3rd Nat'l NT Rally-Jul 10-13, 2013 - Spearfish, SD

[Coyote Chris]

Not a thing in the world wrong with the highway 14 Shell Canyon route through the Bighorns....I just prefer the highway 16 TenSleep route. Dont forget to stop at the rest area just to the west of GreyBull and look at the now Defunct Hawkins and Powers Aircraft boneyard.....most of the planes were aucitoned off but there are still 30 left, as of last year....there be ghosts at that rest stop! Put in Hawkins and Powers into google "images"...(the ride from Cody to Lake Yellowstone is one of my favorites)

We're going in the same direction, Chris. We'll go over the Big Horns at Dayton, and then ride Shell Canyon, then do Beartooth and Chief Joseph back to Cody. Then Yellowstone.

And you're right -- the Senior Lifetime Pass is one of the prime benefits of growing old!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Not a thing in the world wrong with the highway 14 Shell Canyon route through the Bighorns....I just prefer the highway 16 TenSleep route.

I haven't ridden the TenSleep route, but I've driven it in both directions several times. I've never been through Shell Canyon. The only time I went over the Big Horns on 14, I took 14A down into Lovell.

Joanne and I stopped at Hawkins & Powers back in '91 and even talked to Mr. Powers. They had lots of aircraft on the ramp then and were working on restoring a PBY for somebody. We probably spent about three hours there. We'll definitely stop there again. IIRC, they charged us $5 apiece to wander around the ramp for as long as we wanted.

 

[junglejim]

Not a thing in the world wrong with the highway 14 Shell Canyon route through the Bighorns....I just prefer the highway 16 TenSleep route. Dont forget to stop at the rest area just to the west of GreyBull and look at the now Defunct Hawkins and Powers Aircraft boneyard.....most of the planes were aucitoned off but there are still 30 left, as of last year....there be ghosts at that rest stop! Put in Hawkins and Powers into google "images"...(the ride from Cody to Lake Yellowstone is one of my favorites)

I went that way last year. There was a lot of construction on the west end of Hwy 16. May be ongoing this year too from what I saw.
And I did stop at Grey Bull but the gate to the plane boneyard was locked.

 

[Bear]

Joe,
Do we need to send in a reservation?

 

[Mellow]

Joe,
Do we need to send in a reservation?

Nope... if you are camping, just show up and we'll all be in the same area. If you need a campsite w/electric then you may want to make a reservation but the bathrooms have electric.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I think construction is a constant in the west during the nice months....you always want to check the state DOT website and especially the Yellowstone website for major closures....
When Hawkins and Powers went out of business, about all you can do is look through the fence now.....everything is locked up unless someone is going to make a museum....but its still cool to see it.
Brings back lots of memories....

I went that way last year. There was a lot of construction on the west end of Hwy 16. May be ongoing this year too from what I saw.
And I did stop at Grey Bull but the gate to the plane boneyard was locked.

 

[RedNigel]

I got my time off approved today
Now I can start planning in earnest. I am going to spend 3 days in CO on the way to the Rally. I can't decide whether or not to work in a trip up Mt Evans or Pikes Peak while I am there.
Phil gave me a good recommendation for a two day ride in mid eastern CO, but I cant get the Million Dollar Hwy out of my mind

Right now I have a loosely based route that runs like this

Farmington, NM to Montrose>Gunnison

Gunnison back to the 92 West Elk loop to Paonia, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs..
then I dont know if I should continue North to 131/134/40 down to Kremmling>Granby>Estes Park
Or
Continue east on 70 to Silverthorne and do the Loveland Pass and Mt Evans, then double back to take 40 north to Granby and Estes Park via the Trail Ridge and finish in Ft Lupton at a $36 Motel 6 before heading to Spearfish

I guess deciding whether to ride up one of the 14ers is totally subjective, but I wouldnt mind some opinions from those who have spent some time in CO

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clay, I can't give you a whole lot of help -- either of your plans sound great. Trail Ridge Road is now a 35-mph ride and it's pretty rigidly enforced. I'm probably the only person in Colorado who hasn't been to the top of Mt. Evans.

Why finish in Ft. Lupton? You could finish in Fort Morgan and ride to Spearfish with Rick and I (and maybe Eldon Cannon (EX-WINGER)). You could find a cheap ($50) motel there if you didn't want to camp in my backyard. I don't think there are any $36 motels in Colorado anymore.

I love CO-92. It's one of my favorite rides in the state.

 

[RedNigel]

I don't think there are any $36 motels in Colorado anymore.

LOL
I picked Ft Lupton because there is a $36 Motel 6 there!
I just may come on to Ft Morgan though
It'd be nice to have some company for that long stint up to Spearfish
But I cant go from fillup to fillup like you guys
I have to stop more often than that

 

[U20417]

RedNigel,

I have a message into Spearfish for our electric site. They are open for business as of yesterday, but they are calling people back in the order they left messages so that it is fair. They said it would probably be sometime later today when they started calling. I will send you an update as soon as I have more info.

 

[Phil Tarman]

But I cant go from fillup to fillup like you guys
I have to stop more often than that

We're adaptable. Rick likes to stop so he can smoke. I can stop and shoot the bull or drink coffee. We'll just take a little longer to get there.

 

[RedNigel]

We're adaptable. Rick likes to stop so he can smoke. I can stop and shoot the bull or drink coffee. We'll just take a little longer to get there.

Sounds good
Me and Rick can be the unwashed heathens of the group and smoke together
BTW
Where is Rick?

 

[RedNigel]

I have a message into Spearfish for our electric site. They are open for business as of yesterday, but they are calling people back in the order they left messages so that it is fair. They said it would probably be sometime later today when they started calling. I will send you an update as soo

Hey Richard
Sounds good
I was just thinking about that yesterday. It'd be nice if there was a way to be close to the others but we cant be choosy I guess

 

[Phil Tarman]

He lives in Henderson, NV. He's been tied up with some family issues lately and is laying low.

 

[U20417]

Hey Richard
Sounds good
I was just thinking about that yesterday. It'd be nice if there was a way to be close to the others but we cant be choosy I guess

Well they finally called back and I was outside painting and did not make it to the phone in time. Spent 30 minutes hitting redial and getting a busy signal before I finally got to them. We have our electric site, so we are good to go. I did not see this until after I made the reservation, but I will try to call back and see if they can put us near the tents. I would not hold my breath though since its so hard to get a call in to them.

Guys, is there any particular part of the tent ground I should ask to be near?

 

[RedNigel]

Glad you got us something
One less thing on the to-do list
Its OK if we aren't right close. All we have to do is carry our chairs over to where the action is and walk back to the tents at bedtime

 

[Mellow]

The campground is spacious but still within walking distance so you should be fine as Red said.

The 1st post in this thread has a campground map w/group area in yellow if that helps.

 

[Phil Tarman]

If you look at the campground map Mellow mentioned, last year the NTs camped in the 3rd area up from the bottom, an area not colored yellow on the map. We had the creek by our tents and were close to the shower room. The couple of guys with campers were across the non-camping area that loops around the shower room area on the right and the top of the map.

 

[U20417]

I got them on the 5th try!!! Ask them to put us near the tents and the showers. They said they would put a note on our reservation.

Thanks for the feed back guys!

 

[Phil Tarman]

While I'm thinking about it, is anybody gonna' be ready for a 50K sticker when they're in Spearfish?