A few days ago this Southern boy got back from a 4,000 mile quest in the northwest portion of these United States, hunting for some memorable roads. I found them.
Started in Houston, Texas; destination Utah. You can certainly tell when you are in Utah.
Out of Moab, I rode 128, the Colorado River Scenic Byway. That was terrific at first, but it got less interesting as you approach I-70.
Heading west on I-70, I encountered some of the nastiest, most unpredictable, high-velocity wind gusts in my riding career. Enough to blow me half way across my lane. I learned to watch for dust clouds in motion up ahead. The speed limit 80 mph, but most folks were going 90+. While largely unpleasant riding and not much to see, there were some pretty stunning turn-outs and vistas.
Highway 31 North, Huntington Canyon Road, heading to Fairview. This one was better than I expected—nice views of mountain sides, with a flowing stream usually right next to the roadway.
Highway 92, Alpine Loop Scenic Byway out of Provo heading to Lehi. OK, now this is a fantastic road! Narrow and low speed. I mostly rode it in first and second gear. Stunning mountain views, and a stark aspen forest. I happened to hit this road about 3:00 pm when the sun was low and behind me, which made the white Aspen tree jump out like sun-bleached skeletons.
Next up was Yellowstone National Park. Never been there before, and I foolishly figured there probably wasn’t much to see, and even if there was, I could buzz through the park in 45 minutes or so and see the highlights. Uhh, no. Yellowstone blew me away. I had budgeted 90 minutes for Yellowstone, but wound up spending most of the day there.
Pressing on to US-212, the Beartooth Highway between Cooke City and Red Lodge.
I thought this would be the highlight of the trip, but that was not the case. Beartooth was indeed a fantastic road with terrific scenery. But it was fairly cold. Snow everywhere. The high altitude did not agree with me. And for some reason, the weather was overcast for about half the way, making the road seem fairly gloomy. I’d definitely ride it again, but contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t my favorite road on the trip.
I dropped down to Deadwood, South Dakota, mistakenly thinking it would be a small, sleepy old West town with some history. Nope, it was an over-developed, casino/tourist destination. Did not like. Worse for me, I showed up during “Wild Bill Days,” so the place was packed. I left and went over to Sturgis—mostly just to say I’d been to Sturgis. Rode around Sturgis a bit, saw the Main Street, then left for Rapid City.
So what was the best road? Well, I got down to the Black Hills area, which I thought was amazing. Something about that country just really appeals to me. I rode the Iron Mountain Road, US 16A out of Custer State Park.
Although it is not a long road, I think Iron Mountain was my favorite road on the whole trip.
I had to be in Denver the following day and was pressed for time, and thus wasn’t able to ride the rest of the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway. That is definitely on my list the next time I’m in that area.
