and got me and took me back to their store so I could wait in their “waiting” room. When the new tires were on and the oil changed, it was time to head back to my tent site in the Tetons.

On the way back, I took the route through a small corner of Yellowstone so I could see at least a little bit of it today. I quickly discovered that Yellowstone is much larger than I thought. Some of the sites are 50 miles away from where I entered the park. Due to the size, I didn’t spend much time taking pictures there today because I wanted to get back to my tent in the Tetons before dark – I just made it!

The plan for tomorrow is to go through Yellowstone National Park and also ride Bear Tooth Canyon which should be blast – it is one of the curviest roads I may find during this tip – I can’t wait! Good thing I got a new set of round tires instead of those Minnesota tires that have a flat spot in the middle from not enough fun corners to ride!