Western Nebraska and Eastern Colorado

We rolled out of the Victoria Springs Rec Area camp ground and continued riding west on RT2. Pretty soon we had to pull over and put on our rain suits and minutes after that started to rain. The rain continued for a while, but when it stopped it got so hot wearing the rain suits that I couldn’t wait to get it off even though the skies still looked dark towards the west. I had passed a larger town with lots of gas stations when I still had half a tank of gas. The next few towns after that didn’t have any gas stations on RT2 and we didn’t want to waste our time going in to town, some of the towns were on the other side of the train tracks and those freight trains moved really slow.





Some curves on 21A leaving Victoria Springs Rec Area



Some big hills on RT 2

When I saw a gas station right before the town of Hyannis, I pulled into it and finally got my rain gear off. It was sunny here and the temps were in the 80’s already. The gas station had a deli and even though we were hungry we thought better things were waiting for us in town. We rode west and got in to Hyannis but there were no restaurants in town, at least none that were open on this Sunday. We continued riding west and back in to the dark clouds. The rain started up again but I don’t put my rain gear on hoping that it would be short sprinkle and it was. The rain lasted only about 15 minutes and soon I was in a clearing again.



That is a bug on my camera lens... leaving the gas station we had to ride though a large area of gravel and dirt, pavement is a luxury out west

We arrived at the end of RT2 in the town of Alliance. This was a larger town with many restaurant choices. Ken and Dales Restaurant was packed even thought it was already 2PM. That is always a good sign when a restaurant is packed full of locals.



Lunch at Ken and Dales Restaurant in Alliance, Nebraska

Unfortunately the food was so-so and the prices were very high compared to Chicago. Mike had a hamburger, no bigger then a fast food burger and it was around $6-7. I had a chicken wrap with honey mustard and it was $8. The fries were really good, but my chicken wrap consisted of a single piece of breast meat smeared with honey mustard placed in a tortilla with a slice of tomato and some lettuce. I’ve never had a whole slide of chicken inside a wrap.



Cheeseburger and a chicken wrap with fries

Over lunch we realized we still had over 250 miles to go. We turned south on 385. For a while there were some amazing views from the road but soon the scenery got a bit dull as we rode through some desolate looking landscapes. This is the high desert.



Leaving Nebraska on 19 South



Entering Colorado on 113 South

From there we took 19 south which turned to 113 in Colorado. And the rest of the trip was on the slab. I-76 heading in to Denver was loaded with cars. We were not on there too long before we had to exit and put our rain gear on again. We saw the storm from 60 miles away, but the roads would veer away from it. Now for sure we were heading right in to it.



Gearing up for more rain about 120 miles east of Denver



Heavy rain to the left and to the right, we rode through the middle

Back on the slab it started raining again but we got so lucky. Two big rain clouds one to our right and one to our left, and we rode through the middle not getting very wet. We gassed up outside of the Denver area and took of our rain gear again.



Approaching the Denver area and Rockies

We were staying with sport touring folks in Broomfield and at this point we had an hour of riding left to get to thier house, unfortunately we had a hard time finding the house, as the roads get very confusing. 120th Street is also RT 128 not to be confused with 128th street. We rode around in circles, but the whole time we were just around the corner from their house. We did get to see a lot of Broomfield though, which is a really nice suburb north of Denver. We arrived at the house around 9PM, the sun had started to set already.



Today's route: 2 to 385 to 19/113 to I-76 to Denver



Our route from Chicagoland to Denver

We did 431 miles today and 1182 miles since we left Chicagoland.

Victoria Springs Recreational Area, Nebraska

The bright sun woke us up early in the morning, but getting up was hard to do. When we got out of the tent we realized we pitched our tent in a softball field. The Victoria Springs Rec Area had very nice facilities with free showers.



Our campsite along the dirt road with the other motorcyclists behind us also with a yellow tent

The mosquitoes were still at it this morning. Across the dirt road from us there were two guys camping, one on a Harley and one on a FJR. We got talking to them and they said that this campground was much nicer then the one we were originally planning on camping at. They said that the campground at the Nebraska National Forests had dirt road that were made out of deep dirt and sand. They also said this was a nicer camp site. I’m really glad we camped here.
By the time we showered and packed up the clouds had rolled in and even sprinkled a bit.



Victoria Springs State Recreational Area



We pulled in here when it was dark last night, it looks like we had set our tent up in the middle of a softball field




The bathroom and shower building is to the left of the bikes way in the distance


All the roads in this rec area are dirt



Mud stuck in my tire from last nights rain

Nebraska and the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway

We were on the road by 8AM. When I had originally planned the three day route to get out to Colorado I had us riding the interstate and also some back roads. Now that we were behind schedule we had to make up some time on the interstate. We still wanted to stay at the original camp ground that we had picked out for tonight.



Looking at of the Super 8 window in Williamsburg, IA

The day was warm and sunny. The interstate was straight, actually Iowa is not that bad, its got some rolling hills. The two states I dread crossing via the interstate is Kansas and Nebraska, those are flat. Even though we were riding through Nebraska on this tripwere we were only going to stay on the interstate for a while, and finish off Nebraska with back roads, that is, if we can make up some time today.

Soon we were near Grand Island, Nebraska. This was the end of the interstate for us, well, at least until tomorrow afternoon. We rode through town, which was surprisingly large, and found the scenic byway called RT 2. This road also is called the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway and is 272 miles long. This scenic byway runs through some really remote Nebrasca countryside. From the pavement you can see sand hills, the largest hand-planted forest in the nation located near Halsey and running parallel with the road is one of the US busiest freight only crossings. Here you can see up to 125 trains per day pulling coal.



RT 2 called the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway travels 272 miles between Alliance and Grand Island

A coal trail running along RT 2 west of Grand Island, NE

When we left the Super 8 this morning we already knew that there was a pretty good possibility of catching some rain today. But we got lucky and went around the first storm, we could see it in the distance but never got close enough to get rained on. As we approached Broken Bow, Nebraska the skies started to look dark again. We checked the weather on the phone and found a huge storm heading our way. We were less then 50 miles from the Nebraska National Forest and the camp ground that we were hoping to camp at tonight, but this weather approaching was not camping weather. There was supposed to be lightening and very strong winds. We were pretty bummed out that we would have to spend yet another night in a motel.

We gassed up in town. The gas station attendant told us of a really nice hotel and restaurant in town, but when we checked it out it was already full. The Arrow Hotel was only $70 per night too, too bad.

We went down the road and checked the other of the “nicer” looking motels but all of them were full too. There was two rooms available at the two really dumpy places, but they were way too pricey for what we were getting. Since there are not a lot of towns with motels on this road, I guess this town fills up fast.

The Historic Arrow Hotel in down town Broken Bow, NE

A guy on a horse in Broken Bow, NE

So here we were, no motel room and big storm heading our way. We were also hungry at this point so we went to Subway to have some dinner and think about our options for tonight. We could wait for the storm to pass and still try camping tonight. The storm was supposed to be over in two hours, the only problem was there was a chance of a smaller storm coming through at midnight also.

At this point we didn’t feel like riding the 50-some miles to the Nebraska National Forest and found a closer camp site. The Victoria Springs State Recreational Area was only about 25 miles from here. The area gets its name from the mineral springs and is the third oldest park in the Nebraska Park system.

After we ate our Subway sandwiches and had some ice creamto pass the time. Mike moved the bikes closer under the small roof of the Subway building and we were ready for the show to begin. The dark clouds spun above us, the lightening danced in the sky and the winds picked up. The storm moved quickly but it was large one and took at least two hours to pass. The bikes were in the perfect place since the rain and wind was blowing from the opposite direction. Even the Subway employees came out to watch the storm pass through. We don’t get storms like this in the Midwest that’s for sure.

Waiting for the storm to pass at Subway

Mike watching the storm clouds roll through above us

And here comes the rain

After the storm had passed and a double rainbow had appeared it was time for us to get to the camp ground. We rode west out of town, the sun was setting ahead of us, illuminating the sky in pastel colors of pink, lavender and light blue. The skies behind us were still very dark and angry looking. Then a few miles ahead we saw rain falling, we crossed in to it and got wet but only for a few miles. We arrived in the next town called Anselmo and turned on to 21A heading to the park. There were more dark clouds in front of us and for a minute we though we were heading back in to the storm.

A double rainbow appeared after the storm had passed

Heading west away from the storm on RT2

Pastel skies above us

When we arrived at the park we had to ride a dirt road to registration. Registration took place at the hosts house. They had lost power during the storm so there was darkness all around us and the mosquitoes were out in full force.

The non electric campsite was $11. I think there was also a fee to enter the park but I can’t remember what it was and can’t seem to find the information anywhere. I think it was like $3-5 per person. Once we registered we had to go back to the main road and enter the camp ground on another dirt road that had a bit of mud now from all the rain. Riding a muddy dirt road on a loaded up sport bike at night is not my idea of a good time, so I was very glad when we got there. Mike rode my bike through the mud and onto the grass. The first thing I had to do was to spray myself with bug spray but it seemed that the mosquitoes had already a bunch of opportunities to dine and I was itching all over. I ended up having to spray even parts of my face and under my hair, they were very persistent.

Victoria Spring Recreation Area

We set up the tent. I took a walk in the dark to the bathroom, which also had no power and we went to bed shortly.

We did 496 miles today

We were only about 50 miles short of where we were supposed to be staying tonight, not too bad for making up some time.

Some Missouri twisties and arriving home

The big rain that was supposed to come over night got stalled. When we woke up we checked the weather and the storm was just around the corner. By the time we tore down the tent it was already sprinkling. We grabbed a few items and ran for the bathroom. Within minutes it was pouring.



A huge storm passing over the camp ground in the early morning delayed our departure



Hidding in the bathroom to avoid the rain



Fog hovering over the water after the storm had passed





63 to 19 to I-44

We took 19 all the way from the Arkansas state line to I-44. This is a great road, not a lot of traffic but lots of hills and twists.

I've been on this road before and it's still my favorite road for sport-touring. It's curvy enough but not too much, so you can still make pretty good time on it.



19 started with many hills



And many sweepers



Flossie's Apple Barrel on 19 in Winona, MO



We got here between breakfast amd lunch, the place was empty



Apples on the curtains, how cute



Late breakfast, French toast for me and a biscuit with sausage and egg for Mike



The best part of 19 is between Eminence and Timber



Raining again

The storm had moved out of the area, but about two hours later we found another storm. The rain continued for at least an hour and a half. We took off our rain gear just before jumping on I-44, it was just too hot and muggy. The rain had stopped for now but just before St. Louis we had to pull over again and put the rain gear back on. Not only was it raining now, but it was cold. In one hour the temperature went from 80 to 60 degrees. The rain stopped in the Illinois abut the cold temperatures continued. The temps were only in the low 50’s during the day, then at night they dropped in to the high 40’s. It was also very windy.



A bridge on 19

There is only one Jack In The Box restaurant on I-55 in Illinois, I have always wanted to stop there to eat but usually when I pass it I’m not hungry, but today as we were looking to stop and eat somewhere I remembered the Jack In The Box restaurant.

The Gerbings heated liners kept us warm on this cold, windy and cloudy day. But after a few hours of the cold, we did need to stop at a McDonalds for some hot coffee. We arrived home late, just before midnight. This was a great trip, with great roads, even though it did rain a lot.